Washington, DC – The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University have developed a new “Bipartisan Index” to quantify a member’s bipartisan behavior. This new index, released this morning, ranks Senator Collins as the most bipartisan Senator.
With the formal announcement, former Senator Richard Lugar of the Lugar Center stated, “From having served with Sen. Collins in the Senate, I know firsthand her dedication to good policy and her openness to working productively with members representing a wide range of viewpoints. It does not surprise me that our new Bipartisan Index found her to be the most bipartisan member of the Senate during the 113th Congress. I congratulate Senator Collins for this achievement."
While many of the current measures for bipartisanship are based on voting records alone or are graded on partisan, parochial, or special-interest standards, this new index uses an objective formula to give each Member of Congress an overall score based equally on two things:
1. The frequency with which a member sponsors bills co-sponsored by at least one member of the opposing party
2. The frequency with which a member co-sponsors bills introduced by members of the opposite party
Yesterday, Senator Collins was named one of the one of the “25 Most Influential Women in Congress” in CQ Weekly’s Power Issue. Senator Collins was also recognized as one of the top 5 women who shape the debate in Congress. This morning, CQ Roll Call expanded upon this recognition and released an electronic book, “Powerful Women: The Most Influential Women in Congress.”
This acknowledgement follows a recent profile about Senator Collins in The Boston Globe that describes her as a ‘Force for Consensus,’ and the Senator’s recent lecture titled “Bipartisanship and Moderation: The Formula for Progress” which she delivered at Colby College in Maine.
Overview of Bipartisan Index Methodology:
The Lugar Center and Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy have produced a non-partisan ranking of how often each Member of Congress works across party lines based on sponsorships and co-sponsorships of legislation.
Sponsorships and co-sponsorships are positions Senators carefully consider and often reflect their long-term priorities. The index chose to measure this activity in order to focus the index on bipartisanship and cooperation, rather than where members sit on the ideological spectrum.
Majority and minority members are compared to the average score of their respective groups over a 20-year baseline period that includes the 103rd through the 112th Congress (1993-2012). This standard is used to establish a useful historical baseline and compare members to the performance of other members in similar circumstances.
For a full description of the methodology behind the Bipartisan Index, please visit the Lugar Center’s website.