Brooks was the representative for Indiana’s 5th congressional district and was a Republican. She served from 2013 to 2020.
![Photo of Rep. Susan Brooks [R-IN5, 2013-2020]](/static/legislator-photos/412539-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2020 Report Card for Brooks.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Brooks is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2020 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 Brooks sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Dec 28, 2020. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Enacted Legislation
Brooks was the primary sponsor of 10 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 1733 (115th): To direct the Secretary of Energy to review and update a report on the energy and environmental benefits of the re-refining of used lubricating oil.
- H.R. 4847 (115th): Broadband Deployment Streamlining Act
- H.R. 2228 (115th): Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017
- H.R. 5509 (114th): To name the Department of Veterans Affairs temporary lodging facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, as the “Dr. Otis Bowen Veteran House”.
- H.R. 623 (114th): DHS Social Media Improvement Act of 2015
- H.R. 3681 (114th): Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act
- H.R. 3242 (114th): Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015
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
Brooks sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (45%) Crime and Law Enforcement (15%) Armed Forces and National Security (15%) Energy (6%) Science, Technology, Communications (6%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (6%) Commerce (6%)
Recent Bills
Some of Brooks’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 7441 (116th): Hire Veteran Health Heroes Act of 2020
- H.R. 7334 (116th): Broadband Deployment Streamlining Act
- H.R. 6517 (116th): Stockpile Inventory Modernization Act of 2020
- H.R. 6516 (116th): Stockpiling for America’s Future Endeavors Act of 2020
- H.Res. 726 (116th): Expressing support for the goals of Stomach Cancer Awareness Month.
- H.R. 2786 (116th): Jake Laird Act of 2019
- H.R. 1390 (116th): Mobile Health Record Act of 2019
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2013 to Dec 2020, Brooks missed 94 of 4,693 roll call votes, which is 2.0%. This is on par with the median of 2.3% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Dec 2020. 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
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
