Did you know, between the years 1999-2008 VP candidates Joe Biden and Paul Ryan agreed on 52 substantive bills.
And yet I'm supposed to believe one is different from the other
Partisan politics drives us to look at differences. But during the time Rep. Paul Ryan served along side then-Sen. Joe Biden from 1999 to 2008, our VP candidates voted the same way on 52 substantive bills.
Here are the 52 bills which the two candidates both supported:
Major new laws:
- H.R. 4762 (106th): 527 Organization Disclosure bill
This bill amended campaign finance law to require “527 organizations” to
disclose their contributors. This bill came four years before the
“swift boat” TV ad run by a 527 organization hurt Democratic
presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004. - H.R. 3162
(107th): Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act
of 2001
This is the PATRIOT Act, the highly controversial law that gave the executive branch new criminal justice powers following 9/11. - H.R. 3295 (107th): Help America Vote Act of 2002
Following the controversial close of the 2000 elections and its
pregnant chads, this bill gave funding to the states to modernize their
elections equipment. - H.R. 1 (107th): No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
This hallmark law of the Bush presidency tied federal education funding to performance measures, like test scores. - S. 3 (108th): Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003
This law bans late term abortion. - S. 1 (110th): Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007
This law created new lobbying disclosure rules and gift bans in Congress. - S. 900 (106th): Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
This 1999 law repealed the financial market regulations that
prevented commercial banks and investment banks from being one and the
same. The repeal is considered by some to have been a cause of the 2008
market crash. - H.R. 5140 (110th): Economic Stimulus Act of 2008
This bill, which created tax rebates, was an early response to the
credit crisis that lead several months later to the world
wide recession. - H.R. 1424 (110th): Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
This bill created TARP, the program of massive investments in private banks to prevent the financial crises from worsening.
Finance, trade, and related laws:
- S. 2578 (107th): Debt Limit bill
- H.R. 10 (107th): Railroad Retirement and Survivors’ Improvement Act of 2001
- H.R. 3108 (108th): Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004
- H.R. 4 (109th): Pension Protection Act of 2006
- H.R. 4040 (110th): Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008
- H.R. 3009 (107th): Trade Act of 2002
- H.R. 434 (106th): Trade and Development Act of 2000
- S. 2796 (106th): Water Resources Development Act of 2000
- H.R. 1308 (108th): Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004
- H.R. 1180 (106th): Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999
- H.R. 4425 (106th): Cerro Grande Fire Assistance Act
- H.R. 2646 (107th): Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
- H.R. 1000 (106th): Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century
- H.R. 2622 (108th): Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003
- H.R. 3 (109th): Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
- S. 256 (109th): Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (also see H.R. 833 (106th): Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2000 and H.R. 333 (107th): Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001)
- H.R. 4444 (106th): U.S.-China Relations Act of 2000
- H.R. 3167 (107th): Gerald B. H. Solomon Freedom Consolidation Act of 2001
- H.R. 4759 (108th): United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
- H.J.Res. 97 (108th): Approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.
- H.J.Res. 52 (109th): Approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.
- H.R. 1828 (108th): Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003
- H.R. 2330 (108th): Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003
- H.R. 5682 (109th): Henry J. Hyde United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act of 2006
- H.R. 7081 (110th): United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act
National security laws:
- S. 2845 (108th): Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
- H.R. 3210 (107th): Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002
- H.R. 5005 (107th): Homeland Security Act of 2002
- H.R. 6061 (109th): Secure Fence Act of 2006
- H.R. 3275 (107th): Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism Convention Implementation Act of 2002
- S. 2271 (109th): USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006
- H.R. 3199 (109th): USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005
- H.R. 1 (110th): Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007
Bills that did not become law (at least not under these bill numbers):
- H.R. 976 (110th): Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007
- H.R. 6331 (110th): Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008
- H.R. 4810 (106th): Marriage Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2000
(There were no substantive bills that the candidates both opposed.
That’s because it’s unlikely a bill will get a vote in both chambers of
Congress unless there is strong support for the bill. That’s the same
reason why most of these bills did become law, and why most had
bipartisan support.)
There are at least 111 bills in all in which Ryan and Biden voted the
same way when you include appropriations/authorizations bills. For the
full list, see this spreadsheet on Google Docs.
