Rep. Brad Sherman’s 2013 Report Card
Representative
from California's 30th District
Democrat
Served Jan 3, 2013 – Jan 3, 2023
These year-end statistics cover Sherman’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 Sherman’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 3rd most often compared to California DelegationIn this era of partisanship, it is encouraging to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. Of the 129 bills that Sherman cosponsored, 43% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all California Delegation (94th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (93rd percentile); House Democrats (84th percentile); Safe House Seats (94th percentile); All Representatives (92nd 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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Introduced the 17th fewest bills compared to All Representatives (tied with 15 others)Sherman introduced 2 bills and resolutions in 2013. View Bills » Compare to all California Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (3rd percentile); House Democrats (3rd percentile); Safe House Seats (4th percentile); All Representatives (4th percentile). |
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Was 37th most present in votes compared to Serving 10+ Years (tied with 5 others)Sherman missed 1.1% of votes (7 of 641 votes) in 2013. View Sherman’s Profile » Compare to all California Delegation (25th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (21st percentile); Safe House Seats (28th percentile); All Representatives (29th 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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Cosponsored the 42nd fewest bills compared to House Democrats (tied with 1 other)Sherman cosponsored 129 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 California Delegation (30th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (37th percentile); House Democrats (20th percentile); Safe House Seats (36th percentile); All Representatives (35th percentile). |
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Laws EnactedSherman 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 California Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (0th percentile); House Democrats (0th percentile); Safe House Seats (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. |
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Bills Out of CommitteeMost bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Sherman introduced 0 bills in 2013 that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Compare to all California Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (0th percentile); House Democrats (0th percentile); Safe House Seats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). |
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Powerful Cosponsors1 of Sherman’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. Those bills were: H.R. 300: Visa Waiver for Israel Act … Compare to all California Delegation (26th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (28th percentile); House Democrats (31st percentile); Safe House Seats (31st percentile); All Representatives (31st 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. 1450: Too Big to Fail, Too … Compare to all California Delegation (38th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (33rd percentile); House Democrats (37th percentile); Safe House Seats (37th percentile); All Representatives (36th percentile). Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service. |
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Committee PositionsSherman 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 Sherman’s Profile » Compare to all California Delegation (38th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (22nd percentile); House Democrats (44th percentile); Safe House Seats (46th percentile); All Representatives (47th percentile). |
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CosponsorsSherman’s bills and resolutions had 77 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 California Delegation (36th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (37th percentile); House Democrats (39th percentile); Safe House Seats (38th percentile); All Representatives (38th percentile). |
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Government TransparencyGovTrack looked at whether Sherman supported any of 12 government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness bills in the House that we identified in this session. We gave Sherman 0 points, based on one point for cosponsoring and three points for sponsoring any of these bills. Compare to all California Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (0th percentile); House Democrats (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 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.
