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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
Chairperson of the House Budget Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	John Spratt
Personal details
Born	Paul Davis Ryan (1970-01-29) January 29, 1970 (age 54) Janesville, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Janna Little
Children	Liza Charles Samuel
Residence(s)	Janesville, Wisconsin
Alma mater	Miami University
Website	Congressional website

This article is part of a series about Paul Ryan
Political positions Electoral history Vice presidential campaigns 2012 selection convention election Speaker of the House 2015 election 2017 re-election The Path to Prosperity A Better Way
v t e

Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is the United States Representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district and the nominee of the Republican Party for Vice President of the United States in the 2012 election.

Born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin, Ryan is a graduate of Miami University in Ohio. He worked as an aide to legislators Bob Kasten, Sam Brownback, and Jack Kemp, and as a speechwriter before winning election to the U.S. House in 1998. He is currently the chairman of the House Budget Committee.

Ryan has developed budget plans that propose privatizing Medicare for those currently under the age of 55, funding Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through block grants to the states, and other changes. Ryan introduced these proposals in his spending plan for the House Budget Committee in April 2011 and in an updated version in March 2012.

On August 11, 2012, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced that he had selected Ryan to be his vice-presidential running mate. Ryan is also running for re-election to his seat in the House in November 2012. Ryan was officially nominated at the Republican convention in Tampa on August 29, 2012.

Early life and education

Ryan was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, the youngest of four children of Elizabeth A. "Betty" (née Hutter) and Paul Murray Ryan, a lawyer. A fifth-generation Wisconsinite, his father was of Irish ancestry and his mother is of German and English ancestry. One of Ryan's paternal ancestors settled in Wisconsin prior to the Civil War. His great-grandfather, Patrick William Ryan (1858–1917), founded an earthmoving company in 1884, which later became P. W. Ryan and Sons and is now known as Ryan Incorporated Central. Ryan's grandfather was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin by President Calvin Coolidge.

Ryan attended St. Mary's Catholic School in Janesville, where he played on the seventh-grade basketball team. He attended Joseph A. Craig High School in Janesville, where he was elected president of his junior class, and thus became prom king. As class president Ryan was a representative of the student body on the school board. Following his sophomore year, Ryan took a job working the grill at McDonald's. He was on his high school's ski, track and varsity soccer teams and played basketball in a Catholic recreational league. He also participated in several academic and social clubs including the Model United Nations. Ryan and his family often went on hiking and skiing trips to the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

When he was 16, Ryan found his 55-year-old father lying dead in bed of a heart attack. Following the death of his father, Ryan's grandmother moved in with the family, and because she had Alzheimer's, Ryan helped care for her while his mother commuted to college in Madison, Wisconsin. After his father's death Ryan received Social Security survivors benefits until his 18th birthday, which were saved up in order to pay for his college education.

Ryan majored in economics and political science at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he became interested in the writings of Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and Milton Friedman. He often visited the office of libertarian professor Richard Hart to discuss the theories of these economists and of Ayn Rand. Hart introduced Ryan to the National Review, and with Hart's recommendation Ryan began an internship in the D.C. office of Wisconsin Senator Bob Kasten where he worked with Kasten's foreign affairs adviser. Ryan also attended the Washington Semester program at American University. Ryan worked summers as a salesman for Oscar Mayer and once got to drive the Wienermobile. During college, Ryan was a member of the College Republicans, and volunteered for the congressional campaign of John Boehner. He was a member of the Delta Tau Delta social fraternity. Ryan received a B.A. in 1992 with a double major in economics and political science.

Political philosophy

At a 2005 Washington, D.C. gathering celebrating the 100th anniversary of Ayn Rand's birth, Ryan credited Rand as inspiring him to get involved in public service. In a speech that same year at the Atlas Society, he said he grew up reading Rand, and that her books taught him about his value system and beliefs. Ryan asked interns in his congressional office to read Rand and gave copies of her novel Atlas Shrugged as gifts to his staff for Christmas.

In 2009, Ryan said "What's unique about what's happening today in government, in the world, in America, is that it's as if we're living in an Ayn Rand novel right now. I think Ayn Rand did the best job of anybody to build a moral case of capitalism, and that morality of capitalism is under assault."

