How Many Bernie Sanders Bills Have Passed?
WAFFLES
FEBRUARY 4, 2016
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As the 2016 election cycle heats up, one can expect more scrutiny to be focused upon the most high profile candidates – along with some false accusations. Today we take a look the claim that Bernie Sanders has never proposed a bill which passed.
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SANDERS BILLS WHICH PASSED
Several memes, such as the one below, have suggested that Sanders never proposed a bill which passed in his decades in office. While some of the other claims cited below may delve into a gray area, Sanders’ history of sponsored legislation is simple to verify without refutation.
If we look at Sanders’ record at Congress.gov, we can see that he has in fact sponsored a small number of bills which made it to the President’s desk. Although Sanders sponsored hundreds of pieces of legislation which date back to 1991, only three have become law.
Of all the bills that Sanders sponsored, we have the following breakdown:
- 357 introduced by Sanders
- 190 were considered by committee
- 12 were considered by the floor
- 1 failed one chamber
- 6 passed one chamber
- 3 passed both chambers, went to the President, and became law
Those three bills,
according to Congress.gov, are:
S.893 Introduced 5/8/13. The
Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2013 which became law in November 2013
S.885 Introduced 5/7/13.
A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 35 Park Street in Danville, Vermont, as the “Thaddeus Stevens Post Office” became law in November 2014.
H.R.5245 Introduced 4/27/06.
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1 Marble Street in Fair Haven, Vermont, as the “Matthew Lyon Post Office Building” became law in August 2006.
Thus, the claim that Sanders have never sponsored a bill that passed is untrue. Detractors may point out that two of those three bills merely renamed post offices, but even without those, Sanders does have one significant bill to his name.
Further, Sanders is cited as a
co-sponsor on 203 other bills which have become law.
SUMMARY
It is incorrect to state that Bernie Sanders never sponsored a bill that became law. He penned a total of three bills which were enacted as law, although two of those simply renamed post offices. Sanders is listed as a co-sponsor on over 200 pieces of legislation.
