![Photo of Rep. Richard Neal [D-MA1]](/data/photos/400291-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2016 Report Card for Neal.
Sponsorship Analysis
Our unique analysis of the bills Neal has sponsored and cosponsored provides insight into his position in the House of Representatives.
Each dot in the chart below is a member of the House of Representatives. The dots are positioned horizontally according to our progressive—conservative ideology score and vertically according to our leadership score (leaders toward the top). Neal is shown as a purple triangle. (analysis methodology)
Committee Membership
Richard Neal sits on the following committees:
- Ranking Member, House Committee on Ways and Means
Enacted Legislation
Neal was the primary sponsor of 4 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 2452 (111th): Net Operating Loss (NOL) Carryback Act
- H.R. 1900 (108th): To award a congressional gold medal to Jackie Robinson (posthumously), in recognition of his many contributions to the Nation, and to express the sense of the Congress ...
- H.R. 4184 (102nd): To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center located in Northampton, Massachusetts, as the “Edward P. Boland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center”.
- H.J.Res. 372 (102nd): Designating December 21, 1991, as “Basketball Centennial Day”.
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 about one third or more 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:
Taxation (47%) Foreign Trade and International Finance (35%) Health (12%) Sports and Recreation (6%)
Recent Bills
Some of Neal’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.Res. 169: Congratulating the New England Patriots on their victory in Super Bowl LI.
- H.R. 1235: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act
- H.R. 1172: Presidential Trade Transparency Act of 2017
- H.R. 822: Earned Income Tax Credit Improvement and Simplification Act 2017
- H.R. 6270 (114th): To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to prevent the avoidance ...
- H.R. 4592 (114th): Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act
- H.R. 2676 (114th): Build America Bonds Act of 2015
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Neal’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| Yea |
H.R. 1039: Probation Officer Protection Act of 2017
May 19, 2017. Passed 229/177.
H.R. 1039 amends the federal criminal code to authorize a probation officer to arrest a person, without warrant, if there is probable cause to believe that person forcibly assaulted or obstructed a probation officer while performing their official duties. The bill also would direct the ... |
| No |
H.Res. 546: Providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 22) to authorize funds for Federal-aid ...
Dec 3, 2015. Passed 384/40.
|
| No |
H.R. 3038: Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015, Part II
Jul 15, 2015. Passed 312/119.
|
| No |
H.R. 2146: Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act
Jun 18, 2015. Passed 218/208.
This vote made H.R. 2146 the vehicle for passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal currently being negotiated. H.R. 2146 was originally introduced as a bill to address issues with retirement funds of federal law enforcement officers and firefighters. ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 2048: Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015
May 13, 2015. Passed 338/88.
The USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048, Pub.L. 114–23) is a U.S. law enacted on June 2, 2015 that restored in modified form several provisions of the Patriot Act, which had expired the day before. The act imposes some new limits on the bulk collection of ... |
| Aye |
H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 17, 2014. Passed 319/108.
|
| Nay |
H.Res. 23 (113th): Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 152) making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September ...
Jan 15, 2013. Passed 367/52.
|
| Aye |
H.R. 1249 (112th): Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
Jun 23, 2011. Passed 304/117.
The Leahy–Smith America Invents Act (AIA) is a United States federal statute that was passed by Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on September 16, 2011. The law represents the most significant change to the U.S. patent system since 1952, and ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 2346 (111th): Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009
May 14, 2009. Passed 368/60.
|
| Nay |
H.Res. 378 (111th): Recognizing the 30th anniversary of the election of Margaret Thatcher as the first female Prime Minister of ...
May 12, 2009. Passed 339/64.
|
Missed Votes
From Jan 1989 to Jun 2017, Neal missed 1,008 of 18,118 roll call votes, which is 5.6%. This is much worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- Congress-Legislators, a community project collecting election 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
- GPO.gov/FDSys, for sponsored bills