In April 2012, after receiving criticism from Georgetown University faculty members on his budget plan, Ryan rejected Rand's philosophy as an atheistic one, saying it "reduces human interactions down to mere contracts." He also called the reports of his adherence to Rand's views an "urban legend" and stated that he was deeply influenced by his Roman Catholic faith and by Thomas Aquinas. Yaron Brook, president of the Ayn Rand Institute, maintains that Ryan is not a Rand disciple, and that some of his proposals do not follow Rand's philosophy of limited government; Brook refers to Ryan as a "fiscal moderate."

In August 2012 after Romney chose him as his running mate, the Associated Press published a story saying that while the Tea Party movement had wanted a nominee other than Romney, it had gotten "one of its ideological heroes" in the Vice Presidential slot. According to the article, Ryan supports the Tea Party's belief in "individual rights, distrust of big government and an allegorical embrace of the Founding Fathers."

Early political career

Betty Ryan reportedly urged her son to accept a congressional position as a staff economist attached to Kasten's office, which he did after graduating in 1992. In his early years working on Capitol Hill, Ryan supplemented his income by working as a waiter, as a fitness trainer and at other jobs.

A few months after Kasten lost to Democrat Russ Feingold in the 1992 election, Ryan became a speechwriter for Empower America (now FreedomWorks), a conservative advocacy group founded by Jack Kemp, Jeane Kirkpatrick, and William Bennett. Ryan later worked as a speechwriter for Kemp, the Republican vice presidential candidate in the 1996 United States presidential election. Kemp became Ryan's mentor, and Ryan cites him as a "huge influence." Ryan then worked for U.S. Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas before returning to Wisconsin in 1997, where he worked for a year as a marketing consultant for Ryan Incorporated Central, his relatives' construction company.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Ryan was first elected to the House in 1998, winning the 1st District seat of Mark Neumann, a two-term incumbent who had vacated his seat to make an ultimately unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate. Ryan won the Republican primary over 29-year-old pianist Michael J. Logan of Twin Lakes and the general election against his Democratic opponent, Lydia Spottswood. This made him the second-youngest member of the House.

Reelected six times, Ryan has never received less than 57 percent of the vote. He successfully defended his seat against Democratic challenger Jeffrey C. Thomas in the 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006 elections. In 2002, Ryan had also faced Libertarian candidate George Meyers. Ryan defeated Democratic nominee Marge Krupp in the 2008 election. Ryan defeated Democrat John Heckenlively and Libertarian Joseph Kexel in the 2010 general election in his district.

Under Wisconsin election law, Ryan is allowed to run concurrently for vice president and for Congress. He faces Democratic nominee Rob Zerban in the 2012 House election. As of July 25, 2012, Ryan had over $5.4 million in his congressional campaign account, more than any other House member. Finance, insurance and real estate was the sector that contributed most to his campaign.

Tenure

Ryan became the ranking Republican member of the House Budget Committee in 2007, then chairman in 2011 after Republicans took control of the House. That same year he was selected to deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union address.

During his 13 years in the House, he has sponsored some 71 bills or amendments, of which two were ultimately enacted into law. One, passed in July 2000, renamed a post office in Ryan's district; the other, passed in December 2008, lowered the excise tax on arrow shafts. Ryan has also co-sponsored 975 bills of which 176 have passed. 22 percent of these bills were originally sponsored by Democrats; the average for Republicans is 19 percent.

In 2010, Ryan was a member of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (Bowles-Simpson Commission), which was tasked with developing a plan to reduce the federal deficit. He voted against the final report of the commission.

In 2012, he accused the nation's top military leaders of using "smoke and mirrors" to remain under budget limits passed by Congress. Ryan later said that he misspoke on the issue and called General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to apologize for his comments.

Ryan has also been on seven trips abroad as part of a congressional delegation.

Committee assignments

• Committee on the Budget (Chairman)
• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Health

Caucus memberships

• House Republican Caucus
• Caucus of House Conservatives Republican Study Committee
• International Conservation Caucus
• Middle East Economic Partnership Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus (Co-Chair)

Constituent services

In fiscal year 2008, Ryan garnered $5.4 million in congressional earmarks for his constituency, including $3.28 million for bus service in Wisconsin, $1.38 million for the Ice Age Trail, and $735,000 for the Janesville transit system. In 2009, he successfully advocated with the Department of Energy for stimulus funds for energy initiatives in his district. Other home district projects he has supported include a runway extension at the Rock County Airport, an environmental study of the Kenosha Harbor, firefighting equipment for Janesville, road projects in Wisconsin, and commuter rail and streetcar projects in Kenosha. In 2008, Ryan pledged to stop seeking earmarks. Prior to that he had sought earmarks less often than other representatives. Taxpayers for Common Sense records show no earmarks supported by Ryan for fiscal years 2009 and 2010. In 2012 Ryan requested $3.8 million from the Department of Transportation for a new transit center in Janesville, which city officials received in July.

