Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy’s 2014 Report Card
Representative
from Massachusetts's 4th District
Democrat
Served Jan 3, 2013 – Jan 3, 2021
These statistics cover Kennedy’s record during the 113th Congress (Jan 3, 2013-Jan 2, 2015) and compare him to other representatives also serving at the end of the session. Last updated on Jan 12, 2015. Although Rep. Suzan DelBene [D-WA1], Rep. Thomas Massie [R-KY4], Rep. Donald Payne [D-NJ10], and Sen. Brian Schatz [D-HI] served in the 112th Congress, they took office within the last two months of the 112th Congress and here are grouped with other freshmen for the 113th Congress.
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 Kennedy’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 Massachusetts DelegationKennedy introduced 1 bill that became law in the 113th 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. 2939: To award the Congressional Gold … Compare to all Massachusetts Delegation (89th percentile); House Freshmen (68th percentile); House Democrats (72nd percentile); Safe House Seats (65th percentile); All Representatives (65th 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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Was most present in votes compared to Massachusetts DelegationKennedy missed 1.7% of votes (20 of 1,204 votes) in the 113th Congress. View Kennedy’s Profile » Compare to all Massachusetts Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (46th percentile); Safe House Seats (35th percentile); All Representatives (36th 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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Held the fewest committee positions compared to Massachusetts Delegation (tied with 1 other)Kennedy 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. For comparison to other Members of Congress, we assigned a score giving five points for each full committee leadership position and one point for each subcommittee leadership position. View Kennedy’s Profile » Compare to all Massachusetts Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (0th percentile); House Democrats (0th percentile); Safe House Seats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). |
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Got influential cosponsors the 2nd least often compared to Massachusetts Delegation (tied with 2 others)1 of Kennedy’s bills and resolutions in the 113th 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. 915: To authorize the Peace Corps … Compare to all Massachusetts Delegation (11th percentile); House Freshmen (20th percentile); House Democrats (14th percentile); Safe House Seats (15th percentile); All Representatives (15th percentile). |
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Got bicameral support on the 2nd fewest bills compared to Massachusetts Delegation (tied with 2 others)The House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing Those bills were: H.R. 2939: To award the Congressional Gold … Compare to all Massachusetts Delegation (11th percentile); House Freshmen (37th percentile); House Democrats (21st percentile); Safe House Seats (23rd percentile); All Representatives (23rd percentile). Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service. |
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Got the 4th most cosponsors on their bills compared to House FreshmenKennedy’s bills and resolutions had 388 cosponsors in the 113th 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 Massachusetts Delegation (67th percentile); House Freshmen (95th percentile); House Democrats (79th percentile); Safe House Seats (76th percentile); All Representatives (77th percentile). |
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Introduced the 22nd fewest bills compared to All Representatives (tied with 16 others)Kennedy introduced 4 bills and resolutions in the 113th Congress. View Bills » Compare to all Massachusetts Delegation (11th percentile); House Freshmen (10th percentile); House Democrats (5th percentile); Safe House Seats (5th percentile); All Representatives (5th percentile). |
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Joined bipartisan bills the 61st most often compared to All RepresentativesIn this era of partisanship, it is encouraging to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. Of the 257 bills that Kennedy cosponsored, 37% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all Massachusetts Delegation (78th percentile); House Freshmen (80th percentile); House Democrats (71st percentile); Safe House Seats (89th percentile); All Representatives (86th 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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Bills Out of CommitteeMost bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Kennedy introduced 1 bill in the 113th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Those bills were: H.R. 915: To authorize the Peace Corps … Compare to all Massachusetts Delegation (56th percentile); House Freshmen (46th percentile); House Democrats (58th percentile); Safe House Seats (38th percentile); All Representatives (38th percentile). |
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Bills CosponsoredKennedy cosponsored 257 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 Massachusetts Delegation (33rd percentile); House Freshmen (54th percentile); House Democrats (31st percentile); Safe House Seats (54th percentile); All Representatives (52nd percentile). |
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Government TransparencyGovTrack looked at whether Kennedy supported any of 12 government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness bills in the House that we identified in this session. We gave Kennedy 0 points, based on one point for cosponsoring and three points for sponsoring any of these bills. Compare to all Massachusetts Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (0th percentile); House Democrats (0th percentile); Safe House Seats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th 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 113th Congress) was the 113th Congress (freshmen) or 112th (sophomores). Members of Congress who took office within the last few months of a Congress are considered freshmen in the next Congress as well.
