Former member of Congress · last served 112th Congress
Leonard L. Boswell
Leonard Boswell was a Democratic U.S. representative from Iowa, first elected to Congress in 1997, who voted with most Democrats on 83% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 3 bills that became law (105th–112th Congress).
How we count: “Broke with party” is a yes/no roll call where the member voted against most of their own party on that vote (party as recorded; even splits not counted). “Pork: own share” splits each earmark shared by several members evenly among them.
5 most recent votes
- YeaOn Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Agreeing to the Resolution — Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 8) to extend certain tax relief provisions enacted in 2001 and…Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — Drywall Safety Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — To provide for the conveyance of certain property from the United States to the Maniilaq Association located in Kotzebue, Alaska.Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- YeaOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass — Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility ActJan 1, 2013 · Passed
5 most recent bills
- H.R. 5836 Veterans and Service Members Educational Benefits Safety ActSep 26, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
- H.R. 5834 National Education for Service Heritage ActSep 26, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
- H.Res. 782 Supporting the goals and ideals of National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month.Sep 14, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- H.R. 4869 Armed Forces Breast Cancer Research Act of 2012Jul 10, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
- H.R. 5835 Veterans Access to Capital Act of 2012May 18, 2012 · Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 327 (110th) Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention ActBecame law
- H.R. 3386 (111th) To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1165 2nd Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa, as the "Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Memorial…Became law
- H.R. 1045 (110th) To designate the Federal building located at 210 Walnut Street in Des Moines, Iowa, as the "Neal Smith Federal Building".Became law
- H.Res. 684 (110th) Congratulating Shawn Johnson on her victory in becoming the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Champion in women's gymnastics.Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 739 (111th) Honoring the life and achievements of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug for his many contributions to alleviating world hunger.Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 42 (105th) Designating minority membership to certain standing committees of the House.Passed a chamber
- H.R. 5771 (109th) Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act209 cosponsors
- H.R. 4204 (110th) Veterans Suicide Study Act67 cosponsors
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Boswell has won
Rep. Boswell has won 8 U.S. House elections (1996–2010). Of the contested races, margins ran from 1.7 to 29.1 points.
Full election history for this seat →
Source: MIT Election Data and Science Lab, U.S. House V15 / U.S. Senate V8 (CC0), retrieved 2026-10-18; winners matched to member records by seat and term. Results run through the 2024 elections; nothing from 2026 is shown until it is certified. A margin is a fact about one election, never a score of how well a member represents anyone, and PORKER does not rank members by it.
How has Iowa’s 3rd district done while Rep. Boswell served?
2005 to 2011 in IA-3: typical household income was down 7% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 4.7 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 1.9 points.
Each mini chart has its own scale, fitted to its lines (it does not start at zero), so compare the numbers, not the heights. Teal = district, oxblood = state, grey = U.S.
While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Iowa’s 3rd district during Boswell’s time representing it (1997 to 2013). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.
Only one set of district lines is shown. IA-3 was redrawn in 2012 and again in 2022, and a redrawn district is a different place. So this card shows only the longest stretch on the same lines during the term, 2005 to 2011 (no 2020 yearly estimate), not the full 1997 to 2013.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
112th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 18 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 18 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a sponsor’s constitutional-authority statement | 14 | See the 14 → |
| With a CBO cost estimate listed | 0 | None listed |
| With a committee report listed | 0 | None listed |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 112th Congress, read from the stored Congress.gov bill records
- Fields
- cboCostEstimates, committeeReports, constitutionalAuthorityStatementText, notes
- PORKER copy refreshed
- October 26, 2026 (nightly)
Read this first. These are counts of records Congress.gov lists. Many bills never get a CBO estimate or a report, so a zero is not a mark against a member. We never show this as a score.
Data as of Oct 26, 2026 · latest recorded House vote Sep 16, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.