Ryan was an active member of a task force established by Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle that tried unsuccessfully to persuade GM to keep its assembly plant in Janesville open. He made personal contact with GM executives to try to convince them to save or retool the plant, offering GM hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer-funded incentives.

Following the closing of factories in Janesville and Kenosha, constituents expressed dissatisfaction with his votes and support. They cited his votes for the TARP bank bailout and against extending unemployment benefits. Victor Grassman, the Janesville Director of Economic Development, has said that Ryan has not helped the community obtain economic development grants. During the 2011 Congressional summer break, Ryan held town hall meetings by telephone with constituents, but no free, in-person listening sessions. The only public meetings Ryan attended in his district required an admission fee of at least $15. In August, 2011, constituents in Kenosha and Racine protested when Ryan would not meet with them about economic and employment issues, after weeks of emailed requests from them. Ryan's Kenosha office locked its doors and filed a complaint with the police, who told the protesters that they were not allowed in Ryan's office. Ryan maintains a mobile office to serve constituents in outlying areas.

Political positions

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

Ryan has a lifetime American Conservative Union rating of 91/100. 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.

Fiscal, education, and health care policy

Ryan voted for the two Bush tax cuts (in 2001 and 2003), the 2003 bill that created the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the $700 billion bank bailout. Ryan was one of 32 Republicans in the House to vote for the auto industry bailout. 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. 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. 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."

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."

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. Ryan sponsored a 2008 bill that would repeal the requirement that the Federal Reserve System reduce unemployment. Ryan voted to extend unemployment insurance in 2002, 2008 and 2009, but has voted against further extensions since then. Ryan voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. Ryan also voted against the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009 and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which Ryan characterized as "class warfare."

Ryan voted against the 2010 health care reform act supported by Obama and congressional Democrats in 2010, and to repeal it in 2012.

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.

Ryan's budget proposals "would mean significant cutbacks for education across the board." Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute notes that on "'education, training, employment, and social services,' the Ryan budget would spend 33% less" than Obama's budget plan over the next decade. 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. Ryan states that his education policy is to "allocate our limited financial resources effectively and efficiently to improve education." Jordan Weissmann of The Atlantic said that Ryan's vision on education policy is to "cut and privatize."

Ryan voted for the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. Ryan is a supporter of for-profit colleges and opposed the gainful employment rule, which would have insured that vocational schools whose students were unable to obtain employment would stop receiving federal aid. Ryan is a supporter of private school vouchers and voted to extend the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program in 2011. The National Education Association teachers' union has criticized Ryan's positions on education.

Ryan has consistently supported giving the president line-item veto power.

Budget proposals

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." This proposed legislation outlined changes to entitlement spending, including a controversial proposal to replace Medicare with a voucher program for seniors. The Roadmap found only eight sponsors and did not move past committee.

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, 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. It would have also phased out Medicare's traditional fee-for-service model; instead, starting in 2021, it would offer fixed sums in the form of vouchers, with which Medicare beneficiaries could buy private insurance. The federal government would no longer pay for Medicare benefits for persons born after 1958. The plan attracted criticism since the voucher payments would not be set to increase as medical costs increase, leaving beneficiaries partially uninsured. 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. Ryan's proposed budget was criticized by opponents for the lack of concrete numbers. It was ultimately rejected in the House by a vote of 293–137, with 38 Republicans in opposition.

On January 27, 2010, Ryan released a modified version of his Roadmap, H.R. 4529: Roadmap for America's Future Act of 2010. 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 corporate income tax, estate tax, and Alternative Minimum Tax. The plan would privatize a portion of Social Security, eliminate the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance, and privatize Medicare. 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.

Economist and columnist Paul Krugman criticized Ryan's plan as making overly optimistic assumptions and proposing tax cuts for the wealthy. Krugman further called the plan a "fraud" saying it relies on severe cuts in domestic discretionary spending without specifying the programs to be cut, 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. In contrast, columnist Ramesh Ponnuru, writing in the National Review, argued that Ryan's plan would lead to less debt than current budgets. 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."

