Birthname	Tommy George Thompson
Order	19th
Title	United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
Term start	February 2, 2001
Term end	January 26, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Predecessor	Donna Shalala
Successor	Mike Leavitt
Spouse	Sue Ann Mashak (m. 1968)
Birth date	November 19, 1941
Birth place	Elroy, Wisconsin
Party	Republican
Religion	Roman Catholic
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin Law School
Order2	42nd
Title2	Governor of Wisconsin
Term start2	January 5, 1987
Term end2	February 1, 2001
Lieutenant2	Scott McCallum
Predecessor2	Tony Earl
Successor2	Scott McCallum
Branch	United States Army
Rank	Captain }}

Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941), a United States Republican politician, was the 42nd Governor of Wisconsin, after which he served as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Thompson was a candidate for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, but dropped out early after a poor performance in polls. He is currently running for the United States Senate election in 2012.

Early life, education, and military service[link]

Thompson was born in Elroy, Wisconsin, where his father, Allan, owned and ran a gas station and country grocery store, and his mother, Julia, was a teacher. He is a former captain in the United States Army and United States Army Reserve, and holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Early political career (1966-1987)[link]

Wisconsin Assembly[link]

Thompson was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1966; he became the Assembly's assistant minority leader in 1973 and minority leader in 1981. He was famous for aggressively utilizing parliamentary procedure to give his minority party some limited say in the legislative process. Since this use of procedure was invariably one of delay and obstruction, he soon received the nickname "Dr. No" by the frustrated majority.

1979 congressional election[link]

Incumbent Republican U.S. Congressman William Steiger of Wisconsin's 6th congressional district died at the age of 40 from a heart attack. There was a special election in 1979. In the February 1979 Republican primary, he was defeated by Tom Petri 35%-19%. Petri won the general election and still represents the 6th district today.

Governor of Wisconsin (1987-2001)[link]

Thompson served as the 42nd Governor of Wisconsin, having been elected to an unprecedented four terms. While serving as governor, he was elected Chairman of the Midwestern Governors Association in 1989 and 1990.

The American Legislative Exchange Council identifies Thompson in the form of one of its success stories, being important to the organization in its formative years.

Elections[link]

;1986 Thompson decided to run for Governor of Wisconsin in 1986 against incumbent Democrat Anthony Earl. He ran and won the Republican primary with 52% of the vote in a five candidate field. He defeated Earl 53%-46%.

;1990

Thompson won re-election to a second term defeating Democrat Thomas Loftus, the Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, 58%-42%.

;1994

Thompson won re-election to a third term defeating Democrat State Senator Chuck Chvala 67%-31%. He won every county in the state except Menominee County.

;1998

Thompson won re-election to a fourth term defeating Democrat Ed Garvey, the Wisconsin Deputy Attorney General, 60%-39%.

Tenure[link]

Thompson's initiatives during his 14 years as governor of Wisconsin were his Wisconsin Works welfare reform and school choice programs. In 1990 Thompson pushed for the creation of the country's first parental school-choice program, allowing low-income Milwaukee families to send children to the private or public school of their choice at taxpayer expense. He created the BadgerCare program, designed to provide health coverage to those families whose employers don't provide health insurance but make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. Through the federal waiver program, Thompson helped replicate this program in several states when he became Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Post-gubernatorial career[link]

Health and Human Services Secretary[link]

Thompson left office when he was appointed by President George W. Bush as HHS Secretary. Thompson announced his resignation from HHS on December 3, 2004, and served until January 26, 2005, when the Senate confirmed his successor, Michael O. Leavitt.

Business career[link]

He was a member of the Amtrak Board of Directors and had an Amtrak locomotive named for him.

Thompson is a partner at Akin Gump, a Washington, D.C., law firm, and was formerly senior adviser at the consulting firm Deloitte and formerly the independent chairman of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. Thompson taught a class in the fall of 2005 at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government on medical diplomacy.

Shortly after leaving his Bush Cabinet post, Thompson joined and served for two years on the board of directors of Applied Digital Solutions, makers of the controversial VeriChip: a glass-encapsulated RFID chip that can be injected into human flesh for various database-driven identification purposes.

He was formerly the co-host for their television series, ''Plain Talk About Health''.

