A nonpartisan coalition of national Latino organizations published a scorecard of the 113th Congress on how lawmakers' votes affected the social, economic and political life of Latinos.

The coalition of 39 national Latino organizations, known as the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, noted the congressional scorecard was not made to influence elections but solely to provide "important legislative feedback to the public." The NHLA wanted to help shape the next legislative agenda during the last few weeks of the current congressional session.

According to the NHLA's three basic criteria, members of Congress were notified of the coalition's stance on issues affecting the Latino community. The congressional lawmakers were ranked by their votes on three issues: the economy, political appointments and immigration.

Among Senate lawmakers, 19 senators received a score of 0 percent, including Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.; and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., received 46 percent. Sen. John Hoeven, D-N.D., received the lowest score among Democratic senators with 23 percent.

In the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, received 0 percent. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., were given 0 percent, as well as all representatives in Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming. The aforementioned states have no Democratic representatives.

"Time and again, the issues that matter to the Latino community receive nothing but lip service from our elected officials. Promises and assurances that our issues matter to our leaders are followed by no real actions. That is why we believe this scorecard is so important," said the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement Executive Director Hector Sanchez, who also serves as the NHLA chairperson.

Sanchez said the congressional scorecard explained how lawmakers in Washington, D.C. acted when it came to helping "struggling families," bringing justice to the immigration system, and ensuring the Latino community was represented in government.

Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund President and General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz said the scorecard will show the elected representatives and senators issues that matter to the Latino community. The MALDEF president added that Latino voter turnout in 2012 exhibited that the community "cares deeply about critical policy issues and about holding elected officials accountable."

The congressional scorecard includes the senate's confirmation of Latino officials such as Thomas Perez for U.S. Department of Labor secretary, Leon Rodriguez for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director and Julian Castro for Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary.

"While we now have three Latinos serving in the cabinet, it is disappointing that many of our candidates are having to wait up to hundreds of days for Senate confirmation and that some in Congress failed to vote for a single one of the five nominations that we scored," League of United Latin American Citizens Executive Director Brent Wilkes said. "In the NHLA scorecard, the public will be able to see how their Senators voted when given the chance to confirm outstanding Hispanic leaders to important posts that ultimately influence public policy and shape the work of the federal government."

National Hispanic Leadership Agenda Congressional Scorecard 113th Congress:

--
Correction: North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp was incorrectly listed as a Republican. She is a Democrat. Article has been amended.