From an idea to the president’s desk, a bill has a long journey to becoming law. 

During the 118th Congress — which spanned Jan. 3, 2023, to Jan. 3, 2025 — U.S. representatives and senators introduced just over 16,500 bills, according to the government transparency project, GovTrack.us. Only 1% of these, 274 total, were enacted as law.  

At the conclusion of each Congress, GovTrack releases report cards on the legislative records for all 235 representatives and 100 senators — highlighting how they stack up against their peers for attendance, productivity and collaboration. 

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Over the last two years, Colorado’s two senators and eight representatives introduced 397 bills. Fifteen were signed into law. Below is a breakdown of what this looked like for the state’s senators and two Western Slope representatives. 

Rep. Joe Neguse

In his third term, House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse carried the distinction of having the second-most bills enacted into law out of all U.S. representatives. In the 118th Congress, the Democrat introduced 108 bills and resolutions — the third most of all representatives — and eight became law. Only Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon had more bills become law with nine total. 

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In the previous session, Neguse had 13 bills enacted as law, granting him the No. 1 spot.

Neguse represents Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, spanning portions of the Front Range as well as Western Slope counties including Eagle, Grand, Summit, Routt and Jackson counties. 

The eight bills spanned various topics from housing and tackling invasive aquatic species like zebra mussels to drought and disaster preparedness, water monitoring, mental health for military families and more. 

In Congress, most bills die in committee. Twelve of the 108 bills Neguse introduced made it to the House floor for consideration. 

According to GovTrack, Neguse also had the most bipartisan support: 57 of the 108 bills and resolutions he introduced had a cosponsor from a different party. Additionally, 35 of the 105 had a companion bill introduced in the Senate, something that can help bills pass more easily through both chambers. 

Neguse also cosponsored 722 bills and resolutions, 39% of which were introduced by a legislator who was not a Democrat. 

GovTrack reports that Neguse attended the most votes compared to the Colorado representative delegation, missing two out of 1,241 votes during the session. 

Rep. Lauren Boebert

In her last term serving Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert was the Colorado representative with the second-most bills enacted into law.    

After switching districts in the 2024 election, Boebert is now serving as the representative in the 4th Congressional District in eastern Colorado. Republican Rep. Jeff Hurd now represents the 3rd District, which includes most of western Colorado.    

Boebert had two bills that became law: the CONVEY Act, which directed the Bureau of Land Management to sell a piece of land in Clifton to Mesa County; and an extension of funding for endangered and threatened fish recovery programs in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River basins.   

For the most part, Boebert worked on legislation with members of her political party. During the session, Boebert introduced 26 bills and resolutions — only one of which had a cosponsor who was not a Republican. This put her in the fourth percentile compared to all representatives and the fifth percentile of all House Republicans. 

The congresswoman cosponsored 336 bills, only 1% of which were introduced by a member of a different party. This put her in the first percentile of all representatives to co-sponsor bills across the aisle and the second percentile of all House Republicans to do so. 

Of her 26 bills and resolutions, eight made it out of committee to the House floor. 

Compared to the other Colorado representatives, Boebert missed the most number of votes. She missed 5.5% of the total votes, according to GovTrack. 

Sen. Michael Bennet 

Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet has been a member of Congress since 2009. In the 118th session, he introduced 75 bills and resolutions. While many of these bills died in committee, 13 made it to the Senate floor for consideration. 

One became law: The Colorado River Salinity Control Fix Act, which brought additional funding to a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation program aimed at reducing salinity in the basin. 

The number of bills introduced placed Bennet at No. 33 in the Senate. Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio had the most with 270. The Senator with the most laws enacted was Michigan Democrat Sen. Gary Peters, with 24. 

Thirty-nine of the bills and resolutions that Bennet wrote had a non-Democrat co-sponsor. 

Bennet cosponsored 333 bills and resolutions — ranking him among senators as 65 out of 100, just one ahead of Sen. John Hickenlooper who cosponsored 330. Of the 333 pieces of legislation that Bennet cosponsored, 29% were from a member of a different political party. 

Bennet’s attendance was the ninth-highest out of all senators. Tied with six others, Bennet missed four out of 680 Senate votes during the session. 

Sen. John Hickenlooper

Hickenlooper, who has served as a Colorado senator since 2021, introduced 49 bills and resolutions during the last session of Congress. Of those, 13 made it out of committee to the floor and four became law. This placed Hickenlooper in an eight-senator tie for those with the 16-most laws enacted. 

The four laws included the Senate companion bill to Boebert’s House bill on funding for the Colorado and San Juan River basin fish recovery programs, the creation of a civil rights fellowship, a drought preparedness act, and the Summit of the Americas Act. 

Hickenlooper had high bipartisan support. Of his 49 bills and resolutions, 39 had a non-Democrat co-sponsor. This ranked him in the top 25% of all senators to do so. Of the 330 bills he cosponsored, 33% were introduced by a member of another party.

Out of the 680 Senate votes, Hickenlooper missed 14.