2008 Presidential campaign[link]

After first announcing the formation of an exploratory committee in late 2006, Thompson announced his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election on April 1, 2007.

During a May 3, 2007, presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Thompson said in response to a question from moderator Chris Matthews that a private employer opposed to homosexuality should have the right to fire a gay worker. He said, "I think that is left up to the individual business. I really sincerely believe that that is an issue that business people have got to make their own determination as to whether or not they should be." He called CNN the following morning to say he didn't hear the question correctly. He apologized, saying, "It's not my position. There should be no discrimination in the workplace."

Thompson had stated he would drop out of the race if he did not finish either first or second in the Ames straw poll on August 11, 2007. Thompson finished sixth, with just 7% of the vote, despite the fact that some major contenders were not competing in the poll. On August 12, Thompson officially announced he would drop out of the race.

In October 2007, Thompson endorsed Rudy Giuliani. Thompson told the Associated Press in a statement that "Rudy Giuliani has shown that he is a true leader. He can and will win the nomination and the presidency. He is America's mayor, and during a period of time of great stress for this country he showed tremendous leadership." He then endorsed Senator John McCain after Giuliani's withdrawal from the presidential race. However, in a New York Times article published October 11, 2008, Thompson is quoted in response to a question regarding whether he was happy with McCain's campaign as saying, "No. I don't know who is."

2012 U.S. Senate election[link]

On September 19, 2011, Thompson officially launched his campaign to run for the Wisconsin senate seat vacated by Sen. Herb Kohl. On December 1, 2011, he formally announced his candidacy.

Criticism[link]

Medicare controversies[link]

After leaving office, Thompson promoted changes to Medicare that some complained would benefit companies Thompson has a financial stake in (including Centene and the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions).

Additionally, while in office, Thompson was involved in a dispute over whether the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services had to share cost estimates to Congress for legislation that would create a prescription drug benefit. Critics accused HHS of downplaying the true cost of the law by $150 billion. CMS Administrator Tom Scully threatened to fire the actuary if he revealed to Congress his estimate. Investigators determined that the data was improperly hidden from Congress, but did not conclude whether laws had been broken.

Treatment of Ojibwa spearfishers[link]

During his 1986 gubernatorial campaign, Thompson suggested abrogating the right of Wisconsin's Ojibwa tribe to engage in traditional spearfishing. Once in office, Thompson called on the tribe to sell their rights to spearfish in off-reservation lakes and streams, which is guaranteed by treaties with the United States, for $42 million dollars to the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and $10 million to the Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Thompson and anti-spearfishing organizations Protect Americans' Rights and Resources and Stop Treaty Abuse-Wisconsin tried unsuccessfully to challenge the 1983 "Voigt Decision" of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals—which prohibited Wisconsin from regulating fishing on Ojibwe land. The decision was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1983. Thompson claimed that Native Americans' lives were in danger from protesters associated with PARR and STA if they continued spearfishing. In 1989, federal judge Barbara Crabb refused the request and chastised the state for attempting to avoid violence by punishing the Ojibwa, who had broken no laws, since it was violence by non-Native American protesters that was threatening. Crabb issued an injunction against violent anti-spearfishing protests in 1991, and made it permanent in 1992. On May 20, 1991, the Thompson administration declared it would no longer attempt to appeal the 1983 Voight Decision.

Statements about Jews, Israel[link]

In April 2007, Thompson was compelled to apologize for remarks he made about Jews and Israel during an address to an assembled crowd of Jewish social activists in Washington, D.C. On April 18, 2007, appearing before a conference organized by the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Thompson made reference to his lucrative transition from public service to the private sector by stating: "You know that's sort of part of the Jewish tradition and I do not find anything wrong with that." After the conclusion of his address, Thompson was reportedly pulled aside privately by the RAC's Rabbi David Saperstein, and then returned to the podium to issue a clarification, adding: "I just want to clarify something because I didn't (by) any means want to infer or imply anything about Jews and finances and things. What I was referring to, ladies and gentlemen, is the accomplishments of the Jewish religion. You've been outstanding business people and I compliment you for that."

Later, Thompson told Politico that his remarks could be blamed on fatigue and a persistent cold.

