[CAPTURE PORTAL] 119TH CONGRESS

// Legislative Integrity Monitor

Goblin House Intelligence

Matt Van Epps

Republican · Representative, TN ·7

Score Components

22 ELEVATED

Connection Density 20%

0 → 0

Donor Influence 10%

0 → 0

Silence Risk 25%

30 → 8

Contradiction Risk 25%

36 → 9

Intelligence Volume 10%

53 → 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.

Van Epps issued no press release, floor statement, or public comment explaining or defending his vote on H.R. 7613. A search of his official House website and news coverage found zero statements on the ALERT Act, despite the bill falling within the jurisdiction of two of his three committee assignments (Transportation & Infrastructure and Armed Services).

secondary · 2026-04-14

The ALERT Act is an aviation safety bill, not a national security bill. It was introduced by Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on February 20, 2026, following the NTSB's final investigation of the January 29, 2025 DCA midair collision that killed 67 people. The bill addresses all 50 NTSB safety recommendations

primary · 2026-04-14

H.R. 7613 passed the House by a vote of 396–10 under suspension of the rules, with 196 Republican Yeas, 9 Republican Nays, 199 Democratic Yeas, 1 Democratic Nay, and 25 members not voting. The 9 Republican NAY votes included Rep. Ogles (R-TN-05), Van Epps' neighboring Tennessee Republican, creating an intrastate delegation split on the vote.

primary · 2026-04-14

Van Epps voted YEA on Roll Call 110 (H.R. 7613, ALERT Act) on April 14, 2026. The House Clerk's official member profile (clerk.house.gov/Members/V000139) records '4/14/2026 | 110 | H. R. 7613 | ALERT Act | Yea | Passed.' This is a primary government record confirming the vote without qualification.

primary · 2026-04-14

[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Race/Ethnicity — Hispanic: 8.2%

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Race/Ethnicity — Black (Non-Hispanic): 15.3%

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Race/Ethnicity — White (Non-Hispanic): 69.3%

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Cook Partisan Voting Index: R+20

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Foreign-born population: 5.92%

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Median age: 35.6

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Poverty rate: 12.5%

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Bachelor's degree or higher: 29.3%

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Homeownership rate: 63.5%

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Population (2024): 791,449

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[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Median household income: $75,800

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[constituency_baseline] Ballot measure: Tennessee Constitutional Amendment 1 — Right to Work (2022) (2022) — passed, margin 69.8%-30.2%

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 484110 - General Freight Trucking (share 0.04)

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 722511 - Full-Service Restaurants (share 0.05)

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 622110 - General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (share 0.08)

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[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 611110 - Elementary and Secondary Schools (share 0.1)

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No connections mapped

Bill	Vote	Date	Alignment
ALERT Act	yea_unverified	2026-04-14	aligned
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026	yea	2026-03-27	aligned
Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act	yea	2026-03-26	deviating

Last contradiction analysis: Never

statement_vs_disclosure 60/100

Platform: "Van Epps' campaign messaging and endorsements emphasized his military combat record, with his campaign logo featuring a silhouetted Chinook combat hel"

Vote: on "Tennessee veteran Dillon Scott filed a formal complaint alleging Van Epps violated U.S. Department o"

Van Epps made his military service central to his campaign identity, but a formal complaint alleged his use of uniform in a campaign ad violated Pentagon regulations prohibiting political appearances in uniform. Van Epps' campaign dismissed the compl

same_source_inconsistency 30/100

Platform: "Van Epps ran as a pro-freedom, anti-mandate conservative aligned with Trump, with his campaign emphasizing 'Tennessee led the nation in opposing manda"

Vote: on "During the Republican primary, opponents attacked Van Epps as 'Tennessee's Fauci,' alleging he viola"

[auto-downgraded: both claims come from the same source host] Van Epps campaigned as an anti-mandate, pro-freedom conservative aligned with Trump while having served in the Tennessee Unified Command Group that crafted and executed stay-at-home orders

Last silence detection: Never

No debate with Democratic opponent Aftyn Behn during general election

56d silent

Expected position: As a candidate seeking to represent the 7th District, Van Epps would be expected to participate in at least one public debate or forum with his general-election opponent, particular

Policy questionnaire from Nashville Banner during 2025 general election campaign

36d silent

Expected position: As a candidate for federal office, Van Epps would be expected to respond to a nonpartisan local newspaper's policy questionnaire covering issues currently before Congress (inflation

Release of Jeffrey Epstein files

18d silent

Expected position: As a candidate for Congress, Van Epps would be expected to clarify his position on whether the Epstein files should be released, after third-party attack ads claimed he opposed thei

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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