Sen. Martin Heinrich was more effective than the average senator and Rep. Gabe Vasquez exceeded expectations as a freshman lawmaker during the 118th Congress, according to a report from the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking released Tuesday.
The CEL ranks every member of Congress based on 15 metrics, including how far their bills make it in the legislative process and how substantive those bills are. New Mexico’s congressional delegation was especially effective on issues related to public lands and Native Americans. While the number of stand-alone bills have decreased, there is a notable increase in bills being added to larger omnibus legislation, said CEL Co-Director Alan Wiseman.
“The level of lawmaking that’s occurred across time has been relatively consistent. It’s just happening behind the scenes, so to speak, with members working with each other to compromise,” Wiseman said.
CEL grades lawmakers by the categories of exceeds expectations, meets expectations or does not meet expectations based on how they to compare to lawmakers with similar experience and status.
Senators up for reelection are among the most effective lawmakers in the Senate, the report found. Heinrich was in a high-profile Senate race last year, which he won by a 10-point margin. He ranked the 11th most effective Democratic senator out of 51. He was most effective on issues related to public lands, Native Americans and agriculture.
Heinrich introduced 62 substantive bills, three of which passed the Senate and two of which became law, according to the CEL report. One of those bills was the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act, which created a pilot program meant to make mine cleanup easier. One commemorative bill he sponsored with Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., also became law. It designated the Department of Veterans Affairs in Gallup the Hiroshi “Hershey” Miyamura VA Clinic after the Medal of Honor winner. Commemorative bills are weighted less heavily in the report.
Twelve first-term House representatives exceeded expectations, including Vasquez. The 12 lawmakers may set “the agendas of the Democratic and Republican parties in the future,” the report says. The list also includes Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz. Vasquez and Ciscomani launched the Southwest Caucus in 2023 to advocate for issues like economic development, international trade, border security and conserving public lands.
“While we see a loss of lawmaking capacity as those on our lists of high performers leave Congress, there are also bright spots of newly elected members bringing new ideas and high levels of legislative skill toward the advancement of policy solutions,” the report says.
Vasquez ranked the 50th most effective Democratic member of the House, out of 220. He was most effective on issues related to defense, Native Americans and public lands, according to the CEL report. Vasquez introduced 26 substantive bills, one of which became law. While none of the bills Vasquez sponsored passed into law as stand-alone bills, the report also considers bill text included in larger omnibus bills. Vasquez’s Rural Installation Job Protection Act, which requires the Defense Department to notify Congress before canceling contracts that impact 50 or more jobs at rural military installations, was included in the December National Defense Authorization Act.
The rest of the state’s congressional delegation met expectations. Luján was ranked the 38th most effective Democrat in the Senate. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández was ranked the 66th most effective Democrat in the House, and Rep. Melanie Stansbury ranked 144. Leger Fernández was 16 times more effective on issues related to Native Americans than the average House Democrat. She introduced eight bills related to Native Americans, five of which had action in committee, according to the report. None passed.