Despite the fact that he’s been in office since 1999, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has only introduced three pieces of legislation that passed into law.
According to Congress.gov, Ryan has introduced 103 pieces of legislation and cosponsored over 1,000. But only three of the bills that he personally sponsored have become law.
The first law Ryan developed was H.R. 4241 in 2000, an act that changed the name of a post office in Janesville, Wisconsin to the “Les Aspin Post Office Building.”
Then in 2004, Ryan introduced an amendment to the IRS code of 1986. The amendment adjusted how bow hunting arrows and arrow components were taxed. It was approved as law the following month.
Finally, in 2015, Ryan introduced the Evidence-Based Policymaking Commission Act of 2016. It appointed a 15-person commission of academics, data experts, Office of Management and Budget personnel, and other administrators to analyze federal database security and data infrastructure.
This last bill is especially noteworthy since Ryan has built a career on criticizing unelected bureaucrats and wasted government funds, but seemed to have no qualms about dropping $3 million on a commission to analyze and improve data sharing and security.
Overall, it’s an unimpressive legislative record. David Canon, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, agrees:
“Paul Ryan is not a detail kind of legislator in terms of putting bills together to pass, and he never has been. He is an ideas guy. He’s not Lyndon Johnson — ‘let’s crack heads and get stuff done and actually pass some laws.'”
Ryan’s spokesman Ian Martorana has pushed back against the idea that Ryan is an ineffective legislator. He points out that Ryan has coauthored many bills that have become law, including the Murray-Ryan Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.
But Ryan’s legislative experience (or lack thereof) is emblematic of a larger problem within the GOP. Paul Ryan and his Senate counterpart Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have never held their respective leadership positions during periods when their party simultaneously controlled the White House, Senate, and House. And many in the current batch of congressional Republicans were swept into office during the backlash of the Tea Party era. This means they’re good at being outraged and obstructionist, but bad at actually developing legislation.
In other words, the Republicans simply don’t know how to govern. They’ve been the opposition party for eight years, and now that it’s time to actually pass their agenda, they’re realizing it’s harder than they thought it would be. And after the spectacular implosion of Ryancare last week, even many on the Right are starting to notice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Oq6TdV2HU&feature=youtu.be&t=10s
Featured image via YouTube video.
