Rep. Tony Cárdenas
Former Representative forCalifornia’s 29th District
pronouncedTOH-nee // KAHR-deh-noss
Cárdenas was the representative forCalifornia’s 29th congressional district and was a Democrat. He served from 2013 to 2024.
![Photo of Rep. Tony Cárdenas [D-CA29, 2013-2024]](/image.pl?url=https%3a%2f%2fwww.govtrack.us%2fstatic%2flegislator-photos%2f412517-200px.jpeg&f=jpg&w=240)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our2024 Report Card for Cárdenas.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Cárdenas is shown as a purple triangle▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below.Each dot was a member of the House of Representativesin 2024positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills legislators sponsored and cosponsoredfrom Jan. 3, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2024.See fullanalysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Cárdenas was the primary sponsor of 5 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 3182 (117th): Safe Sleep for Babies Act of 2021
- H.R. 1253 (116th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 13507 Van Nuys Boulevard in Pacoima, California, as the “Ritchie Valens Post Office Building”.
- H.R. 1252 (116th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6531 Van Nuys Boulevard in Van Nuys, California, as the “Marilyn Monroe Post Office”.
- H.R. 1009 (116th): National Evaluation of Techniques for Making Energy Technologies More Efficient and Resilient Act of 2019
- H.R. 1925 (115th): At-Risk Youth Medicaid Protection Act of 2018
Does 5 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Cárdenas sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (34%)Crime and Law Enforcement (30%)Commerce (12%)Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues (7%)Science, Technology, Communications (5%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Cárdenas recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 10520 (118th): Clean Commute for Kids Act of 2024
- H.R. 10419 (118th): CARE for Behavioral Health Act of 2024
- H.Res. 1503 (118th): Expressing support for the designation of October 2024 as “National Youth Justice …
- H.R. 9241 (118th): Safeguarding Infants from Dangerous Sleep Act
- H.R. 8884 (118th): Peggy Frank Memorial Act
- H.R. 8626 (118th): Prohibiting Detention of Youth Status Offenders Act of 2024
- H.R. 8200 (118th): Pediatric Access to Critical Healthcare Act
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Cárdenas votedYea
Cárdenas votedYea
Cárdenas votedYea
Cárdenas votedNo
Cárdenas votedNay
Cárdenas votedNay
Cárdenas votedYea
Cárdenas votedAye
Cárdenas votedYea
Cárdenas votedNo
Cárdenas votedAye
Cárdenas votedAye
Missed Votes
From Jan 2013 to Dec 2024, Cárdenas missed 359 of 6,932 roll call votes, which is 5.2%.This ismuch worse thanthe median of 2.2%among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Dec 2024.The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absences, major life events, and running for higher office.
| Time Period | Votes Eligible | Missed Votes | Percent | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 Jan-Mar | 89 | 8 | 9.0% | 88th |
| 2013 Apr-Jun | 215 | 10 | 4.7% | 79th |
| 2013 Jul-Sep | 200 | 6 | 3.0% | 75th |
| 2013 Oct-Dec | 137 | 16 | 11.7% | 94th |
| 2014 Jan-Mar | 148 | 17 | 11.5% | 94th |
| 2014 Apr-Jun | 219 | 4 | 1.8% | 55th |
| 2014 Jul-Sep | 147 | 2 | 1.4% | 50th |
| 2014 Nov-Dec | 49 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 2015 Jan-Mar | 144 | 9 | 6.2% | 83rd |
| 2015 Apr-Jun | 244 | 26 | 10.7% | 94th |
| 2015 Jul-Sep | 139 | 1 | 0.7% | 33rd |
| 2015 Oct-Dec | 177 | 6 | 3.4% | 79th |
| 2016 Jan-Mar | 137 | 12 | 8.8% | 77th |
| 2016 Apr-Jun | 204 | 54 | 26.5% | 99th |
| 2016 Jul-Sep | 232 | 4 | 1.7% | 64th |
| 2016 Nov-Dec | 48 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 2017 Jan-Mar | 208 | 4 | 1.9% | 61st |
| 2017 Apr-Jun | 136 | 4 | 2.9% | 70th |
| 2017 Jul-Sep | 199 | 1 | 0.5% | 40th |
| 2017 Oct-Dec | 167 | 1 | 0.6% | 26th |
| 2018 Jan-Mar | 129 | 12 | 9.3% | 89th |
| 2018 Apr-Jun | 184 | 11 | 6.0% | 81st |
| 2018 Jul-Sep | 102 | 38 | 37.3% | 99th |
| 2018 Nov-Dec | 85 | 10 | 11.8% | 87th |
| 2019 Jan-Mar | 136 | 3 | 2.2% | 64th |
| 2019 Apr-Jun | 294 | 21 | 7.1% | 91st |
| 2019 Jul-Sep | 125 | 4 | 3.2% | 84th |
| 2019 Oct-Dec | 146 | 5 | 3.4% | 72nd |
| 2020 Jan-Mar | 102 | 3 | 2.9% | 61st |
| 2020 Apr-Jun | 31 | 2 | 6.5% | 85th |
| 2020 Jul-Sep | 80 | 1 | 1.2% | 52nd |
| 2020 Oct-Dec | 40 | 3 | 7.5% | 75th |
| 2021 Jan-Mar | 97 | 2 | 2.1% | 65th |
| 2021 Apr-Jun | 107 | 2 | 1.9% | 69th |
| 2021 Jul-Sep | 108 | 5 | 4.6% | 91st |
| 2021 Oct-Dec | 137 | 3 | 2.2% | 75th |
| 2022 Jan-Mar | 102 | 0 | 0.0% | 0th |
| 2022 Apr-Jun | 197 | 1 | 0.5% | 40th |
| 2022 Jul-Sep | 178 | 1 | 0.6% | 41st |
| 2022 Nov-Dec | 72 | 1 | 1.4% | 47th |
| 2023 Jan-Mar | 182 | 1 | 0.5% | 38th |
| 2023 Apr-Jun | 107 | 5 | 4.7% | 77th |
| 2023 Jul-Sep | 224 | 4 | 1.8% | 72nd |
| 2023 Oct-Dec | 211 | 8 | 3.8% | 75th |
| 2024 Jan-Mar | 104 | 10 | 9.6% | 89th |
| 2024 Apr-Jun | 231 | 3 | 1.3% | 44th |
| 2024 Jul-Sep | 120 | 6 | 5.0% | 69th |
| 2024 Nov-Dec | 62 | 9 | 14.5% | 86th |
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- TheHouse andSenate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
