Rep. Ben Cline’s 2020 Report Card
Representative
from Virginia's 6th District
Republican
Serving Jan 3, 2019 – Jan 3, 2025
These statistics cover Cline’s record during the 116th Congress (Jan 3, 2019-Jan 3, 2021) and compare him to other representatives also serving at the end of the session. Last updated on Jan 30, 2021.
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 Cline’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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Introduced the fewest bills compared to Virginia DelegationCline introduced 7 bills and resolutions in the 116th Congress. View Bills » Compare to all Virginia Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (10th percentile); House Republicans (15th percentile); All Representatives (8th percentile). |
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Got the fewest cosponsors on their bills compared to Virginia DelegationCline’s bills and resolutions had 42 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 Virginia Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (12th percentile); House Republicans (18th percentile); All Representatives (10th percentile). |
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Was most present in votes compared to Virginia DelegationCline missed 0.2% of votes (2 of 954 votes) in the 116th Congress. View Cline’s Profile » Compare to all Virginia Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (10th percentile); All Representatives (5th 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 bipartisan cosponsors on the 2nd fewest bills compared to Virginia DelegationIn this era of partisanship, it is important to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. 5 of Cline’s 7 bills and resolutions had a cosponsor from a different political party than the party Cline caucused with in the 116th Congress. Compare to all Virginia Delegation (9th percentile); House Freshmen (27th percentile); House Republicans (39th percentile); All Representatives (23rd percentile). Cosponsors who caucused with neither the Democratic nor Republican party do not count toward this statistic. |
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Cosponsored the 2nd fewest bills compared to Virginia DelegationCline cosponsored 196 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 Virginia Delegation (9th percentile); House Freshmen (22nd percentile); House Republicans (44th percentile); All Representatives (22nd percentile). |
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Got influential cosponsors the 3rd least often compared to Virginia Delegation (tied with 1 other)3 of Cline’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. 1397: Notify ICE Act; H.R. 3311: Small Business Reorganization Act of …; H.Con.Res. 14: Designating the George C. Marshall … Compare to all Virginia Delegation (18th percentile); House Freshmen (43rd percentile); House Republicans (62nd percentile); All Representatives (37th percentile). |
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Laws EnactedCline introduced 1 bill 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. View Enacted Bills » Those bills were: H.R. 3311: Small Business Reorganization Act of … Compare to all Virginia Delegation (27th percentile); House Freshmen (41st percentile); House Republicans (51st percentile); All Representatives (37th 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. |
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Bills Out of CommitteeMost bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Cline introduced 1 bill in the 116th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Those bills were: H.R. 3311: Small Business Reorganization Act of … Compare to all Virginia Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (14th percentile); House Republicans (29th percentile); All Representatives (15th percentile). |
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Working with the SenateThe House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing Those bills were: H.R. 3311: Small Business Reorganization Act of …; H.R. 5706: Danger Pay for U.S. Marshals …; H.R. 6651: Use Your Endowment Act Compare to all Virginia Delegation (27th percentile); House Freshmen (41st percentile); House Republicans (59th percentile); All Representatives (39th percentile). Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service. |
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Committee PositionsCline 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 Cline’s Profile » Compare to all Virginia Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (0th percentile); House Republicans (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). |
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Joining Bipartisan BillsOf the 196 bills that Cline cosponsored, 34% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Republican. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all Virginia Delegation (64th percentile); House Freshmen (73rd percentile); House Republicans (27th percentile); All Representatives (66th percentile). Only Democratic and Republican Members of Congress who cosponsored more than 10 bills and resolutions are included in this statistic. |
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 116th Congress) was the 116th Congress (freshmen) or 115th (sophomores). Members of Congress who took office within the last few months of a Congress are considered freshmen in the next Congress as well.
