Rep. Steny Hoyer’s 2014 Report Card
House Minority Whip
Representative
from Maryland's 5th District
Democrat
Serving Jan 5, 1981 – Jan 3, 2025
These statistics cover Hoyer’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.
Members of Congress with party leadership roles often do not participate in the legislative process in the same way as other Members of Congress. Since Hoyer was busy being House Minority Whip, the metrics of legislative activity listed below may not apply.
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 Hoyer’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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Cosponsored the fewest bills compared to Maryland DelegationHoyer cosponsored 59 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 Maryland Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (2nd percentile); House Democrats (1st percentile); Safe House Seats (2nd percentile); All Representatives (2nd percentile). |
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Wrote the 2nd most laws compared to Maryland DelegationHoyer 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. 4120: To amend the National Law … Compare to all Maryland Delegation (75th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (63rd 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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Introduced the 2nd fewest bills compared to Maryland DelegationHoyer introduced 7 bills and resolutions in the 113th Congress. View Bills » Compare to all Maryland Delegation (13th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (15th percentile); House Democrats (14th percentile); Safe House Seats (17th percentile); All Representatives (16th percentile). |
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Was 2nd most absent in votes compared to Maryland DelegationHoyer missed 4.5% of votes (54 of 1,204 votes) in the 113th Congress. View Hoyer’s Profile » Compare to all Maryland Delegation (75th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (62nd percentile); Safe House Seats (71st percentile); All Representatives (73rd 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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Joined bipartisan bills the 6th least often compared to House Democrats (tied with 1 other)Of the 59 bills that Hoyer cosponsored, 17% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all Maryland Delegation (13th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (37th percentile); House Democrats (2nd percentile); Safe House Seats (47th percentile); All Representatives (44th 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 6th most often compared to House Democrats (tied with 6 others)Most bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Hoyer introduced 3 bills in the 113th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Those bills were: H.R. 4120: To amend the National Law …; H.Con.Res. 19: Authorizing the use of the …; H.Con.Res. 88: Authorizing the use of the … Compare to all Maryland Delegation (75th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (73rd percentile); House Democrats (94th percentile); Safe House Seats (78th percentile); All Representatives (78th percentile). |
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Got bicameral support on the 45th fewest bills compared to House Democrats (tied with 41 others)The House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing Those bills were: H.R. 1008: Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act Compare to all Maryland Delegation (25th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (18th 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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Powerful Cosponsors2 of Hoyer’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.Res. 311: Urging the President and Congress …; H.R. 1008: Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act Compare to all Maryland Delegation (13th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (31st percentile); House Democrats (35th percentile); Safe House Seats (35th percentile); All Representatives (34th percentile). |
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Committee PositionsHoyer 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 Hoyer’s Profile » Compare to all Maryland Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (0th percentile); House Democrats (0th percentile); Safe House Seats (0th percentile); All Representatives (0th percentile). |
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CosponsorsHoyer’s bills and resolutions had 164 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 Maryland Delegation (50th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (41st percentile); House Democrats (45th percentile); Safe House Seats (46th percentile); All Representatives (45th percentile). |
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Government TransparencyGovTrack looked at whether Hoyer supported any of 12 government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness bills in the House that we identified in this session. We gave Hoyer 0 points, based on one point for cosponsoring and three points for sponsoring any of these bills. Compare to all Maryland Delegation (0th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (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.