Thompson made a variety of other lesser gaffes, including referring to the Anti Defamation League as the fringe Jewish Defense League, and to Israel bonds as "Jewish bonds". He also discussed his connections to politically conservative Israeli and Jewish leaders while speaking to the mostly liberal leaning group.

Conference organizers avoided comment on the faux pas, instead praising Thompson's decision to appear before the group.

Politicizing of science[link]

In 2001, early in his term as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Thompson's office rejected 19 of 26 people recommended for seats on the advisory board for the NIH developing nations unit, including a Nobel laureate, by the unit's director. In return, Thompson's office sent résumés for other scientists that Gerald Keusch, the director of the Fogarty International Center, described in an interview as "lightweights" with "no scientific credibility". Keusch relayed to the Nobel laureate, Torsten Wiesel, that he was rejected for having "signed too many full-page letters in The New York Times critical of President Bush." This incident was cited by the advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists as part of a report detailing their allegations of politicization of science under President George W. Bush's administration.

Electoral history[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

;Official sites

U.S. Senate Campaign Website

;Documentaries, topic pages and databases

Federal Election Commission - Tommy G. Thompson (President) campaign finance reports

On the Issues - Tommy Thompson issue positions and quotes

PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer - Vote 2008: Tommy Thompson

"Tommy Thompson and the Conservative Revolution"; primary source material compiled by the Wisconsin Historical Society

Tommy G. Thompson Collection, 1957-ongoing Special Collections & Archives, Marquette University (archive of materials donated by Thompson and others)

;Media coverage

New York Times - Tommy G. Thompson news stories and commentary

{{U.S. Secretary box |before=Donna Shalala |department=Secretary of Health and Human Services |president=George W. Bush |years=2001–2005 |after=Michael O. Leavitt }}

Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:Governors of Wisconsin Category:Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Category:United States Secretaries of Health and Human Services Category:George W. Bush Administration cabinet members Category:United States Army officers Category:People from Juneau County, Wisconsin Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Category:University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Category:Wisconsin Republicans Category:American military personnel from Wisconsin

da:Tommy Thompson de:Tommy Thompson fr:Tommy Thompson rw:Tommy Thompson nl:Tommy Thompson no:Tommy Thompson pl:Tommy Thompson sh:Tommy Thompson sv:Tommy Thompson zh:汤米·汤普森

Name	Paul Ryan
State	Wisconsin
District	1st
Party	Republican
Term start	January 3, 1999
Predecessor	Mark Neumann
Successor	Incumbent
Office2	Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget
Term start2	January 3, 2011
Predecessor2	John Spratt
Birthname	Paul Davis Ryan
Birth date	January 29, 1970
Birth place	Janesville, Wisconsin
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	Janna Ryan
Children	Elizabeth, Charles, and Samuel
Residence	Janesville, Wisconsin
Alma mater	Miami University (B.A.)
Website	U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan }}

Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Republican Party, and has been ranked among the party's most influential voices on economic policy.

Born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin, Ryan graduated from Miami University in Ohio and later worked as a marketing consultant for Ryan Incorporated Central, run by a branch of his family. In the mid to late 1990s, he worked as an aide to United States Senator Bob Kasten, as legislative director for Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, and as a speechwriter for former U.S. Representative and 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp of New York. In 1998, Ryan won election to the United States House of Representatives, succeeding the two-term incumbent, fellow Republican Mark Neumann.

Ryan currently chairs the House Budget Committee, where he has played a prominent public role in drafting and promoting the Republican Party's long-term budget proposal. He introduced a plan, The Path to Prosperity, in April 2011 as an alternative to the budget proposal of President Barack Obama, and helped introduce The Path to Prosperity: A Blueprint for American Renewal in March 2012, in response to Obama's 2013 budget. Ryan is one of the three co-founders of the Young Guns Program, an electoral recruitment and campaign effort by House Republicans. He endorsed Republican presidential candidate and former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney for the 2012 United States presidential election. Ryan has been considered as a possible running mate for Romney.

