Neal is the representative for Massachusetts’s 1st congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 3, 2013. Neal is next up for reelection in 2024 and serves until Jan 3, 2025. He is 74 years old.
He was previously the representative for Massachusetts’s 2nd congressional district as a Democrat from 1989 to 2012.
![Photo of Rep. Richard Neal [D-MA1]](/static/legislator-photos/400291-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2022 Report Card for Neal.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Neal 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 ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Neal has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to Mar 17, 2023. See full analysis methodology.
Committee Membership
Richard Neal sits on the following committees:
- House Committee on Ways and Means Ranking Member
Enacted Legislation
Neal was the primary sponsor of 11 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 7108 (117th): Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act
- H.R. 2954 (117th): Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021
- H.R. 5085 (117th): Emergency Repatriation Assistance for Returning Americans Act
- H.R. 1994 (116th): Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019
- H.R. 430 (116th): TANF Extension Act of 2019
- H.R. 1235 (115th): Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act
- H.R. 5776 (115th): MOST Act
Does 11 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
Neal sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (26%) Social Welfare (24%) Taxation (18%) Labor and Employment (12%) Immigration (9%) Transportation and Public Works (6%) Science, Technology, Communications (6%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Neal recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.Res. 43: Marking the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
- H.R. 9640 (117th): Presidential Tax Filings and Audit Transparency Act of 2022
- H.R. 8761 (117th): To add Ireland to the E-3 nonimmigrant visa program.
- H.R. 7108 (117th): Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act
- H.R. 5169 (117th): Nursing Home Improvement and Accountability Act of 2021
- H.R. 5085 (117th): Emergency Repatriation Assistance for Returning Americans Act
- H.R. 4969 (117th): Elder Justice Reauthorization and Modernization Act of 2021
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1989 to Mar 2023, Neal missed 1,071 of 21,101 roll call votes, which is 5.1%. This is much worse than the median of 1.5% 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, 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
- 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