Political positions of Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan seen taking his oath of office following his election as Speaker on October 29, 2015

This article is part of a series about Paul D. Ryan
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Paul Ryan is the 54th and current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, an office he assumed on October 29, 2015. A U.S. Representative from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, Ryan was first elected to the House in 1998, aged 29. In Congress, Ryan was Chairman of the House Budget Committee from 2011 to 2015, and Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means from January 3, 2015 until resigning upon election as Speaker on October 29 of the same year. In the 2012 presidential election, Ryan was the Republican nominee for Vice President, the running mate of Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts; they lost the election to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Following Speaker John Boehner's announcement of his retirement, and the failure of Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to gain support of the Republican caucus, Ryan was elected Speaker.

In the 111th Congress, Ryan sided with a majority of his party in 93% of House votes in which he has participated, and sided with the overall majority vote of all House votes 95% of the time.^[1]

Ryan has a lifetime American Conservative Union rating of 91/100.^[2] The 2011 National Journal Vote Ratings rated Paul Ryan 68.2 on the conservative scale, being more conservative than 68% of the full House, and ranked as the 150th most conservative member based on roll-call votes.^[3]

Fiscal, education, and health care policy

Taxation

Ryan voted for the two Bush tax cuts (in 2001 and 2003),^[4] the 2003 bill that created the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit,^[5][6] and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the $700 billion bank bailout.^[7][8] Ryan was one of 32 Republicans in the House to vote for the auto industry bailout.^[9][10][11] A number of commentators have criticized Ryan's votes for what they believe were deficit-causing policies during the George W. Bush administration as being inconsistent with fiscal conservatism.^{[7][12][13][14]} In 2011 President Barack Obama criticized Ryan as being "not on the level" for describing himself as a fiscal conservative while voting for these policies, as well as two "unpaid for" wars.^[15] Columnist Ezra Klein wrote in 2012 that "If you know about Paul Ryan at all, you probably know him as a deficit hawk. But Ryan has voted to increase deficits and expand government spending too many times for that to be his north star."^[16]

Federal deficit

Obama initially viewed Ryan as a Republican who could help to reduce the federal deficit. Speaking of Ryan's budget proposal, Obama called it a "serious proposal" and found both points of agreement and disagreement, saying "some ideas in there that I would agree with, but there are some ideas that we should have a healthy debate about because I don't agree with them."^[17]

In 1999, Ryan voted in favor of the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, which repealed certain provisions of the Depression-era Glass–Steagall Act that regulated banking.^[18] Ryan sponsored a 2008 bill that would repeal the requirement that the Federal Reserve System reduce unemployment.^[19] Ryan voted to extend unemployment insurance in 2002, 2008 and 2009, but has voted against further extensions since then.^[20] Ryan voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.^[21] Ryan also voted against the Credit CARD Act of 2009 and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which Ryan characterized as "class warfare".^[22]

Ryan supported a group of three budget reform bills that were considered in the House during the 113th United States Congress. Ryan supported the Pro-Growth Budgeting Act of 2013, a bill that would require the Congressional Budget Office to provide a macroeconomic impact analysis for bills that are estimated to have a large budgetary effect.^[23] He also supported the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2014, a bill that would modify the budgetary treatment of federal credit programs.^[24] H.R. 1872 would require that the cost of direct loans or loan guarantees be recognized in the federal budget on a fair-value basis using guidelines set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.^[24] H.R. 1872 would also require the federal budget to reflect the net impact of programs administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.^[24] The changes made by H.R. 1872 would mean that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were counted on the budget instead of considered separately and would mean that the debt of those two programs would be included in the national debt.^[25] These programs themselves would not be changed, but how they are accounted for in the United States federal budget would be. The goal of H.R. 1872 is to improve the accuracy of how some programs are accounted for in the federal budget.^[26] Finally, Ryan supported the Baseline Reform Act of 2013, a bill that would change the way in which discretionary appropriations for individual accounts are projected in CBO's baseline.^[27] Under H.R. 1871, projections of such spending would still be based on the current year's appropriations, but would not be adjusted for inflation going forward.^[27] Arguing in favor of H.R. 1871, Ryan said that "families don't get automatic raises every year. Neither should Washington."^[28] Ryan said that these three budget reform bills "are an important step toward restoring fiscal discipline in Washington."^[25] Ryan said that he thought "by improving the budget process, we can get a better handle on our spending problem."^[25]

