40 Senators, 80 Representatives, named Champions or Defenders
Amid the failure of this Congress to protect the nation’s children, a new report finds that 120 lawmakers stand out for their efforts to fight harmful legislation and advance bills that promote children’s best interests.
First Focus Campaign for Children’s 2025 Legislative Scorecard, released today, identifies 40 senators and 80 members of the House of Representatives from both parties as “Champions” or “Defenders” of children. These are lawmakers who repeatedly used their legislative power to prioritize the well-being of children at home and abroad — sometimes against the instruction of their party leadership. See the list of recipients here.
“America’s children face rising poverty, widening inequities, and increasing threats to their health, safety, education, development, economic security, and well-being,” said First Focus Campaign for Children President Bruce Lesley, “yet lawmakers continue to underinvest in them. In fiscal year 2025, just 8.57% of the federal budget supported children, a nearly 30% drop from the 2021 high of nearly 12%.
“And instead of acting to address those issues,” Lesley continued, “congressional leadership and President Trump enacted legislation that slashed investments in Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — two of the most important lifelines for children — and moved to weaken or dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, USAID, and other agencies that exist to serve and protect young people. That is why it is important to honor the members of Congress named in this report, who were brave and persistent enough to make their voices heard on behalf of children.”
The First Focus Campaign for Children’s 2025 Legislative Scorecard ranks lawmakers according to votes and bill sponsorships taken during the first session of the 119th Congress. The new report examines key pieces of legislation designed to protect children’s access to high-quality health care; preserve the rights of children in the justice system; maintain funding for children overseas who are living with HIV and other diseases; shield children in schools and other sensitive locations; provide high-quality, affordable child care; prevent child labor; safeguard children’s right to housing, equitable public education, and nutritious food; improve the child tax credit; and address other issues critical to advancing the needs of all children everywhere.
Female members of Congress are 2.9 times more likely than their male peers to be Champions or Defenders, the report finds. A total of 42% of all women currently serving in Congress earned the distinction compared to 15% of men. Women outnumber men on the scorecard by 64 to 56. Despite making up just 28% of lawmakers in the House and Senate, women comprise more than 50% of the Champions and Defenders of Children in the 119th Congress.
Support for our nation’s children also breaks down distinctly by region.
- The Northeast is the region of Champions. 42% of House and Senate members (45 of 107 total members) from the Northeast (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware) were Champions or Defenders of Children in 2025.
- The West finished a strong second: Nearly 30% of House and Senate members from the West (Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada) qualified as Champions or Defenders, with 27 of their 91 lawmakers making the cut.
- The Midwest made a decent showing: Just over 21% of House and Senate members — or 21 of 98 — qualified as Champions or Defenders in the Midwest (Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri).
- Southeast states lagged behind: Of the 139 senators and representatives from the Southeast (Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas) just 16, or 11.9%, qualified as Champions or Defenders.
- The Southwest/Plains region came in last: Of the 104 members of Congress from the Southwest (Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas) and Plains region (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota), just 11, or 10.5%, qualified as Champions or Defenders.