Former member of Congress · last served 114th Congress
J. Randy Forbes
J. Forbes was a Republican U.S. representative from Virginia, first elected to Congress in 2001, who voted with most Republicans on 95% of the 112th Congress’s yes/no votes.
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
- NayOn 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. 5428 Military Residency Choice ActNov 14, 2016 · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 640.
- H.R. 5203 Visa Integrity and Security Act of 2016May 25, 2016 · Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 14 - 10.
- H.R. 5034 To nullify any generalized, routine or ongoing reporting requirement imposed on a person licensed under section 923 of title 18, United States Code, that is…May 17, 2016 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
- H.R. 1621 To modify the boundary of Petersburg National Battlefield in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and for other purposes.May 11, 2016 · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 436.
- H.Res. 709 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Iran, by failing to adhere to international maritime law, ignoring United Nations resolutions, and…Apr 28, 2016 · Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 2910 (107th) To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3131 South Crater Road in Petersburg, Virginia, as the "Norman Sisisky Post Office…Became law
- H.Con.Res. 13 (112th) Reaffirming "In God We Trust" as the official motto of the United States and supporting and encouraging the public display of the national motto in all public…Passed a chamber
- H.R. 1279 (109th) Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 487 (110th) Recognizing the contribution of modeling and simulation technology to the security and prosperity of the United States, and recognizing modeling and…Passed a chamber
- H.R. 3388 (111th) Petersburg National Battlefield Boundary Modification ActPassed a chamber
- H.Res. 608 (108th) Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Defense should rectify deficiencies in the military postal system to ensure that…Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 287 (107th) Honoring the continuing service and commitment of the members of the National Guard and Reserve units activated in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 182 (110th) Commending and congratulating Virginia State University on the occasion of its 125th anniversary.Passed a chamber
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Forbes has won
Rep. Forbes has won 7 U.S. House elections (2002–2014). Of the contested races, margins ran from 14.0 to 52.7 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 Virginia’s 4th district done while Rep. Forbes served?
2005 to 2011 in VA-4: typical household income was down 8% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was up 1.5 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was up 3.1 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 Virginia’s 4th district during Forbes’s time representing it (2001 to 2017). 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. VA-4 was redrawn in 2012, 2016 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 2001 to 2017.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
114th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 13 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 13 | Source: Congress.gov member record, PORKER copy of October 26, 2026 ↗ See them → |
| With a sponsor’s constitutional-authority statement | 10 | See the 10 → |
| With a CBO cost estimate listed | 2 | See the 2 → |
| With a committee report listed | 2 | See the 2 → |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 114th 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.