Legislator Record
Rep. Cooper, Jim [D-TN-5]
House • D • TN
Current Snapshot
Weighted from current tracked reform bills, sponsorship role strength, future-bill priority, and how far each bill has advanced.
Net Impact
13.44
Avg Bill Score
6.72
Tracked Bills
2
Direct Impact Bills
2
Overall Rank
#246 / 375
Lower Half • 35th percentile
Chamber Rank
#231 / 323
29th percentile in House
Party Rank
#244 / 336
28th percentile in D
Current snapshot uses tracked reform bills only. Scores weight primary sponsorship more than cosponsorship, increase with higher-priority future-bill matches, and give additional credit to bills that advanced beyond introduction.
Tracked Bill Roles
Bills this legislator is linked to as a sponsor or cosponsor in the currently loaded scorecard data.
Future Bill Positions
Future-bill concepts connected to this legislator through the linked tracked legislation.
Issue Area Focus
Where this legislator's currently tracked reform-bill activity is concentrated.
Criminal Justice
Highest linked priority: High
Education
Highest linked priority: High
Related Explainers
Explainers connected to this legislator through the future-bill concepts linked to their tracked activity.
Criminal Justice
Crime Statistics in Context: How the 13/50 Claim Is Used and Misused
The 13/50 claim is a common debate talking point that combines a population figure with a crime statistic in a way that often strips out context. Understanding what the numbers measure, what they do not measure, and how crime data are produced is essential for evaluating the claim accurately.
Economics
Government Benefits and the Racial Gap
A breakdown of how government assistance, subsidies, and wealth-building programs often benefited white Americans while excluding Black Americans.
Criminal Justice
Mass Incarceration in the United States: Policy vs. Outcome
Mass incarceration refers to the significant increase in the U.S. prison population over the past several decades. While often attributed solely to crime rates, policy decisions, sentencing laws, and enforcement practices played a major role in driving this growth.
Economic Opportunity
Pull Yourself Up by Your Bootstraps vs. Policy Reality
The phrase pull yourself up by your bootstraps is often used to argue that success depends only on individual effort. In practice, American economic mobility has always been shaped by law, public investment, land access, education policy, labor protections, and unequal access to government-backed opportunity.
Criminal Justice
Sentencing Disparities in the United States: Law, Enforcement, and Unequal Outcomes
Sentencing disparities in the United States refer to differences in punishment that can emerge across race, class, geography, and offense type. Although the law is often described as neutral, sentencing outcomes have frequently reflected unequal enforcement, policy design, and institutional discretion.
Economic Opportunity
The GI Bill: Opportunity, Access, and Unequal Outcomes
The GI Bill is often cited as one of the most successful government programs in U.S. history, helping millions of veterans access education, housing, and economic mobility. However, access to these benefits was not equal in practice, particularly for Black veterans.
Related Policies
Policy records reached through the explainers and future-bill concepts tied to this legislator.
First Step Act
2018 • Law • Republican Party
Contemporary Era
Fair Sentencing Act of 2010
2010 • Law • Democratic Party
Contemporary Era
Prison Litigation Reform Act
1996 • Law • Democratic Party
Contemporary Era
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
1994 • Law • Democratic Party
Contemporary Era
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988
1988 • Law • Republican Party
Contemporary Era
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986
1986 • Law • Republican Party
Contemporary Era
Fair Housing Act of 1968
1968 • Law • Democratic Party
Civil Rights Era
Higher Education Act
1965 • Law • Democratic Party
Civil Rights Era
Housing Act of 1949
1949 • Law • Democratic Party
Civil Rights Era
G.I. Bill (Servicemen's Readjustment Act)
1944 • Law • Democratic Party
Civil Rights Era
Fair Labor Standards Act
1938 • Law • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement
National Labor Relations Act
1935 • Law • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement
National Housing Act of 1934 (FHA Creation)
1934 • Law • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement
Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC)
1933 • Program • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement