CCAGW’s Congressional Ratings: A Recap of 2014 and the 2016 Presidential Candidates | Citizens Against Government Waste

CCAGW’s Congressional Ratings: A Recap of 2014 and the 2016 Presidential Candidates

The WasteWatcher

On July 30, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, released its 2014 Congressional Ratings, highlighting the voting records of all 535 members of Congress.  The ratings, which CCAGW has issued annually since 1990, identify which members of Congress voted to protect and save the taxpayers’ money, as well as those who consistently voted against their interests on spending and taxes. 

CCAGW scored 85 votes in the House of Representatives and 13 votes in the Senate for the second session of the 113th Congress.  By comparison, in 2013, CCAGW rated 80 votes in the House and 48 votes in the Senate.  CCAGW rates members on a 0 to 100 percent scale.  Members are placed in the following categories: 0-19 percent; Hostile; 20-39 percent; Unfriendly; 40-59 percent;  Lukewarm; 60-79 percent; Friendly; 80-99 percent; Taxpayer Hero; 100% Taxpayer Super Hero.

In 2014, 17 lawmakers (nine senators and eight representatives) earned the coveted title of Taxpayer Super Hero with perfect scores of 100 percent:  Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.); and Reps. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.), Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Ed Royce (R-Calif.), Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), and Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.).  In 2013, Sens. Johnson, Scott, and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) earned 100 percent ratings.  There were no Taxpayer Super Heroes in the House in 2013.

“CCAGW applauds the Taxpayer Super Heroes for their votes to cut wasteful spending and make government more accountable to taxpayers.  In today’s fiscal climate, the actions of these members are refreshing, and their constituents should offer them hearty congratulations.  On the other hand, far too many members of Congress in 2014 continued to support a further expansion of the bureaucratic morass at the expense of hard-working taxpayers.  Hopefully, these profligate members will vote more often in 2015 to eliminate the waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement that runs rampant in Washington,” said CCAGW President Tom Schatz.

The polarized nature of Congress is clearer than ever in the 2014 ratings.  In the Senate, in addition to the nine Taxpayer Super Heroes, there were 23 Taxpayer Heroes and 13 Friendly senators, all Republican.  No one finished in the Lukewarm category, while 52 senators (all Democrats) voted in a manner Hostile to taxpayers, including the “Dirty Thirty” who scored zero.  The highest ranking Democratic senators – Mark Begich (Alaska), Mary Landrieu (La.), and Joe Manchin (W.Va.) – each scored 23 percent, a rating considered Unfriendly to the taxpayer.  Only Sen. Manchin remains in the Senate.

In the House, the eight Taxpayer Super Heroes and 150 Taxpayer Heroes were all Republican, while all but one (John Barrow, D-Ga., defeated for re-election) of the 69 Friendly representatives were Republicans.  In the Lukewarm category, there were seven Republicans and four Democrats.  All 16 in the Unfriendly category, as well as all 178 representatives that voted in a manner Hostile to taxpayers, were Democrats.  Three representatives – Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Alma Adams (D-N.C.), and David Norcross (D-N.J.) – did not cast enough votes in 2014 to be rated.  In summary, a slim majority of representatives (226 Republicans and one Democrat) voted in a manner that was Friendly (or better) to taxpayers, while 194 members (all Democrats) voted in a manner that was, at best, Unfriendly to taxpayers.

On August 5, 2015, just in time for the first Presidential debate, CCAGW released the lifetime ratings of each declared 2016 Presidential candidate who served in Congress, based on their most recent elected office.  The average rating of the declared Democratic candidates (excluding Lincoln Chafee, who was an elected Republican senator, with a career rating of Lukewarm, but is running as a Democrat) is 9 percent.  The average rating of the declared Republican candidates is 88 percent.  These figures track closely to the CCAGW 2014 Congressional Ratings averages of all Senate Republicans and Democrats, which are 85 percent and 5 percent, respectively, as well as House Republicans and Democrats, which are 84 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

According to Schatz, “The candidates’ ratings reiterate the substantial gap between Republicans and Democrats on spending and taxes.  They also once again show that Hillary Clinton’s voting record is much closer to Bernie Sanders’ voting record than many people might believe.  Under CCAGW’s rating categories, every Democratic candidate is Hostile, and all Republicans, except Bobby Jindal (whose career rating was Friendly), are Taxpayer Heroes.  The highest ratings belong to the three most recently-elected senators – Ted Cruz at 99 percent, and Rand Paul and Marco Rubio at 95 percent.  While there are many ways to evaluate candidates and the ratings cover only those who served in Congress, CCAGW’s lifetime ratings are a valuable tool for voters during the long race for President.” 

Democratic Candidates

Office Held

CCAGW Lifetime Rating

Lincoln Chafee

Senator, Rhode Island, 1999-2007

55%**

Hillary Clinton

Senator, New York, 2001-2009

8%

Bernie Sanders

Senator, Vermont, 2007-present

3%

Jim Webb

Senator, Virginia, 2007-2013

16%

** Lincoln Chafee served in the Senate as a Republican.

 Republican Candidates

Office Held

CCAGW Lifetime Rating

Ted Cruz

Senator, Texas, 2013-present

99%

Lindsey Graham

Senator, South Carolina, 2003-present

85%

Bobby Jindal

Representative, Louisiana, 2005-2008

74%

John Kasich

Representative, Ohio, 1983-2001

89%

Rand Paul

Senator, Kentucky, 2011-present

95%

Marco Rubio

Senator, Florida, 2011-present

95%

Rick Santorum

Senator, Pennsylvania, 1995-2007

80%

 

An online version of the 2014 Congressional Ratings with full vote descriptions is available at ratings.ccagw.org.  For more information on other years, please do not hesitate to contact us by telephone (202.467.5300) or via email at wchristian@cagw.org

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