Sen. Mark Kirk’s 2013 Report Card
Junior
Senator
from Illinois
Republican
Served Nov 29, 2010 – Jan 3, 2017
These year-end statistics cover Kirk’s record during the 2013 legislative year (Jan 3, 2013-Dec 26, 2013) and compare him to other senators serving at the end of that period. Last updated on Dec 1, 2014. On Dec. 1, 2014, the statistics were updated to remove Sen. Schatz from the list of Senate sophomores. Schatz only served for several days in the preceding 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 Kirk’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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Was 2nd most absent in votes compared to All SenatorsKirk missed 11.0% of votes (32 of 291 votes) in 2013. View Kirk’s Profile » Compare to all All Senators (98th percentile). |
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Joined bipartisan bills the 3rd most often compared to All SenatorsIn this era of partisanship, it is encouraging to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. Of the 138 bills that Kirk cosponsored, 62% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Republican. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all Senate Republicans (93rd percentile); All Senators (97th 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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Ranked 4th most politically left compared to Senate RepublicansOur 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 2013 is considered, the ideology score here may differ from Kirk’s score elsewhere on GovTrack. Compare to all Senate Republicans (7th percentile); All Senators (58th percentile). |
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Introduced the 7th most bills compared to Senate Republicans (tied with 1 other)Kirk introduced 24 bills and resolutions in 2013. View Bills » Compare to all Senate Republicans (82nd percentile); All Senators (60th percentile). |
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Ranked the 10th top leader compared to Senate RepublicansOur 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 2013 is considered, the leadership score here may differ from Kirk’s score elsewhere on GovTrack. Compare to all Senate Republicans (78th percentile); All Senators (60th percentile). |
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Laws EnactedKirk introduced 0 bills that became law in 2013. Keep in mind that it takes a law to repeal a law. Very few bills ever become law. Compare to all Senate Republicans (0th percentile); All Senators (0th percentile). We only count enacted bills (and joint resolutions) that the legislator was the primary sponsor of. While a legislator may lay claim to authoring other bills that became law, such as through companion bills or incorporation into larger bills, these cases are difficult for us to track quantitatively. |
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Bills Out of CommitteeMost bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Kirk introduced 1 bill in 2013 that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Those bills were: S.Res. 75: A resolution condemning the Government … Compare to all Senate Republicans (40th percentile); All Senators (29th percentile). |
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Powerful Cosponsors2 of Kirk’s bills and resolutions in 2013 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: S.Res. 75: A resolution condemning the Government …; S.Res. 215: A resolution expressing the sense … Compare to all Senate Republicans (47th percentile); All Senators (39th percentile). |
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Working with the HouseThe House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing Those bills were: S. 571: Great Lakes Water Protection Act; S. 1146: State Ethics Law Protection Act …; S. 1613: Credit Access and Inclusion Act; S.Res. 75: A resolution condemning the Government …; S.Res. 217: A resolution expressing support for … Compare to all Senate Republicans (51st percentile); All Senators (43rd percentile). Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service. |
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Writing Bipartisan BillsKirk tends to gather cosponsors only on one side of the aisle. 29% of Kirk’s 24 bills and resolutions had both a Democratic cosponsor and a Republican cosponsor in 2013. Compare to all Senate Republicans (55th percentile); All Senators (49th percentile). Only Members of Congress who sponsored more than 10 bills and resolutions are included in this statistic. |
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Committee PositionsKirk held a leadership position on 0 committees and 2 subcommittees, as either a chair (majority party) or ranking member (minority party), at the end of the session. View Kirk’s Profile » Compare to all Senate Republicans (11th percentile); All Senators (18th percentile). |
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Bills CosponsoredKirk cosponsored 138 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 Senate Republicans (53rd percentile); All Senators (52nd percentile). |
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CosponsorsKirk’s bills and resolutions had 120 cosponsors in 2013. 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 Senate Republicans (58th percentile); All Senators (49th percentile). |
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Government TransparencyGovTrack looked at whether Kirk supported any of 8 government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness bills in the Senate that we identified in this session. We gave Kirk 0 points, based on one point for cosponsoring and three points for sponsoring any of these bills. Compare to all Senate Republicans (0th percentile); All Senators (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 2013) 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.
