We continue the Young Forwardists’ "Watchdogs of Democracy" series with an in-depth look at Rep. Jim Jordan from Ohio, examining his record. We plan to answer the question: Does Jordan's tenure reflect the values he vowed to uphold?
Stay tuned as we bring transparency to politics, one article at a time.
From pinning opponents on the mat to navigating the rough terrain of U.S. politics, Jim Jordan has been a public figure for some time. He first used his collegiate wrestling fame to win his campaigns for Ohio House Representative, Ohio State Senator, and later U.S. House Representative. Now we find Jim Jordan in his ninth term as a U.S. House Representative and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee in last year's Congress. Since 2007, his main focal points have been regarding the policies of taxation, health care, and fiscal issues.
Through his 18 years inside the U.S. House of Representatives, Jim Jordan has co-sponsored 1,307 bills and has only sponsored 55. The difference between co-sponsored and sponsored is crucial in understanding our legislative process. To co-sponsor a bill, your representative can give anything, as little as an email or even a phone call, to support a bill. While sponsoring a bill, your representative has to actually introduce it; this is a long-drawn-out process where our representative gets immersed in the issue and its possible solution. After it's been heavily researched and has policy advocacy from representatives and bureaucrats alike, it can finally be introduced on the House floor. When grading Representative Jordan, we must remember that when we have a consensus on his ideas, it's essential to comprehend them in a reflective scheme. At the same time, our representatives may fail to introduce bills, and it's ultimately up to their constituency to enact meaningful change.
Jim Jordan hasn't been introducing a substantial amount of bills, with co-sponsoring 258 bills and only introducing 9. Representative Jordan promised his constituents lower taxes, reforming healthcare, and sane government spending throughout his campaigns. In the 18 years he's been a congressman, he's had many chances to keep those promises to constituents, but has he taken initiative on the promises he made?
Taxation: C-
Related bills: H.R.7035 H.R.976
In the time he's been a congressman, Jim Jordan promised his constituency to make quality healthcare more affordable, stating on his official website, "We need to make our high-quality care more affordable, and I believe we can do so through a number of reforms, like offering financial assistance to those who cannot afford coverage, expanding options to include health savings accounts, and allowing families and individuals to buy coverage with the same advantage given to businesses." Furthermore, Representative Jordan made the promise to his constituency to fight against abortion; on his official website, he stated, "Throughout my years serving in the Ohio General Assembly and now in the U.S. Congress, I am proud to stand and defend the lives of the unborn. I am committed to the view that life is sacred, that it begins at conception, and that the Founding Fathers were correct in placing life first among the list of rights the Constitution was written to defend." He promised his constituents healthcare reform and anti-abortion laws, but did he take any actions to fulfill those promises?
Over the last two congressional cycles, Jim Jordan has co-sponsored 34 bills on taxation; of those bills related to his promises, the most notable were the Death Tax Repeal Act (H.R.7035) and the TAJC Permanency Act (H.R.967). Although the Death Tax Repeal Act hasn't gone anywhere since being introduced every year in the past two cycles, it's still imperative that he kept this promise to his constituents. Like the Death Tax Repeal Act, the TAJC Permanency Act hasn't gone anywhere since being introduced. However, this bill still does fight for its promises to constituents regarding child tax credit, alternative minimum tax, deductions for individuals, and capital gains tax rates. Over the past two election cycles, he hasn't introduced any bills regarding his taxation promises to constituents.
All things considered, while taking some action in co-sponsoring 34 bills for taxation in the past two congressional cycles, Representative Jordan hasn't taken nearly enough action to fulfill the promises to his constituency.He has not introduced any bills on taxation in the last two congressional cycles. While he has co-sponsored a moderate number over four years, his conservative stance may impact the types of bills introduced on these issues. He's been in Congress long enough to influence legislation that will help his constituents. Yet, he hasn't introduced legislation that takes action in his words to constituents. Jim Jordan has received a 'C-' due to limited legislative action in fulfilling his promises to constituents. Over the last two congressional cycles, he has co-sponsored 34 bills but has not introduced any legislation related to taxation.
