Long Island's representatives pass few bills in divided House

WASHINGTON — Long Island’s four members of Congress have won House passage of nine of the 108 stand-alone bills they have individually introduced this legislative session, but none has advanced in the Senate and chances are dim that any of their measures will become law.

Congress still faces a list of unresolved major issues, even as the Senate adjourned this weekend until Sept. 14 and as the House has left Washington until at least Aug. 31. Weighty items that remain include President Donald Trump’s tighter voting restrictions, college sports reform and reconciling House and Senate differences in funding government past the midterm elections.

Down on the depth charts are hundreds of stalled or ignored individual bills introduced by lawmakers, including Reps. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre), Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) and Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove).

Nonpartisan political experts such as Rutgers University political scientist Ross Baker say there is a "legislative atrophy" in this highly divided Congress, which leaves lawmakers scrambling to receive recognition in ways other than simply passing bills.

As of Monday, according to legislative tracker Congress.gov, about 807 bills out of the more than 11,000 introduced in the 435-seat House this two-year session had passed the chamber. That is not quite an average of two bills passed so far from each member. Only 54 have gone on to gain Senate approval, with 45 signed into law.

That trend meshes with the last two-year session, when the average number of bills passed in the House by a member was 1.5, out of an average of 23 measures introduced by each lawmaker. 

"The ability to pass, or better yet have enacted, legislation in a closely divided Congress and partisan environment, is a positive sign of an elected official working effectively," William Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., says.

But Hoagland and others do not suggest that law-making credit is the only way to gauge a lawmaker's influence. Developing special policy expertise, holding positions such as a committee or subcommittee chair or willingness to work collaboratively are things that also correlate with higher sway.

In fact, all four Long Islanders in the House rank among the top 30 of 422 House colleagues in collaboratively working across the aisle to advance legislation, in a new independent rating. The rating is a project of Bridge Grades. a nonpartisan project of the Mediators Foundation. 

But Donald Nieman, a history professor and provost emeritus at Binghamton University, says the job of lawmakers is still largely seen as passing bills to make laws. "It's especially notable if the legislation addresses a real problem that constituents might care about, even if it isn't as consequential as fixing Social Security or reining in an out-of-control deficit."

Nick LaLota

27 bills/resolutions introduced

5 passed in House

Among the Long Islanders, LaLota has the highest number of nonceremonial bills passed by the House this legislative session. The bills include one calling for a comprehensive study on the connection between liver fluke exposure during the Vietnam War and bile duct cancer in Vietnam veterans.

"Leading the delegation in bills passed is nice, but I’m far prouder of quadrupling the SALT [state and local tax] deduction and delivering an average $3,000 tax cut for Long Island families," LaLota said in a statement, referring to his leading role with brokering with colleagues the extension and expansion of the SALT deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year, which became law.

Andrew Garbarino

37 bills/resolutions introduced

2 passed in the House

Garbarino, who was named chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in July 2025, said in a statement he was proud of the success he has had already in this Congress and for what he has delivered for Long Island, in ways he says are not limited to bill-passage.

“I’ve introduced 37 standalone bills and resolutions this session, with two already passing the House, and we’re continuing to work to move more across the finish line,” he said. But he also pointed to his role in getting an extension and expansion of the SALT cap deduction, and other actions. Those include, he noted, helping secure permanent funding for the World Trade Center Health Program, returning more than $2 billion in overdue COVID reimbursements to New York hospitals, and bringing more than $23 million back home for local projects.


Laura Gillen

19 bills/resolutions introduced

1 passed in the House

Gillen, a freshman lawmaker in the minority party, managed to win passage of a notable bill that would protect and extend Temporary Protected Status for over 350,000 Haitian nationals in the U.S. But that bill has languished in the Senate.

"Despite partisan gridlock in Washington, I’m proud to have brought more than $55 million in federal funding back to Nassau County, passed my first bill in Congress through a historic bipartisan vote and advanced major priorities for Long Island on two key committees," Gillen said in a statement.

Tom Suozzi

25 bills/resolutions introduced

1 ceremonial bill passed by both the House and the Senate (to allow the use of space in the U.S. Capitol complex for a medal ceremony.)

The Democrat who chairs the congressional Problem Solvers Caucus has not yet passed any nonceremonial standalone bills in the House. But Suozzi’s office underscores he has played a role in helping to "move forward a ton of legislation" and that he was a co-lead on bills like the recent COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act, which the House approved.

"In a Washington that is toxic and dysfunctional, Congressman Suozzi has been a leader in building bipartisan support to pass legislation, bringing federal dollars back to Long Island and cutting through government bureaucracy to help his constituents," Suozzi spokesman Lily Cohen said.