Rep. James “Jim” Clyburn’s 2015 Report Card
Representative
from South Carolina's 6th District
Democrat
Serving Jan 5, 1993 – Jan 3, 2025
These year-end statistics cover Clyburn’s record during the 2015 legislative year (Jan 6, 2015-Dec 31, 2015) and compare him to other representatives serving at the end of that period. Last updated on Jan 9, 2016.
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 Clyburn’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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Wrote the most laws compared to South Carolina DelegationClyburn introduced 1 bill that became law in 2015. 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. 2131: To designate the Federal building … Compare to all South Carolina Delegation (86th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (78th percentile); House Democrats (85th percentile); Safe House Seats (82nd percentile); All Representatives (82nd percentile). A bill or joint resolution is considered enacted if it or an exactly identical bill to it is enacted as law. We only consider bills that the legislator was the primary sponsor of. While a legislator may lay claim to authoring other bills that became law, such as through incorporation into larger bills, these cases are difficult for us to track quantitatively. |
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Cosponsored the fewest bills compared to South Carolina DelegationClyburn cosponsored 70 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 South Carolina Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (4th percentile); House Democrats (1st percentile); Safe House Seats (4th percentile); All Representatives (3rd percentile). |
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Supported government transparency the most often compared to South Carolina DelegationGovTrack looked at whether Clyburn supported any of 28 government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness bills in the House that we identified in this session. We gave Clyburn 2 points, based on one point for cosponsoring and three points for sponsoring any of these bills. Clyburn cosponsored H.R. 430: DISCLOSE 2015 Act; H.R. 20: Government By the People Act … Compare to all South Carolina Delegation (86th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (59th percentile); House Democrats (31st percentile); Safe House Seats (62nd percentile); All Representatives (65th percentile). |
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Joined bipartisan bills the 3rd least often compared to House DemocratsOf the 70 bills that Clyburn cosponsored, 13% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all South Carolina Delegation (71st percentile); Serving 10+ Years (30th percentile); House Democrats (1st percentile); Safe House Seats (41st percentile); All Representatives (39th 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 26th fewest bills compared to House Democrats (tied with 12 others)Clyburn introduced 5 bills and resolutions in 2015. View Bills » Compare to all South Carolina Delegation (43rd percentile); Serving 10+ Years (17th percentile); House Democrats (13th percentile); Safe House Seats (14th percentile); All Representatives (15th percentile). |
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Was 55th most absent in votes compared to All Representatives (tied with 2 others)Clyburn missed 6.1% of votes (43 of 704 votes) in 2015. View Clyburn’s Profile » Compare to all South Carolina Delegation (71st percentile); Serving 10+ Years (83rd percentile); Safe House Seats (85th percentile); All Representatives (87th 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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Bills Out of CommitteeMost bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Clyburn introduced 1 bill in 2015 that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Those bills were: H.R. 2131: To designate the Federal building … Compare to all South Carolina Delegation (57th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (45th percentile); House Democrats (66th percentile); Safe House Seats (45th percentile); All Representatives (46th percentile). |
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Powerful Cosponsors2 of Clyburn’s bills and resolutions in 2015 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.Res. 344: Urging the discontinued use of …; H.R. 3051: Background Check Completion Act Compare to all South Carolina Delegation (71st percentile); Serving 10+ Years (36th percentile); House Democrats (38th percentile); Safe House Seats (43rd percentile); All Representatives (44th 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. 2131: To designate the Federal building … Compare to all South Carolina Delegation (43rd percentile); Serving 10+ Years (23rd percentile); House Democrats (30th percentile); Safe House Seats (29th percentile); All Representatives (29th percentile). Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service. |
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Committee PositionsClyburn 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 Clyburn’s Profile » Compare to all South Carolina 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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CosponsorsClyburn’s bills and resolutions had 142 cosponsors in 2015. 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 South Carolina Delegation (57th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (49th percentile); House Democrats (54th percentile); Safe House Seats (53rd percentile); All Representatives (54th 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 2015) was the 114th Congress (freshmen) or 113th (sophomores). Members of Congress who took office within the last few months of a Congress are considered freshmen in the next Congress as well.