In the fall of 2013 Ryan suggested using discussions regarding raising the federal debt ceiling as "leverage" to reduce federal spending.^[29][30]

Health care and Social Security

Ryan voted against the 2010 health care reform act supported by Obama and congressional Democrats in 2010,^[6][31] and to repeal it in 2012.^[32][33] In 2004 and 2005, Ryan pushed the Bush administration to propose the privatization of Social Security. Ryan's proposal ultimately failed when it did not gain the support of the then-Republican presidential administration.^[34]

Education

Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute states that on "'education, training, employment, and social services,' the Ryan budget would spend 33% less" than Obama's budget plan over the next decade.^[35] In particular, the Ryan plan tightens eligibility requirements for Pell Grants and freezes the maximum Pell Grant award at the current level. According to an analysis by the Education Trust, this would result in more than 1 million students losing Pell Grants over the next 10 years. Additionally, under Ryan's plan, student loans would begin to accrue interest while students are still in school.^[36][37][38] Ryan states that his education policy is to "allocate our limited financial resources effectively and efficiently to improve education".^[39] Jordan Weissmann of The Atlantic said that Ryan's vision on education policy is to "cut and privatize".^[38]

Ryan voted for the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001.^[40] Ryan is a supporter of for-profit colleges and opposed the gainful employment rule, which would have ensured that vocational schools whose students were unable to obtain employment would stop receiving federal aid.^[38] Ryan is a supporter of private school vouchers and voted to extend the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program in 2011.^[38] The National Education Association teachers' union has criticized Ryan's positions on education.^[40] In December 2015, Ryan led the bipartisan effort to pass the Every Student Succeeds Act, which, among other things, fully repealed No Child Left Behind and severely limited the federal government's ability to impose and enforce national education standards such as Common Core.^[41][42]

Budget proposals

Ryan speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. in March 2014.

On May 21, 2008, Ryan introduced H.R. 6110, the Roadmap for America's Future Act of 2008, commonly referred to as the "Ryan budget".^[43] This proposed legislation outlined changes to entitlement spending, including a controversial proposal to replace Medicare with a voucher program for those currently under the age of 55.^[34][44][45] The Roadmap found only eight sponsors and did not move past committee.^[34][46]

On April 1, 2009, Ryan introduced his alternative to the 2010 United States federal budget. This alternative budget would have eliminated the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and imposed a five-year spending freeze on all discretionary spending.^[47][48] It would have also phased out Medicare's traditional fee-for-service model; instead it would offer fixed sums in the form of vouchers for those under the age of 55, with which Medicare beneficiaries could buy private insurance.^[49] Ryan's proposed budget would also have allowed taxpayers to opt out of the federal income taxation system with itemized deductions, and instead pay a flat 10 percent of adjusted gross income up to $100,000 for couples ($50,000 for singles) and 25 percent on any remaining income.^[48] It was ultimately rejected in the Democratic controlled House by a vote of 293–137, with 38 Republicans in opposition.^[50]

On January 27, 2010, Ryan released a modified version of his Roadmap, H.R. 4529: Roadmap for America's Future Act of 2010.^[51][52] The modified plan would provide across-the-board tax cuts by reducing income tax rates; eliminate income taxes on capital gains, dividends, and interest; and abolish the estate tax, and Alternative Minimum Tax. The plan would also replace the corporate income tax with a border-adjusted business consumption tax of 8.5%.^[53] The plan would privatize a portion of Social Security and reduce benefits for those under 55,^[54][55] eliminate the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance,^[55] and privatize Medicare for those under the age of 55.^[54][55] Chief actuary of Medicare Rick Foster compared Ryan's "Roadmap" with the 2010 healthcare reform in congressional hearings, stating that while both had "some potential" to make healthcare prices "more sustainable", he was more "confident" in Ryan's plan.^[56]

Economist and columnist Paul Krugman criticized Ryan's plan as making overly optimistic assumptions and proposing tax cuts for the wealthy.^[57] Krugman further called the plan a "fraud" saying it relies on severe cuts in domestic discretionary spending and "dismantling Medicare as we know it" by suggesting the voucher system, which he noted was similar to a failed attempt at reform in 1995.^[57] In contrast, columnist Ramesh Ponnuru, writing in the National Review, argued that Ryan's plan would lead to less debt than current budgets.^[58] Economist Ted Gayer wrote that "Ryan's vision of broad-based tax reform, which essentially would shift us toward a consumption tax... makes a useful contribution to this debate."^[59]

In subsequent years, Ryan also developed budget plans that proposed privatizing Medicare for those currently under the age of 55,^[60] funding Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through block grants to the states,^[34][61][62] and other changes.

