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Rep. Donna Shalala’s 2020 Report Card

Representative from Florida's 27th District
Democrat
Served Jan 3, 2019 – Jan 3, 2021

These statistics cover Shalala’s record during the 116th Congress (Jan 3, 2019-Jan 3, 2021) and compare her 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 Shalala’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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Was most present in votes compared to Florida Delegation

Shalala missed 0.3% of votes (3 of 954 votes) in the 116th Congress. View Shalala’s Profile »

Compare to all Florida Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (19th percentile); All Representatives (8th 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.
 

Got their bills out of committee the 2nd most often compared to Florida Delegation

Most bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Shalala introduced 8 bills in the 116th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration.

Those bills were: H.Res. 357: Providing for consideration of the …; H.Res. 415: Providing for consideration of the …; H.Res. 656: Providing for consideration of the …; H.Res. 758: Providing for consideration of the …; H.Res. 866: Providing for consideration of the …; H.Res. 1060: Providing for consideration of the …; H.Res. 1271: Providing for consideration of the …; H.R. 920: Venezuela Arms Restriction Act

Compare to all Florida Delegation (93rd percentile); House Freshmen (91st percentile); House Democrats (80th percentile); All Representatives (88th percentile).

 

Got bicameral support on the 3rd most bills compared to Florida Delegation

The House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing companion bills in each chamber. 9 of Shalala’s bills and resolutions had a companion bill in the Senate. Working with a sponsor in the other chamber makes a bill more likely to be passed by both the House and Senate.

Those bills were: H.Res. 335: Expressing support for the recognition …; H.Res. 704: Expressing support for the goals …; H.R. 2006: College Equity Act of 2019; H.R. 2775: Protecting LGBTQ Youth Act; H.R. 3689: Protecting JOBs Act; H.R. 4322: Expanding Cannabis Research and Information …; H.R. 5076: Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act …; H.R. 5327: Resolving Extended Limbo for Immigrant …; H.R. 7601: CONFUCIUS Act

Compare to all Florida Delegation (89th percentile); House Freshmen (90th percentile); House Democrats (78th percentile); All Representatives (86th percentile).

Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service.
 

Got the 11th most cosponsors on their bills compared to House Freshmen

Shalala’s bills and resolutions had 463 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 Florida Delegation (74th percentile); House Freshmen (89th percentile); House Democrats (50th percentile); All Representatives (70th percentile).

 

Ranked the 13th top leader compared to House Freshmen

Our 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 116th Congress is considered, the leadership score here may differ from Shalala’s score elsewhere on GovTrack.

Compare to all Florida Delegation (81st percentile); House Freshmen (86th percentile); House Democrats (48th percentile); All Representatives (68th percentile).

 

Ranked 18th most politically left compared to House Freshmen

Our 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 116th Congress is considered, the ideology score here may differ from Shalala’s score elsewhere on GovTrack.

Compare to all Florida Delegation (19th percentile); House Freshmen (18th percentile); House Democrats (45th percentile); All Representatives (24th percentile).

 

Got influential cosponsors the 41st least often compared to House Democrats (tied with 25 others)

3 of Shalala’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. 2775: Protecting LGBTQ Youth Act; H.R. 3369: Defending All Veterans In Education …; H.R. 5076: Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act …

Compare to all Florida Delegation (37th percentile); House Freshmen (43rd percentile); House Democrats (17th percentile); All Representatives (37th percentile).

 

Laws Enacted

Shalala introduced 0 bills 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.

Compare to all Florida Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (0th percentile); House Democrats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th 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.
 

Bills Introduced

Shalala introduced 27 bills and resolutions in the 116th Congress. View Bills »

Compare to all Florida Delegation (67th percentile); House Freshmen (68th percentile); House Democrats (45th percentile); All Representatives (64th percentile).

 

Writing Bipartisan Bills

In this era of partisanship, it is important to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. 12 of Shalala’s 27 bills and resolutions had a cosponsor from a different political party than the party Shalala caucused with in the 116th Congress.

Compare to all Florida Delegation (59th percentile); House Freshmen (61st percentile); House Democrats (41st percentile); All Representatives (60th percentile).

Cosponsors who caucused with neither the Democratic nor Republican party do not count toward this statistic.
 

Committee Positions

Shalala 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 Shalala’s Profile »

Compare to all Florida Delegation (48th percentile); House Freshmen (68th percentile); House Democrats (40th percentile); All Representatives (42nd percentile).

 

Bills Cosponsored

Shalala cosponsored 466 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 Florida Delegation (70th percentile); House Freshmen (66th percentile); House Democrats (41st percentile); All Representatives (67th percentile).

 

Joining Bipartisan Bills

Of the 466 bills that Shalala cosponsored, 11% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills »

Compare to all Florida Delegation (30th percentile); House Freshmen (26th percentile); House Democrats (68th percentile); All Representatives (37th 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.