On April 11, 2011, Ryan introduced H.Con.Res. 34, a federal budget for fiscal year 2012. 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. A month later, the bill was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 57–40, with five Republicans and most Democrats in opposition.

On March 23, 2012 Ryan introduced a new version of his federal budget for the fiscal year 2013. 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. 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.

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. Under Ryan's plan, the federal share would be based on population and inflation and would not increase because of economic downturns, when more people 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.

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. 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. 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." Ezra Klein also criticized the budget for making "unrealistic assumptions." 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.

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. Faculty and administrators of Georgetown University challenged what they called Ryan's "continuing misuse of Catholic teaching" when defending his plan, but Ryan rejected their criticism.

Ryan's budget "envisions continued increases in Pentagon spending" and "significant cuts to the much smaller appropriations for the State Department and foreign aid," with diplomacy and development spending being reduced sharply.

Social, environmental, and science issues

In 2010, Ryan described himself as being "as pro-life as a person gets" and has been described as an "ardent, unwavering foe of abortion rights". As of 2012 according to Bloomberg, Ryan has co-sponsored 38 measures in the U.S. Congress that restrict abortion. 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) "on reproductive rights while in Congress and not one has been pro-choice." 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.

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." 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."

Ryan has also supported legislation that would impose criminal penalties for certain doctors who perform "partial-birth abortions." Ryan voted against continued federal aid for Planned Parenthood and Title X family planning programs. He also opposed giving over-the-counter status for emergency contraceptive pills. 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.

Ryan opposes same-sex marriage, supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, opposed the repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy, has opposed same-sex couples adopting children, and voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Ryan voted in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2007. The Human Rights Campaign, a GLBT rights organization, has frequently given Ryan a 0/100 rating on its legislative scorecard.

Ryan has supported the rights of gun owners and opposed stricter gun control measures. 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. 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's been in Congress.

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

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. 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. He also voted in favor of the Secure Fence Act of 2006. 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.

Ryan opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act, stating that "it creates the precedent and possibility for undue regulation, censorship and legal abuse." Ryan opposes net neutrality.

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. He opposes cap and trade and opposed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. 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. Ryan supports a 10-year $40 billion tax break for the petroleum industry, and has proposed cutting funding for renewable energy research and subsidies.

Ryan voted to weaken work requirements for welfare in 2002, 2003 and 2005, and against efforts to move more welfare recipients to work in 2012.

Foreign and military policy

Ryan has been described by Larry Sabato as "just a generic Republican on foreign policy."

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

Ryan was a "reliable supporter of the administration's foreign policy priorities" who voted for the 2002 Iraq Resolution, authorizing President George W. Bush to use military force in Iraq. Ryan also voted for the Iraq War troop surge of 2007. In May 2012, Ryan voted for H.R. 4310, 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.

In 2009, Ryan termed the Obama administrations' "reset" of relations with Russia as "appeasement." 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."

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. 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.

2012 vice presidential campaign

Dan Balz of The Washington Post wrote that Ryan was promoted as a candidate for Vice President "by major elements of the conservative opinion makers, including The Wall Street Journal editorial page, the Weekly Standard and the editor of National Review."

On August 11, 2012 the Romney campaign officially announced Ryan as its choice for Vice President through its "Mitt's VP" mobile app as well as by the social networking service Twitter, about 90 minutes before Romney's in-person introduction. Before the official announcement in Norfolk, it was reported that Romney had decided to choose Ryan on August 1, 2012, the day after returning from his foreign trip through the United Kingdom, Poland and Israel. On August 11, 2012, Ryan formally accepted Romney's invitation to join his campaign as his running mate, in front of the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Virginia. Ryan is the major parties' first-ever vice-presidential candidate from Wisconsin.

According to a statistical-historical analysis conducted by Nate Silver, "Ryan is the most conservative Republican member of Congress to be picked for the vice-presidential slot since at least 1900" and "is also more conservative than any Democratic nominee was liberal, meaning that he is the furthest from the center" of any vice presidential candidate chosen from Congress since the turn of the 20th century. This analysis, using the DW-NOMINATE statistical system, has been described as "one of the more statistically rigorous approaches to Ryan's congressional voting record." Political scientist Eric Schickler commented that while Ryan "may well be the most conservative vice presidential nominee in decades," the NOMINATE methodology "is not suited to making claims about the relative liberalism or conservatism of politicians" over a long time span. A USA Today/Gallup poll found that 39% thought Ryan was an "excellent" or "pretty good" vice presidential choice, compared to 42% who felt he was a "fair" or "poor" choice.

