U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s office seems to be caught in a Groundhog Day loop where every day is the same; sponsor a new bill, issue a press release, sponsor a new bill, issue a press release, at least that’s the way it seems to us.
So in honor of National Nerd Day (we just made that up), we conducted an exhaustive search through Library of Congress records and discovered that the numbers do average out to at least one new bill sponsorship or cosponsorship every single freaking workday.
Impressive, right?
Not really.
We did some more digging to determine if Bennet was actually accomplishing anything, or just running around in circles declaring his support for everything that comes down the pike. The answer is, he’s running around in circles.
Here’s the breakdown: In the 2011-2012 session, Bennet slapped his name onto 295 pieces of legislation and was the primary sponsor of 60 bills, amendments and resolutions.
Only a single, stand-alone bill he sponsored became law – a measure to revise the federal charter for the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. to reflect a change in eligibility requirements for membership.
In the 2013-2014 session he signed onto 290 bills, 56 of which he was the primary sponsor. Of the bills he authored, none became law.
Since the current session began Jan. 22, Bennet has already sponsored and cosponsored 138 bills, again, none of his bills have become law.
He has managed to pass a few non-binding resolutions, like the one designating March 11, 2012 as “World Plumbing Day,” and another recognizing the cultural and historic significance of the Cinco de Mayo holiday.
A handful of his amendments over the years have also passed, like the one requiring states to describe how they are using funding they’ve combined for early childhood education and care.
The upshot is, that despite the self-accolades pouring forth from Bennet’s office on bill sponsorships, a legislative titan he ain’t.