In a Slate article focusing on Grayson’s legislative success, Dave Weigel explains “Why Alan Grayson is now the most effective member of the House.”
On Grayson’s five amendments to last week’s NASA authorization bill:
“Grayson, once again, had walked under the radar. The Democratic congressman from Orlando had convinced the Republican-run committee to adopt five of his amendments. One would bar “the federal government from awarding contracts to corporations convicted of fraud,” and another would force NASA to “consider American public-private partnership human space flight” before it partnered with foreign space programs. Each was getting him closer to an unheralded title: The congressman who’s passed more amendments than any of his 434 peers.”
On Grayson’s second term:
“Grayson’s back because the last round of redistricting created a new, safe seat in metro Orlando. He won it, reclaiming a job he says he wants to keep “for a long, long time.” In doing so he’s stopped being a Republican target and started getting along with the majority.”
On Grayson’s legislative strategy:
“The new strategy is simple. Grayson and his staff scan the bills that come out of the majority. They scan amendments that passed in previous Congresses but died at some point along the way. They resurrect or mold bills that can appeal to the libertarian streak in the GOP, and Grayson lobbies his colleagues personally. That’s how he attached a ban on funding for “unmanned aerial vehicles,” i.e. drones, to the homeland security bill.”
Grayson has now passed a total of thirty-two amendments: seven on the House Floor, and twenty-five in committee.
The full Slate article is available here.
