House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) raised eyebrows on Sunday when he responded to criticism that he is running the least productive Congress in history by suggesting that House Republicans should be “judged on how many laws we repeal,” rather than pass.
Through gerrymandering, the GOP won a 234 to 201 majority in the 2012 elections — even though most Americans voted for a Democratic Representative — and has frequently refused to compromise or consider legislation that lacks the support of a majority of Republicans. In fact, if voters were to take up Boehner’s challenge and judge the House based on how many laws Republicans repeal, they’d discover that his Congress is still the most counterproductive in history, focused on undermining vital health care and environmental projections and almost all government regulations of businesses. Here are just six examples:

3. Clean and fair elections. Among the Watergate-era reforms enacted to prevent future campaign finance scandals was a public financing law providing matching funds for presidential primary candidates and grants for major party nominees and conventions. While in recent years the soaring costs of political campaigns have forced most major candidates to opt-out of the system, rather than update and repair it, House Republicans voted repeatedly to eliminate the system altogether. They also voted to eliminate the Election Assistance Commission, the bipartisan group created after the 2000 election to help local officials ensure smooth and fair elections.


6. All other regulations. Most stunning of all, House Republicans actually passed a bill last year that would have effectively stopped all new regulations. The “Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act,” would have mandated that “no agency may take any significant regulatory action until the unemployment rate is equal to or less than 6.0 percent,” taking away the administration’s power to protect safety, public health, and a level playing field.