Rep. Terri Sewell
Representative for Alabama’s 7th District
pronounced TEH-ree // SOO-ul
![Photo of Rep. Terri Sewell [D-AL7]](/static/legislator-photos/412396-200px.jpeg)
Earmarks
Sewell proposed $51 million in earmarks for fiscal year 2024, including:
- $18 million to Mobile District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for “SELMA FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT AND BANK STABILIZATION, AL”
- $5 million to Hale County Healthcare Authority for “Hale County Healthcare Authority Emergency Department”
- $4 million to The Town of Pennington for “The Town of Pennington Multi-Purpose Facility Project”
View all requests and justifications on Sewell’s website »
View analysis and download spreadsheet from Demand Progress Education Fund »
These are earmark requests which may or may not survive the legislative process to becoming law. Most representatives from both parties requested earmarks for fiscal year 2024. Across representatives who requested earmarks, the median total amount requested for this fiscal year was $39 million.
Earmarks are federal expenditures, tax benefits, or tariff benefits requested by a legislator for a specific entity. Rather than being distributed through a formula or competitive process administered by the executive branch, earmarks may direct spending where it is most needed for the legislator's district. All earmark requests in the House of Representatives are published online for the public to review. We don’t have earmark requests for senators. The fiscal year begins on October 1 of the prior calendar year. Source: Appropriations.house.gov. Background: Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2022 Report Card for Sewell.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Sewell 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 Sewell has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to Sep 26, 2023. See full analysis methodology.
Committee Membership
Terri Sewell sits on the following committees:
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House Committee on House Administration
- Elections subcommittee Ranking Member
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House Committee on Armed Services
Military Personnel subcommittees
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House Committee on Ways and Means
- Joint Committee on the Library
Enacted Legislation
Sewell was the primary sponsor of 6 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 5307 (116th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 115 Nicol Avenue in Thomasville, Alabama, as the “Postmaster Robert Ingram Post Office”.
- H.R. 991 (116th): Extension of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act
- H.R. 2147 (116th): RURAL Act of 2019
- 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 …
Does 6 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
Sewell sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Recently Introduced Bills
Sewell recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 14: John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2023
- H.R. 5159: Preserving Access to Home Health Act of 2023
- H.R. 5128: Preserving Access to Home Health Act of 2023
- H.R. 4813: Rural Health Training Opportunities Act
- H.R. 3882: Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act
- H.R. 3348: Maternal Vaccination Act
- H.R. 3201: For the relief of Cristina Martin.
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2011 to Sep 2023, Sewell missed 305 of 7,752 roll call votes, which is 3.9%. This is much worse than the median of 1.8% 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
