The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) run by the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University released its rankings on Monday of the most effective lawmakers of the 117th Congress.
Democratic Virginia Rep. Gerald Connolly and Republican Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon were ranked by CEL as the most effective House lawmakers in their respective parties. Connolly was the most effective House lawmaker overall, sponsoring 51 bills, 11 of which passed the House and three became law. (RELATED:Speaker McCarthy Unveils Key Legislation To ‘Lower Energy Costs,’ Make China ‘Dependent’ On American Natural Gas)
ANNOUNCEMENT: See the highlights of our brand new updated Legislative Effectiveness Scores for the 117th Congress (1/2):https://t.co/R8iN3JsMN0 pic.twitter.com/XxQCWX1LG6
— Center for Effective Lawmaking (@TheLawmakers) March 20, 2023
Democratic Michigan Sen. Gary Peters and Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn were listed as the most effective senators within their respective parties. Several highly ranked Republican senators were rated higher than their Democratic counterparts, despite being in the chamber’s minority, CEL found. For example, Cornyn was the second most effective senator overall and third was Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
“Our report highlights the Democrats and Republicans who have worked hard to tackle the nation’s public policy challenges,” Craig Volden, co-director of CEL, said. “While the 117th Congress was known for high-profile bipartisan efforts on issues from Ukraine to infrastructure to same-sex marriage, our work shows such bipartisanship extending behind the scenes. Many minority-party Republicans in the House and Senate scored as equally effective to top Democrats, and many Democrats incorporated language from Republican bills in their final legislation passed into law.”
The rankings were based on legislative effectiveness scores measured by combining 15 metrics for the bills they sponsor, how far they proceed and their policy substance. The scores control for whether the party holds the majority, a lawmaker’s seniority and the chair position on a committee or subcommittee.
Democrats held the House and Senate in the 117th Congress. Republicans regained the House in the 2022 midterm elections for the 118th Congress.