High-surface-area ruthenium-based RuxMy (M = Pt or Pd) alloy catalysts supported on carbon black were synthesized to investigate the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in alkaline electrolytes. The exchange current density for hydrogen oxidation on a Pt-rich Ru0.20Pt0.80 catalyst is 1.42 mA/cm2, nearly three times that of Pt (0.490 mA/cm2). Furthermore, RuxPty alloy surfaces in 0.1M KOH yield a Tafel slope of ~30 mV/dec, in contrast with the ~125 mV/dec Tafel slope observed for supported Pt, signifying that hydrogen dissociative adsorption is rate-limiting rather than charge transfer processes. Ru alloying with Pd does not result in modified kinetics. We attribute these disparate results to the interplay of bi-functional and ligand effects. The dependence of the rate-determining step on the choice of alloy element allows for tuning catalyst activity and suggests not only that a low-cost, alkaline anode catalyst is possible, but also that it is tantalizingly close to reality.