Bernie Sanders' Sponsored Bills: Law Or No?

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has only successfully passed three of the 421 bills he has sponsored during his legislative tenure, giving him the second-lowest ratio for any current senator who has served across ten or more sessions. Two of these laws were to rename Vermont post offices.

Bills sponsored by Bernie Sanders that became law

Sen. Bernie Sanders has sponsored a small number of bills that have become law during his time in Congress.

According to GovTrack.us, Sanders has been the primary sponsor of eight bills that were enacted. However, other sources state that only three of the bills he sponsored became law. Two of these laws were to rename post offices in Vermont, and the third was the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2013.

• S. 5063 (116th): Emergency Direct Payments Act
• S. 885 (113th): A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 35 Park Street in Danville, Vermont, as the "Thaddeus Stevens Post Office"
• S. 2782 (113th): A bill to amend title 36, United States Code, to improve the Federal charter for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, and for other purposes
• S. 893 (113th): Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2013
• H.R. 5245 (109th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1 Marble Street in Fair Haven, Vermont, as the "Matthew Lyon Post Office Building"
• H.J.Res. 129 (104th): Granting the consent of Congress to the Vermont-New Hampshire Interstate Public Water Supply Compact
• H.R. 1353 (102nd): Entitled the "Taconic Mountains Protection Act of 1991"

Sanders is also cited as a co-sponsor on 203 other bills that have become law.

Bernie Sanders' record of passing bills

Over the course of his career, Bernie Sanders has successfully passed 3 out of 421 sponsored bills into law, which equates to 0.7% of the total. This is the second-lowest ratio for any current senator who has served across 10 or more sessions. In comparison, the state of Vermont's senior senator, Patrick J. Leahy, has successfully steered more than 10% of sponsored bills into law, totalling 80 pieces of legislation.

Sanders has struggled through all the stages of shepherding legislation. Before introduced legislation can become law, it must make it through committee, receive a floor vote, pass both chambers of Congress, and be signed by the president. Throughout their careers, sitting senators have successfully passed their sponsored legislation through at least one chamber nearly 14% of the time — Sanders's average is just 1.9%.

Sanders has introduced a variety of bills, including the following:

• A bill to amend title 11 of the United States Code to prohibit nonconsensual release of a nondebtor entity's liability to an entity other than the debtor.
• A bill to award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to Shirley Chisholm.
• A bill to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to exempt certain owners of livestock from inspection requirements.
• A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide relief for borrowers of Federal Direct PLUS loans made on behalf of students.
• A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to deny the deduction for advertising and promotional expenses for prescription drugs.
• A bill to amend the Truth in Lending Act to address certain issues relating to the extension of consumer credit.

Bills sponsored by Bernie Sanders

Over 15 Congressional sessions, Senator Bernie Sanders has only seen three of the 421 bills he sponsored passed into law. This amounts to 0.7% of the total number of bills he has sponsored, giving him the second-lowest ratio for any current senator who has served across ten or more sessions.

Two of the laws that were passed simply involved renaming Vermont post offices.

• A bill to establish the National Institutes of Clean Energy
• A bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Billie Jean King
• A bill to amend title II of the Social Security Act to update the amount of Social Security lump-sum death payments
• A bill to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to exempt certain owners of livestock from inspection requirements
• A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose an income tax on excess profits of certain corporations
• A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program Foundation
• A bill to amend the Horse Protection Act to strengthen penalties for violations of the Act
• A bill to amend the Commodity Exchange Act to prohibit trading of water and water rights for future delivery
• A bill to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to authorise certain construction activities on public lands

Bills sponsored by other senators with more success

While Bernie Sanders has only had three of his sponsored bills become law, other senators have had more success in this regard. According to an analysis by GovTrack, a congressional tracking website, Senator Amy Klobuchar has sponsored or co-sponsored 27 bills that have been enacted into law. This puts her at the top of the list for senators with the most sponsored bills that have become law.

Senator John Cornyn has also been successful in getting his sponsored bills passed into law. During the 116th Congress, he ranked first among Members of Congress in the number of bills sponsored that were enacted into law, with a total of 20. Overall, since the 93rd Congress beginning in 1973, Senator Cornyn has passed the 11th most laws out of all senators, with a total of 54.

Other senators who have had more success than Bernie Sanders in getting their sponsored bills passed into law include Patrick J. Leahy, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Lindsey Graham, and Sherrod Brown. These senators have had at least 12 bills that they sponsored or co-sponsored become law.

Comparison of Bernie Sanders' record to other senators

Bernie Sanders's Record Compared to Other Senators

Bernie Sanders has served in the U.S. Senate since 2007 and is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history. Over 15 Congressional sessions, first as a member of the House and then in the Senate, Sanders has had only three bills directly become law, the second-lowest ratio for any current senator who has served across 10 or more sessions. This amounts to just 0.7% of the 421 bills he has sponsored during his legislative tenure.

Sanders's lack of success isn't just in enacting laws; he has struggled through all the stages of shepherding legislation. Before introduced legislation can become law, it must make it through committee, receive a floor vote, pass both chambers of Congress, and be signed by the president. Throughout their careers, sitting senators have successfully passed their sponsored legislation through at least one chamber nearly 14% of the time — Sanders's average is just 1.9%. That's the lowest for any current senator who has served in at least 10 sessions, and the third lowest overall.

However, Sanders has been successful in other ways. He has been described as having influenced a leftward shift in the Democratic Party after his 2016 presidential campaign. He is known for his opposition to neoliberalism and support for workers' self-management. On domestic policy, he supports labor rights, universal and single-payer healthcare, paid parental leave, tuition-free tertiary education, a Green New Deal to create jobs addressing climate change, and worker control of production through cooperatives, unions, and democratic public enterprises.

Sanders has also been successful in his role as chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He has also been a member of the Senate Budget Committee, the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, and the Senate Democratic Outreach Committee.

Other Senators' Records

Patrick Leahy, the senior senator from Vermont, has successfully steered more than 10% of sponsored bills into law, totaling 80 pieces of legislation, the greatest record of success among all sitting senators.

Bernie Sanders has a mixed record compared to other senators. While he has been successful in shifting the Democratic Party leftward and has been effective in certain areas, such as committee work, he has struggled to get his bills passed into law.

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