# Buddy Carter (GA-01) — Legislator Fact Sheet · The GA Files > How Buddy Carter voted on the most consequential federal legislation, with campaign-finance data from FEC filings. *Source: https://thegafiles.com/BuddyCarter.html · The GA Files (thegafiles.com)* --- Legislator Fact Sheet · Georgia's 1st Congressional District # Buddy Carter Party Republican In Office 2015 – present Seat GA-01 Key Votes Recorded 12 of 12 HRC Equality Score3 / 100 Buddy Carter, a pharmacist from Pooler, has represented Georgia's 1st District — Savannah and the coast — since 2015. He is running for U.S. Senate in 2026 rather than seeking re-election to the House; the scorecard below covers his House record. 12 / 12Carter has a recorded position on all twelve scorecard votes below. **HRC Equality Score: 3/100 (118th Congress).** An external rating from the [Human Rights Campaign](https://www.hrc.org/resources/congressional-scorecard), an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, scoring members 0–100 on support for LGBTQ+ equality based on key votes and bill cosponsorships in the 118th Congress (2023–24). Included for reference; it reflects HRC's positions, not this site's. **Methodology.** Every vote below is the member's actual recorded position, pulled directly from the official House Clerk roll-call XML and cross-checked against the published vote totals. Summaries are factual; framing is left to the reader. 01 ## One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 1 · 119th Congress YES Date House passage July 3, 2025 (218–214) Status Became law — Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025 Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **YES** — with nearly all Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans The largest safety-net rollback in recent memory — over $1 trillion cut from health programs and at least $120 billion from SNAP, with new Medicaid work requirements and higher ACA premiums. Supporters cast it as tax relief and spending restraint; opponents warned it would strain rural hospitals and nursing homes and raise costs for lower-income families. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025190) 02 ## Laken Riley Act S. 5 / H.R. 29 · 119th Congress YES Date House passage January 22, 2025 (263–156) Status Became law, signed January 29, 2025 Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **YES** — with nearly all Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans Requires DHS to detain undocumented people merely charged with or arrested for theft-related offenses — without a conviction — and lets states sue the federal government over immigration enforcement. Named for a Georgia nursing student killed in 2024, it drew bipartisan support, but immigrant-rights groups criticized the detention-without-conviction standard and due-process concerns. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202523) 03 ## Inflation Reduction Act H.R. 5376 · 117th Congress NO Date House passage August 12, 2022 (220–207) Status Became law, signed August 16, 2022 Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **NO** — with nearly all Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans Let Medicare negotiate prescription-drug prices, capped insulin at $35/month for Medicare enrollees, extended ACA premium subsidies, and funded clean-energy investment — direct savings for lower- and middle-income households and seniors, paid for partly with a corporate minimum tax. It passed on party lines. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5376) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022420) 04 ## Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act H.R. 3684 · 117th Congress NO Date House passage November 5, 2021 (228–206) Status Became law, signed November 15, 2021 Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **NO** — with nearly all Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans Funds roads, bridges, broadband, and water-system replacement, with Georgia set to receive billions for roads, ports, airports, water systems, and broadband access. One of the few major bipartisan infrastructure laws of the era. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3684) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2021369) 05 ## American Rescue Plan Act H.R. 1319 · 117th Congress NO Date House passage March 10, 2021 (220–211) Status Became law, signed March 11, 2021 Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **NO** — with nearly all Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans A $1.9 trillion COVID-relief package: $1,400 stimulus checks, expanded unemployment benefits, and a one-year Child Tax Credit expansion credited with helping cut child poverty nearly in half in 2021. Supporters credited it with speeding the recovery; critics argued it fueled inflation. It passed on party lines. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1319) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202172) 06 ## Bipartisan Safer Communities Act S. 2938 · 117th Congress NO Date House passage June 24, 2022 (234–193) Status Became law, signed June 25, 2022 Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **NO** — with nearly all Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans The first major federal gun-safety law in nearly 30 years: enhanced background checks for buyers under 21, funding for state red-flag laws, closure of the “boyfriend loophole,” and new mental-health and school-safety money. Passed weeks after the Uvalde school shooting with bipartisan support. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2938) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022299) 07 ## Respect for Marriage Act H.R. 8404 · 117th Congress NO Date House passage December 8, 2022 (258–169) Status Became law, signed December 13, 2022 Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **NO** — with 169 of 208 Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans Codified federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages, requiring states to honor marriages performed where they were legal. A response to concerns that the Supreme Court might revisit marriage rights; it passed with bipartisan support. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/8404) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022513) 08 ## CHIPS & Science Act H.R. 4346 · 117th Congress NO Date House passage July 28, 2022 (243–187) Status Became law, signed August 9, 2022 Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **NO** — with 187 of 211 Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans Subsidized domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research to cut reliance on foreign chips and ease the supply-chain shocks that drove up prices on cars and electronics — including roughly $75 million directed to strengthen chip production in Georgia. Passed with bipartisan support. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4346) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022404) 09 ## Honoring our PACT Act S. 3373 · 117th Congress YES Date House passage July 13, 2022 (342–88) Status Became law, signed August 10, 2022 Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **YES** — with 123 of 211 Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans Expanded VA health care and benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits and other hazards during their service — one of the largest expansions of veterans’ benefits in decades. Passed with broad bipartisan majorities. