Rep. Norma Torres
Representative for California’s 35th District
pronounced NOR-muh // TOR-iss
Torres is the representative for California’s 35th congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. She has served since Jan 6, 2015. Torres is next up for reelection in 2024 and serves until Jan 3, 2025. She is 59 years old.
![Photo of Rep. Norma Torres [D-CA35]](/static/legislator-photos/412617-200px.jpeg)
Earmarks
Torres proposed $43 million in earmarks for fiscal year 2024, including:
- $6 million to City of Ontario for “Ontario Well-50 Ion Exchange Treatment Facility”
- $6 million to City of Montclair for “Montclair Transcenter Facilities Enhancement Project”
- $4 million to City of Pomona for “Pomona Emergency Operation Center and Fire Station 182”
View all requests and justifications on Torres’s website »
View analysis and download spreadsheet from Demand Progress Education Fund »
These are earmark requests which may or may not survive the legislative process to becoming law. Most representatives from both parties requested earmarks for fiscal year 2024. Across representatives who requested earmarks, the median total amount requested for this fiscal year was $39 million.
Earmarks are federal expenditures, tax benefits, or tariff benefits requested by a legislator for a specific entity. Rather than being distributed through a formula or competitive process administered by the executive branch, earmarks may direct spending where it is most needed for the legislator's district. All earmark requests in the House of Representatives are published online for the public to review. We don’t have earmark requests for senators. The fiscal year begins on October 1 of the prior calendar year. Source: Appropriations.house.gov. Background: Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House
Analysis
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Torres is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the House of Representatives positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Torres has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to Jun 5, 2024. See full analysis methodology.
Committee Membership
Norma Torres sits on the following committees:
Enacted Legislation
Torres was the primary sponsor of 5 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 6118 (117th): National MEP Supply Chain Database Act of 2021
- H.R. 2492 (117th): GIVE Act
- H.R. 3329 (116th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5186 Benito Street in Montclair, California, as the “Paul Eaton Post Office Building”.
- H.R. 2733 (116th): Savanna’s Act
- H.R. 1937 (116th): Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act of 2019
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
Torres sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Crime and Law Enforcement (20%) Government Operations and Politics (16%) Immigration (14%) Armed Forces and National Security (14%) International Affairs (9%) Emergency Management (9%) Labor and Employment (9%) Science, Technology, Communications (9%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Torres recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 8511: To direct the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress a report on …
- H.R. 8486: To direct the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Housing …
- H.Res. 1202: Expressing support for the recognition of May 5 through May 11, 2024, as …
- H.R. 8189: Consent is Key Act
- H.R. 8188: Stealthing Act of 2024
- H.R. 7916: Removing Nitrate and Arsenic in Drinking Water Act
- H.R. 7828: Pink Tax Repeal Act
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2015 to Jun 2024, Torres missed 85 of 5,458 roll call votes, which is 1.6%. This is on par with the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.
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
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
