Rep. Karen Handel’s 2018 Report Card
Representative
from Georgia's 6th District
Republican
Served Jun 26, 2017 – Jan 3, 2019
These statistics cover Handel’s record during the 115th Congress (Jun 26, 2017-Jan 3, 2019) and compare her to other representatives also serving at the end of the session. Last updated on Jan 20, 2019.
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 Handel’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 Georgia DelegationHandel’s bills and resolutions had 8 cosponsors in the 115th 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 Georgia Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (9th percentile); House Republicans (2nd percentile); All Representatives (2nd percentile). |
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Was most present in votes compared to Georgia DelegationHandel missed 0.2% of votes (2 of 887 votes) in the 115th Congress. View Handel’s Profile » Compare to all Georgia Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (8th percentile); All Representatives (5th 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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Cosponsored the 2nd fewest bills compared to Georgia DelegationHandel cosponsored 118 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 Georgia Delegation (7th percentile); House Freshmen (22nd percentile); House Republicans (13th percentile); All Representatives (9th percentile). |
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Introduced the 11th fewest bills compared to House Republicans (tied with 7 others)Handel introduced 5 bills and resolutions in the 115th Congress. View Bills » Compare to all Georgia Delegation (7th percentile); House Freshmen (12th percentile); House Republicans (4th percentile); All Representatives (5th percentile). |
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Got influential cosponsors the 16th least often compared to House Freshmen (tied with 9 others)1 of Handel’s bills and resolutions in the 115th 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. 5645: Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews … Compare to all Georgia Delegation (50th percentile); House Freshmen (22nd percentile); House Republicans (13th percentile); All Representatives (11th percentile). |
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Got bipartisan cosponsors on the 28th 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. 2 of Handel’s 5 bills and resolutions had a cosponsor from a different political party than the party Handel caucused with in the 115th Congress. Compare to all Georgia Delegation (7th percentile); House Freshmen (16th percentile); House Republicans (6th percentile); All Representatives (6th percentile). Cosponsors who caucused with neither the Democratic nor Republican party do not count toward this statistic. |
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Joined bipartisan bills the 54th least often compared to All RepresentativesOf the 118 bills that Handel cosponsored, 8% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Republican. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all Georgia Delegation (29th percentile); House Freshmen (17th percentile); House Republicans (22nd percentile); All Representatives (12th 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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Got their bills out of committee the 55th least often compared to House Republicans (tied with 28 others)Most bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Handel introduced 3 bills in the 115th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Those bills were: H.R. 5440: To require notice from the …; H.R. 5645: Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews …; H.R. 6691: Community Safety and Security Act … Compare to all Georgia Delegation (50th percentile); House Freshmen (45th percentile); House Republicans (23rd percentile); All Representatives (43rd percentile). |
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Laws EnactedHandel introduced 0 bills that became law, including via incorporation into other measures, in the 115th Congress. Keep in mind that it takes a law to repeal a law. Very few bills ever become law. Compare to all Georgia Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (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. |
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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. 832: Recognizing linemen, the profession of … Compare to all Georgia Delegation (29th percentile); House Freshmen (30th percentile); House Republicans (16th percentile); All Representatives (15th percentile). Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service. |
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Committee PositionsHandel 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 Handel’s Profile » Compare to all Georgia Delegation (0th percentile); House Freshmen (0th percentile); House Republicans (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). |
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Government TransparencyGovTrack looked at whether Handel supported any of 32 government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness bills in the House that we identified in this session. We gave Handel 2 points, based on one point for cosponsoring and three points for sponsoring any of these bills. Handel cosponsored H.Res. 630: Requiring each Member, officer, and …; H.R. 4458: To amend the Congressional Accountability … Compare to all Georgia Delegation (43rd percentile); House Freshmen (54th percentile); House Republicans (47th percentile); All Representatives (43rd 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 115th Congress) was the 115th Congress (freshmen) or 114th (sophomores). Members of Congress who took office within the last few months of a Congress are considered freshmen in the next Congress as well.
