Most Effective Senator
STUDY: Johnson Ranked One of Most Effective Senators
A recent non-partisan study conducted by the Center for Effective Lawmaking at the University of Virginia ranked Sen. Johnson as the fifth most effective Senate Republican. Senators were scored based on a combination of factors including the bills they sponsored, how far legislation progressed toward becoming law, and how important their policy proposals were.
"For the second straight Congress, Senator Johnson performed as one of the top five most effective lawmakers in the U.S. Senate. The Center for Effective Lawmaking took particular note of his ability to use his committee chair position to move forward a robust legislative agenda," said Craig Volden, co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking.
Highlights of the study can be found here.
Among Sen. Johnsons accomplishments in the 115 thCongress are:
- Passing his Right to Try Act, legislation to allow terminally ill patients, their doctors, and pharmaceutical manufacturers to administer investigational treatments where no alternative exists.
- Passing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act, a bill to rename and streamline the functions of a cybersecurity-focused agency within DHS.
- Fighting to ensure pass-through entities, which account for about 95 percent of all U.S. businesses, were treated fairly in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
- Securing the inclusion of his Preventing Emerging Threats Act, which provides federal law enforcement authorization to counter the malign use of drones, in the FAA reauthorization bill.
A Real Crisis
As this graph demonstrates, and as Sen. Johnson has repeatedly raised as a point of concern, this crisis at the southern border continues to grow as unaccompanied minors and families arrive in record numbers.
President Obama called it a humanitarian crisis in 2014 when 120,000 unaccompanied minors and members of families were apprehended at our southern border. Last year, 145,000 unaccompanied minors and members of families were apprehended. In just the first five months of this fiscal year, that number is now 159,000. It was a humanitarian crisis in 2014 and it is a growing crisis today. It is well past time to develop bipartisan solutions to secure our border and fix our horribly broken immigration system.
Gray Wolf Update
This week Acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will soon propose a rule to delist the gray wolf in the lower 48 states and return management of the species to the states and tribes. Here's Sen. Johnson's statement to this news:
I am pleased the Interior Department will propose a new rule to delist the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act. While todays announcement is a positive development, liberal activists will surely sue and yet again seek out a sympathetic federal judge to block the decision. The only way to avoid legal wrangling and provide a clear resolution for Wisconsin is to pass legislation to allow the state to move forward with a wolf population management plan. My bill to do so has bipartisan support, and I will continue to press my colleagues to act on this important issue.
Once the Fish & Wildlife Service publishes the proposed rule and opens a public comment period, I expect hundreds of Wisconsinites will share their personal views, along with thousands of others nationwide, in support of the governments new delisting effort.
In the News
- Fox News' America's Newsroom: Discussed the president's national emergency declaration and the record number of apprehensions of unaccompanied minors and family units at the southern border.
- Roll Call: Good article detailing Sen. Johnson's bipartisan work to counter Vladimir Putin's energy influence in Eastern Europe.
