Paul Ryan

Ryan voted against the 2010 health care reform act supported by Obama and congressional Democrats in 2010, and to repeal it in 2012.

In 2004 and 2005, Ryan pushed the Bush administration to propose the privatization of Social Security. Ryan's proposal ultimately failed when it did not gain the support of the then-Republican presidential administration.

Ryan's budget proposals "would mean significant cutbacks for education across the board." Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute notes that on "'education, training, employment, and social services,' the Ryan budget would spend 33% less" than Obama's budget plan over the next decade. In particular, the Ryan plan tightens eligibility requirements for Pell Grants and freezes the maximum Pell Grant award at the current level. According to an analysis by the Education Trust, this would result in more than 1 million students losing Pell Grants over the next 10 years. Additionally, under Ryan's plan, student loans would begin to accrue interest while students are still in school. Ryan states that his education policy is to "allocate our limited financial resources effectively and efficiently to improve education." Jordan Weissmann of The Atlantic said that Ryan's vision on education policy is to "cut and privatize." Read Less

Four Republicans joined all House Democrats in voting against it. A month later, the bill was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 57–40, with five Republicans and most Democrats in opposition. Read Less

Ryan has proposed that Medicaid be converted into block grants but with the federal government's share of the cost cut by some $800 billion over the next decade. Currently, Medicaid is administered by the states, subject to federal rules concerning eligibility, and the amount paid by the federal government depends on the number of people who qualify. Under Ryan's plan, the federal share would be based on population and inflation and would not increase because of economic downturns, when more people qualify. His plan would also undo a Reagan-era reform by which the federal government prohibited the states from requiring that a patient's spouse, as well as the patient, deplete all of his or her assets before Medicaid would cover long-term care.

An analysis by the CBO showed that the Ryan plan would not balance the budget for at least 28 years, partly because the changes in Medicare would not affect anyone now older than 55. Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker and Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, praised the budget for making tough choices. Walker believes it needs to go even further, tackling Social Security and defense spending. In contrast, David Stockman, Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan, has declared that Ryan's budget "is devoid of credible math or hard policy choices" and would "do nothing to reverse the nation's economic decline and arrest its fiscal collapse." Read Less

The language was removed from the bill before the House passed the bill, the Senate did not vote on the bill.

Ryan opposes same-sex marriage, supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, opposed the repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy, has opposed same-sex couples adopting children, and voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Ryan voted in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2007. The Human Rights Campaign, a GLBT rights organization, has frequently given Ryan a 0/100 rating on its legislative scorecard.

Ryan has supported the rights of gun owners and opposed stricter gun control measures. He voted against a bill for stronger background check requirements for purchases at gun shows and supports federal concealed-carry reciprocity legislation, which would allow a person with a permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state to carry a firearm in every other state, a top National Rifle Association (NRA) priority. Ryan, who owns a rifle and a shotgun, is an NRA member, has received an "A" rating from the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action and has been endorsed by the organization "every cycle he's been in Congress. Read Less