Early life, education, and career[link]

Ryan was born and raised in Janesville, Wisconsin, the youngest child of Elizabeth A. "Betty" (née Hutter) and Paul Murray Ryan, a lawyer. He is of Irish and German ancestry, and is a fifth-generation Janesville native. Ryan's great-grandfather is Patrick William Ryan, who founded the Ryan Incorporated Central construction business in 1884. Ryan's mother is an outdoors enthusiast who led her husband and four children (Ryan's sister Janet and two brothers, Tobin and Stan) on regular hiking and skiing trips in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. As a boy, Ryan attended Camp Manito-wish YMCA, a wilderness canoe tripping camp located in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin; while in college, he returned there to work as a staff member and counselor during summer vacation.

Ryan attended Joseph A. Craig High School in Janesville. In college, he briefly worked for Oscar Mayer as a Wienermobile driver. Ryan went on to graduate from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a BA in economics and political science in 1992. He also studied at the Washington Semester program at American University and was a member of the Delta Tau Delta social fraternity. Following his studies, Ryan returned to Wisconsin and worked as a marketing consultant for an earth-moving company run by a branch of his family.

Ryan was 16 years old when he found his father in bed, dead from a heart attack at age 55. As a result, he received Social Security survivor's benefits until he turned 18. Ryan's grandfather and great-grandfather had also died from heart attacks, at ages 57 and 59 respectively.

Early political career[link]

In 2005, Ryan said, "The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand". ''New York'' magazine has claimed that Ryan requires his staff to read ''Atlas Shrugged''. In 2012, however, he said that while as a young man he became interested in economics because of her novels, "It’s a big stretch to suggest that a person is therefore an Objectivist... I reject her philosophy. It's an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview. If somebody is going to try to paste a person's view on epistemology to me, then give me Thomas Aquinas. Don't give me Ayn Rand."

During his junior year at Miami University, Ryan worked as an intern opening mail for the foreign affairs advisor assigned to Senator Bob Kasten of Wisconsin. Concerned that her son "...was destined to become a ski bum", Betty Ryan reportedly nudged him to accept another congressional position as a staff economist attached to Kasten's office. In his early years working in D.C., Ryan moonlighted on Capitol Hill as a waiter at the Tortilla Coast restaurant and as a fitness trainer at Washington Sport and Health Club, among various other side jobs.

After Kasten was defeated by Democrat Russ Feingold in 1992, Ryan became a speechwriter and a volunteer economic analyst with Empower America, an advocacy group formed by Jack Kemp, former education secretary Bill Bennett, the late diplomat Jeane Kirkpatrick, and former Representative Vin Weber of Minnesota.

Ryan worked as a speechwriter for Kemp, the Republican vice presidential candidate in the 1996 United States presidential election, and later worked as legislative director for US Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas. Ryan then returned to Wisconsin, where he worked as a consultant to an earth-moving company. In 1998, he ran for Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives[link]

Following his first election to the US House of Representatives in 1998, one of Ryan's priorities as a new congressman was to convert a truck into a rolling district office. This allowed him to keep regular congressional office hours with his constituents at various locations across Wisconsin's 1st congressional district.

In 2002, Ryan voted in favor of the Iraq War resolution, authorizing President George W. Bush to use military force in Iraq. In 2003 he voted in favor of the Medicare Part D prescription drug expansion.

In 2005, Ryan spoke at a Celebration of Ayn Rand event hosted by The Atlas Society. During the event, Ryan spoke about the influence of Atlas Shrugged on his life.

He is one of the three founding members of the House GOP Young Guns Program.

In 2008, Ryan voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Wall Street bailout that precipitated the Tea Party movement, and the bailout of GM and Chrysler.

In 2010, ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked Ryan the ninth most influential US conservative. In 2011, he was selected to deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union address.

In 2012, Ryan accused the nation's top military leaders of using "smoke and mirrors" to remain under budget limits passed by Congress. Ryan later said that he misspoke on the issue and called General Martin Dempsey to apologize for his comments.

Ryan's Second Budget Plan[link]

At the end of March 2012, the House of Representatives passed a newer version of Ryan's budget plan along partisan lines 228 yeas to 191 nays; ten Republicans voted against bill, along with all the House Democrats. Ryan's budget would reduce all discretionary spending in the budget from 12.5% of GDP in 2011 to 3.75% of GDP in 2050. This goal has been criticized as unrealistic since it includes spending on defense, which has never fallen below 3% of GDP. Congressman Justin Amash, a Republican from Michigan criticized Ryan's budget for insufficient cuts, its continuation of deficit spending through 2022 and beyond, and its exemption of military spending from reductions. His budget has also been criticized because it would not balance the budget until 2035. Marc Goldwein, the policy directory for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget stated "We may never, as a country, have a balanced budget again, And you know what? We don't have to." Ryan saw this as evidence of the severity of the deficit crisis.

