Paul's Record: Quiet Futility

Ron Paul has sponsored 620 measures in his 11-and-a-half terms in Congress, but only one of them has become a law—a bill allowing the sale of a Galveston customhouse to a historical society. That tells you much of what you need to know about Paul’s congressional record, which according to the Washington Post “stands out for its futility.” Of the 47 bills Paul has proposed this year, 32 have failed to attract a single cosponsor.

Paul has had some success amending other people’s bills; he managed, for example, to staple a partial audit of the Federal Reserve onto Dodd-Frank. To be fair, most bills fall short of becoming laws, but Paul is unusual in that he doesn’t lobby for his oft-grandiose bills, preferring to quietly wait for support to come to him. “He’s somewhat of an introvert, so he doesn’t work the legislative process like most do,” says one former legislator. Then again, “When you’re president, they can’t just ignore you.”