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Rep. John R. Carter’s 2020 Report Card

Representative from Texas's 31st District
Republican
Serving Jan 7, 2003 – Jan 3, 2025

These statistics cover Carter’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 Carter’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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Got the fewest cosponsors on their bills compared to Texas Delegation

Carter’s bills and resolutions had 9 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 Texas Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (3rd percentile); House Republicans (4th percentile); All Representatives (3rd percentile).

 

Got bicameral support on the 6th fewest bills compared to Texas Delegation (tied with 5 others)

The House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing companion bills in each chamber. 1 of Carter’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.R. 4951: School Security Enhancement Act

Compare to all Texas Delegation (14th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (9th percentile); House Republicans (14th percentile); All Representatives (9th percentile).

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

Was 10th most absent in votes compared to Serving 10+ Years

Carter missed 11.7% of votes (112 of 954 votes) in the 116th Congress. View Carter’s Profile »

Compare to all Texas Delegation (91st percentile); Serving 10+ Years (95th percentile); All Representatives (93rd 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.
 

Cosponsored the 25th fewest bills compared to All Representatives

Carter cosponsored 110 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 Texas Delegation (9th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (9th percentile); House Republicans (10th percentile); All Representatives (6th percentile).

 

Introduced the 51st fewest bills compared to All Representatives (tied with 14 others)

Carter introduced 9 bills and resolutions in the 116th Congress. View Bills »

Compare to all Texas Delegation (17th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (13th percentile); House Republicans (21st percentile); All Representatives (11th percentile).

 

Got bipartisan cosponsors on the 53rd fewest bills compared to All Representatives (tied with 21 others)

In this era of partisanship, it is important to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. 3 of Carter’s 9 bills and resolutions had a cosponsor from a different political party than the party Carter caucused with in the 116th Congress.

Compare to all Texas Delegation (17th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (14th percentile); House Republicans (20th percentile); All Representatives (12th percentile).

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

Laws Enacted

Carter 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 Texas Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (0th percentile); House Republicans (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 Out of Committee

Most bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Carter introduced 0 bills in the 116th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration.

Compare to all Texas Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (0th percentile); House Republicans (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile).

 

Powerful Cosponsors

0 of Carter’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.

Compare to all Texas Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (0th percentile); House Republicans (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile).

 

Committee Positions

Carter 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 Carter’s Profile »

Compare to all Texas Delegation (37th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (19th percentile); House Republicans (44th percentile); All Representatives (42nd percentile).

 

Joining Bipartisan Bills

Of the 110 bills that Carter cosponsored, 38% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Republican. View Cosponsored Bills »

Compare to all Texas Delegation (69th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (71st percentile); House Republicans (41st percentile); All Representatives (73rd 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.