Former member of Congress · last served 113th Congress
Thomas E. Petri
Tom Petri was a Republican U.S. representative from Wisconsin, first elected to Congress in 1979, who voted with most Republicans on 91% 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. 5638 To allow railroad employees to remain on duty as necessary to clear a blockage of vehicular traffic at grade crossings.Sep 19, 2014 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
- H.Con.Res. 112 Providing for a conditional adjournment of the House of Representatives and a conditional recess or adjournment of the Senate.Aug 5, 2014 · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- H.R. 4834 GROW AMERICA ActJul 15, 2014 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Research and Technology.
- H.R. 4436 Investing in Student Success Act of 2014Jun 13, 2014 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
- H.R. 3505 TEACH ActJan 22, 2014 · Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
Top bills sponsored
- H.R. 4219 (108th) Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2004, Part IIBecame law
- H.J.Res. 110 (103rd) To authorize the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct appropriate programs and activities to acknowledge the status of the county…Became law
- H.R. 2353 (113th) To amend title 23, United States Code, with respect to the operation of vehicles on certain Wisconsin highways, and for other purposes.Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 1142 (111th) Congratulating Silver Lake College for 75 years of service as an undergraduate institution of higher education.Passed a chamber
- H.Res. 373 (106th) Providing for the appointment of the Reverend James Ford as Chaplain emeritus of the House of Representatives.Passed a chamber
- H.R. 490 (108th) Instructional Materials Accessibility Act of 2003112 cosponsors
- H.R. 2336 (102nd) Income-Dependent Education Assistance Act of 199189 cosponsors
- H.R. 4582 (107th) Instructional Materials Accessibility Act of 200288 cosponsors
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Rep. Petri has won
Rep. Petri has won 17 U.S. House elections (1980–2012). Of the contested races, margins ran from 5.7 to 93.3 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 Wisconsin’s 6th district done while Rep. Petri served?
2005 to 2011 in WI-6: typical household income was down 7% 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 0.9 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 Wisconsin’s 6th district during Petri’s time representing it (1979 to 2015). 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. WI-6 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 1979 to 2015.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
113th 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 | 16 | See the 16 → |
| With a CBO cost estimate listed | 0 | None listed |
| With a committee report listed | 1 | See the 1 → |
| With a Congress.gov note | 1 | See the 1 → |
Evidence
- How counted
- Bills where this member is the lead (first-listed) sponsor in the 113th 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.