(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today released its 2021 Congressional Ratings, highlighting the voting records of all 535 voting members of Congress during the first session of the 117th Congress.  The report, which CCAGW has issued since 1989, identifies members whose voting records helped protect taxpayer dollars, as well as those who consistently voted against their interests.

CCAGW 2021 Congressional Ratings Facts:

CCAGW rates members on a 0 to 100 percent scale.  Members are placed in the following categories:

• Hostile: 0-19 percent.
• Unfriendly: 20-39 percent.
• Lukewarm: 40-59 percent.
• Friendly: 60-79 percent.
• Taxpayer Hero: 80-99 percent.
• Taxpayer Super Hero: 100 percent.

• CCAGW scored 25 votes in the House of Representatives and 41 votes in the Senate. 
• 18 senators earned the coveted title of “Taxpayer Super Hero” with a perfect score of 100 percent.
• 142 representatives earned perfect scores of 100 percent. 
• In 2020, 16 senators and 80 representatives achieved a perfect score.
• At the other end of the spectrum, 36 senators and 198 representatives had an abysmal score of zero.
• In 2020, nine senators and 176 representatives had a score of zero.

CCAGW President Tom Schatz said in a statement:

“We applaud the Taxpayer Heroes for their votes to cut wasteful spending and defend the interests of taxpayers.  In this unprecedented time in American history, the actions of these members are an encouraging sign, and their constituents should congratulate them.  It is promising to see the number of Taxpayer Super Heroes grow significantly, especially during the pandemic.  However, there are still far too many lawmakers who supported expanding the federal bureaucratic state at taxpayer expense in 2021 with big spending bills aimed at COVID-19 ‘relief’ and ‘infrastructure.’  Hopefully, these reckless spenders will change their wasteful ways in 2022 and vote to eliminate the extensive waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement that still plagues the Washington swamp, since now more than ever the government should be spending the taxpayers’ money effectively and efficiently.”

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.