![Photo of Rep. Peter DeFazio [D-OR4]](/static/legislator-photos/400100-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2019 Report Card for DeFazio.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
DeFazio is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the House of Representatives positioned according to our liberal–conservative ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills DeFazio has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Jun 4, 2020. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Peter DeFazio sits on the following committees:
Enacted Legislation
DeFazio was the primary sponsor of 23 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 2197: John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization Act of 2019
- H.R. 1056: Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area Designation Act
- H.R. 993: Frank Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area Designation Act
- H.R. 994: Chetco River Protection Act of 2019
- H.R. 6414: To amend title 23, United States Code, to extend the deadline for promulgation of regulations under the tribal transportation self-governance program.
- H.R. 3225: Oregon Tribal Economic Development Act
- H.R. 1306: Western Oregon Tribal Fairness Act
Does 23 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
DeFazio sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Transportation and Public Works (36%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (14%) Health (12%) Taxation (10%) Armed Forces and National Security (7%) Environmental Protection (7%) Education (7%) Crime and Law Enforcement (7%)
Recent Bills
Some of DeFazio’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 7095: To authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, and ...
- H.J.Res. 89: Withdrawing approval of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization.
- H.R. 6745: Clean Water for All Act
- H.R. 6669: COVID-19 Cost Share Adjustment Relief Act of 2020
- H.R. 6076: IRS Enhancement and Tax Gap Reduction Act of 2020
- H.R. 5492: To repeal the Military Selective Service Act, and thereby terminate the registration requirements ...
- H.R. 5139: Stop Sexual Assault and Harassment in Transportation Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1987 to May 2020, DeFazio missed 826 of 20,755 roll call votes, which is 4.0%. This is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- United States Congressional Roll Call Voting Records, 1789-1990 by Howard L. Rosenthal and Keith T. Poole.
- Martis’s “The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress”, via Keith Poole’s roll call votes data set, for political party affiliation for Members of Congress from 1789 through about year 2000
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
