OMAHA - Nebraska Democrats have long known that the prospect of getting their candidates into one of the state's three House seats is a tough slog.

But Democrats may have one question in their arsenal that could help them in 2010: What have the GOP incumbents accomplished in office?

Nebraska's three House representatives - Republicans Jeff Fortenberry, Adrian Smith and Lee Terry - have had only one bill among them enacted into law since they've been in office.

Smith, first elected in 2006, and Fortenberry, first elected in 2004, have had none.

Only Terry, who represents Nebraska's Omaha-centered 2nd District, has sponsored a bill that went on to become law in his 10-plus years in the House. And that was to rename an Omaha post office.

All three congressmen rank at the bottom of a poll that rates the power and influence of congressional members.

"Nebraska's without representation in Congress," Nebraska Democratic Party Chairman Vic Covalt said. "There's nobody who can go talk to the president. There's nobody who's going to have any effect on legislation whatsoever."

But others say the criticism may not be fair.

It's not unusual for even a 10-year member of Congress, like Terry, to have little to show in the way of introduced bills that have been enacted into law, said University of Nebraska at Omaha political science professor Randall Adkins.

Adkins said approximately 10,000 pieces of legislation are proposed in a two-year Congress, of which about 400 will become law.

"That means less than one person gets their name on a bill every year," he said. "And if you think about the people who are likely getting their name on those bills, they're likely individuals who are in leadership positions, either as the leader of the party, or they are committee chairs, or alternatively, they're just very, very senior members."

Most members of Congress affect legislation through committee and amendment offerings to larger bills, not through sponsoring legislation, Adkins said.

But Democrats say the lack of legislation isn't the only indication of Nebraska representatives' ineffectiveness.

Knowlegis, a government relations firm that ranks lawmakers' power, ranked Nebraska's U.S. House members among the bottom of its Power Rankings poll in 2008, the latest available.

Smith ranked 426th out of 435 House members, but he had just taken office a year earlier as a member of the minority party.

Fortenberry - who is in his fifth year in office - did not fare much better, ranking 420th in 2008.

That's not likely to hurt either candidate, who both enjoy the support of heavily Republican districts and make their allegiance to the GOP evident.

Smith has voted with his party 96 percent of the time, according to the nonpartisan government data site OpenCongress.com, while Fortenberry has voted along party lines 87 percent of the time.

Smith faces a challenge in 2010 from Democrat Rebekah Davis of Alliance, a political unknown, in a race that has drawn little national attention.

Fortenberry so far faces no serious challenge for 2010.

It is Terry's ranking of 377th by Knowlegis that is drawing the attention of Democrats hungry for Nebraska's 2nd District seat. Both the national Republican and Democratic parties consider Terry's seat vulnerable in 2010, and the district has seen a recent surge in Democrats, who now have a registration advantage of 6,000 voters over the Republicans.

Terry's Democratic opponent, state Sen. Tom White, pointed to Terry's record as a factor in his decision to run.

"He's been ineffective ... in every way," White said in announcing his candidacy in September. "Name something he's accomplished. You can't say it's because he's been in the minority party, because for years he was in the majority."

Terry's campaign manager, Dave Boomer, countered that Terry's record is solid, noting that the six-term congressman has "played a significant role in developing seven pieces of legislation," mostly related to the nation's energy policy. That includes measures requiring cars and trucks to become more fuel-efficient over the next decade, another promoting ethanol use in the federal government's vehicles and a measure to have new federal buildings use geothermal energy for heating and cooling whenever feasible.

Terry has also been named one of the most bipartisan House members by his colleagues, Boomer said, citing a recent survey of House members by Washington-based political news organization The Hill.

Boomer noted this isn't the first time opponents have questioned Terry's service.

"They've thrown that canard at Lee in '04 and '08, and we saw what happened with that argument. It's flatly wrong," he said. "If they want to tee that up again, go ahead. We'll beat it back again with the facts."

Spokesmen for Smith and Fortenberry also defend their bosses, offering long lists of constituent service and legislation the pair have introduced eventually enacted as parts of other measures.

Power-ranking polls often don't take into account what members of Congress from less-populous states like Nebraska are able to accomplish through ways other than bill sponsorship, said Fortenberry's spokesman, Josh Moenning.

"We feel the most important power ranking is what Nebraskans think," Moenning said.

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On the Net:

Knowlegis: www.knowlegis.net

U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry: http://fortenberry.house.gov/

U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith: http://www.adriansmith.house.gov/

U.S. Rep. Lee Terry: http://leeterry.house.gov/