On April 11, 2011, Ryan introduced H.Con.Res. 34, a federal budget for fiscal year 2012.^[63] The House passed this Ryan Plan on April 15, 2011, by a vote of 235–193. Four Republicans joined all House Democrats in voting against it.^[64][65] A month later, the bill was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 57–40, with five Republicans and most Democrats in opposition.^[66]

Ryan with President Obama during a bipartisan meeting on health insurance reform, February 25, 2010

On March 23, 2012 Ryan introduced a new version of his federal budget for the fiscal year 2013.^[67] On March 29, 2012, the House of Representatives passed the resolution along partisan lines, 228 yeas to 191 nays; ten Republicans voted against the bill, along with all the House Democrats.^[68] Ryan's budget seeks to reduce all discretionary spending in the budget from 12.5% of GDP in 2011 to 3.75% of GDP in 2050.^[69]

Ryan has proposed that Medicaid be converted into block grants but with the federal government's share of the cost cut by some $800 billion over the next decade. Currently, Medicaid is administered by the states, subject to federal rules concerning eligibility, and the amount paid by the federal government depends on the number of people who qualify. His plan would also undo a Reagan-era reform by which the federal government prohibited the states from requiring that a patient's spouse, as well as the patient, deplete all of his or her assets before Medicaid would cover long-term care.^{[34][61][62][70]}

An analysis by the CBO showed that the Ryan plan would not balance the budget for at least 28 years, partly because the changes in Medicare would not affect anyone now older than 55.^[71] Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker and Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, praised the budget for making tough choices. Walker believes it needs to go even further, tackling Social Security and defense spending.^[72] In contrast, David Stockman, Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, has declared that Ryan's budget "is devoid of credible math or hard policy choices" and would "do nothing to reverse the nation's economic decline and arrest its fiscal collapse".^[73] Ezra Klein also criticized the budget for making "unrealistic assumptions".^[69] The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities was highly critical of Ryan's budget proposal, stating that it would shift income to the wealthy while increasing poverty and inequality.^[74]

Parts of the 2012 Ryan budget were criticized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops for its proposed cuts to housing and food stamp programs.^[75][76] Faculty and administrators of Georgetown University challenged what they called Ryan's "continuing misuse of Catholic teaching" when defending his plan,^[77][78] but Ryan rejected their criticism.^[79]

In March 2013, Ryan submitted a new budget plan for Fiscal Year 2014 to the House. It would set to balance the budget by 2023 by repealing Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and institute federal vouchers into Medicare. ^[80] Ryan has cited health care, education and food safety as examples of "runaway" federal spending.^[81] This budget, House Concurrent Resolution 25, was voted on by the House on March 21, 2013 and it passed 221-207.^[82] In 2014, Ryan released a refresh of this plan which would reduce spending by 5.1 trillion over a decade; balancing the budget by 2024.^[83]

On December 10, 2013, Ryan announced that he and Democratic Senator Patty Murray had reached a compromise agreement on a two-year, bipartisan budget bill, called the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. The deal would cap the federal government's spending for Fiscal Year 2014 at $1.012 trillion and for Fiscal Year 2015 at $1.014.^[84] The proposed deal would eliminate some of the spending cuts required by the sequester ($45 billion of the cuts scheduled to happen in January 2014 and $18 billion of the cuts scheduled to happen in 2015).^[84] The deal offsets the spending increases by raising airline fees and changing the pension contribution requirements of new federal workers.^[85] Overall the fee increases and spending reductions total about $85 billion over a decade.^[86] Ryan said that he was "proud" of the agreement because "it reduces the deficit – without raising taxes."^[87]

