Scores 81 Percent on CCAGW’s Congressional Ratings

(Washington, D.C.) – The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today honored Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as a Taxpayer Hero for scoring 81 percent on its 2004 Congressional Ratings.  The average for the entire Senate was a record low 40 percent.  Since 1989, CCAGW has tracked roll call votes to separate the good stewards of taxpayer dollars from the politicians who support wasteful programs and pork-stuffed spending bills.  As one of 10 Senators with a score of 80 percent or higher, Sen. Sessions consistently voted to reign in deficit spending, reduce the tax burden, and make government more accountable to taxpayers. 

“Anyone can talk about cutting waste and lowering taxes.  Sen. Sessions is of the rare breed who ‘walks the walk’ by voting to ease the burden of a cumbersome, bloated federal government,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.

For the 108^th Congress, second session, CCAGW rated 16 key votes in the Senate.  Sen. Sessions helped extend the moratorium on Internet taxation for four years and also cast a crucial vote (47-49) against an amendment that would have derailed the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.    

“The bipartisan campaign to sabotage BRAC was about putting special interests before the national interest,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “Sen. Sessions helped rescue a process that will save taxpayers billions of dollars and will allow the military to restructure to meet modern threats.” 

The federal government ran a record deficit of $412 billion in fiscal 2004.  Yet Congress missed several chances to cut pork and waste from legislation.  The Senate prevented emergency spending for agriculture disaster assistance from being offset by cuts to the bloated farm bill and adopted an amendment striking language from the budget resolution that would have saved $14 billion.  In each case, Sen. Sessions voted with a minority of Senators for the fiscally prudent course of action.     

“Cutting waste is a politically difficult task because almost every program has an active constituency that profits from the status quo,” Schatz said.  “But Sen. Sessions recognizes that the federal government must set priorities.  He has taken a long-term view of the nation’s fiscal problems and makes a serious effort to tackle the enormous debt being left to future generations.”  

“With all the special interests in Washington clamoring for handouts from a spendthrift Congress, the fight against big government is an uphill battle.  Thanks to people like Sen. Sessions, taxpayers have a fighting chance and will continue to score victories,” Schatz concluded.  

Visit www.ccagw.org for the complete 2004 Congressional 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.