Though the 118th Congress passed the fewest number of individual bills of any Congress in decades, nearly every Inland Empire legislator got at least one bill passed, including bills to help veterans and a perennial favorite — rename post offices.
The Southern California News Group has crunched the numbers to measure the performance of senators and members of the House of Representatives representing the Inland Empire from January 2023 to January 2025.
As in previous years, the analysis tallies up the number of bills area lawmakers passed into law — which includes bills to benefit veterans, bills to benefit Southern California tribes and, yes, to rename post offices — along with how much money they sought for their districts in the form of earmarks, and how far their messages spread on social media.
During the two-year congressional session, House and Senate members representing the Inland Empire introduced a total of 384 bills and saw 21 signed into law.
This analysis also includes a “legislative effectiveness” score assembled by the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint project of the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University. The center awards lawmakers points for a dozen different criteria to generate what it calls a “legislative effectiveness score,” which is included on this report card.
According to the center, House Republicans, who were in the majority in the 118th session, earned an average legislative effectiveness score of 1.44. House Democrats had an average score of 0.55.
Rep. Young Kim, R-Mission Viejo, whose district includes portions of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, was the highest ranked legislator in the Inland Empire and California overall. With a score of 3.91, she was ranked eighth among all House Republicans.
Senate Democrats averaged a 1.11 score in the 118th Congress, meanwhile, and Senate Republicans had an average 0.88 score. Sen. Alex Padilla of California, with a score of 2.87, was the second-highest ranking Democrat and third-highest among senators overall.
Here’s how the Inland Empire‘s representatives fared:
Senate
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California
Bills introduced: 31, 1 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 6
Earmarks requested: $263,867,346 in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 0.47
Social media reach: 1,873,639
In her final year in office, Feinstein introduced one bill that was signed into law before her death in September 2023: Senate Bill 2443, the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2024, which appropriated funds for energy and water development and related federal agencies, was signed into law March 2024.
Sen. Laphonza Butler, D-California
Bills introduced: 19, 1 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 3
Earmarks requested: No earmarks in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 0.16
Social media reach: 64,820
Butler, appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom after Feinstein’s death, saw one bill signed into law, S. 4243, the Shirley Chisholm Congressional Gold Medal Act, which posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to Chisholm. In 1968, Chisolm became the first Black woman to be elected to Congress. In 1972, she became the first Black politician to attempt to become the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California
Bills introduced: 91, 7 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 14
Earmarks requested: $312,172,708 in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 2.87
Social media reach: 290,268
Padilla’s seven bills signed into law included S. 3857, the Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act, which put land into trust for San Diego County’s Jamul Indian Village of California, a federally recognized tribe.
He also introduced S. 4077, which named a San Francisco post office after the late Feinstein, who served as the city’s mayor from 1978 through 1988 before being elected to the U.S. Senate.
House of Representatives
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino
Bills introduced: 18, 2 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 9
Earmarks requested: $17,562,217 in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 0.58
Social media reach: 90,833
The two bills Aguilar introduced that became law included House Resolution 1060, which renamed a San Bernardino post office after Margaret Hill, the longtime San Bernardino City Unified school board member and Black community leader who died in December 2021.
The other bill was H.R. 1226, the Wounded Warrior Access Act, which required the Veterans Administration to allow veterans to obtain their records online, rather than by having to request them by mail or in person.
Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona
Bills introduced: 21, 2 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 0
Earmarks requested: $44,879,833 in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 2.80
Social media reach: 63,534
The two bills Calvert introduced as cosponsor that were signed into law included H.R. 4365, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2024, which allocated $50 billion to the Department of Defense, and H.R. 7217, Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024, which allocated emergency funding for Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas.
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena
Bills introduced: 28, 0 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 11
Earmarks requested: $17,860,783 in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 0.38
Social media reach: 121,154
Chu introduced H.R. 5248, the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act of 2023, which would have prevented the deportation of three specific refugees from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, and H.R. 7489, the Increasing Access to Mental Health in Schools Act, which would have helped school districts in low-income areas recruit and retain mental health staff.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista
Bills introduced: 39, 4 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 6
Earmarks requested: $67,234,000 in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 2.44
Social media reach: 734,275
Issa’s four bills signed into law included H.R. 423, the Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2023, which put certain San Diego County land into trust for the federally recognized tribe, and H.R. 1505, the No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act of 2023, which tightened existing trademark law.
Rep. Young Kim, R-Mission Viejo
Bills introduced: 28, 1 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 11
Earmarks requested: $24,362,000 in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 3.91
Social media reach: 125,589
Kim’s bill that was signed into law was H.R. 3608, which renamed a post office in Mission Viejo after Major Megan McClung, the first female United States Marine Corps officer killed in combat during the Iraq War.
Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia
Bills introduced: 19, 0 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 2
Earmarks requested: $21,131,400 in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 1.07
Social media reach: 27,924
Among the bills Obernolte introduced were H.R. 498, the 9-8-8 Lifeline Cybersecurity Responsibility Act, which requires the operators of the 988 suicide hotline to respond to cybersecurity vulnerabilities and incidents and to report to the federal government any cybersecurity issues.
He also sponsored H.R. 6869, which would have removed land from the San Bernardino National Forest to make it available for mining and other commercial purposes.
Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert
Bills introduced: 45, 2 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 3
Earmarks requested: $17,737,559 in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 0.88
Social media reach: 94,722
The bills Ruiz got signed into law during the 118th Congress included H.R. 8641, which renamed a Brawley post office the Walter Francis Ulloa Post Office Building. Ulloa was a Latino media pioneer.
Ruiz also introduced H.R. 8216, which authorized appropriations for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside
Bills introduced: 24, 1 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 5
Earmarks requested: $12,818,287 in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 1.13
Social media reach: 134,471
Takano’s lone bill signed into law during the 118th Congress was H.R. 366, the Korean American VALOR Act, which made South Korean military personnel who served alongside American personnel during the Vietnam War eligible for health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Rep. Norma Torres, D-Pomona
Bills introduced: 21, 0 of which became law
Resolutions introduced: 8
Earmarks requested: $14,798,393 in the 2024 omnibus spending bill
Legislative effectiveness score: 0.29
Social media reach: 136,138
Among the bills Torres introduced were H.R. 3275, the Mudslide Recovery Act, which would have directed the Departments of the Interior and Homeland Security to establish a pilot grant program to address damage from mudslides occurring after a wildfire.
She also introduced H.R. 8747, the Asbestos Exposure in Housing Reduction Act of 2024, which would have required sellers and landlords of residential buildings to disclose asbestos dangers to potential purchasers or renters.
Staff writer Linh Tat contributed to this story.
