Rep. Dan Benishek
Former Representative for Michigan’s 1st District
Benishek was the representative for Michigan’s 1st congressional district and was a Republican. He served from 2011 to 2016.
![Photo of Rep. Dan Benishek [R-MI1, 2011-2016]](/static/legislator-photos/412436-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2016 Report Card for Benishek.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Benishek is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2016 positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills legislators sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 5, 2011 to Dec 30, 2016. See full analysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Benishek was the primary sponsor of 4 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 2223 (113th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 220 Elm Avenue in Munising, Michigan, as the “Elizabeth L. Kinnunen Post Office Building”.
- H.R. 163 (113th): Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Conservation and Recreation Act
- H.R. 1171 (113th): FOR VETS Act of 2013
- H.R. 3411 (112th): To modify a land grant patent issued by the Secretary of the Interior.
Does 4 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Benishek sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Armed Forces and National Security (32%) Native Americans (20%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (18%) Government Operations and Politics (12%) Foreign Trade and International Finance (12%) Health (5%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Benishek recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 5228 (114th): To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Traverse …
- H.R. 3848 (114th): Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Reaffirmation Act
- H.R. 3673 (114th): To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require the Secretary …
- H.Res. 381 (114th): To refer H.R. 3133, a bill making congressional reference to the United …
- H.Res. 376 (114th): To refer H.R. 3133, a bill making congressional reference to the United …
- H.R. 3133 (114th): Relating to certain Indian land-related takings claims of the Grand Traverse Band …
- H.R. 2464 (114th): Demanding Accountability for Veterans Act of 2015
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2011 to Dec 2016, Benishek missed 52 of 4,135 roll call votes, which is 1.3%. This is better than the median of 2.4% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Dec 2016. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