HealthCare: C
During his tenure in Congress, Jim Jordan promised his constituency to make higher quality healthcare more affordable, stating on his official website, "We need to make our high-quality care more affordable, and I believe we can do so through a number of reforms, like offering financial assistance to those who cannot afford coverage, expanding options to include health savings accounts, and allowing families and individuals to buy coverage with the same advantage given to businesses." Furthermore, Representative Jordan made the promise to his constituency to fight against abortion; on his official website, he stated, "Throughout my years serving in the Ohio General Assembly and now in the U.S. Congress, I am proud to stand and defend the lives of the unborn. I am committed to the view that life is sacred, that it begins at conception, and that the Founding Fathers were correct in placing life first among the list of rights the Constitution was written to defend." He promised his constituents healthcare reform and anti-abortion laws, but did he take any actions to fulfill those promises?
In the past two congressional cycles, Jim Jordan has co-sponsored 40 bills, the most he's done for his main issues in this period. All of the bills' main issues were on abortion, with some mention of healthcare reform. Of the 40 bills, the most notable was the Sanctity of Human Life Act (H.R.887) and the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act (H.R.7). The Sanctity of Human Life Act fulfills his promise to constituents regarding abortion; even though he's only a co-sponsor, it is still a step in the right direction when considering the promise he made on abortion. The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act; even though he's only a co-sponsor, it still plays a role in fulfilling his promises to constituents, particularly on the issues of abortion and healthcare reform. Regarding sponsoring the bill on his own accord, Representative Jordan hasn't introduced any legislation for healthcare in the past two cycles.
To conclude on Representative Jordan's actions for his promises to constituents on healthcare, he's only co-sponsored 40 bills in the past two congressional cycles. Of the bills, the majority of them had to deal with abortion, while an inadequate amount dealt with healthcare reform. Even though he's a conservative, which could affect the number of bills introduced for issues, he hasn't done enough to act on his healthcare reform promises. Given the circumstances, Jim Jordan acted to keep his promises to constituents, but he hasn’t introduced any bills on healthcare. For the reasons I've listed above, Representative Jordan gets a ‘C’ because of taking action on his promise for abortion restrictions, some progress on healthcare reform, and his insufficient amount of legislation.
Economics and Public Finance: D
Related bills: H.R.4959 H.R.8777
To end off our grading of Representative Jordan, he promised his constituents limited government spending and a balanced budget. On his official website, he stated, "Federal government spending is out of control, and it is the responsibility of Congress to fix the problem. If federal spending is not reigned in, we will find it more and more difficult to avoid the looming financial crisis posed by the retirement of the Baby Boomers and the tens of trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities their future government benefits represent." He also stated on his official website, "I will continue seeking to instill fiscal sanity in government, so that we will be able to keep our promises to retirees while providing a sound future for our children and grandchildren." Representative Jordan promised his constituents smart government spending and a balanced budget, but has he taken any action to keep those promises?
Through the last two congressional cycles, Representative Jordan has only co-sponsored six bills on the issue of economics and public finance; all of the bills had to deal with his promises to his constituents for smart government spending and a balanced budget. The most notable bills he's co-sponsored are the Pro-Growth Budgeting Act (H.R.4959) and the CUTS Act (H.R.8777). The Pro-Growth Budgeting Act takes action on Jim Jordan's promise to constituents for a balanced budget. The other bill, the CUTS Act, takes action on Representative Jordan's promises to his constituents on limited government spending and balancing the budget. The total number of bills he sponsored related to economics and public finance in the last two congressional cycles is zero.
To conclude, during the last two congressional cycles, Jim Jordan has co-sponsored six bills and has not introduced any legislation. This limited legislative activity highlights a lack of direct action on the fiscal issues he promised to his constituency, such as limited government spending and balancing the budget. As a result, Representative Jordan receives a ‘D’ on economics and public finance, reflecting his low level of action in advancing his promises on fiscal policy reforms to constituents.
Grade on Issues: D+
Overall, Representative Jordan hasn't taken much action to better represent his constituents in the Fourth District. From this, Representative Jordan gets a ‘D+’; he isn't too active, but he has the chance to improve this. To do so, Jim Jordan's going to have to work more on introducing legislation that fulfills his campaign promises, but he might need help; that's where we, the people, come in handy. Suppose his constituency wants to see more from their representative. In that case, they can act by calling his office to advocate for specific policies they want achieved or attending one of his town hall events. All in all, Jim Jordan isn't advocating for his constituents, and it's up to the people to make their voices heard. Doing this might help Representative Jordan make legislation that takes action for his constituent's needs/wants; this will help reciprocate more transparency between the representative and the constituent.
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