Norton Ranked 7th Most Effective House Democrat Last Congress, 2nd Excluding Committee Chairs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced today that the Center for Effective Lawmaking (Center) ranked Norton as the 7th most effective House Democrat in the 116th Congress, but 2nd for members who are not committee chairs.
The Center, which is led by professors at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, defines effectiveness as the "proven ability to advance a member's agenda items through the legislative process and into law." The Center attributed Norton's high ranking to her ability to sponsor legislation that passed the House and Senate and became law, such as the Fairness for Breastfeeding Mothers Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-30), in spite of being "a nonvoting delegate.". Also noteworthy is that the ranking only accounts for a member's own legislation, not for a member's ability to stop legislation, which Norton spends much of her time doing because of Republican attempts to block or overturn local District of Columbia laws.
"I hope this recognition of effectiveness encourages D.C. residents to believe we can win if we continue to fight to pass my D.C. statehood bill into law," said Norton.