Some conservative Republicans objected to Ryan's budget proposal. Republican Raul Labrador criticized the "terrible plan," saying that "it makes promises to the American people that are false. Today the Democrats realized they were right all along, that we would never hold the line on the sequester." Other conservatives were more positive: "It achieves most of the things we would like to see when we have divided government," said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.).^[85]

Ryan's proposed budget for fiscal year 2015 included deep cuts to domestic spending to reduce projected federal deficits by about $5 trillion over the next decade. In releasing the budget, Ryan stated "We have to stop spending money we don't have." According to the White House, Ryan's 2014 budget proposal would increase taxes on middle-class families by an average of $2000, while cutting taxes for the richest Americans.^[88][89]

Social, environmental, and science issues

Abortion

In 2010, Ryan described himself as being "as pro-life as a person gets"^[90] and has been described as an "ardent, unwavering foe of abortion rights".^[91] As of 2012 according to Bloomberg, Ryan has co-sponsored 38 measures in the U.S. Congress that restrict abortion.^[92] The National Right to Life Committee has consistently given Ryan a "100 percent pro-life voting record" since he took office in 1999. NARAL Pro-Choice America has noted that Ryan has "cast 59 votes" (including procedural motions and amendments which don't have co-sponsors^[92]) "on reproductive rights while in Congress and not one has been pro-choice".^[93] He believes all abortions should be illegal, including those resulting from rape or incest, and only makes an exception for cases where the woman's life is at risk.^[94][95]

During Ryan's 1998 campaign for Congress, he "expressed his willingness to let states criminally prosecute women who have abortions," telling the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at the time that he "would let states decide what criminal penalties would be attached to abortions", and while not stating that he supports jailing women who have an abortion, stated: "if it's illegal, it's illegal."^[94] In 2009, he cosponsored the Sanctity of Life Act, which would provide that fertilized eggs "shall have all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood" and would have given "the Congress, each State, the District of Columbia, and all United States territories … the authority to protect the lives of all human beings residing in its respective jurisdictions".^[96][97][98]

Ryan has also supported legislation that would impose criminal penalties for certain doctors who perform "partial-birth abortions".^[91] Ryan voted against continued federal aid for Planned Parenthood and Title X family planning programs.^[91][99] He also opposed giving over-the-counter status for emergency contraceptive pills.^[6][100] Ryan was one of 227 co-sponsors of the 2011 No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act bill in the House of Representatives that would have limited funding for federally funded abortions to victims of "forcible rape". "Forcible rape" was not defined in the bill, which critics said would result in excluding date rape, statutory rape, or other situations where the victim had diminished mental capacity. The language was removed from the bill before the House passed the bill, the Senate did not vote on the bill.^[101]

Same-sex marriage

Ryan opposes same-sex marriage, had previously supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, opposed the repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy, voted against same-sex couples adopting children in Washington D.C., and voted against a bill that would expand federal hate crime laws to cover offenses based on a victim's sexual orientation.^{[91][95][102]} Unlike most of his fellow Republicans, Ryan voted in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2007, which would have prohibited employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.^[91] The Human Rights Campaign, a LGBT rights organization, has frequently given Ryan a 0/100 rating on its legislative scorecard.^[103] During Paul Ryan's 2012 vice presidential bid, he was endorsed by two gay conservative organizations, GOProud^[104] and the Log Cabin Republicans.^[105] On April 30, 2013, Ryan came out in favor of same-sex couples adopting children. He also said he had always supported civil unions. He also said that if the US Supreme Court declares the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, then he believes it will become a federalist issue for states to decide same-sex marriage.^[106][107]

Gun control

Ryan has supported the rights of gun owners and opposed stricter gun control measures.^[91][108] He voted against a bill for stronger background check requirements for purchases at gun shows and supports federal concealed-carry reciprocity legislation, which would allow a person with a permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state to carry a firearm in every other state, a top National Rifle Association (NRA) priority.^[108] Ryan, who owns a rifle and a shotgun, is an NRA member, has received an "A" rating from the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action and has been endorsed by the organization every cycle he has been in Congress.