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/3373) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2022309) 10 ## Tax Cuts and Jobs Act H.R. 1 · 115th Congress YES Date House passage December 20, 2017 (224–201) Status Became law, signed December 22, 2017 Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **YES** — with nearly all Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans Cut the corporate tax rate permanently and individual rates temporarily, doubled the standard deduction, and capped the state-and-local-tax (SALT) deduction. The largest tax overhaul in a generation; supporters cited growth and simpler filing, while critics noted the largest benefits flowed to corporations and higher earners and that it added to the deficit. It passed on party lines. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2017699) 11 ## American Health Care Act H.R. 1628 · 115th Congress YES Date House passage May 4, 2017 (217–213) Status Passed House; failed in the Senate — did not become law Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **YES** — with nearly all Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans The principal effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act — rolling back the Medicaid expansion, restructuring subsidies, and weakening protections tied to pre-existing conditions. The Congressional Budget Office estimated tens of millions would lose coverage. It passed the House but failed in the Senate. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1628) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2017256) 12 ## For the People Act H.R. 1 · 117th Congress NO Date House passage March 3, 2021 (220–210) Status Passed House; stalled in the Senate — did not become law Buddy Carter's Vote Voted **NO** — with nearly all Republicans. ### Impact on Everyday Americans A sweeping elections-and-ethics overhaul — automatic and same-day voter registration, expanded mail and early voting, nonpartisan redistricting, new campaign-finance disclosure, and tighter conflict-of-interest rules. Supporters called it the most significant voting-rights expansion in decades; opponents called it federal overreach into state-run elections. It passed the House but stalled in the Senate. #### Sources - [Congress.gov — bill text, summary & status](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1) - [Official House roll-call record](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202162) Constituent Access ## Town Halls Open public forums with constituents · review period 2015–2026 **The finding is the absence of open in-person forums.** Per local reporting, Carter has not held an in-person town hall in his coastal district since 2018. In spring 2025, as constituents pressed for face-to-face access, he used a screened telephone town hall instead and declined an invitation to a public forum — which organizers held with an empty chair in his place. Carter is now running for U.S. Senate in 2026. ## Documented Record - **2018 — last known in-person town hall.** According to media searches cited by The Current, Carter has not held an open in-person town hall in Coastal Georgia since 2018. An earlier February 2017 forum in Savannah drew an overflow crowd, with hundreds left outside. - **March 24, 2025 — telephone town hall.** Held from Washington, the roughly 50-minute call fielded 11 pre-screened questions; one screened-out caller said he waited 20 minutes before his question was rejected. Carter called the format “efficient” and said in-person events “can get out of control,” adding that police had asked him not to hold them again. - **April 14, 2025 — “empty chair” town hall, Savannah.** Coastal Georgia for Democracy invited Carter; he declined, and the group held the forum with an empty chair representing him before a near-full house, taking questions on health care, immigration, LGBTQ rights, and DOGE cuts. ## Carter's Response Carter has defended his approach, saying his office communicates “as well as any office in Congress” and that the telephone format reaches “so many more people.” He pointed to past in-person town halls that “ended poorly” and said police had asked him not to hold them again. Verified against The Current and WTOC (2025). The 2018 cutoff reflects local media searches; constituents with records of a more recent open in-person forum are encouraged to submit a correction via the contact link. ## Sources - [The Current — Carter holds telephone town hall amid unease (Mar 24, 2025)](https://thecurrentga.org/2025/03/24/amid-growing-unease-in-his-backyard-u-s-rep-buddy-carter-holds-telephone-town-hall/) - [WTOC — Local group hosts “empty chair” town hall (Apr 15, 2025)](https://www.wtoc.com/2025/04/15/local-group-hosts-empty-chair-town-hall/) - [WTOC — Savannah protesters question Carter's policies (Mar 13, 2025)](https://www.wtoc.com/2025/03/13/who-are-you-representing-savannah-protesters-question-buddy-carters-policies/) Campaign Finance ## Campaign Finance 2025–26 cycle · Federal Election Commission Raised$6.8M Spent$8.1M Cash on Hand$1.7M Carter has loaned his Senate campaign **$3 million** of his own money. His committee receipts are led by his joint fundraising committee and pharmacy-industry PACs — pharmacists, Cardinal Health, AstraZeneca — reflecting his career as a pharmacist. Pinned — AIPAC Money $9 this cycle Direct contributions from AIPAC's PAC plus donor money bundled ("earmarked") through AIPAC and forwarded to the campaign — totaled from [AIPAC's own FEC disbursement filings](https://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?committee_id=C00797670&recipient_name=C00543967), 2025–26 cycle. ## Top PAC & Committee Contributors | # | Contributor | Amount | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Team Buddy (joint fundraising) | $610,818 | | 2 | Continuing America's Strength & Security PAC | $15,000 | | 3 | American Pharmacists Assn PAC | $10,000 | | 4 | American Optometric Assn PAC | $10,000 | | 5 | Cardinal Health PAC | $10,000 | | 6 | AstraZeneca PAC | $5,000 | | 7 | Weyerhaeuser PAC | $5,000 | | 8 | US Peanut PAC | $5,000 | | 9 | UPS PAC | $5,000 | | 10 | Troutman Pepper Locke LLP PAC | $5,000 | Source: Federal Election Commission, 2025–26 cycle. Direct PAC contributions and committee transfers only — individual donors, earmarked conduit pass-throughs, refunds, and loans are excluded. Figures auto-pulled from FEC filings. ## Sources - [FEC — candidate profile & filings](https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S6GA00374/) ## Verification Resources - [House Clerk roll-call votes](https://clerk.house.gov/Votes) - [Buddy Carter — Congressional Biographical Directory](https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/C001103) - [FEC — campaign finance filings](https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S6GA00374/) Vote positions are taken from official roll-call records, not secondhand summaries. Campaign-finance figures are drawn directly from the candidate's FEC filings for the 2025–26 cycle. [← All Legislators](https://thegafiles.com/legislators.html)