Paul Ryan

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Paul Ryan
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 1999
Preceded by Mark Neumann
Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2011
Preceded by John Spratt
Personal details
Born Paul Davis Ryan
January 29, 1970 (1970-01-29) (age 42)
Janesville, Wisconsin
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Janna Ryan
Children Elizabeth, Charles, and Samuel
Residence Janesville, Wisconsin
Alma mater Miami University (B.A.)
Religion Roman Catholic
Website U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan

Paul Davis Ryan[1] (born January 29, 1970) is the U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party and has been ranked among the party's most influential voices on economic policy.[2][3][4]

Born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin, Ryan graduated from Miami University in Ohio and reportedly worked as a marketing consultant to Ryan Incorporated Central, which is run by a branch of his family. In the mid-to-late 1990s he worked as an aide to United States Senator Bob Kasten, as legislative director for Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, and also as a speech writer for former U.S. Representative and 1996 Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Jack Kemp of New York. He won the 1998 election to succeed two-term Representative Mark Neumann in the United States House of Representatives.

Ryan is the chairman of the House Budget Committee, where he played a prominent public role in drafting and promoting the Republican Party's long-term budget proposal. He introduced the plan, The Path to Prosperity, in April 2011 to counter the budget proposal of President Barack Obama. Ryan is one of the three co-founders of the Young Guns Program, an electoral recruitment and campaign effort by House Republicans.

Contents

[edit] Early life, education and career

Ryan was born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin, the youngest child of Elizabeth A. "Betty" (née Hutter) and Paul Murray Ryan, a lawyer.[5][6][7] He has Irish and German ancestry.[8] Ryan is a fifth-generation Wisconsin and Janesville native and a great-grandson of Patrick W. Ryan, who founded the Ryan Incorporated Central construction business in 1884.[9] Ryan's mother is an outdoors enthusiast who led her husband and four kids (a sister, Janet, and two brothers, Tobin and Stan) on regular trips to hike and ski in the Colorado Rockies.[6][10]

Ryan, who attended Joseph A. Craig High School in Janesville, was 16 years old when he found his father in bed, dead from a heart attack at age 55. Ryan's grandfather had also died of a heart attack at age 57, as had his great-grandfather similarly died of a heart attack at age 59.[11] Ryan began collecting his Social Security survivor's benefits until age eighteen, which he saved for college tuition and expenses.[12]

Ryan briefly worked during college for the Oscar Mayer meat and cold cut production company as a Wienermobile driver.[13] He went on to graduate from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a B.A. in economics and political science in 1992. Ryan also studied at the Washington Semester program at American University.[14] Ryan was a member of the Delta Tau Delta social fraternity.

Ryan worked as a marketing consultant to an earth-moving company run by a branch of his family after he returned to Wisconsin from Washington, D.C.[10][15]

[edit] Early political career

During his junior year at Miami University, Ryan worked as a college intern opening mail for the foreign affairs advisor assigned to Wisconsin Sen. Bob Kasten.[12] In his early years as a D.C. staffer, Ryan moonlighted on Capitol Hill as a waiter at the Tortilla Coast restaurant and as a fitness trainer at Washington Sport and Health Club, among various other side jobs.[16]

Out of fear that Ryan "...was destined to become a ski bum", Betty Ryan reportedly nudged her son to accept another congressional position as a staff economist attached to the office of U.S. Senator Bob Kasten.[12][17]

After Kasten was defeated by Democrat Russ Feingold in 1992, Ryan became a speechwriter and a volunteer economic analyst with Empower America, an advocacy group formed by Jack Kemp, former education secretary Bill Bennett, the late diplomat Jeane Kirkpatrick and former Minnesota Rep. Vin Weber.[11][18]

Ryan worked as a speechwriter for Vice-Presidential candidate Kemp during the 1996 United States presidential election and later worked as legislative director for U.S. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas. Ryan then returned to Wisconsin where he worked as a consultant to an earth-moving company and began campaigning for the 1998 U.S. congressional elections.

