DelBene is the representative for Washington’s 1st congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. She has served since Nov 13, 2012. DelBene is next up for reelection in 2024 and serves until Jan 3, 2025. She is 61 years old.
![Photo of Rep. Suzan DelBene [D-WA1]](/static/legislator-photos/412505-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2022 Report Card for DelBene.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
DelBene 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 DelBene has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to Mar 27, 2023. See full analysis methodology.
Committee Membership
Suzan DelBene sits on the following committees:
Enacted Legislation
DelBene was the primary sponsor of 8 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 8982 (117th): Bulk Infant Formula to Retail Shelves Act
- H.R. 8810 (116th): National Landslide Preparedness Act
- H.R. 5368 (116th): Faster Access to Federal Student Aid Act of 2019
- H.R. 1261 (116th): National Landslide Preparedness Act
- H.R. 1916 (116th): Save Community Newspaper Act of 2019
- H.R. 1380 (115th): Timber Innovation Act of 2017
- H.R. 1103 (115th): Child Abuse Accountability Enhancement Act
Does 8 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
DelBene sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (22%) Taxation (22%) Foreign Trade and International Finance (18%) Labor and Employment (12%) Science, Technology, Communications (10%) Commerce (8%) Armed Forces and National Security (6%) Emergency Management (4%)
Recently Introduced Bills
DelBene recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 1119: Freedom to Invest in a Sustainable Future Act
- H.R. 904: IoT Readiness Act of 2023
- H.R. 9656 (117th): Email Privacy Act
- H.R. 9501 (117th): Developing Alternative Mitigation Systems for Beavers Act
- H.R. 9300 (117th): Preventing Unnecessary Deaths During Life-Threatening Events Act
- H.R. 9208 (117th): Manufacturing Jobs for Veterans Act of 2022
- H.R. 8982 (117th): Bulk Infant Formula to Retail Shelves Act
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Nov 2012 to Mar 2023, DelBene missed 25 of 5,912 roll call votes, which is 0.4%. This is better than the median of 1.6% 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
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
