Trump claims he's passed more bills "than any president, ever"
As President Trump approaches the six month mark of his presidency, he boasted about his legislative successes at a "Made in America week" event hosted by the White House on Monday.
"We've signed more bills -- and I'm talking about through the legislature -- than any president, ever," Mr. Trump said. "For a while, Harry Truman had us. And now, I think, we have everybody."
While Mr. Trump has signed 42 bills into law during the first few months of his presidency, more than former president Barack Obama's 39, he still falls slightly behind the legislative pace of the past six presidencies, who signed an average of 43 bills in this timeframe, the New York Times reported.
In the first half-year of his presidency, Jimmy Carter signed 70 bills. In this same period, Bill Clinton signed 50 and George W. Bush signed 20.
In just the first 100 days of his first term, former president Truman signed 55 bills and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, facing the effects of the Great Depression signed 76 bills in a massive 100-day push. By comparison, on Mr. Trump's 100th day on April 29 he had signed 29 bills into law.
What's in the bills he has signed?
Looking at the substance of Mr. Trump's legislation reveals that of the 42 bills he has signed, 15 of these bills simply reverse Obama-era regulation. Others, while successfully passed, are more standard than revolutionary. Within this category, which the Times labeled as "routine lawmaking" and "bureaucratic tweaks," Mr. Trump has signed 19 bills, such as the "Modernizing Government Travel Act," which updates technical regulations that previously prevented lawmakers from being reimbursed for Uber and Lyft expenses.
On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump promised to fight for measures designed to improve the lives of military veterans. Thus far, Mr. Trump has signed four bills benefiting vets and their families. Take, for example, the "Act to amend the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014," which extends Obama-era regulations allowing some vets to visit private doctors and improves how deductibles and copays get processed.
The remaining four bills signed by the president focus on science and technology. The "Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act" is designed "to authorize the National Science Foundation to support entrepreneurial programs for women," according to language in the bill.
Which bills has Trump actually signed into law? Here's a chronological list of all 42:
- January 20: A bill to provide for an exception to a limitation against appointment of persons as Secretary of Defense within seven years of relief from active duty as a regular commissioned officer of the Armed Forces
- January 31: GAO Access and Oversight Act of 2017
- February 14:Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of a rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to "Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers"
- February 16: Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of the Interior known as the Stream Protection Rule
- February 28: Joint Resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Social Security Administration relating to Implementation of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007
- February 28: Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act
- February 28: Inspiring the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers, and Explorers (INSPIRE) Women Act
- March 13: To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs health care center in Center Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania, as the "Abie Abraham VA Clinic"
- March 21: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Transition Authorization Act of 2017
- March 27: Joint Resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration relating to the Federal Acquisition Regulation
- March 27: Joint Resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of the Interior relating to Bureau of Land Management regulations that establish the procedures used to prepare, revise, or amend land use plans pursuant to the Federal Land
- March 27: Joint Resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to teacher preparation issues
- March 27: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to accountability and State plans under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
- March 28: Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017
- March 31: Joint Resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to drug testing of unemployment compensation applicants
- March 31: An Act to name the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Pago Pago, American Samoa, the Faleomavaega Eni Fa'aua'a Hunkin VA Clinic
- March 31: Joint Resolution approving the location of a memorial to commemorate and honor the members of the Armed Forces who served on active duty in support of Operation Desert Storm or Operation Desert Shield
- April 3: which nullifies the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service's final rule relating to non-subsistence takings of wildlife on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska
- April 3: nullifies the Department of Labor's rule titled Clarification of Employer's Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain an Accurate Record of Each Recordable Injury and Illness
- April 3: An Act to provide for the appointment of members of the Board of Directors of the Office of Compliance to replace members whose terms expire during 2017, and for other purposes
- April 3: Joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission relating to "Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services"
- April 13: Joint Resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the final rule submitted by Secretary of Health and Human Services relating to compliance with title X requirements by project recipients in selecting subrecipients
- April 13: Joint Resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to savings arrangements established by qualified State political subdivisions for non-governmental employees
- April 18: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017
- April 19: An Act to amend the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to modify the termination date for the Veterans Choice Program, and for other purposes
- April 19: Joint Resolution providing for the reappointment of Steve Case as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
- April 19: Joint Resolution providing for the appointment of Michael Govan as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
- April 19: Joint Resolution providing for the appointment of Roger W. Ferguson as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution
- April 28: Joint Resolution making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2017, and for other purposes
- May 5: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017
- May 8: U.S. Wants to Compete for a World Expo Act
- May 12: An Act to repeal the rule issued by the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration entitled "Metropolitan Planning Organization Coordination and Planning Area Reform"
- May 16: Modernizing Government Travel Act
- May 17: Joint Resolution disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to savings arrangements established by States for non-governmental employees
- June 2: Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvement Act of 2017
- June 2: American Law Enforcement Heroes Act of 2017
- June 6: DHS Stop Asset and Vehicle Excess Act or the DHS SAVE Act
- June 6: An Act to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 719 Church Street in Nashville, Tennessee, as the "Fred D. Thompson Federal Building and United States Courthouse"
- June 14: Follow the Rules Act
- June 23: Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017
- June 27: An Act to amend section 1214 of title 5, United States Code, to provide for stays during a period that the Merit Systems Protection Board lacks a quorum
- June 30: Securing our Agriculture and Food Act