Rep. Al Lawson’s 2020 Report Card

Got bipartisan cosponsors on the 16^th fewest bills compared to House Democrats (tied with 8 others)

In this era of partisanship, it is important to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. 4 of Lawson’s 20 bills and resolutions had a cosponsor from a different political party than the party Lawson caucused with in the 116th Congress.

Compare to all Florida Delegation (11^th percentile); House Sophomores (13^th percentile); House Democrats (6^th percentile); All Representatives (17^th percentile).

Cosponsors who caucused with neither the Democratic nor Republican party do not count toward this statistic.

Joined bipartisan bills the 45^th most often compared to House Democrats

In this era of partisanship, it is encouraging to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. Of the 459 bills that Lawson cosponsored, 14% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills »

Compare to all Florida Delegation (41^st percentile); House Sophomores (33^rd percentile); House Democrats (81^st percentile); All Representatives (44^th percentile).

Only Democratic and Republican Members of Congress who cosponsored more than 10 bills and resolutions are included in this statistic.

Introduced the 45^th fewest bills compared to House Democrats (tied with 8 others)

Lawson introduced 20 bills and resolutions in the 116th Congress. View Bills »

Compare to all Florida Delegation (37^th percentile); House Sophomores (38^th percentile); House Democrats (19^th percentile); All Representatives (42^nd percentile).

Ranked the 54^th bottom/follower compared to House Democrats

Our unique leadership analysis looks at who is cosponsoring whose bills. A higher score shows a greater ability to get cosponsors on bills.

For more, see our methodology. Note that because on this page only legislative activity in the 116th Congress is considered, the leadership score here may differ from Lawson’s score elsewhere on GovTrack.

Compare to all Florida Delegation (52^nd percentile); House Sophomores (49^th percentile); House Democrats (22^nd percentile); All Representatives (46^th percentile).

Got the 60^th fewest cosponsors on their bills compared to House Democrats (tied with 1 other)

Lawson’s bills and resolutions had 254 cosponsors in the 116th Congress. Securing cosponsors is an important part of getting support for a bill, although having more cosponsors does not always mean a bill will get a vote. View Bills »

Compare to all Florida Delegation (52^nd percentile); House Sophomores (49^th percentile); House Democrats (25^th percentile); All Representatives (47^th percentile).

Got their bills out of committee the 59^th least often compared to House Democrats (tied with 31 others)

Most bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Lawson introduced 3 bills in the 116th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration.

Those bills were: H.R. 3614: Restricting Credit Checks for Employment …; H.R. 5013: Small Business Fair Debt Collection …; H.R. 5287: Fair Student Loan Debt Collection …

Compare to all Florida Delegation (52^nd percentile); House Sophomores (47^th percentile); House Democrats (24^th percentile); All Representatives (47^th percentile).

Got influential cosponsors the 104^th least often compared to All Representatives (tied with 59 others)

2 of Lawson’s bills and resolutions in the 116th Congress had a cosponsor who was a chair or ranking member of a committee that the bill was referred to. Getting support from committee leaders on relevant committees is a crucial step in moving legislation forward.

Those bills were: H.R. 1406: APEX Act; H.R. 6423: To provide for a temporary …

Compare to all Florida Delegation (26^th percentile); House Sophomores (29^th percentile); House Democrats (7^th percentile); All Representatives (24^th percentile).

Laws Enacted

Lawson introduced 0 bills that became law, including via incorporation into other measures, in the 116th Congress. Keep in mind that it takes a law to repeal a law. Very few bills ever become law.

Compare to all Florida Delegation (0^th percentile); House Sophomores (0^th percentile); House Democrats (0^th percentile); All Representatives (0^th percentile).

The legislator must be the primary sponsor of the bill or joint resolution that was enacted or the primary sponsor of a bill or joint resolution for which at least about one third of its text was incorporated into another bill or joint resolution that was enacted as law, as determined by an automated analysis. While a legislator may lay claim to authoring other bills that became law, these cases are difficult for us to track quantitatively. We also exclude bills where the sponsor’s original intent is not in the final bill.

Working with the Senate

The House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing companion bills in each chamber. 1 of Lawson’s bills and resolutions had a companion bill in the Senate. Working with a sponsor in the other chamber makes a bill more likely to be passed by both the House and Senate.

Those bills were: H.R. 3809: College Student Hunger Act of …

Compare to all Florida Delegation (11^th percentile); House Sophomores (4^th percentile); House Democrats (5^th percentile); All Representatives (9^th percentile).

Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service.

Committee Positions

Lawson held a leadership position on 0 committees and 0 subcommittees, as either a chair (majority party) or ranking member (minority party), at the end of the session. View Lawson’s Profile »

Compare to all Florida Delegation (0^th percentile); House Sophomores (0^th percentile); House Democrats (0^th percentile); All Representatives (0^th percentile).

Bills Cosponsored

Lawson cosponsored 459 bills and resolutions introduced by other Members of Congress. Cosponsorship shows a willingness to work with others to advance policy goals. View Cosponsored Bills »

Compare to all Florida Delegation (63^rd percentile); House Sophomores (69^th percentile); House Democrats (38^th percentile); All Representatives (66^th percentile).

Ideology Score

Our unique ideology analysis assigns a score to Members of Congress according to their legislative behavior by how similar the pattern of bills and resolutions they cosponsor are to other Members of Congress.

For more, see our methodology. Note that because on this page only legislative activity in the 116th Congress is considered, the ideology score here may differ from Lawson’s score elsewhere on GovTrack.

Compare to all Florida Delegation (37^th percentile); House Sophomores (27^th percentile); House Democrats (70^th percentile); All Representatives (38^th percentile).

Missed Votes

Lawson missed 3.8% of votes (36 of 954 votes) in the 116th Congress. View Lawson’s Profile »

Compare to all Florida Delegation (48^th percentile); House Sophomores (65^th percentile); All Representatives (71^st percentile).

The Speaker of the House, per current House rules, is not required to vote in “ordinary legislative proceedings” and is never recorded as missing a vote, and may not be included in the comparison with other representatives if not voting. The delegates from the five island territories and the District of Columbia are not eligible to vote in most roll call votes and so may not appear here if not elligible for any vote during the time period of these statistics.