Watson Coleman is the representative for New Jersey’s 12th congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. She has served since Jan 6, 2015. Watson Coleman is next up for reelection in 2020.
![Photo of Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman [D-NJ12]](/static/legislator-photos/412644-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2018 Report Card for Watson Coleman.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Watson Coleman is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the House of Representatives positioned according to our liberal–conservative ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Watson Coleman has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Sep 17, 2019. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Bonnie Watson Coleman sits on the following committees:
-
House Committee on Appropriations
- Member, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- Member, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Member, Subcommittee on Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
-
House Committee on Homeland Security
- Member, Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability
- Member, Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security
Enacted Legislation
Watson Coleman was the primary sponsor of 2 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 6461: TSA National Deployment Force Act
- H.R. 2302 (115th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 259 Nassau Street, Suite 2 in Princeton, New Jersey, as the “Dr. John F. Nash, ...
Does 2 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Watson Coleman sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Taxation (24%) Crime and Law Enforcement (22%) Government Operations and Politics (15%) Health (13%) Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues (7%) Labor and Employment (7%) Emergency Management (7%) Transportation and Public Works (7%)
Recent Bills
Some of Watson Coleman’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 4278: Federal Jobs Guarantee Development Act of 2019
- H.Res. 514: Committing to elevate the voices, leadership, and needs of communities that face systemic ...
- H.Con.Res. 53: Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall for an event to commemorate the 400th ...
- H.R. 3693: Prohibit Auto Insurance Discrimination Act
- H.Res. 480: Acknowledging the racial disparities in diagnosing and treating mental health among youth in ...
- H.R. 3454: Help Empower Americans to Respond Act
- H.R. 2778: Healthy Maternity and Obstetric Medicine Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2015 to Sep 2019, Watson Coleman missed 43 of 3,070 roll call votes, which is 1.4%. This is on par with the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