There are, of course, many more bills on which they voted differently,
and many more bills that did not come up for a vote in both chambers
that they probably would have disagreed on had they had the chance.
For more on Ryan’s record, see my previous post:
Read More: http://www.govtrack.us/blog/2012/08/15/vp-candidat...
1. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both supported TARP. 2. Mitt Romney supported Barack Obama’s “economic stimulus” packages. 3. Mitt Romney says that Barack Obama’s bailout of the auto industry was actually his idea. 4. Neither candidate supports immediately balancing the federal budget. 5. They both believe in big government and they both have a track record of being big spenders while in office. 6. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both fully support the Federal Reserve. 7. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are both on record as saying that the president should not question the “independence” of the Federal Reserve. 8. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have both said that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did a good job during the last financial crisis. 9. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both felt that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke deserved to be renominated to a second term. 10. Both candidates oppose a full audit of the Federal Reserve. 11. Both candidates are on record as saying that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has done a good job. 12. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have both been big promoters of universal health care. 13. Mitt Romney was the one who developed the plan that Obamacare was later based upon. 14. ...
1. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both supported TARP. 2. Mitt Romney supported Barack Obama’s “economic stimulus” packages. 3. Mitt Romney says that Barack Obama’s bailout of the auto industry was actually his idea. 4. Neither candidate supports immediately balancing the federal budget. 5. They both believe in big government and they both have a track record of being big spenders while in office. 6. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both fully support the Federal Reserve. 7. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are both on record as saying that the president should not question the “independence” of the Federal Reserve. 8. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have both said that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did a good job during the last financial crisis. 9. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both felt that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke deserved to be renominated to a second term. 10. Both candidates oppose a full audit of the Federal Reserve. 11. Both candidates are on record as saying that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has done a good job. 12. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have both been big promoters of universal health care. 13. Mitt Romney was the one who developed the plan that Obamacare was later based upon. 14. Wall Street absolutely showers both candidates with campaign contributions. 15. Neither candidate wants to eliminate the income tax or the IRS. 16. Both candidates want to keep personal income tax rates at the exact same levels for the vast majority of Americans. 17. Both candidates are “open” to the idea of imposing a Value Added Tax on the American people. 18. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both believe that the TSA is doing a great job. 19. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both supported the NDAA. 20. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both supported the renewal of the Patriot Act. 21. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both believe that the federal government should be able to indefinitely detain American citizens that are considered to be terrorists. 22. Both candidates believe that American citizens suspected of being terrorists can be killed by the president without a trial. 23. Barack Obama has not closed Guantanamo Bay like he promised to do, and Mitt Romney actually wants to double the number of prisoners held there. 24. Both candidates support the practice of “extraordinary rendition”. 25. They both support the job-killing “free trade” agenda of the global elite. 26. They both accuse each other of shipping jobs out of the country and both of them are right. 27. Both candidates are extremely soft on illegal immigration. 28. Neither candidate has any military experience. This is the first time that this has happened in a U.S. election since 1944. 29. Both candidates earned a degree from Harvard University. 30. They both believe in the theory of man-made global warming. 31. Mitt Romney has said that he will support a “cap and trade” carbon tax scheme (like the one Barack Obama wants) as longas the entire globe goes along with it. 32. Both candidates have a very long record of supporting strict gun control measures. 33. Both candidates have been pro-abortion most of their careers. Mitt Romney’s “conversion” to the pro-life cause has been questioned by many. In fact, Mitt Romney has made millions on Bain Capital’s investment in a company called “Stericycle” that incinerates aborted babies collected from family planning clinics. 34. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both believe that the Boy Scout ban on openly gay troop leaders is wrong. 35. They both believe that a “two state solution” will bring lasting peace between the Palestinians and Israel. 36. Both candidates have a history of nominating extremely liberal judges. 37. Like Barack Obama, Mitt Romney also plans to add “signing statements” to bills when he signs them into law. 38. They both have a horrible record when it comes to job creation. 39. Both candidates believe that the president has the power to take the country to war without getting the approval of the U.S. Congress. 40. Both candidates plan to continue running up more government debt even though the U.S. government is already 16 trillion dollars in debt. 41 both of their top donors is goldman sachs. 42 both will attack Iran. 43 both have the same royal bloodline. 44 their is no major difference between the 2 cousins. 45 only the sheeple believe their is a difference