Political positions of Paul Ryan

The political positions of Paul Ryan, the U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district from 1999 to 2019 and the 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019, were generally conservative, with a focus on fiscal policy. Ryan was Chairman of the House Budget Committee from 2011 to 2015 and of Ways and Means in 2015. Ryan was the Republican nominee for Vice President as the running mate of Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.

Ryan supports eliminating the capital gains tax, the corporate income tax, the estate tax, and the Alternative Minimum Tax. In 1999, Ryan supported the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, which repealed some financial regulation of banks from the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. During the economic recovery from the Great Recession of the late 2000s, Ryan supported the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which authorized the Treasury to purchase toxic assets from banks and other financial institutions, and the auto industry bailout; Ryan opposed the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which expanded consumer protections regarding credit card plans, and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which strengthened financial regulation.

Ryan believes federal poverty reduction programs are ineffective and supports cuts to welfare, child care, Pell Grants, food stamps, and other federal assistance programs. Ryan supports block granting Medicaid to the states and the privatization of social security and Medicare. Ryan supported the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit and opposes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as "Obamacare." Ryan supported the American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA), the House Republican plan to repeal and replace the ACA, which passed the House on May 4, 2017.

Ryan opposes abortion rights. Ryan opposed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which bolstered women's rights to equal pay for equal work. Ryan supports civil unions and opposes same-sex marriage. Ryan supports school vouchers, and supported the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 and its repeal in 2015. Ryan is unsure, and believes climate scientists are unsure, of the impact of human activity on climate change. Ryan supports tax incentives for the petroleum industry and opposes them for renewable energy. Ryan supports gun rights and opposes stricter gun control. Ryan supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.