Forbes was the representative for Virginia’s 4th congressional district and was a Republican. He served from 2001 to 2016.
![Photo of Rep. Randy Forbes [R-VA4, 2001-2016]](/static/legislator-photos/400137-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2016 Report Card for Forbes.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Forbes is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2016 positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Forbes sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 5, 2011 to Dec 30, 2016. See full analysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Forbes was the primary sponsor of 2 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 3752 (111th): Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements Act of 2009
- H.R. 2910 (107th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3131 South Crater Road in Petersburg, Virginia, as the “Norman Sisisky Post Office Building”.
Does 2 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
Forbes sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Armed Forces and National Security (24%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (14%) Transportation and Public Works (14%) Health (14%) International Affairs (14%) Taxation (10%) Social Welfare (10%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Forbes recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 5428 (114th): Military Residency Choice Act
- H.R. 5203 (114th): Visa Integrity and Security Act of 2016
- H.Res. 709 (114th): Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Iran, by failing …
- H.R. 5034 (114th): To nullify any generalized, routine or ongoing reporting requirement imposed on a …
- H.Res. 615 (114th): Expressing support for the Senate regarding the importance of selecting a Supreme …
- H.Con.Res. 108 (114th): Affirming the importance of religious freedom as a fundamental human right that …
- H.R. 3616 (114th): Defending Our Defenders Act
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jun 2001 to Dec 2016, Forbes missed 356 of 10,908 roll call votes, which is 3.3%. This is worse than the median of 2.4% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Dec 2016. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.
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
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