[edit] U.S. House of Representatives

Following his first election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998, one of Ryan's priorities as a new congressman was to convert a truck into a rolling district office. This allowed him to keep regular congressional office hours with his constituents at various and far-flung locations across the Wisconsin First U.S. House District.[19][20]

Ryan is one of the three founding members of the House GOP Young Guns Program.

In 2008, Ryan voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Wall Street bailout that precipitated the Tea Party, and the bailout of GM and Chrysler.[21]

In 2010, The Daily Telegraph ranked Ryan the ninth most influential US conservative.[2] In 2011, Ryan was selected to deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union address.[22]

[edit] Committee assignments

[edit] Caucus memberships

[edit] Roadmap for America's Future

Ryan speaking at CPAC in February 2011.

On May 21, 2008, Ryan introduced H.R. 6110, titled "Roadmap for America's Future Act of 2008".[23] This proposed legislation outlined a plan to deal with entitlement issues.[24] Its stated objectives were to ensure universal access to health insurance; strengthen Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; lift the debt from future generations; and promote economic growth and job creation in America.[25] It did not move past committee.[26]

On April 1, 2009, Ryan introduced his alternative to the 2010 United States federal budget. This proposed alternative would have eliminated the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, lowered the top tax rate to 25%, introduced an 8.5% value-added consumption tax, and imposed a five-year spending freeze on all discretionary spending.[27] It would also have replaced the Medicare system.[28] Instead, it proposed that starting in 2021, the federal government would pay part of the cost of private medical insurance for individuals turning 65.[28] 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 and 25 percent on any remaining income.[29] Ryan's proposed budget was heavily criticized by opponents for the lack of concrete numbers.[30] It was ultimately rejected in the house by a vote of 293-137, with 38 Republicans in opposition.[31]

In late January 2010, Ryan released a new version of his "Roadmap."[32] It would give across the board tax cuts by reducing income tax rates; eliminating income taxes on capital gains, dividends, and interest; and abolishing the corporate income tax, the estate tax, and the alternative minimum tax. The plan would privatize a portion of Social Security,[33][34] eliminate the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance,[34] and privatize MediCare.[33][34]

On April 15, 2011, the House passed the Ryan Plan by a vote of 235-193. No Democrats voted for it, and only four Republicans voted against.[35] A month later, the bill died in the Senate by a vote of 57-40.[36]

Economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman took issue with the contention that Ryan's plan would reduce the deficit, alleging that it only considered proposed spending cuts and failed to take into account the tax changes. According to Krugman, Ryan's plan "would raise taxes for 95 percent of the population" but would produce a $4 trillion revenue loss over ten years because of the tax cuts for the rich. Krugman went on to label the proposed spending cuts a "sham" because they depended on making a severe cut in domestic discretionary spending without specifying the programs to be cut, and on "dismantling Medicare as we know it", which is politically unrealistic.[37]

In response to Krugman, economist and former American Enterprise Institute scholar Ted Gayer was more positive toward the Ryan plan. Gayer agreed that, as written, the plan would cause a $4 trillion revenue shortfall over 10 years. He noted, however, that Ryan had expressed a willingness to consider raising the rates in his tax plan. Gayer concluded 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."[38]

Ramesh Ponnuru, writing in National Review, argued that the revenue loss to which Krugman refers is based on a comparison between Ryan's plan and current law, which "includes middle-class tax increases...cuts in payment to Medicare providers...[and] the expansion of the Alternative Minimum Tax."[39] He added that "current law automatically raises the tax rates to pre-Bush levels in 2013...so if you're comparing the tax level with current law, Ryan's plan represents a tax cut" and "the CBO's actual projections for the Ryan plan show a debt level in 2021 that is $4.7 trillion lower than its projections for Obama's budgets."[40]

Rick Foster, the chief actuary of Medicare, endorsed Ryan's plan as the best way to save Medicare from going bankrupt: "I would say that the Roadmap has that potential. There is some potential for the Affordable Care Act price reductions, although I'm a little less confident about that."[41]

