Ryan has missed almost one-third of House votes

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, has missed almost one-third of the votes taken in the House so far this year, the third most of any House member, according to a ProPublica tracking report.

It’s also the most votes missed by any of the declared presidential candidates who serve in Congress.

Ryan, of Howland, D-13th, has missed 72 of 221 votes in the House this year, the report states. That’s a 32.6 percent rate of missed votes.

In a statement that doesn’t directly address his missed votes, Ryan wrote: “My campaign is built on the premise that it is vitally important to shine a national spotlight on the concerns of my constituents and the millions of people and thousands of communities all across America who share those concerns. I will continue to take every possible opportunity anywhere to push for an economy that works for working people, protect affordable, high-quality health care, and provide help for regions of the country like ours that continue to struggle.”

The Republican National Committee used the report to criticize Ryan.

“Whether Ryan is running for president or just floating his name for higher office, he’s always willing to abandon his duties to the people of Ohio to better serve his own political ambitions,” said Mandi Merritt, a Republican National Committee spokeswoman.

Among the votes Ryan missed were: the Equality Act to ban sexual orientation and gender identity based discrimination, the Strengthening Health Care and Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Act, an emergency disaster relief spending bill, a bill to protect people with pre-existing conditions, and a bill requiring the president to develop and update annually a plan to meet its contribution under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Ryan declared his presidential candidacy April 4. He missed three votes in January, nine in February, four in March, and 28 in both April and May, according to the report.

In the 2003-2004 session, Ryan missed 2.6 percent of the vote. The amounts for the other sessions were 2.4 percent in 2005-2006, 3.8 percent in 2007-2008, 4.1 percent in 2009-2010, 1.8 percent in 2011-2012, 6 percent in 2013-2014, 4.8 percent in 2015-2016, and 6.6 percent in 2017-2018.

The ProPublica report had Ryan in first place among all declared presidential candidates who are in Congress at 32.6 percent so far this year.

In second place is U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, at 31.9 percent. He’s followed by U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, a California Democrat, at 23.3 percent; U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, at 22.1 percent; U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii Democrat, at 18.9 percent.