Despite having a Republican majority in the House his entire time as a member of Congress, very few of the bills and resolutions he sponsored eventually passed.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is reportedly planning a 2024 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, served in the House of Representatives for three terms from 2013 to 2019. While his official biography touts his advocacy of conservative priorities during that time, it does not mention any legislative accomplishments.
A review of legislative records on the Congress.gov website reveals that during his six years in the House, DeSantis introduced 52 bills, resolutions, and amendments. The proposals were on topics such as enacting congressional term limits, excluding refugees who might be terrorists from being admitted into the United States, and celebrating the Sister Cities International organization.
Though his party held a majority in the House during his entire tenure, just four DeSantis bills passed the House: proposals to have the Office of Management and Budget study how social media activity is scrutinized during security clearance investigations; to make it easier for prosecutors to access Internet usage data for suspected child predators; to require the Justice Department to inform Congress every time it decides to no longer enforce a particular law; and to extend a freeze on pay raises for federal employees. None of these made it through the Senate.
The House did pass a nonbinding DeSantis resolution to express concern about events in Venezuela in 2017.
It appears that the sole proposal authored by DeSantis that became law was a one-sentence amendment in July 2017 to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2018. His addition, which made it into the final budget deal signed by President Donald Trump the following February, prohibited any funds in the bill from being used to buy heavy water from Iran.
In introducing the amendment in a floor speech, DeSantis said that it was necessary because the United States had purchased heavy water from Iran under President Barack Obama's administration and President Donald Trump's administration might do the same.
The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
DeSantis co-sponsored 550 additional pieces of legislation over his time in Congress. Just 41 of the bills became law.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
