9.

Success of a lawmaker
(Published Dec. 26, 2011 in the Kentucky New Era.)
Since 1987, bills sponsored on a national level by Kentuckys legislators have been
enacted at a higher rate than those sponsored by lawmakers from almost every other
state, according to data compiled by the ew !ra"
#nd yet far more fre$uently, lawmakers from Kentucky and across the country see their
legislation not make it to the %"S" &ouse or Senate floor for a debate or vote"
'or every 1(( pieces of legislation sponsored by one of Kentuckys eight congressmen
and senators, only seven are eventually enacted into law, according to statistics
compiled by )ov*rack"us, +pen,ongress"org and the -ibrary of ,ongress online
database"
*his puts the bluegrass state ahead of legislators from .. other states" &owever,
Kentucky legislators have sponsored fewer bills during the past /. years than many of
those other states, and more than 70 percent of sponsored legislation is never brought up
for a vote or debated by the full &ouse or Senate"
1ep" !d 2hitfield, Ky"31, has seen more than 84 percent of the 78 bills he sponsored
die in committee" 1epublican Sen" 5itch 5c,onnell has sponsored 11 enacted laws in
the past /. years, and freshman republican Sen" 1and 6aul went (318 this year on the
bills he sponsored"
7n short, simply considering the sheer number of bills sponsored, or how many of those
measures actually become law, can be misleading"
8*he success rate of a legislator does tell you about them, but it doesnt tell you any one
thing,9 said Stephen :oss, director of undergraduate studies and a political science
professor at the %niversity of Kentucky"
*he first lesson :oss said he teaches his students is that, although the average person
may think making laws is the top priority of a congressman or senator, for many its
really not"
5any senators and congressmen actually spend the ma;ority of their time serving their
constituency, :oss e<plained" 7f grandpa needs help getting his social security check or a
local entrepreneur is having trouble obtaining a small3business loan, local lawmakers
can make something happen, :oss said"
*hat does not eliminate the possibility that a legislator is shirking his or her lawmaking
duties, :oss said" &owever, it is ;ust one of the many opportunities available to which he
said an elected official can devote his or her efforts"
*here are different goals legislators may want to accomplish with a piece of legislation
as well, said =ohn Sparkman, chief of staff for 2hitfield" *hey can be introduced, 8both
for the purpose of making them into law, but also for making a statement of policies >a
legislator? favors,9 Sparkman said"
:oss agreed" %sing 6aul as an e<ample, :oss said a legislator can propose to eliminate
an agency, like the !nvironmental 6rotection #gency, but he or she will recogni@e other
legislators are not ready to consider the idea" 2hile the bill may not come up for a vote,
the legislator is making a statement"
87 would not e<pect a legislator like 1and 6aul to pass a lot of bills,9 :oss said" 8&e was
sent there to try and shake up the standard practices"9
6aul sponsored 18 pieces of legislation this year, more than any other national Kentucky
lawmaker" one were made into law, and only five were actually brought up for a
debate or vote"
#lthough none of the 14 bills sponsored by 5c,onnell this year were enacted, 11 bills
of the 18A he has sponsored since 1987 have been made into law" 5c,onnell and 1ep"
&al 1ogers B a Kentucky republican who saw four of his 1. sponsored measures
enacted in /(11 B consider themselves workhorses when it comes to making law, :oss
said" *hey roll up their sleeves and try more fre$uently than others to actually enact
policy, he said"
2hen thousands of bills come to the floor of ,ongress each year, simply finding time
for a bill can also be difficult, said :oss"
8)iven the hundreds of bills that are introduced in the Senate each year, """ it is nearly
impossible for all of them to be considered,9 a spokesman for 5c,onnell, 1obert
Steurer said in an email"
85ore importantly, as Senate 1epublican leader, he has effectively worked to ensure
that Kentuckians benefit from the legislation that reaches the floor of the Senate"9
'rom Sparkmans analysis, 2hitfield seems to fall in a different category" &e sponsored
1( bills in /(11, none of which were made into law" &owever, hes only sponsored 78
bills since he took office in 1990 B less than five a year" +f those 78, five have been
made into law, below the A"0 average for all sitting legislators"
*here are several e<planations for these numbers, Sparkman said" 'irst, for the ma;ority
of 2hitfields career, the &ouse has been controlled by Cemocrats" #lso, this is the first
year 2hitfield has been the chairman of the &ouse Subcommittee on 6ower and !nergy,
a position of power within ,ongress, :oss said" Doth factors could affect when and how
many bills are sponsored, :oss said"
2hitfield has tried to be more selective with the bills he chooses to sponsor and co3
sponsor, Sparkman added" 7n fact, he thought there could be a negative aspect of a
legislator endorsing too many bills"
8Eou do run the risk, when you sign onto everything """ the risk of >people? saying
F2hat is your focusG9 Sparkman said"
1aw numbers or statistics that show few sponsored or enacted bills cannot tell the full
story, :oss said" 7nstead, he thinks they open the door to a new $uestionH 82ell, if you
havent been doing that, what have you been doingG9 :oss said"