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--Fiscal
Voting Records Inch Upward for Second Straight Year--
(Washington, DC) -- Two Texans wrangled top honors last year for voting to
reduce the burden on taxpayers, according to the widely-anticipated annual
Rating of Congress released today by the non-partisan National Taxpayers
Union (NTU). Senator Phil Gramm and Congressman Ron Paul had the highest
scores in their chambers for 2000, but many of their colleagues followed
the
special-interest spending stampede instead. The average lawmaker still
voted
less than half the time to reduce or control the federal governmentıs
burden
on taxpayers.
"Pro-taxpayer voting records in Congress appear to have inched out of
a
prolonged slump, but most lawmakers had miles to go before they could
claim
big gains against big government last year," said NTU President John
Berthoud.
Although the averages appeared to have leveled off and begun a modest
rise,
the ranks of top scorers designated as "Taxpayers' Friends"
remained thin.
In 1995, 121 lawmakers attained Taxpayer Scores sufficient for a grade of
"A" (and hence "Taxpayers' Friend"). The latest Rating
identified far fewer
Taxpayers' Friends in Congress -- 42 in all. Meanwhile, nearly 200
Senators
and Representatives earned the dubious title of "Big Spender,"
for posting
"F" grades in 2000.
~ The entire release is available at
http://www.ntu.org/rates_congress/P010
4-2000Rating.html
~ Download NTU's 2000 Ratings in PDF from
http://www.ntu.org/rates_congress/00NT
UVotingStudy.pdf
~ Visit the NTU Rates Congress Page at
http://www.ntu.org/rates_congress/rates
index.htm
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National Taxpayers Union is America's oldest and largest taxpayers' rights
group. NTU has worked for lower taxes, less wasteful spending, and
accountable government at all levels for 31 years.
Visit http://www.ntu.org.
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