by | July 26, 2024 · 7:38 am

Democrat Transparency

GovTracker, a group that tracks the partisan leaning of members of Congress, has deleted their data from 2019 listing Kamala Harris as the farthest-left Senator.

Touting itself as the “government transparency website,” GovTracker scored Harris as the “most liberal compared to all senators” in 2019, outranking even Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. 

The link to that page now goes to “Page Not Found.”

Some have posted on X that the page was still up on July 22, the day after Biden stepped down and endorsed Harris. The archived page says it was gone by July 23, the day Harris announced she had secured enough delegates to lock up the nomination at the DNC next month.

Since the archived version isn’t guaranteed to stay up either, I’m reproducing it below. Cuz, you know, transparency. IMO, the most significant bits below are:

  1. “Ranked most liberal compared to All Senators” – i.e., far left of the American people.
  2. “Joined bipartisan bills the least often compared to Senate Democrats” – i.e., uninterested in working with Republicans.
  3. “Held the fewest committee positions compared to Senate Sophomores (tied with 1 other)” – i.e., neither liked nor respected by her peers.
  4. “Was 3rd most absent in votes compared to All Senators” … she missed 61.9% of votes (265 of 428 votes) in 2019 – i.e., lazy.

These year-end statistics cover Harris’s record during the 2019 legislative year (Jan 3, 2019-Dec 31, 2019) and compare her to other senators serving at the end of that period. Last updated on Jan 18, 2020.

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 Harris’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.

Ranked most liberal compared to All Senators

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 2019 is considered, the ideology score here may differ from Harris’s score elsewhere on GovTrack.

Compare to all Senate Sophomores (0th percentile); Senate Democrats (0th percentile); All Senators (0th percentile).

Joined bipartisan bills the least often compared to Senate Democrats

Of the 471 bills that Harris cosponsored, 15% were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. View Cosponsored Bills »

Compare to all Senate Sophomores (0th percentile); Senate Democrats (0th percentile); All Senators (1st percentile).

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

Got bicameral support on the most bills compared to Senate Sophomores

The House and Senate often work on the same issue simultaneously by introducing companion bills in each chamber. 20 of Harris’s bills and resolutions had a companion bill in the House. 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: S. 129: Saint Francis Dam Disaster National …; S. 280: A bill to reauthorize the …; S. 385: Fairness for Farm Workers Act; S. 488: Justice for Victims of Lynching …; S. 728: A bill to direct the …; S. 1106: Rent Relief Act of 2019; S. 1109: San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and …; S. 1111: Central Coast Heritage Protection Act; S. 1377: EQUAL Defense Act of 2019; S. 1600: Maternal Care Access and Reducing …; S. 1730: Living Shorelines Act of 2019; S. 1926: PrEP Access and Coverage Act; S. 2111: SHIELD Act of 2019; S. 2112: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights …; S. 2221: DONE Act; S. 2225: BASIC Act; S. 2227: MORE Act of 2019; S. 2466: Water Justice Act; S. 2500: Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage …; S.Res. 316: A resolution supporting the clean …

Compare to all Senate Sophomores (90th percentile); Senate Democrats (76th percentile); All Senators (88th percentile).

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

Got the most cosponsors on their bills compared to Senate Sophomores

Harris’s bills and resolutions had 377 cosponsors in 2019. 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 Sophomores (90th percentile); Senate Democrats (62nd percentile); All Senators (80th percentile).

Held the fewest committee positions compared to Senate Sophomores (tied with 1 other)

Harris 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. For comparison to other Members of Congress, we assigned a score giving five points for each full committee leadership position and one point for each subcommittee leadership position. View Harris’s Profile »

Compare to all Senate Sophomores (0th percentile); Senate Democrats (0th percentile); All Senators (0th percentile).

Introduced the 2nd most bills compared to Senate Sophomore

Harris introduced 54 bills and resolutions in 2019. View Bills »

Compare to all Senate Sophomores (80th percentile); Senate Democrats (62nd percentile); All Senators (79th percentile).

Ranked the 2nd top leader compared to Senate Sophomores

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 2019 is considered, the leadership score here may differ from Harris’s score elsewhere on GovTrack.

Compare to all Senate Sophomores (80th percentile); Senate Democrats (47th percentile); All Senators (55th percentile).

Was3rd most absent in votes compared to All Senators

Harris missed 61.9% of votes (265 of 428 votes) in 2019. View Harris’s Profile »

Compare to all Senate Sophomores (90th percentile); All Senators (97th percentile).

Got their bills out of committee the 2nd least often compared to Senate Sophomores (tied with 2 others)

Most bills and resolutions languish in committee without any action. Harris introduced 3 bills in 2019 that got past committee and to the floor for consideration.

Those bills were: S. 129: Saint Francis Dam Disaster National …;

[Added by CtH: S. 120: “Provisions of this bill were incorporated into other bills which were enacted, so there will not likely be further activity on this bill.”

S. 488: Justice for Victims of Lynching …;

[Added by CtH: S. 488: “A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to specify lynching as a deprivation of civil rights, and for other purposes.” It was passed by a voice vote in the Senate, but was not passed in the House.]

S.Res. 231: A resolution condemning the horrific …

[Added by CtH: S. RES. 231 was a simple resolution condemning “the horrific anti-Semitic attack on the Chabad of Poway Synagogue near San Diego, California, on April 27, 2019.” It passed. No other action results from resolutions.]

Compare to all Senate Sophomores (10th percentile); Senate Democrats (9th percentile); All Senators (10th percentile).

Got bipartisan cosponsors on the 3rd fewest bills compared to Senate Democrats (tied with 1 other)

In this era of partisanship, it is important to see Members of Congress working across the aisle. 8 of Harris’s 54 bills and resolutions had a cosponsor from a different political party than the party Harris caucused with in 2019.

Compare to all Senate Sophomores (10th percentile); Senate Democrats (4th percentile); All Senators (11th percentile).

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

Cosponsored the 8th most bills compared to All Senators

Harris cosponsored 471 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 Sophomores (80th percentile); Senate Democrats (82nd percentile); All Senators (92nd percentile).

Got influential cosponsors the 13th most often compared to All Senators (tied with 1 other)

9 of Harris’s bills and resolutions in 2019 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. 388: Families, Not Facilities Act of …; S. 513: HEART Act of 2019; S. 593: Do No Harm Act; S. 728: A bill to direct the …; S. 2227: MORE Act of 2019; S.Res. 154: A resolution recognizing the week …; S.Res. 231: A resolution condemning the horrific …; S.Res. 316: A resolution supporting the clean …; S.Res. 429: A resolution recognizing the importance …

Compare to all Senate Sophomores (80th percentile); Senate Democrats (80th percentile); All Senators (86th percentile).

Laws Enacted

Harris introduced 1 bill that became law, including via incorporation into other measures, in 2019. It was S. 129: Saint Francis Dam Disaster National …

Compare to all Senate Sophomores (20th percentile); Senate Democrats (20th percentile); All Senators (20th percentile).

[Added by CtH: S. 129: Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial Act – “A bill to provide for the establishment of a national memorial and national monument to commemorate those killed by the collapse of the Saint Francis Dam on March 12, 1928, and for other purposes.” This bill was incorporated into: S. 47: John D. Dingell, Jr. “Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act”

Enacted — Signed by President Trump on Mar 12, 2019.]

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