Rep. Eric Swalwell’s 2020 Report Card
Representative
from California's 15th District
Democrat
Served Jan 3, 2013 – Jan 3, 2023
These statistics cover Swalwell’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 Swalwell’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 absent in votes compared to California DelegationSwalwell missed 21.7% of votes (207 of 954 votes) in the 116th Congress. View Swalwell’s Profile » Compare to all California Delegation (98th percentile); All Representatives (97th 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 influential cosponsors the 6th least often compared to California Delegation (tied with 5 others)2 of Swalwell’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. 2424: Duty to Report Act; H.R. 4393: Advancing Access to Precision Medicine … Compare to all California Delegation (10th percentile); House Democrats (7th percentile); All Representatives (24th percentile). |
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Ranked the 14th bottom/follower compared to California 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 116th Congress is considered, the leadership score here may differ from Swalwell’s score elsewhere on GovTrack. Compare to all California Delegation (25th percentile); House Democrats (26th percentile); All Representatives (50th percentile). |
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Got their bills out of committee the 31st least often compared to House Democrats (tied with 27 others)Most bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Swalwell introduced 2 bills in the 116th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Those bills were: H.Res. 1155: Reaffirming the House of Representatives’ …; H.R. 3098: Student Loan Interest Deduction Act … Compare to all California Delegation (18th percentile); House Democrats (13th percentile); All Representatives (32nd percentile). |
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Introduced the 54th fewest bills compared to House Democrats (tied with 20 others)Swalwell introduced 21 bills and resolutions in the 116th Congress. View Bills » Compare to all California Delegation (31st percentile); House Democrats (22nd percentile); All Representatives (46th percentile). |
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Cosponsored the 105th most bills compared to All RepresentativesSwalwell cosponsored 551 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 (49th percentile); House Democrats (57th percentile); All Representatives (76th percentile). |
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Laws EnactedSwalwell 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. 3098: Student Loan Interest Deduction Act … Compare to all California Delegation (27th percentile); House Democrats (25th 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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Working with the SenateThe House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing Those bills were: H.Res. 1155: Reaffirming the House of Representatives’ …; H.R. 1684: Journalist Protection Act; H.R. 2424: Duty to Report Act; H.R. 3098: Student Loan Interest Deduction Act …; H.R. 7473: Main Street Revival Act of … Compare to all California Delegation (49th percentile); House Democrats (48th percentile); All Representatives (64th percentile). Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service. |
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Writing Bipartisan BillsIn this era of partisanship, it is important to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. 9 of Swalwell’s 21 bills and resolutions had a cosponsor from a different political party than the party Swalwell caucused with in the 116th Congress. Compare to all California Delegation (34th percentile); House Democrats (30th percentile); All Representatives (48th percentile). Cosponsors who caucused with neither the Democratic nor Republican party do not count toward this statistic. |
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Committee PositionsSwalwell 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 Swalwell’s Profile » Compare to all California Delegation (27th percentile); House Democrats (40th percentile); All Representatives (42nd percentile). |
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Joining Bipartisan BillsOf the 551 bills that Swalwell cosponsored, 10% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all California Delegation (59th percentile); House Democrats (54th percentile); All Representatives (29th 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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CosponsorsSwalwell’s bills and resolutions had 289 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 California Delegation (27th percentile); House Democrats (31st percentile); All Representatives (53rd percentile). |
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Ideology ScoreOur 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 Swalwell’s score elsewhere on GovTrack. Compare to all California Delegation (55th percentile); House Democrats (57th percentile); All Representatives (31st 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 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.
