The Vision: A People’s Score 

Federal legislation that serves all people is fundamental to building a nation in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. Yet, currently one-third of the population is experiencing material poverty, and the gaps between rich and poor, rural and urban, disabled and not are growing.

To ensure the federal government serves us all, we must accurately understand and assess whether every policy advances or impedes people’s progress—and advances the constitutional promise of the 14th amendment and its Equal Protection Clause.

The People’s Score, a partnership of the Urban Institute and PolicyLink, works to establish the foundation for a new legislative scoring approach. By assessing how well proposed bills could improve fairness in outcomes, it supports an accountable, responsive democracy.

The most ambitious vision for equity assessment is equity scoring (quantitative estimates, not necessarily a scorecard). This would envision a future in which voters can count on key bills having an equity or people’s score—an estimated effect they can understand that conveys a proposal’s potential impact on their lives.