![Photo of Rep. Terri Sewell [D-AL7]](/data/photos/412396-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2016 Report Card for Sewell.
Sponsorship Analysis
Our unique analysis of the bills Sewell has sponsored and cosponsored provides insight into her 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). Sewell is shown as a purple triangle. (analysis methodology)
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Terri Sewell sits on the following committees:
-
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
- Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Department of Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture
- Member, Subcommittee on National Security Agency and Cybersecurity
-
House Committee on Ways and Means
- Member, Subcommittee on Health
- Member, Subcommittee on Human Resources
Enacted Legislation
Sewell was the primary sponsor of 3 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 4777 (114th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1301 Alabama Avenue in Selma, Alabama as the “Amelia Boynton Robinson Post Office Building”.
- H.R. 431 (114th): To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Foot Soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March in ...
- H.R. 360 (113th): To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley to commemorate the lives they lost 50 years ago ...
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
Sewell sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Taxation (47%) Government Operations and Politics (27%) Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues (13%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (13%)
Recent Bills
Some of Sewell’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 3849: Extension of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act
- H.R. 3622: E-Security Fellows Act
- H.R. 3623: Securing and Heightening the Integrity of our Elections and Lawful Democracy Act
- H.R. 2978: Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2017
- H.R. 1190: Workforce Development Tax Credit Act of 2017
- H.R. 929: Small Business Start-up Savings Accounts Act of 2017
- H.R. 5783 (114th): Small Business Start-up Savings Accounts Act of 2016
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Sewell’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| No |
S. 612: A bill to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 1300 Victoria Street in Laredo, Texas, as the “George P. Kazen Federal Building ...
Dec 8, 2016. Passed 360/61.
|
| Yea |
H.R. 511: Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act of 2015
Nov 17, 2015. Passed 249/177.
|
| Aye |
H.R. 3038: Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015, Part II
Jul 15, 2015. Passed 312/119.
|
| Aye |
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. ... |
| Yea |
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.
|
| No |
H.R. 10 (113th): Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act
May 9, 2014. Passed 360/45.
|
| Aye |
H.R. 6233 (112th): Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2012
Aug 2, 2012. Passed 223/197.
|
| No |
H.R. 2218 (112th): Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act
Sep 13, 2011. Passed 365/54.
|
| 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 ... |
Missed Votes
From Jan 2011 to Oct 2017, Sewell missed 173 of 4,703 roll call votes, which is 3.7%. This is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. ProPublica has tracked 19 explanations for these missed votes. 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
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GPO.gov/FDSys, for sponsored bills
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