Rep. Ami Bera’s 2013 Report Card
Representative
from California's 7th District
Democrat
Served Jan 3, 2013 – Jan 3, 2023
These year-end statistics cover Bera’s record during the 2013 legislative year (Jan 3, 2013-Dec 26, 2013) and compare him to other representatives serving at the end of that period. Last updated on Dec 1, 2014. On Dec. 1, 2014, the statistics were updated to remove Sen. Schatz from the list of Senate sophomores. Schatz only served for several days in the preceding Congress.
A higher or lower number below doesn’t necessarily make this legislator any better or worse, or more or less effective, than other Members of Congress. We present these statistics for you to understand the quantitative aspects of Bera’s legislative career and make your own judgements based on what activities you think are important.
Keep in mind that there are many important aspects of being a legislator besides what can be measured, such as constituent services and performing oversight of the executive branch, which aren’t reflected here.
|
|
Introduced the 3rd fewest bills compared to Competitive House Seats (tied with 1 other)Bera introduced 4 bills and resolutions in 2013. View Bills » Compare to all Competitive House Seats (5th percentile); California Delegation (13th percentile); House Freshmen (34th percentile); House Democrats (15th percentile); All Representatives (14th percentile). |
|
|
Joined bipartisan bills the 6th most often compared to California DelegationIn this era of partisanship, it is encouraging to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. Of the 126 bills that Bera cosponsored, 39% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all Competitive House Seats (60th percentile); California Delegation (89th percentile); House Freshmen (82nd percentile); House Democrats (74th percentile); All Representatives (88th percentile). Only Democratic and Republican Members of Congress who cosponsored more than 10 bills and resolutions are included in this statistic. |
|
|
Was 7th most present in votes compared to California DelegationBera missed 0.5% of votes (3 of 641 votes) in 2013. View Bera’s Profile » Compare to all Competitive House Seats (19th percentile); California Delegation (11th percentile); House Freshmen (17th percentile); All Representatives (13th 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. |
|
|
Cosponsored the 35th fewest bills compared to House Democrats (tied with 2 others)Bera cosponsored 126 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 Competitive House Seats (16th percentile); California Delegation (26th percentile); House Freshmen (37th percentile); House Democrats (16th percentile); All Representatives (31st percentile). |
|
|
Laws EnactedBera introduced 0 bills that became law in 2013. Keep in mind that it takes a law to repeal a law. Very few bills ever become law. Compare to all Competitive House Seats (0th percentile); California Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (0th percentile); House Democrats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). We only count enacted bills (and joint resolutions) that the legislator was the primary sponsor of. While a legislator may lay claim to authoring other bills that became law, such as through companion bills or incorporation into larger bills, these cases are difficult for us to track quantitatively. |
|
|
Bills Out of CommitteeMost bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Bera introduced 0 bills in 2013 that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Compare to all Competitive House Seats (0th percentile); California Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (0th percentile); House Democrats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). |
|
|
Powerful Cosponsors0 of Bera’s bills and resolutions in 2013 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. Compare to all Competitive House Seats (0th percentile); California Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (0th percentile); House Democrats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). |
|
|
Working with the SenateThe House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing Those bills were: H.R. 2484: Conrad State 30 and Physician … Compare to all Competitive House Seats (30th percentile); California Delegation (38th percentile); House Freshmen (53rd percentile); House Democrats (37th percentile); All Representatives (36th percentile). Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service. |
|
|
Committee PositionsBera 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 Bera’s Profile » Compare to all Competitive House Seats (0th percentile); California Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (0th percentile); House Democrats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). |
|
|
CosponsorsBera’s bills and resolutions had 69 cosponsors in 2013. 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 Competitive House Seats (33rd percentile); California Delegation (32nd percentile); House Freshmen (55th percentile); House Democrats (33rd percentile); All Representatives (32nd percentile). |
|
|
Government TransparencyGovTrack looked at whether Bera supported any of 12 government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness bills in the House that we identified in this session. We gave Bera 0 points, based on one point for cosponsoring and three points for sponsoring any of these bills. Compare to all Competitive House Seats (0th percentile); California Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (0th percentile); House Democrats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). |
Additional Notes
Leadership/Ideology: The leadership and ideology scores are not displayed for Members of Congress who introduced fewer than 10 bills, or, for ideology, for Members of Congress that have a low leadership score, as there is usually not enough data in these cases to compute reliable leadership and ideology statistics.
Missing Bills: We exclude bills from some statistics where the sponsor’s original intent is not in the final bill because the bill’s text was replaced in whole with unrelated provisions (i.e. it became a vehicle for passage of unrelated provisions).
Ranking Members (RkMembs): The chair of a committee is always selected from the political party that holds the most seats in the chamber, called the “majority party”. The “ranking member” (sometimes “RkMembs”) is the title given to the senior-most member of the committee not in the majority party.
Freshmen/Sophomores: Freshmen and sophomores are Members of Congress whose first term (in the same chamber at the end of 2013) was the 113th Congress (freshmen) or 112th (sophomores). Members of Congress who took office within the last few months of a Congress are considered freshmen in the next Congress as well.
