Rep. Andy Harris’s 2014 Report Card
Representative
from Maryland's 1st District
Republican
Serving Jan 5, 2011 – Jan 3, 2025
These statistics cover Harris’s record during the 113th Congress (Jan 3, 2013-Jan 2, 2015) and compare him to other representatives also serving at the end of the session. Last updated on Jan 12, 2015. Although Rep. Suzan DelBene [D-WA1], Rep. Thomas Massie [R-KY4], Rep. Donald Payne [D-NJ10], and Sen. Brian Schatz [D-HI] served in the 112th Congress, they took office within the last two months of the 112th Congress and here are grouped with other freshmen for the 113th 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 Harris’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.
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Joined bipartisan bills the least often compared to Maryland DelegationOf the 255 bills that Harris cosponsored, 6% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Republican. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all Maryland Delegation (0th percentile); House Sophomores (27th percentile); House Republicans (25th percentile); Safe House Seats (14th percentile); All Representatives (13th percentile). Only Democratic and Republican Members of Congress who cosponsored more than 10 bills and resolutions are included in this statistic. |
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Ranked the 2nd top leader compared to Maryland DelegationOur 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 113th Congress is considered, the leadership score here may differ from Harris’s score elsewhere on GovTrack. Compare to all Maryland Delegation (75th percentile); House Sophomores (63rd percentile); House Republicans (53rd percentile); Safe House Seats (67th percentile); All Representatives (68th percentile). |
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Was 2nd most present in votes compared to Maryland DelegationHarris missed 1.7% of votes (20 of 1,204 votes) in the 113th Congress. View Harris’s Profile » Compare to all Maryland Delegation (13th percentile); House Sophomores (46th percentile); Safe House Seats (35th percentile); All Representatives (36th 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. |
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Got bicameral support on the 3rd fewest bills compared to Maryland Delegation (tied with 2 others)The House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing Those bills were: H.J.Res. 22: Proposing an amendment to the … Compare to all Maryland Delegation (25th percentile); House Sophomores (29th percentile); House Republicans (24th percentile); Safe House Seats (23rd percentile); All Representatives (23rd percentile). Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service. |
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Got bipartisan cosponsors on the 13th lowest % of bills compared to House Republicans (tied with 1 other)Harris tends to gather cosponsors only on one side of the aisle. 15% of Harris’s 13 bills and resolutions had both a Democratic cosponsor and a Republican cosponsor in the 113th Congress. Compare to all House Sophomores (11th percentile); House Republicans (9th percentile); Safe House Seats (12th percentile); All Representatives (11th percentile). Only Members of Congress who sponsored more than 10 bills and resolutions are included in this statistic. |
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Ranked 26th most politically right compared to All RepresentativesOur 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 113th Congress is considered, the ideology score here may differ from Harris’s score elsewhere on GovTrack. Compare to all Maryland Delegation (88th percentile); House Sophomores (88th percentile); House Republicans (89th percentile); Safe House Seats (94th percentile); All Representatives (94th percentile). |
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Laws EnactedHarris introduced 0 bills that became law in the 113th Congress. Keep in mind that it takes a law to repeal a law. Very few bills ever become law. Compare to all Maryland Delegation (0th percentile); House Sophomores (0th percentile); House Republicans (0th percentile); Safe House Seats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). A bill or joint resolution is considered enacted if it or an exactly identical bill to it is enacted as law. We only consider bills that the legislator was the primary sponsor of. While a legislator may lay claim to authoring other bills that became law, such as through incorporation into larger bills, these cases are difficult for us to track quantitatively. |
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Bills IntroducedHarris introduced 13 bills and resolutions in the 113th Congress. View Bills » Compare to all Maryland Delegation (50th percentile); House Sophomores (48th percentile); House Republicans (50th percentile); Safe House Seats (47th percentile); All Representatives (46th percentile). |
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Bills Out of CommitteeMost bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Harris introduced 0 bills in the 113th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Compare to all Maryland Delegation (0th percentile); House Sophomores (0th percentile); House Republicans (0th percentile); Safe House Seats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). |
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Powerful Cosponsors2 of Harris’s bills and resolutions in the 113th 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. 3324: Lacey Act Paperwork Reduction Act; H.R. 3667: To amend title XIX of … Compare to all Maryland Delegation (13th percentile); House Sophomores (24th percentile); House Republicans (33rd percentile); Safe House Seats (35th percentile); All Representatives (34th percentile). |
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Committee PositionsHarris held a leadership position on 0 committees and 1 subcommittee, as either a chair (majority party) or ranking member (minority party), at the end of the session. View Harris’s Profile » Compare to all Maryland Delegation (38th percentile); House Sophomores (46th percentile); House Republicans (38th percentile); Safe House Seats (40th percentile); All Representatives (41st percentile). |
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Bills CosponsoredHarris cosponsored 255 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 Maryland Delegation (38th percentile); House Sophomores (60th percentile); House Republicans (70th percentile); Safe House Seats (54th percentile); All Representatives (52nd percentile). |
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CosponsorsHarris’s bills and resolutions had 160 cosponsors in the 113th 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 Maryland Delegation (38th percentile); House Sophomores (44th percentile); House Republicans (44th percentile); Safe House Seats (44th percentile); All Representatives (44th percentile). |
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Government TransparencyGovTrack looked at whether Harris supported any of 12 government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness bills in the House that we identified in this session. We gave Harris 0 points, based on one point for cosponsoring and three points for sponsoring any of these bills. Compare to all Maryland Delegation (0th percentile); House Sophomores (0th percentile); House Republicans (0th percentile); Safe House Seats (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 the 113th Congress) 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.