Ryan favors a constitutional amendment to ban flag-burning. He also voted to withdraw federal funding of NPR.^[91]

Immigration

In the past, Ryan supported legislation that would have allowed some illegal immigrants to apply for temporary guest-worker status, including one bill that would provide a pathway to permanent residence status (a Green Card) for such immigrants. However, more recently Ryan "has adopted a firm anti-amnesty, enforcement-first stance" on illegal immigration.^[109] Ryan voted against the DREAM Act, a bill that would provide conditional permanent residency to illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children if they attend college or serve in the military, and meet other criteria.^[98] He also voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act of 2006.^[6][110] Ryan has said "we must first secure the border and stem the flow of illegal immigration, and then work to increase legal immigration through an enforceable guest worker program" before pursuing a "piecemeal" reform such as the DREAM Act.^[111]

The Internet

Ryan opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act, stating that "it creates the precedent and possibility for undue regulation, censorship and legal abuse."^[112]

Environment

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the Sierra Club, and other environmentalists have criticized Ryan's record on environmental issues, with Ryan earning 3 percent on the LCV 2011 National Environmental Scorecard.^[113] He opposes cap and trade and opposed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.^[114] In an 2009 editorial, Ryan has accused climatologists of using "statistical tricks to distort their findings and intentionally mislead the public on the issue of climate change" and he criticized the EPA's classification of carbon dioxide as a pollutant.^[114] Ryan supports a 10-year $40 billion tax break for the petroleum industry, and has proposed cutting funding for renewable energy research and subsidies.^[115]

Ryan has spoken out against a "tailspin of culture, in our inner cities in particular, of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning to value the culture of work."^[116]

War on Poverty report

In February 2013, Ryan began touring low-income neighborhoods and speaking on efforts to reform federal anti-poverty programs.^[117]

On March 3, 2014, as Chairman of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, Ryan released a report titled The War on Poverty: 50 Years Later, asserting that some of 92 federal programs designed to help lower-income Americans have not provided the relief intended and that there is little evidence that these efforts have been successful.^[118] In the report, Ryan advances the argument that federal antipoverty programs suffer from defects that "penalize families for getting ahead" and that "the complex web of federal programs and sudden drop-off in benefits create extraordinarily high effective marginal tax rates," both of which "reduce the incentive to work".^[119] At the core of the report are recommendations to enact cuts to welfare, child care, college Pell grants and several other federal assistance programs.^[120] In an appendix titled "Measures of Poverty", when the poverty rate is measured by including non-cash assistance from food stamps, housing aid and other federal programs, the report states that these measurements "[have] implications for both conservatives and liberals. For conservatives, this suggests that federal programs have actually decreased poverty. For liberals, it lessens the supposed need to expand existing programs or to create new ones."^[118][120] According to an article in the Fiscal Times, several economists and social scientists whose work had been referenced in the report said that Ryan either misunderstood or misrepresented their research.^[121]

Foreign and military policy

Ryan has been described by Larry Sabato as "just a generic Republican on foreign policy".^[122][123]

Ryan voted in 2001 and 2004 to end the embargo on Cuba,^{[124][125][126][127]} but later reversed his positions, and, since 2007, has voted for maintaining the embargo.^[127] In 2008, Ryan told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "If we're going to have free trade with China, why not Cuba?"^[126]

Ryan was a "reliable supporter of the [George W. Bush] administration's foreign policy priorities" who voted for the 2002 Iraq Resolution, authorizing President George W. Bush to use military force in Iraq.^[128] Ryan also voted for the Iraq War troop surge of 2007.^[128] In May 2012, Ryan voted for H.R. 4310,^[129] which would increase defense spending, including spending for the Afghanistan War and for various weapon systems, to the level of $642 billion – $8 billion more than previous spending levels.^[130]

In 2009, Ryan termed the Obama administrations' "reset" of relations with Russia as "appeasement".^[131] Daniel Larison of The American Conservative wrote that Ryan "seems to conceive of U.S. power abroad mostly in terms of military strength" and "truly is a product of the era of George W. Bush".^[131]

In 2011, Ryan pointed to his support for over $10 billion in cuts to national security spending as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 that included $50 billion in near-term budget cuts and a sequestration system to force further budget cuts.^[132] In 2012, Ryan explained his support for defense spending sequestration in the hope that this would open common ground with the Democrats on deficit reduction.^[133] In January 2013, he said that sequestration would likely occur because the Democrats offered no alternative.^[134] Ryan's comments have led defense industry leaders to pin their final hopes on the chance that Congress will at least allow the Pentagon to reprogram the coming cuts.^[135]

References