Washington, D.C. - Despite many lawmaker's rhetorical claims of fiscal responsibility and budget discipline, very few follow through by voting to protect taxpayer dollars, according to a congressional voting analysis by Taxpayers for Common Sense Action (TCS Action), a national budget watchdog group.
"With the fiscal clouds darkening, Congress ignored repeated opportunities to cut waste, instead choosing to dramatically increase spending, sending our nation back to deficit spending," said Joe Theissen, Executive Director of Taxpayers for Common Sense. "There is an urgent need to balance the federal budget and reduce special interest subsidies, to meet the nation's long-term fiscal challenges."
According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, the budget deficit this fiscal year will be in excess of $150 billion. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) last week came to a similar deficit figure for fiscal year 2002.
The Common Sense Taxpayer Scorecard, which is available online at www.taxpayer.net, provides a breakdown of how members of Congress from all 50 states voted on reducing government waste and promoting fiscal responsibility. The scorecard evaluates dozens of votes aimed at promoting sound fiscal policy, and cutting wasteful government spending and subsidies.
The costs of economic assistance and fighting the war on terrorism made deficit spending a reality. Congress launched a series of spending measures designed to "revive" the economy and bail out industries that were on the road to failure long before Sept. 11th.
In 2001, the House and the Senate showed very little spending restraint. They passed an energy bill with billions in giveaways to big energy, an economic stimulus bill that provided billions in tax breaks to big business and a $190 billion farm bill that creates new major government subsidies for corporate agribusiness.
The vote margins between the parties narrowed significantly in the Senate compared to last year, while they widened in the House. As in years past, members from both political parties and with varying ideological perspectives did very well on the scorecard.
Improving from last year, the New Hampshire congressional delegation led with a combined state average of 60%. Other top states include: Minnesota (56%), Wisconsin (56%), Oregon (54%), and Colorado (53%). "The commitment to fiscal discipline by these state congressional delegations is extraordinary and a great credit to the citizens of their state," continued Theissen. The worst congressional delegations in the country were: Louisiana (19%), Alaska (22%), Montana (23%), South Dakota (28%), and West Virginia (28%).
TCS Action doesn't assign subjective weights to votes in secret. Instead, the organization carefully selects votes that have a significant impact on the federal taxpayers. Also, in an effort to make the vote selection process transparent, TCS Action describes the votes extensively and weighs each vote equally.
TCS Action's scorecard recognizes 11 Senators and 65 members of Congress as Treasury Guardians, a special distinction awarded to lawmakers who scored in the top 10% of their respective chambers by casting fiscally responsible votes.
"There are some exceptional Senators and members of Congress from both political parties looking out for the American taxpayer's money, " concluded Theissen. "Unfortunately, politics too often trumped common sense when it came to spending tax dollars.
TCS Action's Common Sense Taxpayer Scorecard can be found on the Web at: www.taxpayer.net. Print versions of the scorecard are available by calling 202-546-8500 ext. 114.
Contact: Keith Ashdown
(202) 546-8500 x110
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