"I introduced legislation to address this: it’s called the Equal Representation Act. That would take away this perverse incentive. It would make certain that only citizens are counted for the purpose of allocating congressional districts and for the purpose of allocating electoral votes. This bill just passed the House of Representatives last week, and I put this bill on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Every [Senate] Democrat voted against it in March, but I’m very hopeful that common sense will prevail and we can see a see a very different result,” Hagerty concluded.
Pass the Equal Representation Act to ensure that only legal citizens are counted for the purposes of allocating Congressional districts and Electoral College votes.
Occurrences
Evidence
On June 30, 2025, Senator Bill Hagerty, along with 18 Senate colleagues, reintroduced the Equal Representation Act. This legislation aims to ensure that only legal citizens are counted for the purposes of congressional district apportionment and Electoral College votes. The bill requires the Census Bureau to include a citizenship question on future censuses and prohibits non-citizens from being counted in these apportionments.
On May 15, 2024, during a Senate hearing, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo confirmed to Senator Hagerty that illegal aliens are counted in the U.S. Census for determining congressional seats and electoral votes. This acknowledgment supports the rationale behind the Equal Representation Act, which seeks to exclude non-citizens from these counts.
On July 1, 2025, The Census Project reported that Senator Hagerty reintroduced the Equal Representation Act. The bill is awaiting a number and committee assignment and is expected to be referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for further consideration.
On January 25, 2024, Senator Hagerty led a press conference announcing the introduction of the Equal Representation Act. He emphasized the need to count only legal citizens for congressional and Electoral College apportionment to prevent the dilution of citizens' votes.
On June 30, 2025, Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, along with 17 colleagues, joined Senator Hagerty in reintroducing the Equal Representation Act. The legislation seeks to ensure that only legal citizens are counted for congressional and Electoral College apportionment.
On January 30, 2024, Senator Cynthia Lummis, along with Senator Hagerty and 19 colleagues, introduced the Equal Representation Act. The bill aims to count only legal citizens for congressional and Electoral College apportionment to prevent sanctuary states from gaining disproportionate representation.
On January 26, 2024, Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty introduced the Equal Representation Act. The legislation seeks to ensure that only legal citizens are counted for congressional and Electoral College apportionment, addressing concerns over sanctuary states gaining additional representation.
The Congress.gov bill page shows S.2205 was introduced by Sen. Hagerty on June 29, 2025, read twice, and referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Its tracker still lists the measure as introduced rather than passed or enacted.
In a Senate floor statement, Senator McCormick referred to Senator Hagerty's proposed Equal Representation Act as a pending proposal and said he was proud to cosponsor it, indicating continued advocacy but not passage or enactment.
Congress.gov lists S.2205, the Equal Representation Act, with Sen. Hagerty as sponsor. The tracker says the bill has the status Introduced, and the latest action was that it was read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on 06/29/2025.
Senator Hagerty’s office stated on June 30, 2025, that he and 18 Senate colleagues reintroduced the Equal Representation Act to ensure only legal citizens are counted for congressional districts and the Electoral College.
Assessments
Sen. Hagerty sponsored and repeatedly introduced the Equal Representation Act (e.g., initial introduction in Jan 2024 and reintroduction as S.2205 on 06/29/2025) and secured multiple cosponsors, showing a substantive legislative effort. Official Congress.gov status for S.2205 lists it as introduced and referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with no subsequent passage or enactment. A 2026 Senate floor reference still described the measure as a pending proposal. Because the bill was not enacted into law, the promise to "pass" the Act was not fulfilled, though Hagerty materially advanced the proposal (hence the effort badge).
The promised outcome was to pass the Equal Representation Act so that only legal citizens are counted for congressional and Electoral College apportionment. Senator Hagerty materially advanced the proposal by sponsoring S.2205 in the 119th Congress and previously introducing/advocating related versions, but the official Congress.gov status still shows S.2205 only as introduced and referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, with no Senate passage, House passage, or enactment. Because there was a serious legislative attempt but the promised statutory outcome has not been delivered, this is not fulfilled, with an effort badge.
Senator Bill Hagerty made significant legislative attempts to fulfill his campaign promise by repeatedly introducing and promoting the Equal Representation Act. Multiple press releases, cosponsorships, and public advocacy clearly show serious effort to deliver the promised outcome. However, there is no evidence the bill was passed or enacted into law during the term, as all sources reference the bill's introduction, reintroduction, or pending committee status. Thus, the promise has not been delivered but is accompanied by a documented and substantial effort.