Ryan formally accepted his nomination at the 2012 Republican National Convention on August 29, 2012. In his acceptance speech, he promoted Mitt Romney as the presidential candidate, supported repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), said that he and Romney have a plan to generate 12 million new jobs over the next four years, and promoted founding principles as a solution: "We will not duck the tough issues – we will lead. We will not spend four years blaming others – we will take responsibility. We will not try to replace our founding principles, we will reapply our founding principles." The speech was well received by the convention audience and praised for being well-delivered. However, media fact-checkers at the New York Times, the Associated Press, and Factcheck.org accused Ryan of "a litany of falsehoods"; Jennifer Rubin of The Washington Post, the Investor's Business Daily, and Fox News disputed some of the claims by the fact-checkers.

Ryan has continued to seek reelection to his current Congressional seat as have other vice-presidential candidates in the past.

Personal life

Ryan married Janna Little, a tax attorney, in 2000. Little, a native of Oklahoma, is a graduate of St. Stephen's Episcopal School, Wellesley College, and George Washington University Law School. Her cousin is Democratic Representative Dan Boren, also of Oklahoma. Ryan proposed at one of his favorite fishing spots, Big St. Germain Lake in northern Wisconsin. The Ryans live in the Courthouse Hill historic district of Janesville, Wisconsin. They have three children: Liza, Charles, and Sam. A Roman Catholic, Ryan is a member of St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Janesville, and was an altar boy.

Because of a family history of fatal heart attacks before age 60, Ryan pursues an intense cross-training fitness program called P90X, and is "fairly careful" about what he eats.

Ryan is a fisherman and bowhunter, and a member of the Janesville Bowmen archery association. He stated that he has made close to 40 climbs of Colorado's 14,000-foot mountains, or Fourteeners. Ryan makes his own bratwurst and Polish sausage and is a fan of the Green Bay Packers. His musical preferences include Beethoven, Rage Against the Machine, and Led Zeppelin. Paul Ryan's Secret Service code name is "Bowhunter" and Janna Ryan's is "Buttercup", a nod to the movie The Princess Bride.

Awards and honors

• 2004, 2010 – Guardian of Small Business Award, National Federation of Independent Business
• 2008 – Defending the American Dream Award, Americans for Prosperity, Wisconsin chapter
• 2009 – Manufacturing Legislative Excellence Award, National Association of Manufacturers
• 2009 – Honorary Degree, Miami University
• 2010 – Legislator of the Year Award, International Franchise Association
• 2011 – Statesmanship Award, Claremont Institute
• 2011 – Fiscy Award for responsible financial stewardship and fiscal discipline in government.
• 2011 – Leadership Award, Jack Kemp Foundation
• 2011 – Freedom and Prosperity Award, Mason Contractors Association of America
• 2012 – Chair, Honorary Board of the Archery Trade Association

Electoral history

References

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Further reading

Works about Ryan

• Klein, Ezra (August 13, 2012). "Wonkbook: Everything you need to know about Paul Ryan". Washington Post.
• ProPublica (August 15, 2012). "Paul Ryan Reading Guide: The Best Reporting on the VP Candidate". ProPublica.
• Mitchell, Daniel (August 15, 2012). "What's Really in the Ryan Budget". The Wall Street Journal.
• Serafini, Marilyn Werber (August 16, 2012). "Primer: How Paul Ryan Proposes To Change Medicare". PBS NewsHour.
• Semuels, Alana (August 17, 2012). "Paul Ryan now says his office requested stimulus funds". Los Angeles Times.

Works by Ryan

• Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders. New York: Threshold Editions. 2010. ISBN 9781451607345. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
• Ryan, Paul D. (February 13, 2009). "Thirty Years Later, a Return to Stagflation". The New York Times.
• Ryan, Paul D. (January 26, 2010). "A GOP Road Map for America's Future". The Wall Street Journal.
• Ryan, Paul D. (April 5, 2011). "The GOP Path to Prosperity". The Wall Street Journal.

External links

• Congressman Paul Ryan official U.S. House site
• Paul Ryan for U.S. Congress official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• A Roadmap for America's Future—Paul Ryan's alternative to the United States federal budget
• Congressional Record Indicies for Rep. Paul Ryan at THOMAS.gov

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