Former member of Congress · last served 104th Congress
J. Bennett Johnston
John Johnston was a Democratic U.S. senator from Louisiana, first elected to Congress in 1971, who sponsored 24 bills that became law (100th–104th 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. 1874 Department of Energy Standardization Act of 1996Sep 28, 1996 · Held at the desk.
- S. 389 A bill for the relief of Nguyen Quy An and his daughter, Nguyen Ngoc Kim Quy.Sep 19, 1996 · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 623.
- S. 2033 DOE Reports Elimination and Streamlining Act of 1996Sep 13, 1996 · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 594.
- S. 2014 A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire property adjacent to the city of New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, for inclusion in the…Aug 1, 1996 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- S. 1852 Department of Energy Class Action Lawsuit ActJun 19, 1996 · Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Committee consideration and Mark Up Session held.
Top bills sponsored
- S. 83 (100th) National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987Became law
- S.J.Res. 353 (101st) A joint resolution to designate September of 1991 as "National Rice Month".Became law
- S. 769 (100th) Excellence in Minority Health Education and Care ActBecame law
- S. 958 (100th) A bill to dedicate the North Cascades National Park to Senator Henry M. Jackson.Became law
- S. 433 (103rd) A bill to authorize and direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain lands in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and for other purposes.Became law
- S. 983 (103rd) El Camino Real Para Los Texas Study Act of 1993Became law
- S. 2088 (101st) Energy Policy and Conservation Act Amendments of 1990Became law
- S. 2437 (101st) Minnesota Public Lands Improvement Act of 1990Became law
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Sen. Johnston has won
Sen. Johnston has won 3 U.S. Senate elections (1978, 1984, 1990). Every one was unopposed, so there are no margins to show.
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.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
104th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 16 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 16 | 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 | 2 | See the 2 → |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 104th 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.