Measuring Legislative Performance with Data
The Legislative Performance Index objectively evaluates every member of Congress using a transparent, non-ideological scoring system focused solely on legislative effectiveness.
Four Metrics. One Score.
Every member of Congress is evaluated across four categories, each contributing 25 points to a total score of 100.
Productivity
Bills introduced, co-sponsored, and passed. Committee engagement and voting record consistency.
Cooperation
Bipartisan bill co-sponsorship, cross-party voting patterns, and collaborative legislative efforts.
Integrity
Ethics violations, transparency reports, attendance record, and compliance with disclosure requirements.
District Impact
Federal funding secured for district, constituent services, town halls, and local engagement.
Why Legislative Performance is Hard to Measure
Evaluating congressional performance is notoriously difficult. Traditional approaches often rely on ideological litmus tests, party loyalty scores, or subjective editorial judgment. These methods tell you how a member votes, but not how effectively they legislate.
The challenge is that legislative effectiveness involves many dimensions: sponsoring bills, building coalitions, serving constituents, maintaining ethical standards, and actually getting things done. Each of these requires different data sources and careful methodology to measure fairly.
The Legislative Performance Index was built to solve this problem. By focusing exclusively on measurable, verifiable actions rather than political positions, we create a system that works regardless of party or ideology. A productive Democrat and a productive Republican can both score well because we measure the work, not the worldview.
Ready to See How Your Representatives Measure Up?
Explore grades for all 535 members of Congress. Search by name, state, or party. Compare performance across districts and sessions.
Explore Member Grades