Scores 100 Percent on CCAGW’s Congressional Ratings

Washington, D.C. – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today honored Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) as a Taxpayer Super Hero for being the only Senator to score a perfect 100 percent on its 2005 Congressional Ratings.  The average for the entire Senate was 46 percent.  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.  Sen. Kyl consistently voted to rein in deficit spending, reduce the tax burden, and make government more accountable to taxpayers. 

“Talk is cheap,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “A member’s voting record is the best measure of his or her commitment to fiscal discipline.  Sen. Kyl sets the gold standard for voting to ease the burden of a cumbersome, bloated federal government.”

The 2005 Congressional Ratings cover the voting year 2005, the first session of the 109^th Congress.  CCAGW rated 24 key votes in the Senate.  Sen. Kyl helped Congress extend tax cuts and pass a budget reconciliation package that saves taxpayers $39.7 billion over five years.  CCAGW also rated votes on earmark reform, cuts to agricultural subsidies and the Community Development Block Grant program, the pork-stuffed transportation authorization bill, the “bridges to nowhere” in Alaska, and the Pentagon’s failed web-based travel system.

“Sen. Kyl thinks beyond the next election.  He recognizes the long-term consequences of excessive spending and works to reduce the enormous debt being left to future generations,” Schatz continued. 

“No matter how wasteful it might be, every government program has a constituency that lobbies Congress for more funding.  Sen. Kyl puts the national interest ahead of special interests.  Thanks to leaders like Sen. Kyl, taxpayers have a fighting chance and will continue to score victories,” Schatz concluded.  

CCAGW’s website features the complete 2005 Congressional Ratings, including vote descriptions, scorecards for the House and Senate, personalized scorecards for each member of Congress, historical comparisons, and averages by chamber, party, and state delegation.  Visit www.cagw.org. 

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.