For Immediate Release September 20, 2012

Contact:  Leslie K. Paige 202-467-5334 Luke Gelber 202-467-5318

CCAGW Releases 2011 Congressional Ratings

(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today released its 2011 Congressional Ratings, highlighting the voting records of all 535 members of Congress. The report identifies members whose stellar voting records protecting taxpayers and saving money have earned them the moniker of Taxpayer Hero or Super Hero. CCAGW’s 2011 Congressional Ratings also name hundreds of members who consistently voted against the fiscal interest of taxpayers. This year is the twenty-third year that CCAGW has published its ratings.

CCAGW’s 2011 Congressional Ratings scored 120 votes in the House and 38 votes in the Senate. By comparison, in 2010, CCAGW rated 46 votes in the House and 62 votes in the Senate. The shift in vote numbers is largely due to an uptick in the number of important spending cut votes in the Republican-led House, as well as a scarcity of substantive votes in the Democratic-led Senate. CCAGW rates members on a 0 to 100 percent scale. Members are placed in the following categories: 0-19% Hostile; 20-39% Unfriendly; 40-59% Lukewarm; 60-79% Friendly; 80-99% Taxpayer Hero; 100% Taxpayer Super Hero.

In the House, Reps. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), Tom Graves (R-Ga.) and Ron Paul (R-Texas) achieved the highest scores with a grade of 98 percent. No members earned a perfect score in 2011. In 2010, Reps. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Tom Graves (R-Ga.), Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), and Sam Johnson (R-Texas) achieved “Taxpayer Super Hero” status with a grade of 100 percent. There were 76 “Taxpayer Heroes” with a grade of 80 percent or above in 2011, 47 percent lower than the 144 in 2010.

In 2011, Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) each scored 100 percent and took home the coveted “Taxpayer Super Hero” title. In 2010, Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and James Risch (R-Idaho) earned a perfect 100 percent score. There were a total of 33 Taxpayer Heroes in 2011, less than one percent lower than the 35 in 2010.

“Among the important legislative victories secured in large part by CCAGW’s taxpayer heroes were the termination of funding for the Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine and the passage of Free Trade Agreements with South Korea, Panama, and Columbia,” said CCAGW President Tom Schatz. “On behalf of taxpayers, we thank and applaud the Taxpayer Heroes and Super Heroes for their courageous votes to cut wasteful spending, reduce taxes, and make government more accountable.”

“Vigilance on producing smaller deficits and reducing the debt has never been more essential,” added Schatz. “Unfortunately, many members in 2011 were complicit in Congress’s third consecutive trillion-dollar budget deficit and rapidly growing national debt. Constituents should hold them accountable for their poor ratings.”

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.