Velazquez Recognized as Top Lawmaker

Washington, DC – The Center for Effective Lawmaking, which analyzes Members of Congress' ability to advance their legislative agenda, has recognized Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) as one of the most effective lawmakers in Congress. This week, the Center released their Legislative Effectiveness Scores for the 115th Congress. Among all 196 House Democrats in the last Congress, Velázquez ranked sixth.

"It is an honor to be recognized by the Center," Velázquez noted. "This is a quantitative analysis of how skilled lawmakers are at advancing legislation and I'm proud to have ranked so highly in the 115th Congress."

The Center assigns every Member of Congress with a Legislative Effectiveness Score (LES), which is based on the combination of fifteen metrics regarding the bills that members of Congress sponsor, how far they move through the lawmaking process, and how meaningful their policy proposals are.

In the 115th Congress, Velázquez authored 60 bills on a wide range of issues touching on housing, helping Puerto Rico, environmental matters and immigration.

"Congresswoman Velázquez scored as the sixth most effective Democratic lawmaker in the 115th Congress," said Craig Volden, Co-Director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking. "Despite her minority-party status, she was very active in sponsoring 60 separate bills and achieved remarkable success in navigating five of them through the Republican House. In her new role as chair of the Small Business Committee, she is poised to be significantly more effective as a lawmaker in the current Congress."

"New York's 7th Congressional District is one of the most diverse in the nation and we have a wide range of issues affecting our neighborhoods and our quality of life," Velázquez noted. "In the 116th Congress and the new Democratic Majority, I'll continue pushing bills that help New York's working families."

The full rankings are available on the Center for Effective Lawmaking's website here: https://thelawmakers.org/