The Survey Says: AOC Study Amongst Most Ineffective Lawmakers

A survey from the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking found that of all Democratic lawmakers, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is one of the most ineffective. A study conducted by Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia found AOC introduced a total of 21 “substantive” bills that did not receive substantial backing from other lawmakers, including committee and floor votes.

Vanderbilt political scientist and the center’s co-director Alan Wiseman told the Jerusalem Post AOC “introduced a lot of bills, but she was not successful at having them receive any sort of action in committee or beyond committee, and if they can’t get through committee, they cannot pass the House.”

Wiseman added of the findings, “it’s clear that she was trying to get her legislative agenda moving and engage with the lawmaking process, but she wasn’t as successful as some other members were – even among [other] freshmen – at getting people to pay attention to her legislation.”

The study ranked AOC at 230 out of 240 Congressional Democrats for effectiveness. The most effective lawmakers according to the study were Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY) who retired last year but not before introducing 29 major bills with seven of them becoming laws, and John Katko (R-NY) with six of his bills becoming laws.

Compared with her colleagues and fellow members of “the squad,” Ilhan Omar sponsored 33 bills, Rashida Tlaib had some of her bills advance to committee and one became law. Tlaib was ranked number 92 among the Democratic lawmakers.