Whenever I discuss the upcoming general election with people, I get the same comment about Phil English quite a bit… “but he’s been in Congress so long, he has more power than a new representative will have.”  Oh really?

Although Roll Call lists him as the most “powerful” Republican from the “Class of ‘94,” I don’t understand exactly what good that has done his constituents.

From Thomas.gov, here’s a synopsis of Representative English’s clout in Congress:

In the 110th Congress, Representative English sponsored 57 bills/amendments.

Here’s what was passed:

12. H.R.1083 : To amend the Act establishing the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area in order to include Butler County, Pennsylvania, within the boundaries of that heritage area.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-3] (introduced 2/15/2007)      Cosponsors (18)
Committees: House Natural Resources
Latest Major Action: 7/12/2007 House committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Note: For further action, see S.2739, which became Public Law 110-229 on 5/8/2008.

55. H.AMDT.963 to H.R.2857 Amendment added a section at the end of bill stating that it is the Sense of Congress that the Corporation for National and Community Service should make the maximum effort possible to coordinate the recruiting and assignment procedures of their various programs to allow senior citizens and their grandchildren to share volunteer opportunities and/or be assigned to the same geographic areas during their period of service.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-3] (introduced 3/6/2008)      Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 3/6/2008 House amendment agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the English (PA) amendment (A005) Agreed to by voice vote.

56. H.AMDT.964 to H.R.2857 Amendment added a section to the bill stating that it is the Sense of Congress that the Corporation for National and Community Service should make the maximum effort possible to coordinate with the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide opportunities for young people enrolled in NACS programs to collect oral histories from senior citizens in the communities where they serve.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-3] (introduced 3/6/2008)      Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 3/6/2008 House amendment agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the English (PA) amendment (A006) Agreed to by voice vote.

57. H.AMDT.965 to H.R.2857 Amendment required the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service to coordinate with veterans’ organizations serving veterans with disabilities to provide opportunities for young people enrolled in existing NACS programs to serve as drivers in the DAV Transportation Network on a full-time, part-time, or as-needed basis.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-3] (introduced 3/6/2008)      Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 3/6/2008 House amendment agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the English (PA) amendment (A007) Agreed to by voice vote.

In the 109th Congress, Representative English sponsored 82 bills/amendments.

Here’s what was passed:

4. [109th] H.RES.804 : Condemning the People’s Republic of China for its continued interference in the internal affairs of the Catholic Church and its persecution of Catholics loyal to the Pope.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-3] (introduced 5/9/2006)      Cosponsors (44)
Committees: House International Relations
Latest Major Action: 6/12/2006 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 362 – 1 (Roll no. 252).

54. [109th] H.R.3549 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 210 West 3rd Avenue in Warren, Pennsylvania, as the “William F. Clinger, Jr. Post Office Building”.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-3] (introduced 7/28/2005)      Cosponsors (20)
Committees: House Government Reform; Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 109-254 [GPO: Text, PDF]

In the 108th Congress, Representative English sponsored 61 bills/amendments.

Here’s what was passed:

4. [108th] H.RES.414 : To encourage the People’s Republic of China to fulfill its commitments under international trade agreements, support the United States manufacturing sector, and establish monetary and financial market reforms.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-3] (introduced 10/28/2003)      Cosponsors (47)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 10/29/2003 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 411 – 1 (Roll no. 579).

7. [108th] H.RES.705 : Urging the President to resolve the disparate treatment of direct and indirect taxes presently provided by the World Trade Organization.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-3] (introduced 7/7/2004)      Cosponsors (5)
Committees: House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 7/14/2004 Passed/agreed to in House. Status: On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 423 – 1 (Roll no. 372).

24. [108th] H.R.981 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 141 Erie Street in Linesville, Pennsylvania, as the “James R. Merry Post Office”.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-3] (introduced 2/27/2003)      Cosponsors (18)
Committees: House Government Reform; Senate Governmental Affairs
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 108-49 [GPO: Text, PDF]

60. [108th] H.R.5365 : To treat certain arrangements maintained by the YMCA Retirement Fund as church plans for the purposes of certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-3] (introduced 11/16/2004)      Cosponsors (3)
Committees: House Ways and Means; House Education and the Workforce
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 108-476 [GPO: Text, PDF]

In the 107th Congress, Representative English sponsored 51 bills/amendments.

Here’s what was passed:

51. [107th] H.AMDT.326 to H.R.2646 Amendment waives the requirement for the repayment of certain paid loan deficiency payments and marketing loan gains by a group of farmers in Erie County, Pennsylvania.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-21] (introduced 10/3/2001)      Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 10/3/2001 House amendment agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the English amendment (A008) Agreed to by voice vote.

In the 106th Congress, Representative English sponsored 57 bills/amendments.

Here’s what was passed:

45. [106th] H.R.4625 : To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2108 East 38th Street in Erie, Pennsylvania, as the “Gertrude A. Barber Post Office Building”.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-21] (introduced 6/9/2000)      Cosponsors (20)
Committees: House Government Reform; Senate Governmental Affairs
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 106-440 [GPO: Text, PDF]

56. [106th] H.AMDT.555 to H.R.3073 Amendment requires that selection panels include individuals with experience in fatherhood programs and other social programs; and adds language to encourage the payment of child support by helping fathers with visitation.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-21] (introduced 11/10/1999)      Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 11/10/1999 House amendment agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the English amendment (A002) Agreed to by voice vote.

57. [106th] H.AMDT.887 to H.R.4690 Amendment increases funding for the U.S. Trade Representative by $3 million.
Sponsor: Rep English, Phil [PA-21] (introduced 6/23/2000)      Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 6/23/2000 House amendment agreed to. Status: On agreeing to the English amendment (A021) Agreed to by voice vote.

In the 105th Congress, Representative English sponsored 46 bills/amendments.

None were passed.

In the 104th Congress, Representative English sponsored 34 bills/amendments.

None were passed.

Now, it seems to me that if you need a U.S. Post Office renamed for someone, Phil might be your go-to guy.  But for substantive legislation aimed at helping his constituents, or even the entire country?  Um, yeah, not so much.

For comparison purposes, I picked another Representative (Adam Putnam R FL-12) to see what he did.  I picked the 109th Congress, during which time English sponsored a whopping 82 bills, getting two of them passed.  It appears that during that same term, Representative Putnam sponsored 35 bills/amendments and, lo and behold, managed to get 26 of them passed in the House.  The kicker?  Adam Putnam took office in 2000, six years after Phil English.

So, I ask you, what, exactly, has Phil English done for the Third District of Pennsylvania?  He might sponsor a decent amount of legislation, but if you can’t get your bills out of Committee/Subcommittee, much less passed, really, what’s the point?

August 22nd, 2008 | Category: National, Pennsylvania, Politics | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL