Leonard Boswell’s Small, Focused Approach
In the 111th Congress so far, Iowa’s Leonard Boswell has not proved to be among the most progressive members of the House of Representatives. In past sessions of Congress, Boswell supported some of the worst pieces of legislation passed under George W. Bush, including laws that gave the President unconstitutional powers that have yet to be effectively checked today.
In the current session of Congress, however, Representative Boswell’s weak progressive record mostly seems to be a matter of inaction – bills he has failed to support. Boswell has a progressive action score of only 24 out of 100, but his regressive action score is zero. So far, Boswell has yet to support any significant right wing legislation.
Congressman Boswell seems to have chosen an approach of small action focusing on a few issues. He has introduced only three pieces of legislation so far this year, but each piece of legislation is specifically targeted to deal with a particular problem on a major issue. These bills seem designed not to rankle. They deal with coordination of veterans affairs, loan guarantees for renewable fuel pipelines, and an increase in Medicare payments to low-volume hospitals.
Boswell won’t be called a hero by anyone, but he’s not likely to be demonized either. His approach to working in Congress seems to be to think small, and to reach only for those things within his grasp.