The 2012 Ryan budget also received criticism from elements of the Catholic Church, specifically from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and from faculty and administrators of Georgetown University. In its letter to Rep. Ryan, the group of Georgetown faculty and administrators criticized the Ryan budget as trying to "to dismantle government programs and abandon the poor to their own devices," going on to say that Catholic teaching "demands that higher levels of government provide help—"subsidium"—when communities and local governments face problems beyond their means to address such as economic crises, high unemployment, endemic poverty and hunger." The letter also criticizes Ryan for his attempts at "gutting government programs" and states that Ryan is "profoundly misreading Church teaching." A statement issued by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops criticized the Ryan budget in similar terms. Ryan rejects the bishops' criticism that his budget plans would disproportionately cut programs that "serve poor and vulnerable people." Ryan's difficulties with the Catholic Church worsened when videos of Ryan praising and endorsing the "morality" of Ayn Rand's hyper-individualist philosophy were published on Youtube in 2012.

In May of 2012, Ryan voted for H.R. 4310 which would increase spending on defense, Afghanistan and various weapon systems to the level of $642 billion - $8 billion more than what was agreed to by President Obama and the Congress in the summer of 2011.

Committee assignments[link]

Committee on the Budget (Chairman)

Committee on Ways and Means

* Subcommittee on Health

Caucus memberships[link]

Congressional Middle East Economic Partnership Caucus

International Conservation Caucus

Republican Study Committee

Sportsmen's Caucus (Co-Chair)

Roadmap for America's Future[link]

On May 21, 2008, Ryan introduced H.R. 6110, titled "Roadmap for America's Future Act of 2008." This proposed legislation outlined a plan to deal with entitlement spending. Its stated objectives were: to ensure universal access to health insurance; to strengthen Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; to lift debt from future generations; and to promote economic growth and job creation in America. Despite significant press coverage, it did not move past committee.

On April 1, 2009, Ryan introduced his alternative to the 2010 United States federal budget. This alternative budget would have eliminated the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, lowered the top tax rate to 25%, introduced an 8.5% value-added consumption tax, and imposed a five-year spending freeze on all discretionary spending. It would also have replaced Medicare. Instead, it proposed that starting in 2021, the federal government would pay part of the cost of private medical insurance for individuals turning 65. Ryan's proposed budget would also have allowed taxpayers to opt out of the federal income taxation system with itemized deductions, and instead pay a flat 10 percent of adjusted gross income up to $100,000 and 25 percent on any remaining income. Ryan's proposed budget was heavily criticized by opponents for the lack of concrete numbers. It was ultimately rejected in the house by a vote of 293-137, with 38 Republicans in opposition.

In late January 2010, Ryan released a new version of his Roadmap. The modified plan would: give across the board tax cuts by reducing income tax rates; eliminate income taxes on capital gains, dividends, and interest; and abolish the corporate income tax, estate tax, and alternative minimum tax. The plan would privatize a portion of Social Security, eliminate the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance, and privatize Medicare.

On April 15, 2011, the House passed the Ryan Plan by a vote of 235-193. Four Republicans joined all House Democrats in voting against it. A month later, the bill died in the Senate by a vote of 57-40, with five Republicans and most Democrats in opposition.

Economist and ''New York Times'' columnist Paul Krugman criticized the contention that Ryan's plan would reduce the deficit, alleging that it only considered proposed spending cuts and failed to take into account tax changes. According to Krugman, Ryan's plan "would raise taxes for 95 percent of the population" and produce a $4 trillion revenue loss over ten years from tax cuts for the rich. Krugman went on to label the proposed spending cuts a "sham" because they depended on making a severe cut in domestic discretionary spending without specifying the programs to be cut, and on "dismantling Medicare as we know it," which is politically unrealistic.

