Sen. Mark Udall’s 2013 Report Card
Senior
Senator
from Colorado
Democrat
Served Jan 6, 2009 – Jan 3, 2015
These year-end statistics cover Udall’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 Udall’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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Supported government transparency the 8th most often compared to All Senators (tied with 6 others)GovTrack looked at whether Udall supported any of 8 government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness bills in the Senate that we identified in this session. We gave Udall 3 points, based on one point for cosponsoring and three points for sponsoring any of these bills. Udall cosponsored S. 375: Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act; S. 1130: Ending Secret Law Act; S. 1467: FISA Court Reform Act of … Compare to all Senate Democrats (77th percentile); All Senators (86th percentile). |
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Got their bills out of committee the 11th least often compared to Senate Democrats (tied with 7 others)Most bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Udall introduced 1 bill in 2013 that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Those bills were: S. 341: San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act Compare to all Senate Democrats (19th percentile); All Senators (29th percentile). |
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Got influential cosponsors the 16th most often compared to All Senators (tied with 9 others)4 of Udall’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. 253: A bill establishing the Committee …; S. 1423: Toxic Substances and Worker Health …; S.Res. 30: A resolution establishing the Committee …; S.Res. 164: A resolution designating October 30, … Compare to all Senate Democrats (62nd percentile); All Senators (75th percentile). |
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Was 22nd most absent in votes compared to All Senators (tied with 2 others)Udall missed 3.4% of votes (10 of 291 votes) in 2013. View Udall’s Profile » Compare to all All Senators (76th percentile). |
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Laws EnactedUdall 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 Democrats (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 IntroducedUdall introduced 34 bills and resolutions in 2013. View Bills » Compare to all Senate Democrats (58th percentile); All Senators (74th 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. 253: A bill establishing the Committee …; S. 1212: Target Practice and Marksmanship Training …; S. 1443: Good Samaritan Cleanup of Abandoned …; S. 1606: A bill to designate the …; S.Res. 30: A resolution establishing the Committee … Compare to all Senate Democrats (36th 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 BillsUdall tends to gather cosponsors only on one side of the aisle. 35% of Udall’s 34 bills and resolutions had both a Democratic cosponsor and a Republican cosponsor in 2013. Compare to all Senate Democrats (52nd percentile); All Senators (59th percentile). Only Members of Congress who sponsored more than 10 bills and resolutions are included in this statistic. |
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Committee PositionsUdall 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 Udall’s Profile » Compare to all Senate Democrats (23rd percentile); All Senators (18th percentile). |
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Bills CosponsoredUdall cosponsored 104 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 Democrats (26th percentile); All Senators (31st percentile). |
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Joining Bipartisan BillsOf the 104 bills that Udall cosponsored, 20% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all Senate Democrats (60th percentile); All Senators (33rd 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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CosponsorsUdall’s bills and resolutions had 116 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 Democrats (38th percentile); All Senators (46th percentile). |
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Ideology ScoreOur 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 Udall’s score elsewhere on GovTrack. Compare to all Senate Democrats (70th percentile); All Senators (38th percentile). |
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Leadership ScoreOur 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 Udall’s score elsewhere on GovTrack. Compare to all Senate Democrats (43rd percentile); All Senators (57th 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.