[edit] Opposition to SOPA

On January 9, 2012, four months after the bill's introduction, Congressman Paul Ryan pledged his opposition to H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA): "The internet is one of the most magnificent expressions of freedom and free enterprise in history. It should stay that way. While H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act, attempts to address a legitimate problem, I believe it creates the precedent and possibility for undue regulation, censorship and legal abuse. I do not support H.R. 3261 in its current form and will oppose the legislation should it come before the full House."[42]

[edit] Political campaigns

Ryan was first elected to the House in 1998 when two-term incumbent Mark Neumann retired from his seat in order to make an unsuccessful bid for the Senate. Ryan won both a Republican primary over 29-year-old pianist Michael J. Logan of Twin Lakes, and the general election against Democratic opponent Lydia Spottswood.[43] Ryan successfully defended his seat against Democratic challenger Jeffrey C. Thomas in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006.[44] In 2002, Ryan had also faced Libertarian candidate George Meyers.

[edit] 2008

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, 2008#District 1

Ryan defeated Democratic nominee Marge Krupp by a wide margin in the 2008 general election.[44]

[edit] 2010

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, 2010#District 1

Ryan defeated both Democratic nominee John Heckenlively and Libertarian nominee Joseph Kexel by a wide margin in the 2010 general election.

[edit] Electoral history

Year Office District Democrat Republican Other
1998 U.S. House of Representatives Wisconsin 1st District Lydia Spottswood 43% Paul Ryan 57%
2000 U.S. House of Representatives Wisconsin 1st District Jeffrey Thomas 33% Paul Ryan 67%
2002 U.S. House of Representatives Wisconsin 1st District Jeffrey Thomas 31% Paul Ryan 67% George Meyers (L) 2%
2004 U.S. House of Representatives Wisconsin 1st District Jeffrey Thomas 33% Paul Ryan 65%
2006 U.S. House of Representatives Wisconsin 1st District Jeffrey Thomas 37% Paul Ryan 63%
2008 U.S. House of Representatives Wisconsin 1st District Marge Krupp 35% Paul Ryan 64% Joseph Kexel (L) 1%
2010 U.S. House of Representatives Wisconsin 1st District John Heckenlively 30% Paul Ryan 68% Joseph Kexel (L) 2%

[edit] Personal life

Ryan married Janna Little, a tax attorney,[1] in December 2001.[5] The Ryans live in Janesville with their three children: Elizabeth Anne Ryan, Charles Wilson Ryan, and Samuel Lowery Ryan.[45]

Ryan is a practicing Catholic and is a member of St. John Vianney’s Church.[46]

Ryan is a fitness enthusiast and promotes fitness as a daily routine for today's youth. He works out actively using the P90x fitness program.[16]

