[CAPTURE PORTAL] 119TH CONGRESS

// Legislative Integrity Monitor

Goblin House Intelligence

Gary J. Palmer

Republican · Representative, AL ·6

Score Components

16 MODERATE

Connection Density 20%

0 → 0

Donor Influence 10%

0 → 0

Silence Risk 25%

0 → 0

Contradiction Risk 25%

46 → 12

Intelligence Volume 10%

47 → 5

Constituency Deviation 5%

0 → 0

Voting Misalignment 5%

0 → 0

% = weight in composite score · Raw component 0–100 × weight = weighted contribution (→) · Sum of contributions = overall score. Hover a row for details.

[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: homeownership rate: 76.3%

secondary

[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: bachelor's degree or higher: 38.4% (2023 ACS estimate)

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: poverty rate: 7.0% (2023 ACS estimate)

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: median household income: $84,306 (2023 ACS estimate)

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[constituency_baseline] Ballot measure: Amendment 1 (2020) — Language change from 'every citizen' to 'only citizens' regarding voting qualifications (2020) — passed, margin 77.0% Yes to 23.0% No

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[constituency_baseline] Ballot measure: Alabama Constitution of 2022 (Recompilation removing racist language and reorganizing document) (2022) — passed, margin 76.6% Yes to 23.4% No

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 44-45 (share 0.14)

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 52 (share 0.065)

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 23 (share 0.07)

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 62 (share 0.185)

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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Brasfield & Gorrie (3500 employees)

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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Jefferson County Board of Education (4800 employees)

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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: AT&T (5750 employees)

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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Regions Financial Corporation (6000 employees)

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[constituency_baseline] Top employer: University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) (28000 employees)

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[constituency_baseline] District summary: Alabama's 6th Congressional District encompasses the southern suburbs of Birmingham and includes Shelby, Bibb, Chilton, and Coosa counties. With approximately 722,000 residents, it is a predominantly suburban and exurban district with a median household income of $84,306, well above the national median. The populatio

secondary

Voted yea_unverified on H.R. 1628 (American Health Care Act of 2017) on 2017-05-04: Palmer voted NO on AHCA in the Budget Committee markup (March 2017) but YES on final passage (May 2017). His explanation was that amendments addressed his Freedom Caucus concerns, but the reversal drew scrutiny from both constituents and health policy advocates.

inferential · 2017-05-04

Voted yea_unverified on H.R. 1 (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017) on 2017-12-19: Palmer's vote aligned with top donor sectors (securities & investment, real estate, insurance) that were major beneficiaries of the corporate tax cuts. His district's median income ($84,306) benefited less than high-income earners from the bill's structure.

inferential · 2017-12-19

Voted nay_unverified on H.R. 3746 (Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Debt Ceiling Deal)) on 2023-05-31: Palmer was the only elected GOP leadership member to vote against the debt ceiling deal negotiated by Speaker McCarthy, defecting from party leadership while 149 Republicans voted yes. As Republican Policy Committee chair, this was a high-profile defectio

inferential · 2023-05-31

Voted nay_unverified on H.R. 3684 (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) on 2021-11-05: Palmer voted against the bill but later trumpeted $369M for his district's Northern Beltline. Constituent interest (new jobs, highway completion) pulled opposite donor/ideological pressure against spending. Palmer represents a donor base heavy in general contractors and

inferential · 2021-11-05

No connections mapped

Bill	Vote	Date	Alignment
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Debt Ceiling Deal)	nay_unverified	2023-05-31	deviating
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act	nay_unverified	2021-11-05	mixed
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017	yea_unverified	2017-12-19	aligned
American Health Care Act of 2017	yea_unverified	2017-05-04	misaligned

Last contradiction analysis: Never

statement_vs_disclosure 90/100

Platform: "On November 5, 2021, Palmer voted against the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), calling it 'recklessly expensive' and say"

Vote: on "On November 15, 2021, Palmer issued a press release touting $369 million in funding for the Birmingh"

Palmer voted against the infrastructure bill as 'recklessly expensive' yet ten days later publicly touted funding he secured within that same bill, drawing national criticism for hypocrisy.

Last silence detection: Never

No active silences

No donor interests mapped

No constituency baseline modelled

No platform commitments archived

No committee memberships recorded

Scoring Methodology

The Capture Risk Score is a composite 0–100 index measuring potential regulatory capture of elected officials. It is computed from seven weighted components:

Component	Weight	Signal
Silence Risk	25%	Topics where donors have interests but the official is silent
Contradiction Risk	25%	Stated positions contradicted by voting record (recent findings boosted)
Connection Density	20%	Mapped relationships to lobbyists, contractors, interest groups
Intelligence Volume	10%	Documented facts from verified sources (logarithmic scale)
Donor Influence	10%	Distinct donors with interests overlapping committee jurisdiction
Constituency Deviation	5%	Gap between district priorities and legislative focus
Voting Misalignment	5%	Floor votes contradicting stated platform positions

Each component produces a raw score 0–100. The weighted sum yields the overall score. Tier thresholds: Critical ≥ 45, High ≥ 36, Elevated ≥ 22, Moderate ≥ 10, Low < 10.

Officials without at least 2 documented facts, 1 contradiction analysis, 1 voting record, or 1 constituency baseline are marked Insufficient Evidence and excluded from numeric ranking.

Contradiction findings from the last 180 days receive a recency boost. High-severity contradictions (score ≥ 70) receive additional weight.

Full methodology: /congress/methodology

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