Eliot Engel was defeated by a primary challenger and will not return to Congress for another term. He served as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and was known as the “Dean” of the New York Delegation after serving more than 30 years in the House. Engel and his committee were among those investigating President Donald Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors related to his interactions with the President of Ukraine. Engel has a solid reputation for bipartisanship on a variety of issues and built enough consensus to pass a number of bills out of the House.
What the rankings mean:
Number of bills sponsored:
This metric measures the number of unique bills put forward by a Representative or a Senator. A Resolution usually expresses an opinion or addresses procedure in the House or Senate and doesn’t go to the President. An Amendment is a change to the language of legislation. Everything has to be voted on.
Number of bills passed out of one chamber:
Getting a bill passed through a chamber is tough. In order to pass a bill out of a chamber, a member of Congress must build consensus among his or her colleagues.
Number of bills signed into law:
If a bill from an opposite party is signed into law by a President, the achievement is a significant victory for that Member of Congress if the bill is significant. Many non-controversial bills are signed into law as a matter of routine.
Percentage a member votes with his or her party:
Source: ProPublica. Procedural votes count toward this score and it isn’t entirely indicative of a member’s loyalty, or disloyalty, to the party.
Lugar Center Bipartisan Index Score:
The Bipartisan Index is a joint project of The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. Scores above 1.0 are outstanding. Scores above .5 are very good. Scores below -.5 are poor. Scores below -1.0 are very poor.