[edit] References

 Constructs such as ibid., loc. cit. and idem are discouraged by Wikipedia's style guide for footnotes, as they are easily broken. Please improve this article by replacing them with named references (quick guide), or an abbreviated title. (December 2011)
  1. ^ a b Sauer, Bobbie (2008-07-23). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Paul Ryan". U.S.News & World Report LP. http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/07/23/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-paul-ryan.html. Retrieved 6 April 2010. 
  2. ^ a b The most influential US conservatives, Daily Telegraph, 15 January 2010.
  3. ^ Klein, Ezra (July 29, 2010). "What would Republicans do for the economy?" The Washington Post.
  4. ^ Roth, Zachary (December 27, 2010). "The five most influential voices on the economy." Yahoo!
  5. ^ a b "Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Congressman Paul Ryan, Paul Ryan Wisconsin - WhoRunsGov.com/TheWashingtonPost". Whorunsgov.com. http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Paul_Ryan. Retrieved 2011-04-09. 
  6. ^ a b "That Hair, Those Eyes, That Plan - Features". Milwaukee Magazine. 2005-01-07. http://www.milwaukeemagazine.com/currentIssue/full_feature_story.asp?NewMessageID=17442. Retrieved 2011-04-09. 
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/reps/ryanpaul.htm
  9. ^ "Ryan Incorporated Central - History". Ryancentral.com. http://www.ryancentral.com/history.html. Retrieved 2011-04-09. 
  10. ^ a b http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/43705747.html "Ryan draws inspiration from family, mentors". Journal Sentinel. April 26, 2009
  11. ^ a b http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/43705747.html "Ryan draws inspiration from family, mentors". April 26, 2009.
  12. ^ a b c Christian Schneider (July 2010). "Rebel Without a Pause: Our reporter spends 48 hectic hours with rising GOP star Paul Ryan. Just how far can his reform plans take him?". WI Magazine: The Wisconsin Interest. Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. http://www.wpri.org/WIInterest/Vol19No2/Schneider19.2.html. Retrieved April 12, 2011. 
  13. ^ http://www.npr.org/2011/04/08/135247470/paul-ryan-father-fitness-buff-zeppelin-fan "Paul Ryan: Father, Fitness Buff, Zeppelin Fan". All Things Considered, PBS. April 8, 2011
  14. ^ http://www.american.edu/americantoday/campus-news/20101130young-guns-republicans.cfm "Republican ‘Young Guns’ Detail Agenda at AU, American Today. November 30, 2010
  15. ^ "Biography". Ryanforcongress.com. http://www.ryanforcongress.com/Biography.aspx. Retrieved 2011-04-09. 
  16. ^ a b http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/43705747.html "Ryan draws inspiration from family, mentors". Journal Sentinel. April 26, 2009.
  17. ^ http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2011/05/15/sotu.gtk.paul.ryan.cnn "Getting to Know Paul Ryan". CNN. May 15, 2011.
  18. ^ "Ryan, Kasten pay tribute to Kemp", The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. May 9, 2009 Accessed April 1, 2010
  19. ^ http://usconservatives.about.com/od/champions/p/PaulRyanBIO.htm "A Profile of Republican House Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin"
  20. ^ http://www.usnews.com/news/campaign-2008/articles/2008/07/23/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-paul-ryan 10 Things You Didn't Know About Paul Ryan".
  21. ^ "Does Paul Ryan’s Record Match His Rhetoric? | Republican Liberty Caucus of Wisconsin". Wi.rlc.org. 2010-08-02. http://wi.rlc.org/2010/08/paul-ryans-record/. Retrieved 2011-04-09. 
  22. ^ "Afternoon Fix: Paul Ryan to deliver State of the Union response; Evan Bayh joins private equity firm". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/afternoon-fix/afternoon-fix-paul-ryan-to-del.html. 
  23. ^ H.R. 6110: Roadmap for America's Future Act of 2008. United States Congress. Government Printing Office.
  24. ^ "Summary of H.R. 6110: Roadmap for America's Future Act of 2008". Congressional Research Service. Library of Congress. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR06110:@@@D&summ2=m&. 
  25. ^ http://www.americanroadmap.org/
  26. ^ "All Congressional Actions of H.R. 6110: Roadmap for America's Future Act of 2008". Library of Congress. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR06110:@@@X. 
  27. ^ Ryan, Paul D. (April 1, 2009). "The GOP's Alternative Budget". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123854083982575457.html. 
  28. ^ a b Espo, David (April 19, 2009). "Republicans still struggling in Congress". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8462838. 
  29. ^ Hulse, Carl (April 1, 2009). "Pushed to Act, House G.O.P. Pitches a Budget". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/politics/02budget.html?fta=y. 
  30. ^ Pershing, Ben (April 5, 2009). "GOP May Be Stuck on Cohesion". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/04/AR2009040402579.html. 
  31. ^ "38 Republicans Vote Against GOP's Alternative Budget". Newsmax. http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/ryan_budget/2009/04/02/199182.html. 
  32. ^ The Budget Committee Republicans. "A Roadmap For America's Future". http://www.roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov. 
  33. ^ a b Ambinder, Marc (2010-03-11). "If Paul Ryan's Roadmap Is the Republican Way, Why Aren't Republicans Driving On it?". The Atlantic. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/03/if-paul-ryans-roadmap-is-the-republican-way-why-arent-republicans-driving-on-it/37364. 
  34. ^ a b c Klein, Ezra (2010-02-01). "Rep. Paul Ryan's daring budget proposal". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/02/rep_paul_ryans_daring_budget_p.html#more. 
  35. ^ "House Passes Ryan Plan; all Democrats vote no". 2011-04-15. http://www.newser.com/story/116503/house-passes-ryan-plan-all-democrats-vote-no.html. 
  36. ^ "Senate rejects budget measure containing medicare overhaul". CNN. 2011-05-25. http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-25/politics/senate.medicare_1_medicare-overhaul-budget-plan-budget-proposal?_s=PM:POLITICS. 
  37. ^ Krugman, Paul (August 6, 2010), "The Flimflam Man", The New York Times: A23, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/opinion/06krugman.html?_r=1, retrieved 2010-08-13 
  38. ^ Gayer, Ted (August 6, 2010). "In Defense of Congressman Paul Ryan". Tax Policy Center. http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org/blog/_archives/2010/8/6/4598007.html. Retrieved 2010-08-13. 
  39. ^ Ponnuru, Ramesh. "Ryan vs. The Mythmakers." National Review. May 2, 2011. Pg. 34.
  40. ^ Ibid.
  41. ^ House Committee On the Budget. "Hearing Highlights." January 6, 2011. URL: http://budget.house.gov/healthcare/hearing1262011.htm
  42. ^ Congressman Paul Ryan Voices Concerns with H.R. 3261 January 9, 2012. URL: http://paulryan.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=274134
  43. ^ Wisconsin House 01 CNN AllPolitics Election Night 1998. November 4, 1998. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  44. ^ a b WI House 01 2008 CQ Politics Wisconsin - 1st District. November 4, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  45. ^ "Paul Ryan - US Congress - Paul and Janna Ryan Announce Son's Birth". Ryanforcongress.com. http://www.ryanforcongress.com/site/Viewer.aspx?iid=9925&mname=Article. Retrieved 2011-04-09. 
  46. ^ [2] "U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan." August 2010 Accessed December 27, 2011

