Ryan Martin

Worked directly with senior White House officials, the secretaries of Treasury and Labor, senior Republican senators, Democratic Senate staff, and state leaders as the lead Republican staff member responsible for developing and negotiating a compromise on unemployment insurance policy to support those losing income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Developed policy ideas in consultation with congressional staff and a wide range of stakeholders, worked with technical experts to refine complex proposals to ensure they would work effectively, garnered support for the proposal from over 100 national and 360 state and local organizations, and negotiated with House and Senate leadership to pass the proposal into law as part of a larger legislative package on December 20, 2019.

Developed three bipartisan bills to help families with children affected by the opioid epidemic, worked with key stakeholders to refine proposals and garner support, assisted senators in considering and passing the bills through the Finance Committee, and worked to ensure the inclusion of the bills in a bipartisan, bicameral package that became law on October 24, 2018.

Coordinated a hearing on the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program, worked with House members to develop a proposal to reauthorize the program, worked with the Senate to introduce a companion proposal, assisted members in marking up and passing the bill through the House, then moved to the Senate and negotiated the inclusion of the bill in a Senate package that became law on February 9, 2018.

Worked with House and Senate colleagues to develop a major proposal to reform the federal foster care system, solicited input from hundreds of interested organizations resulting in modifications to the bill, assisted in garnering support for the legislation from over 500 groups, worked with key House members and staff to mark up the bill and pass it through the House, then moved to the Senate and brokered compromises to further amend the bill to address House and Senate concerns, resulting in… Show more

Worked with House and Senate colleagues to develop a major proposal to reform the federal foster care system, solicited input from hundreds of interested organizations resulting in modifications to the bill, assisted in garnering support for the legislation from over 500 groups, worked with key House members and staff to mark up the bill and pass it through the House, then moved to the Senate and brokered compromises to further amend the bill to address House and Senate concerns, resulting in the bill becoming law on February 9, 2018. Show less

Studied Social Impact Bond projects operating around the world, visited projects in the U.K. to understand how they are designed and administered, consulted with experts regarding the federal role in such projects, organized a congressional hearing on the topic, developed the first federal legislation to broadly implement Social Impact Bonds in the U.S., and worked in the House and Senate to secure passage of the bill which became law on February 9, 2018.

Solicited input from experts on ways to effectively evaluate social programs, developed a legislative framework to build evidence on ways to help families move from welfare to work through the creation of a "What Works Clearinghouse," assisted members of Congress in introducing and publicizing the bill, and worked with House and Senate members and staff to move the bill which was signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 on May 5, 2017.

Worked with Speaker Paul Ryan and his staff to develop principles for a Republican plan to fight poverty and increase economic mobility, composed and edited multiple drafts of the report in collaboration with staff from multiple congressional committees, and solicited and incorporated feedback from members of Congress to finalize the report that was released on June 7, 2016.

Assisted Rep. Ryan and Sen. Murray in reintroducing their 2014 proposal, worked with multiple committees to incorporate recommendations into an amended bill and secure passage in the House, and assisted House and Senate leadership in resolving remaining concerns to produce a compromise bill signed by President Obama on March 30, 2016.

Coordinated three hearings on preventing sex trafficking and improving the lives of youth in foster care, organized a press conference announcing introduction of the bill that was covered by multiple media outlets, reviewed over 150 pages of public comments to incorporate changes into a revised bill, and participated in bipartisan negotiations to finalize a compromise that became law on September 29, 2014.

Arranged for witnesses to testify on their work to increase adoptions, created a complex financial model to estimate the impact of changes to current law, helped negotiate a bipartisan agreement to restructure awards to states for moving foster children into permanent homes, culminating in House passage of the bill by a vote of 402 to 0 on October 22, 2013. (Later became part of P.L. 113-183).

Organized a hearing on a proposal to reduce fatalities from child abuse and neglect, assisted in developing bipartisan legislation to create the Presidential Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities, and worked with House and Senate members and staff to move the bill through the Congress, which became law on January 14, 2013.

Assisted in coordinating a hearing on reforming welfare programs, worked with colleagues to develop legislation to improve and extend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families welfare program, and assisted in incorporating the proposal into a larger bill that became law on February 22, 2012.

Organized hearings on federal child welfare policy, met with stakeholders, assisted in developing two bipartisan legislative proposals, and worked with House and Senate members and staff to pass the bill which was signed by the President on September 30, 2011.