In response to Krugman, economist and former American Enterprise Institute scholar Ted Gayer wrote a more positive assessment of the Ryan plan. Gayer agreed that, as written, the plan would cause a $4 trillion revenue shortfall over 10 years. He noted, however, that Ryan had expressed a willingness to consider raising rates in his tax plan. Gayer concluded that "Ryan’s vision of broad-based tax reform, which essentially would shift us toward a consumption tax... makes a useful contribution to this debate."

Journalist Ramesh Ponnuru, writing in National Review, argued that the revenue loss to which Krugman refers is based on a comparison between Ryan's plan and current law, which "includes middle-class tax increases... cuts in payment to Medicare providers... [and] the expansion of the Alternative Minimum Tax." He added that "current law automatically raises the tax rates to pre-Bush levels in 2013... so if you're comparing the tax level with current law, Ryan's plan represents a tax cut" and "the CBO's actual projections for the Ryan plan show a debt level in 2021 that is $4.7 trillion lower than its projections for Obama's budgets."

Rick Foster, the chief actuary of Medicare, endorsed Ryan's plan for reducing Medicare costs: "If you can put that pressure on the research and development community, you might have a fighting chance of changing the nature of new medical technology in a way that makes lower costs like this possible and more sustainable. I would say that the Roadmap has that potential. There is some potential for the Affordable Care Act price reductions, although I’m a little less confident about that."

In December 2011, it was revealed that Ryan would begin a new push for changes in Medicare in 2012 by working with Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon to modify Ryan's previous Medicare proposal. His most recent approach for semi-privatization of Medicare would keep traditional Medicare as an option for senior citizens, but would also introduce private insurance into an exchange market to compete with traditional Medicare. Seniors would still be given a voucher to purchase care if they so desired, as in his previous proposal. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has supported a similar plan in his campaign.

Opposition to SOPA[link]

On January 9, 2012, four months after the introduction of Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), Ryan pledged his opposition to the bill, saying, "The internet is one of the most magnificent expressions of freedom and free enterprise in history. It should stay that way. While H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act, attempts to address legitimate problems, I believe it creates the precedent and possibility for undue regulation, censorship and legal abuse. I do not support H.R. 3261 in its current form and will oppose the legislation should it come before the full House."

Political campaigns[link]

Ryan was first elected to the House in 1998, when two-term incumbent Mark Neumann retired from his seat in order to make an unsuccessful bid for the Senate. Ryan won both a Republican primary over 29-year-old pianist Michael J. Logan of Twin Lakes and the general election against Democratic opponent Lydia Spottswood. Ryan successfully defended his seat against Democratic challenger Jeffrey C. Thomas in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. In 2002, Ryan had also faced Libertarian candidate George Meyers.

2008[link]

Ryan defeated Democratic nominee Marge Krupp by a wide margin in the 2008 general election.

2010[link]

Ryan defeated both Democratic nominee John Heckenlively and Libertarian nominee Joseph Kexel by a wide margin in the 2010 general election.

Electoral history[link]

Year			! District	Democrat		Republican		Other
style="text-align: left;">1998
style="text-align: left;"	2000
style="text-align: left;"	2002
style="text-align: left;"	2006

Personal life[link]

Ryan married Janna Little, a tax attorney, in December 2000. The Ryans live in Janesville with their three children Elizabeth Anne, Charles Wilson, and Samuel Lowery.

Ryan is a Catholic and is a member of St. John Vianney's Church.

Ryan is a fitness enthusiast and promotes fitness as a daily routine for young people. In 2009, his exercise program was based on the P90x fitness program.

References[link]

External links[link]

Congressman Paul Ryan ''official U.S. House site''

Paul Ryan for U.S. Congress ''official campaign site''

A Roadmap for America's Future Paul Ryan's alternative to the United States federal budget

Health Care Reform: The Long-Term Perspective at Cato Institute, June 2009

Monitor Breakfast conversation on medicare voucher reform at Christian Science Monitor, December 2010

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin Category:Miami University alumni Category:People from Janesville, Wisconsin Category:Wisconsin Republicans

de:Paul Ryan (Politiker) fr:Paul Ryan (homme politique) ko:폴 라이언 it:Paul Ryan he:פול ראיין ja:ポール・ライアン pl:Paul Ryan (polityk) sh:Paul Ryan (političar) sv:Paul Ryan (politiker)