[edit] External links

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U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Mark Neumann		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district
1999–present		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
John M. Spratt, Jr.
South Carolina		 Chairman of House Budget Committee
2011–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by
Grace Napolitano
D-California		 United States Representatives by seniority
156th		 Succeeded by
Jan Schakowsky
D-Illinois
Senators
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delegations
Representatives to the 106th–112th United States Congresses from Wisconsin (ordered by seniority)
106th Senate: H. Kohl | R. Feingold House: D. Obey | J. Sensenbrenner | T. Petri | J. Kleczka | T. Barrett | R. Kind | T. Baldwin | M. Green | P. Ryan
107th Senate: H. Kohl | R. Feingold House: D. Obey | J. Sensenbrenner | T. Petri | J. Kleczka | T. Barrett | R. Kind | T. Baldwin | M. Green | P. Ryan
108th Senate: H. Kohl | R. Feingold House: D. Obey | J. Sensenbrenner | T. Petri | J. Kleczka | R. Kind | T. Baldwin | M. Green | P. Ryan
109th Senate: H. Kohl | R. Feingold House: D. Obey | J. Sensenbrenner | T. Petri | R. Kind | T. Baldwin | M. Green | P. Ryan | G. Moore
110th Senate: H. Kohl | R. Feingold House: D. Obey | J. Sensenbrenner | T. Petri | R. Kind | T. Baldwin | P. Ryan | G. Moore | S. Kagen
111th Senate: H. Kohl | R. Feingold House: D. Obey | J. Sensenbrenner | T. Petri | R. Kind | T. Baldwin | P. Ryan | G. Moore | S. Kagen
112th Senate: H. Kohl | R. Johnson House: J. Sensenbrenner | T. Petri | R. Kind | T. Baldwin | P. Ryan | G. Moore | S. Duffy | R. Ribble
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Ryan&oldid=474154638"
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