Brian Wood, New York Republican

Wood, a former state Senate chairman and attorney general, had a strong hand in bringing Republicans from both the East and the West to the party, and has represented a large chunk of the congressional district on Long Island. Wood said, “I will not rest until I am fully reimbursed for those expenses.”

The bill: Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) introduced Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s HR 2637, which would end the practice of private prisons taking government funds and send that money back to local and state governments.

What changed for them: The House voted 98-0 to do so, and the Senate approved the bill unanimously. It currently has a companion bill in Congress. Lee (D-Tex.) noted, “I look forward to working with the Republicans to repeal this shameful practice before it becomes law.”

The future: Lee and Reed are currently working together to improve and reauthorize the Justice Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services program through 2017, and the two women also hope to reintroduce the Private Provider Incentive Act on a bill to reinstate federal spending on drug courts and other drug rehabilitation programs. They’re also talking with Democrats about ways to address the growing budget shortfall.