Rep. John Garamendi’s 2020 Report Card

Ranked the 35^th top leader compared to All Representatives

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 Garamendi’s score elsewhere on GovTrack.

Compare to all California Delegation (78^th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (85^th percentile); House Democrats (86^th percentile); All Representatives (92^nd percentile).

Got the 38^th most cosponsors on their bills compared to All Representatives

Garamendi’s bills and resolutions had 991 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 (78^th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (85^th percentile); House Democrats (84^th percentile); All Representatives (91^st percentile).

Got their bills out of committee the 31^st least often compared to House Democrats (tied with 27 others)

Most bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Garamendi introduced 2 bills in the 116th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration.

Those bills were: H.R. 357: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage …; H.R. 5671: Merchant Mariners of World War …

Compare to all California Delegation (18^th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (31^st percentile); House Democrats (13^th percentile); All Representatives (32^nd percentile).

Got bipartisan cosponsors on the 49^th most bills compared to All Representatives (tied with 4 others)

In this era of partisanship, it is important to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. 20 of Garamendi’s 32 bills and resolutions had a cosponsor from a different political party than the party Garamendi caucused with in the 116th Congress.

Compare to all California Delegation (84^th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (84^th percentile); House Democrats (82^nd percentile); All Representatives (88^th percentile).

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

Cosponsored the 98^th most bills compared to All Representatives

Garamendi cosponsored 565 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 (51^st percentile); Serving 10+ Years (75^th percentile); House Democrats (59^th percentile); All Representatives (78^th percentile).

Introduced the 101^st most bills compared to All Representatives (tied with 5 others)

Garamendi introduced 32 bills and resolutions in the 116th Congress. View Bills »

Compare to all California Delegation (53^rd percentile); Serving 10+ Years (71^st percentile); House Democrats (64^th percentile); All Representatives (76^th percentile).

Laws Enacted

Garamendi introduced 2 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. View Enacted Bills »

Those bills were: H.R. 357: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage …; H.R. 5671: Merchant Mariners of World War …

Compare to all California Delegation (55^th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (63^rd percentile); House Democrats (57^th percentile); All Representatives (67^th 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.

Powerful Cosponsors

6 of Garamendi’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. 864: Wildlife Conservation and Anti-Trafficking Act …; H.R. 1137: To amend the Water Resources …; H.R. 1553: Fair COLA for Seniors Act; H.R. 2617: OATH Act; H.R. 3193: Transportation Emergency Relief Funds Availability …; H.R. 6560: UNITE Act of 2020

Compare to all California Delegation (51^st percentile); Serving 10+ Years (64^th percentile); House Democrats (53^rd percentile); All Representatives (71^st percentile).

Working with the Senate

The House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing companion bills in each chamber. 6 of Garamendi’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. 357: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage …; H.R. 2208: Cabin Air Safety Act of …; H.R. 2617: OATH Act; H.R. 2838: Enhancing the Strength and Capacity …; H.R. 3459: Made in America Act of …; H.R. 6188: Support Our Military Working Dogs …

Compare to all California Delegation (63^rd percentile); Serving 10+ Years (71^st percentile); House Democrats (62^nd percentile); All Representatives (74^th percentile).

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

Committee Positions

Garamendi 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 Garamendi’s Profile »

Compare to all California Delegation (27^th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (19^th percentile); House Democrats (40^th percentile); All Representatives (42^nd percentile).

Joining Bipartisan Bills

Of the 565 bills that Garamendi cosponsored, 11% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills »

Compare to all California Delegation (67^th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (47^th percentile); House Democrats (66^th percentile); All Representatives (36^th percentile).

Only Democratic and Republican Members of Congress who cosponsored more than 10 bills and resolutions are included in this statistic.

Ideology Score

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 Garamendi’s score elsewhere on GovTrack.

Compare to all California Delegation (65^th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (46^th percentile); House Democrats (68^th percentile); All Representatives (37^th percentile).

Missed Votes

Garamendi missed 1.8% of votes (17 of 954 votes) in the 116th Congress. View Garamendi’s Profile »

Compare to all California Delegation (45^th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (34^th percentile); All Representatives (42^nd 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.