skip to main content
Hide All The Ads With a Yearly Membership Subscribe ▶

Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s 2020 Report Card

Representative from California's 19th District
Democrat
Served Jan 3, 2013 – Jan 3, 2023

These statistics cover Lofgren’s record during the 116th Congress (Jan 3, 2019-Jan 3, 2021) and compare her to other representatives also serving at the end of the session. Last updated on Jan 30, 2021.

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 Lofgren’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.

Jump to...

 

Got their bills out of committee the 8th most often compared to All Representatives

Most bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Lofgren introduced 16 bills in the 116th Congress that got past committee and to the floor for consideration.

Those bills were: H.Res. 30: Requiring each Member, officer, and …; H.Res. 86: Providing amounts for the expenses …; H.Res. 226: Electing Members to the Joint …; H.Res. 245: Providing for the expenses of …; H.Res. 420: Permitting official photographs of the …; H.Res. 693: Authorizing the Director of the …; H.Res. 761: Permitting individuals to be admitted …; H.Res. 812: Making a technical correction to …; H.R. 1044: Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act …; H.R. 2722: SAFE Act; H.R. 4617: Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections …; H.R. 5038: Farm Workforce Modernization Act of …; H.R. 5277: To amend section 442 of …; H.R. 8078: Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act; H.R. 8089: Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act; H.Con.Res. 92: Authorizing the printing of a …

Compare to all California Delegation (98th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (97th percentile); House Democrats (97th percentile); All Representatives (98th percentile).

 

Got influential cosponsors the 7th most often compared to All Representatives (tied with 2 others)

17 of Lofgren’s bills and resolutions in the 116th 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. 30: Requiring each Member, officer, and …; H.Res. 238: Recognizing the cultural and historical …; H.Res. 420: Permitting official photographs of the …; H.Res. 563: Recognizing the Office of the …; H.R. 641: Agricultural Worker Program Act of …; H.R. 1044: Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act …; H.R. 2146: GRACE Act; H.R. 2722: SAFE Act; H.R. 3524: Northern Triangle and Border Stabilization …; H.R. 3572: Redistricting Reform Act of 2019; H.R. 4041: Clean Energy Victory Bond Act …; H.R. 4421: Bankruptcy Venue Reform Act of …; H.R. 4617: Stopping Harmful Interference in Elections …; H.R. 5038: Farm Workforce Modernization Act of …; H.R. 5210: Refugee Protection Act of 2019; H.R. 8078: Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act; H.R. 8089: Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act

Compare to all California Delegation (98th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (95th percentile); House Democrats (96th percentile); All Representatives (98th percentile).

 

Was 9th most absent in votes compared to California Delegation

Lofgren missed 3.1% of votes (30 of 954 votes) in the 116th Congress. View Lofgren’s Profile »

Compare to all California Delegation (82nd percentile); Serving 10+ Years (62nd percentile); All Representatives (65th 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.
 

Wrote the 17th most laws compared to Serving 10+ Years (tied with 14 others)

Lofgren introduced 3 bills that became law, including via incorporation into other measures, in the 116th 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. 5277: To amend section 442 of …; H.R. 8078: Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act; H.R. 8089: Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act

Compare to all California Delegation (73rd percentile); Serving 10+ Years (83rd percentile); House Democrats (76th percentile); All Representatives (84th 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.
 

Ranked the 29th top leader compared to All Representatives

Our 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 the 116th Congress is considered, the leadership score here may differ from Lofgren’s score elsewhere on GovTrack.

Compare to all California Delegation (84th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (87th percentile); House Democrats (88th percentile); All Representatives (93rd percentile).

 

Cosponsored the 32nd most bills compared to All Representatives

Lofgren cosponsored 760 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 California Delegation (86th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (91st percentile); House Democrats (87th percentile); All Representatives (93rd percentile).

 

Got the 35th most cosponsors on their bills compared to All Representatives

Lofgren’s bills and resolutions had 1,022 cosponsors in the 116th 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 California Delegation (82nd percentile); Serving 10+ Years (85th percentile); House Democrats (86th percentile); All Representatives (92nd percentile).

 

Introduced the 63rd most bills compared to All Representatives (tied with 8 others)

Lofgren introduced 38 bills and resolutions in the 116th Congress. View Bills »

Compare to all California Delegation (65th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (79th percentile); House Democrats (75th percentile); All Representatives (84th percentile).

 

Ranked 95th most politically left compared to All Representatives

Our 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 the 116th Congress is considered, the ideology score here may differ from Lofgren’s score elsewhere on GovTrack.

Compare to all California Delegation (45th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (28th percentile); House Democrats (40th percentile); All Representatives (22nd percentile).

 

Got bipartisan cosponsors on the 88th most bills compared to All Representatives (tied with 15 others)

In this era of partisanship, it is important to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. 16 of Lofgren’s 38 bills and resolutions had a cosponsor from a different political party than the party Lofgren caucused with in the 116th Congress.

Compare to all California Delegation (62nd percentile); Serving 10+ Years (74th percentile); House Democrats (65th percentile); All Representatives (76th percentile).

Cosponsors who caucused with neither the Democratic nor Republican party do not count toward this statistic.
 

Working with the Senate

The House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing companion bills in each chamber. 6 of Lofgren’s bills and resolutions had a companion bill in the Senate. Working with a sponsor in the other chamber makes a bill more likely to be passed by both the House and Senate.

Those bills were: H.Res. 399: Supporting the goals and ideals …; H.R. 2146: GRACE Act; H.R. 3572: Redistricting Reform Act of 2019; H.R. 5210: Refugee Protection Act of 2019; H.R. 5675: Safeguarding Americans’ Private Records Act …; H.R. 8344: Election Mail Act of 2020

Compare to all California Delegation (63rd percentile); Serving 10+ Years (71st percentile); House Democrats (62nd percentile); All Representatives (74th percentile).

Companion bills are those that are identified as “identical” by Congress’s Congressional Research Service.
 

Committee Positions

Lofgren held a leadership position on 1 committee and 1 subcommittee, as either a chair (majority party) or ranking member (minority party), at the end of the session. View Lofgren’s Profile »

Compare to all California Delegation (94th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (97th percentile); House Democrats (97th percentile); All Representatives (97th percentile).

 

Joining Bipartisan Bills

Of the 760 bills that Lofgren cosponsored, 10% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills »

Compare to all California Delegation (57th percentile); Serving 10+ Years (38th percentile); House Democrats (54th percentile); All Representatives (29th percentile).

Only Democratic and Republican Members of Congress who cosponsored more than 10 bills and resolutions are included in this statistic.

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 116th Congress) was the 116th Congress (freshmen) or 115th (sophomores). Members of Congress who took office within the last few months of a Congress are considered freshmen in the next Congress as well.