Visclosky is the representative for Indiana’s 1st congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 3, 1985. Visclosky is next up for reelection in 2020.
Alleged misconduct & resolution
In 2009 Visclosky was investigated for soliciting campaign contributions in exchange for legislative outcomes. The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct dismissed the charges.
| Dec. 2, 2009 | House Office of Congressional Ethics recommended the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct further review the allegations |
| Feb. 26, 2010 | House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct dismissed the charges on the OCE's recommendation |
![Photo of Rep. Peter Visclosky [D-IN1]](/static/legislator-photos/400417-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2018 Report Card for Visclosky.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Peter Visclosky sits on the following committees:
-
House Committee on Appropriations
- Chair, Subcommittee on Defense
- Vice Chair, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies
Enacted Legislation
Visclosky was the primary sponsor of 10 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 4887 (114th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 23323 Shelby Road in Shelby, Indiana, as the “Richard Allen Cable Post Office”.
- H.R. 6045 (110th): Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2008
- H.R. 5472 (110th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2650 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, as the “Julia M. Carson Post ...
- H.R. 1636 (110th): United States-Poland Parliamentary Youth Exchange Program Act of 2007
- H.R. 2358 (106th): To designate the United States Post Office located at 3813 Main Street in East Chicago, Indiana, as the “Lance Corporal Harold Gomez Post Office”.
- H.R. 1216 (102nd): Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Access and Enhancement Act
- H.R. 470 (102nd): To authorize the Secretary of Transportation to release the restrictions, requirements, and conditions imposed in connection with the conveyance of certain lands to the city of Gary, ...
Does 10 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
Visclosky sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Government Operations and Politics (50%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (50%)
Recent Bills
Some of Visclosky’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.Res. 618: Congratulating the peoples of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic on the ...
- H.R. 3926: Consider Teachers Act
- H.R. 2968: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2020
- H.R. 684: Indiana Dunes National Park Act
- H.R. 1488: Indiana Dunes National Park Act
- H.R. 6291 (114th): Indiana Dunes National Park Act
- H.R. 4887 (114th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at ...
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1985 to Dec 2019, Visclosky missed 432 of 21,491 roll call votes, which is 2.0%. This is on par with the median of 2.1% 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
