Shelby is the senior senator from Alabama and is a Republican (1994-), previously a Democrat (1987-1994). He has served since Jan 6, 1987. Shelby is next up for reelection in 2022 and serves until Jan 3, 2023.
He was previously the representative for Alabama’s 7th congressional district as a Democrat from 1979 to 1986.
![Photo of Sen. Richard Shelby [R-AL]](/static/legislator-photos/300089-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2019 Report Card for Shelby.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Richard Shelby sits on the following committees:
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Senate Committee on Appropriations
Chair
- Department of Defense subcommittee Chair
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Department of Homeland Security, Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies subcommittees - Joint Committee on the Library
- Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
Enacted Legislation
Shelby was the primary sponsor of 29 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- S. 2474: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2020
- S. 1900: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act, 2019
- S. 3159 (115th): Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2019
- S. 1662 (115th): Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018
- S. 186 (113th): A bill to award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of ...
- S. 3850 (109th): Credit Rating Agency Reform Act of 2006
- S. 2275 (109th): National Flood Insurance Program Enhanced Borrowing Authority Act of 2006
Does 29 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
Shelby sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Economics and Public Finance (57%) Sports and Recreation (14%) Taxation (14%) Armed Forces and National Security (14%)
Recent Bills
Some of Shelby’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- S. 4320: Coronavirus Response Additional Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020
- S. 3363: Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area Act
- S.Res. 456: A resolution recognizing and celebrating the 200th anniversary of the entry of Alabama ...
- S. 2474: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2020
- S. 1900: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act, ...
- S.J.Res. 19: A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States ...
- S. 1145: Simplified, Manageable, And Responsible Tax Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1987 to Oct 2020, Shelby missed 207 of 11,116 roll call votes, which is 1.9%. This is on par with the median of 1.9% among the lifetime records of senators 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
