HENRICO, V.A. – U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today was ranked for the second year in a row as one of the top five most bipartisan Democrats in the U.S. House and the most bipartisan Member of Virginia’s congressional delegation.

In the latest nonpartisan Bipartisan Index released by the Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, Spanberger ranks as the fourth most bipartisan House Democrat in the full 116^th Congress and the ninth most bipartisan Member of either party in the U.S. House.

METHODOLOGY: According to the Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy, the Bipartisan Index measures how often a Member of Congress introduces bills that succeed in attracting cosponsors from Members of the opposite party, as well as how often they cosponsor a bill introduced from across the aisle. Additionally, the Index includes a metric that gives Members credit for the number of bipartisan cosponsors on bills they’ve introduced.

“In her first full term in Congress, Rep. Spanberger demonstrated an exceptional commitment to bipartisanship,” said Dan Diller, Policy Director, Lugar Center. “Earning the 9th highest score among 437 House members showed that she was working across the aisle at every opportunity.”

“Bipartisanship is not just a goal in and of itself — it’s a means of crafting meaningful legislation that both brings together a wide coalition of lawmakers and builds policy that can stand the test of time. Even as our nation’s politics seems increasingly divided and hyper-polarized, Members of Congress should seek out ideas and feedback from across the aisle, because that’s a recipe for effective governance,” said Spanberger. “The people of Virginia’s Seventh District expect me to develop positive working relationships with Members of Congress who share the priorities of Central Virginia. I’ve been proud to deliver on critical legislation addressing issues ranging from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to the strength and security of our 5G networks, and I will continue to work in a way that promotes good-faith negotiation between Democrats and Republicans. I’d like to thank the Lugar Center and the McCourt School for their continued recognition of lawmakers who strive to serve in the best interests of their constituents.”

With a new bipartisanship score of 2.30736, Spanberger ranks as the most bipartisan Member of the entire Virginia delegation, the fourth most bipartisan House Democrat, and the ninth most bipartisan Member of the House across both parties. The Bipartisan Index is based on a formula applied uniformly to all members, and no subjective judgments are made about individual Members or bills.

Last year, Spanberger was similarly ranked as one of the top five most bipartisan Democrats in the U.S. House and the most bipartisan Member of the Virginia delegation.

BACKGROUND

Since arriving in the U.S. House, Spanberger has prioritized building coalitions with her colleagues across the aisle and advancing bipartisan legislation on behalf of Central Virginians. Last year, Spanberger was instrumental in kickstarting negotiations and spearheading the passage of bipartisan, bicameral emergency relief legislation in response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

In June 2020, Spanberger received the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s first-ever “Jefferson-Hamilton Award for Bipartisanship” for her work to bring Republicans and Democrats together to advance legislation on behalf of the people of Central Virginia

And in December 2019, President Trump signed into law Spanberger’s legislation — led alongside former U.S. Representative Will Hurd (R-TX-23) — to combat Central American trafficking and smuggling networks and strengthen U.S. border security. Additionally, President Trump signed into law an amendment introduced by Spanberger and former U.S. Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC-11) to help the Department of Defense stop the use of its internet networks to possess or obtain child pornography — and he also signed into law bipartisan legislation she led in the U.S. House to protect American 5G telecommunications systems from foreign-based threats.

Click here for this year’s full U.S. House Bipartisan Index ranking.

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