In their endorsement of Congressman Steve Kagen for re-election in the 8th Congressional District, the paper notes that “Kagen had two of the 21 bills he introduced passed and has shown considerable concern for laid-off workers in his district.”
I hopped on Thomas, the legislative information service of the Library of Congress. They show Kagen as the primary sponsor/author of 22 pieces of legislation. Two are resolutions that passed the House on a voice vote:
H.RES.421 : Honoring the trailblazing accomplishments of the “Mercury 13″ women, whose efforts in the early 1960s demonstrated the capabilities of American women to undertake the human exploration of space.
H.RES.697 : Commending Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre for establishing a National Football League record for most career touchdown passes, and for other purposes.
He had one more bill pass the House and then die in the Senate: H.R.6074 : To amend the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal and for other purposes.
Which means that he has had exactly one bill actually pass and become law: H.R.2408 : To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as the “Milo C. Huempfner Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic”.
Yep, that’s his single actual legislative accomplishment. In the end, the Green Bay Press Gazette endorsement of his opponent, John Gard, is much more on target: “In fact, it’s hard to state succinctly, ‘This is what Rep. Kagen did with his two years in Washington.’ He did introduce his centerpiece ‘No Discrimination in Health Care Act’ (H.R. 5449), but it was referred to committee and never took another step toward consideration. Sure, it’s hard for a freshman congressman to get a proposal through the House, but a majority-party freshman in a swing district should be able to get at least a hearing on his top priority.” Uh, yep, that says it about exactly right.
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Also from the JS: “Kagen takes more reasonable approaches on Iraq, on not extending President Bush’s tax cuts, on abortion (supporting Roe vs. Wade) and health care.”
So essentially the reasonable view is supporting every democratic position. Also from the article:
“And Kagen, whose district swings a bit to the conservative side, has shown that he can selectively break with the party to suit his constituents, though he reportedly voted along party lines 97% of the time.”
3% against the party? A true Maverick!
best of luck to Gard tomorrow… would be interesting to see who wins