Former member of Congress · last served 117th Congress
Richard C. Shelby
Richard Shelby was a Republican U.S. senator from Alabama, first elected to Congress in 1979, who voted with most Republicans on 89% 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 Passage of the Bill — American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012Jan 1, 2013 · Bill Passed
- NayOn the Nomination — Nomination voteDec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
- NayOn the Nomination — Nomination voteDec 30, 2012 · Nomination Confirmed
- YeaOn Passage of the Bill — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013Dec 28, 2012 · Bill Passed
- YeaOn the Amendment — Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013Dec 28, 2012 · Amendment Rejected
5 most recent bills
- S. 3443 MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians Recognition ActMar 23, 2022 · Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 117-360.
- S.Res. 471 A resolution commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Alabama Farmers Federation and celebrating the long history of the Alabama Farmers Federation serving…Jan 20, 2022 · Resolution agreed to in Senate without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S386; text: 12/07/2021 CR S8964)
- S. 1643 Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area ActOct 6, 2021 · Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 117-450.
- S. 2789 Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance ActSep 22, 2021 · Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 135.
- S. 2312 A bill making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, and for other purposes.Jul 12, 2021 · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Top bills sponsored
- S.J.Res. 304 (101st) A joint resolution to designate October 17, 1990, as "National Drug-Free Schools and Communities Education and Awareness Day".Became law
- S.J.Res. 322 (100th) A joint resolution to designate the week of September 23-30, 1988, as "National American Indian Heritage Week".Became law
- S.J.Res. 303 (100th) A joint resolution to designate the month of October, 1988 as "National Lupus Awareness Month."Became law
- S. 1198 (106th) Truth in Regulating Act of 2000Became law
- S. 1002 (102nd) Child Support Recovery Act of 1992Became law
- S. 1298 (105th) A bill to designate a Federal building located in Florence, Alabama, as the "Justice John McKinley Federal Building".Became law
- S. 1883 (105th) Marion National Fish Hatchery and Claude Harris National Aquacultural Research Center Conveyance ActBecame law
- S. 1447 (100th) A bill to designate Morgan and Lawrence Counties in Alabama as a single metropolitan statical area.Became law
Laws first, then bills that passed a chamber, were reported from committee, or drew the most cosponsors.
Elections Sen. Shelby has won
Sen. Shelby has won 4 U.S. House elections (1978–1984) and 6 U.S. Senate elections (1986, 1992, 1998, 2004, 2010, 2016). Of the contested races, margins ran from 0.6 to 93.7 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 Alabama done while Sen. Shelby served?
2005 to 2022 in Alabama: typical household income was up 7% after inflation, the share of people below the poverty line was down 0.8 points, and the share of workers looking for a job was down 2.8 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 Alabama during Shelby’s time representing it (1987 to 2023). 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 Alabama begin in 2005, so 1987 to 2004 are not shown. No 2020 yearly estimate exists.
Official records on bills this member sponsored
117th Congress. What Congress.gov lists for the 8 bills sponsored.
| Record | Bills | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bills sponsored | 8 | 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 117th 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 Senate vote Sep 30, 2026 · Sources: Congress.gov, Senate.gov, House Clerk, Appropriations Committee earmark tables. PORKER is non-partisan.