Former member of Congress · last served 112th Congress
Barney Frank
Barney Frank was a Democratic U.S. representative from Massachusetts, first elected to Congress in 1981, who voted with most Democrats on 93% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes and sponsored 18 bills that became law (100th–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
- Not VotingOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Concur in the Senate Amendment — Drywall Safety Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Passed
- Not VotingOn 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
- Not VotingOn Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass — Congressional Pay Freeze and Fiscal Responsibility ActJan 1, 2013 · Passed
5 most recent bills
- H.Res. 193 Calling for the safe and immediate return of Noor and Ramsay Bower to the United States.Dec 31, 2012 · The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
- H.R. 6613 Markets and Trading Reorganization ActDec 20, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises.
- H.R. 6193 Religious Workers Visa ActAug 14, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.
- H.R. 6316 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from income and employment taxes real property tax abatements for seniors and disabled individuals in…Aug 2, 2012 · Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- H.R. 6145 New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Resources Assistance ActJul 24, 2012 · Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 3146 (100th) Charity Games Advertising Clarification Act of 1988Became law
- H.R. 5297 (111th) Small Business Jobs Act of 2010Became law
- H.R. 4612 (100th) Federal Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act of 1988Became law
- H.R. 5099 (111th) To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 15 South Main Street in Sharon, Massachusetts, as the "Michael C. Rothberg Post…Became law
- H.R. 5758 (111th) To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2 Government Center in Fall River, Massachusetts, as the "Sergeant Robert Barrett…Became law
- H.R. 1542 (109th) To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 695 Pleasant Street in New Bedford, Massachusetts, as the "Honorable Judge George N.…Became law
- H.R. 4525 (101st) Ethics in Government Act Amendment of 1990Became law
- H.R. 2152 (108th) To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend for an additional 5 years the special immigrant religious worker program.Became law
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Frank has won
Rep. Frank has won 16 U.S. House elections (1980–2010). Of the contested races, margins ran from 3.8 to 77.7 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 Massachusetts’s 4th district done while Rep. Frank served?
2005 to 2011 in MA-4: typical household income was down 5% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 1.6 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 2.5 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 Massachusetts’s 4th district during Frank’s time representing it (1981 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. MA-4 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 1981 to 2013.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
112th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 31 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 31 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a sponsor’s constitutional-authority statement | 30 | See the 30 → |
| 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.