Rep. Terri Sewell’s 2016 Report Card
Representative
from Alabama's 7th District
Democrat
Serving Jan 5, 2011 – Jan 3, 2025
These statistics cover Sewell’s record during the 114th Congress (Jan 6, 2015-Jan 3, 2017) and compare her to other representatives also serving at the end of the session. Last updated on Aug 24, 2017. The statistics were updated on Jan 20, 2017 and Aug 24, 2017 to improve how we counted enacted laws. Originally published on Jan 7, 2017.
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 Sewell’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 Alabama DelegationSewell introduced 2 bills that became law, including via incorporation into other measures, in the 114th 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. 431: To award a Congressional Gold …; H.R. 4777: To designate the facility of … Compare to all Alabama Delegation (86th percentile); House Democrats (87th percentile); All Representatives (82nd 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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Got bicameral support on the most bills compared to Alabama DelegationThe House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing Those bills were: H.R. 431: To award a Congressional Gold …; H.R. 1780: Helping Working Families Afford Child …; H.R. 2867: Voting Rights Advancement Act of … Compare to all Alabama Delegation (86th percentile); House Democrats (54th percentile); All Representatives (59th percentile). Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service. |
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Got bipartisan cosponsors on the most bills compared to Alabama DelegationIn this era of partisanship, it is important to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. 3 of Sewell’s 8 bills and resolutions had both a Democratic cosponsor and a Republican cosponsor in the 114th Congress. Compare to all Alabama Delegation (86th percentile); House Democrats (22nd percentile); All Representatives (23rd percentile). |
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Joined bipartisan bills the most often compared to Alabama DelegationIn this era of partisanship, it is encouraging to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. Of the 212 bills that Sewell cosponsored, 32% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills » Compare to all Alabama Delegation (86th percentile); House Democrats (59th percentile); All Representatives (81st 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 the most cosponsors on their bills compared to Alabama DelegationSewell’s bills and resolutions had 539 cosponsors in the 114th 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 Alabama Delegation (86th percentile); House Democrats (84th percentile); All Representatives (83rd percentile). |
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Cosponsored the 19th fewest bills compared to House DemocratsSewell cosponsored 212 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 Alabama Delegation (57th percentile); House Democrats (9th percentile); All Representatives (28th percentile). |
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Introduced the 25th fewest bills compared to House Democrats (tied with 8 others)Sewell introduced 8 bills and resolutions in the 114th Congress. View Bills » Compare to all Alabama Delegation (43rd percentile); House Democrats (13th percentile); All Representatives (16th percentile). |
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Was 52nd most absent in votes compared to All RepresentativesSewell missed 6.6% of votes (87 of 1,325 votes) in the 114th Congress. View Sewell’s Profile » Compare to all Alabama Delegation (86th percentile); All Representatives (88th 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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Got influential cosponsors the 46th least often compared to House Democrats (tied with 30 others)2 of Sewell’s bills and resolutions in the 114th 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. 431: To award a Congressional Gold …; H.R. 2867: Voting Rights Advancement Act of … Compare to all Alabama Delegation (57th percentile); House Democrats (24th percentile); All Representatives (27th percentile). |
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Bills Out of CommitteeMost bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Sewell introduced 1 bill in the 114th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration. Those bills were: H.R. 4777: To designate the facility of … Compare to all Alabama Delegation (43rd percentile); House Democrats (43rd percentile); All Representatives (26th percentile). |
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Committee PositionsSewell held a leadership position on 0 committees and 1 subcommittee, as either a chair (majority party) or ranking member (minority party), at the end of the session. View Sewell’s Profile » Compare to all Alabama Delegation (43rd percentile); House Democrats (39th percentile); All Representatives (39th percentile). |
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Government TransparencyGovTrack looked at whether Sewell supported any of 40 government transparency, accountability, and effectiveness bills in the House that we identified in this session. We gave Sewell 1 point, based on one point for cosponsoring and three points for sponsoring any of these bills. Sewell cosponsored H.R. 20: Government By the People Act … Compare to all Alabama Delegation (57th percentile); House Democrats (4th percentile); All Representatives (31st 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 114th Congress) was the 114th Congress (freshmen) or 113th (sophomores). Members of Congress who took office within the last few months of a Congress are considered freshmen in the next Congress as well.
