Both Score 100 Percent on CCAGW’s Congressional Ratings

(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today honored Georgia Reps. Paul Broun (R) and Lynn Westmoreland (R) as Taxpayer Super Heroes in Congress for scoring 100 percent on its 2009 Congressional Ratings.  The average for the entire House was 31 percent, and the average for the Senate was 39 percent; this makes Reps. Broun’s and Westmoreland’s achievements that much more impressive.  Since 1989, CCAGW has tracked roll call votes to separate the taxpayer advocates in Congress from those who favor wasteful programs and pork-barrel spending.

The 2009 Congressional Ratings cover the voting year 2009, the first session of the 111^th Congress.  CCAGW rated 120 key votes in the House and 74 in the Senate.

“The perfect scores for Reps. Broun and Westmoreland demonstrate their unparalleled commitment to cutting wasteful spending, reducing the tax burden, and making government more accountable to taxpayers,” said CCAGW President Tom Schatz.  “The rating is even more impressive given the record number of votes rated by CCAGW and the record number of representatives who could not vote even once to cut wasteful spending or taxes.  While far too many members of Congress on both sides of the Capitol demonstrated little regard for the consequences of failing to reduce the record $1.4 trillion deficit and $13 trillion debt, Reps. Broun’s and Westmoreland’s votes give taxpayers hope for the future.” 

CCAGW’s website, www.ccagwratings.org, features the complete 2009 Congressional Ratings, including vote descriptions, scorecards for the House and Senate, and averages by chamber, party, and state delegation.  In the House, there were a total of seven “Taxpayer Super Heroes,” including both Reps. Broun and Westmoreland, with grades of 100 percent.  In 2008, Rep. Broun was the only House member with a perfect score.  In 2009, there were 89 “Taxpayer Heroes” with a grade of 80 percent or above, a 51 percent increase from the 59 in 2008.  The big difference was in the number of members with a perfectly abysmal score of zero.  In 2008 there were only 34.  In 2009, however, the number of members with a score of zero skyrocketed to 105, which is 41 percent of the 256 House Democrats.

From 2006 through 2008, there were no “Taxpayer Super Heroes” (scoring 100 percent) in the Senate, but fortunately there were two in 2009, Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.).  There were a total of 29 “Taxpayer Heroes,” 52 percent greater than the 14 in 2008.  The two next highest scores were achieved by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) at 99 percent.  There were no senators with a score of zero, compared to 17 in 2008. 

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.