A few weeks ago, Jim Webb announced his intent to seek the Democratic nomination in the 2016 race for the White House. As a marine he served in the Vietnam War and was honored for his heroism. After earning his law degree at Georgetown, he worked on the House Committee on Veterans Affairs and later served in two positions in the Department of Defense under President Reagan. In 2006 he was elected to the Senate from the Commonwealth of Virginia and served one term in office in the 110th, 111th, and 112th Congresses from 2007 through 2012.
Net Cost of Legislation Sponsored or Cosponsored by
Senator Jim Webb (Dollar Figures in Millions)
| Congress | Bills to Increase | Bills to Decrease | Net Spending Agenda | Average Democratic Senator | # of Increase Bills | # of Decrease Bills |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 | $50,540 | -$301 | $50,239 | $193,343 | 45 | 2 |
| 111 | $5,580 | -$911 | $4,669 | $133,706 | 24 | 5 |
| 112 | $4,405 | -$3,404 | $1,001 | $23,688 | 27 | 5 |
| Average | $20,175 | -$1,539 | $18,636 | $116,912 | 32 | 4 |
Using our BillTally program, NTU Foundation tracked the cost of legislation that Webb either sponsored or cosponsored while in the Senate. Below are some data highlights:
On average, Senator Webb sponsored 32 bills to increase spending and 4 to cut spending in each Congress.
His largest net spending agenda was accrued over his first two years in office during the 110th Congress when he proposed $50.2 billion in increases. By the 112th Congress, his final two years in the Senate, he had scaled back his net agenda to just over $1 billion by supporting $4.4 billion in increases and $3.4 billion in proposed budget cuts.
In each Congress he proposed less spending than the average Senate Democrat.
The most expensive bill he sponsored or cosponsored was S. 2636, the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 ($40.7 billion per year) to stabilize the housing market and provide emergency funding in response to economic crisis. Other priorities included education assistance for veterans ($2.8 billion), veteran survivor benefits ($818 million), and energy retrofitting ($1.7 billion).
On average, Webb supported $13 of new spending for each dollar in budget cuts. Excluding the emergency foreclosure legislation from the 110th Congress, the average ratio increase per cut would be 4 to 1.
The largest savings proposal he sponsored was S. 18, the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act (2011), which would have eliminated certain reporting requirements included in the so-called Affordable Care Act (Senator Webb voted in favor of the health ccare reform package) designed to increase tax receipts. S. 18 would have rescinded “unspent federal funds” to offset the loss in revenues. (H.R. 4 was ultimately enacted to repeal the requirement.)
Other savings proposals included: importation of prescription drugs ($600 million per year), repeal of automatic pay adjustments for Members of Congress ($3 million), and S. 3438, the Offshore Petroleum Expansion Now Act of 2012 ($97 million per year).
The lists of bills with cost estimates sponsored or cosponsored by Senator Webb in the 110th Congress, 111th Congress, and 112th Congress are available on our website. More information about BillTally is available here.