Former member of Congress · last served 111th Congress
Jim Bunning
Jim Bunning was a Republican U.S. senator from Kentucky, first elected to Congress in 1987, who sponsored 6 bills that became law (100th–111th 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.
Recent votes
No recorded roll-call votes in PORKER’s records. Roll-call records start in 2011.
5 most recent bills
- S. 4002 A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to issue expeditiously special use permits regarding the use of houseboats on Laurel Lake in the Daniel Boone…Dec 2, 2010 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
- S. 3933 Electricity Reliability Protection Act of 2010Sep 29, 2010 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- S.Res. 653 A resolution designating October 30, 2010, as a national day of remembrance for nuclear weapons program workers.Sep 28, 2010 · Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7666-7669; text as passed…
- S. 3094 A bill to allow individuals to elect to opt out of the Medicare part A benefits.Mar 9, 2010 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- S. 2916 A bill to provide that Internal Revenue Service Notice 2010-2 shall have no force and effect and to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to restrict the…Dec 18, 2009 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text of measure as introduced: CR S13462)
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 2778 (104th) To provide that members of the Armed Forces performing services for the peacekeeping effort in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be entitled to…Became law
- S. 2238 (108th) Bunning-Bereuter-Blumenaur Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004Became law
- S. 524 (108th) Fort Donelson National Battlefield Expansion Act of 2004Became law
- H.R. 2841 (105th) To extend the time required for the construction of a hydroelectric project.Became law
- H.R. 3238 (100th) A bill for the relief of Maria Linda Sy Gonzalez.Became law
- S. 1768 (108th) National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2004Became law
- H.R. 2684 (104th) Senior Citizens' Right to Work Act of 1995Passed a chamber
- H.R. 3433 (105th) Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Act of 1998Passed a chamber
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Sen. Bunning has won
Sen. Bunning has won 6 U.S. House elections (1986–1996) and 2 U.S. Senate elections (1998, 2004). Of the contested races, margins ran from 0.6 to 48.4 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 Kentucky done while Sen. Bunning served?
2005 to 2010 in Kentucky: typical household income was down 4% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 2.2 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 3.6 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. Oxblood = state, grey = U.S.
While they served, not because of them. This shows what happened in Kentucky during Bunning’s time representing it (1999 to 2011). It does not say what the member did or caused. It is not a score, and PORKER never ranks members on it.
Survey years start at 2005. The yearly estimates for Kentucky begin in 2005, so 1999 to 2004 are not shown. No 2020 yearly estimate exists.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
111th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 35 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 35 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| 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 111th 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 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.