RI Congressman is 1 of 35 Veteran Legislators Who Never Passed a Bill
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Kate Nagle, GoLocal Contributor
Rhode Island Congressman Jim Langevin, who was first elected to the U.S House of Representatives in 2000, is one of 35 veteran legislators in Washington, D.C. who have never passed a bill.
According to data compiled by "Find the Best," 35 returning members of Congress -- not freshman -- have never had legislation they were the primary sponsor of signed into law.
The graphic above shows what Langevin has sponsored during the 113th Congress. In total, he has sponsored 168 pieces of legislation and cosponsored 2,226 – 112 of which have become law – during his tenure.
Congressman David Cicilline, the former of Mayor for Providence who was first elected to the House ten years later in 2010, does not make the list of have-nots.
"Congressman Langevin has been in the political minority for much of his time in the House. This makes it difficult to pass legislation, especially with all the polarization between Republicans and Democrats. If you are not in the majority, your bills are going to end up in oblivion," said Darrell West, Vice President of Governance Studies at Brookings.
"What members do in that situation is to make any impact through other means such as constituent service, earmarks, or cosponsored legislation. That is the way to do things for your state even when your party is out of power."
Politics, and Power
Jennifer Duffy with the Cook Political Report outlined the power dynamics Langevin has faced during his seven terms in office.
"Langevin has been in the minority for 10 of the 14 years he has served in the House. Plus, his committee assignments don't really lend themselves to being able to push bills that don't start with the chairman or ranking member. The leadership of both parties has taken a more prominent role in recent years in determining what gets to the floor, which doesn't help rank and file members," said Duffy.
'Finally, it is important to look at the bills passed by many legislators," continued Duffy. " A lot of them name post offices or commemorate events. While there is certainly a place for such legislation, it's not as if 400 of the 435 members of the House have sponsored legislation that has set major policy or has had great impact on the nation, their state or even their district."
Brown University Professor of Political Science Wendy Schiller pointed out that power aside, there is an inherent numbers game in the sheer volume of introductions -- and that individual pieces of legislation often end up as part of a larger bill package.
"There are close to 10,000 bills sponsored in each Congress (2 year session) so the competition is fierce to get a bill on the agenda, or get it folded into an omnibus bill and then claim credit for it. And then it has to pass the Senate in some form. Typically the House members who get bills passed are subcommittee or full committee chairpersons, or party leaders and even then they are folded into larger bills. And in the last Congress, which was the least productive in modern history, no one got bills passed," said Schiller.
"So Representative Langevin is not alone in not passing any bills, but the larger questions is can he point to other accomplishments such as getting legislative language in another bill, or securing funding for his district that would offset his failure to pass a bill? And if he has succeeded in those arenas, RI voters need to know more about it," continued Schiller.
"Congressman Langevin is committed to authoring and passing good policies, regardless of whether they pass on their own or as part of a larger package, which is often the case, or whether they pass under his name or under a member of the majority who has a better chance of getting them through the legislative process," said Meg Geoghegan, Communications Director for Langevin. "He is a practical problem solver who wants to get things done and is not worried about who gets the credit."
"Just a few examples," continued Geoghegan, who then outlined them as follows:
• Within the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act, which was signed into law in September 2011, Congressman Langevin authored a proposal to address identity theft among foster youth. His provision mandates free credit checks for foster youth over 16 years and requires that they receive assistance in clearing inaccuracies from their records.
• Langevin authored the Lifespan Respite Care Act in the 107th Congress and reintroduced it in the 108th. To increase its chances of passage, Langevin worked with Republican Congressman Mike Ferguson, who introduced it in the 109th Congress. The bill passed and was signed into law in 2006. (It’s also important to note that the Congressman has long worked on caregiver issues, and in the last session introduced a bill specifically to support veteran caregivers)
• In his role on the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, Langevin fought for and successfully included a provision that would allow for advance procurement funding for Virginia Class Submarines – which are constructed by Electric Boat in Quonset. He also successfully included a proposal that increased the Virginia Class procurement from one to two per year.
• As co-chair of the Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus, Langevin successfully led the charge for strong funding for career and technical education. Last year, with his Republican co-chair Rep. GT Thompson, Langevin saw that fight through to an increase of $52 million in Perkins Act dollars within the FY14 Consolidated Appropriations Act.
• Langevin amended the FY14 Defense Appropriations Act to double the funding for Spinal Cord research to $30 million.
• Langevin, who created the Cybersecurity Caucus and is considered a national leader on cyber, co-chaired the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency. The commission provided a blueprint to President Obama for improving cybersecurity in this country. The President adopted several recommendations, including the establishment of an office for cybersecurity in the National Security Council. Congressman Langevin also introduced the first piece of cybersecurity legislation to pass either chamber of Congress, and he remains committed in this session to seeing our nation’s critical technology infrastructure better protected.
• And just last year, the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Protection Act – which Langevin introduced in 2010 - passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. technology center!
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