Tax & Fiscal Information for Senator John Kerry
The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) and National Taxpayers Union
Foundation
(NTUF) have both conducted yearly analysis of John Kerry's record as Senator.
This data is presented in Section I.
NTUF has also looked at the promises made by candidate Kerry on the 2004 campaign
trail. We've gone through his website, speeches, statements in debates, and
all other similar documents to see what he has promised. We then use our BillTally
database to determine the costs to implement these promises. This data is
presented
in Section II. In a nutshell, NTUF has found that as of July 12, 2004, Kerry
has proposed ideas which would lead to an annual increase of $226.1 billion
in spending ($2.261 trillion over ten years).
I. Senator Kerry's Tax & Fiscal Record
The following table presents data from NTU and NTUF that provide
insight into John Kerry's tax and spending record in the Senate. The table
provides data from 3 sources:
1. NTU Rating of Congress: Every year NTU rates U.S. Representatives
and Senators on their actual votes--every vote that
significantly affects taxes,spending, debt, and regulatory burdens on consumers
and taxpayers.
2. NTUF BillTally: BillTally analyzes the cost or savings of all legislation
introduced in a given Congress that affects spending by at least $1 million.
Agenda totals for individual lawmakers are developed by cross-indexing their
sponsorship and cosponsorship records with cost estimates for those bills.
3. NTUF VoteTally: The VoteTally system tallies the spending at stake
in the votes cast by each Member of Congress under accounting rules designed
to ensure that no spending increases or decreases are double–counted.
National
Taxpayers Union/National Taxpayers Union Foundation
Profile of Senator John Kerry |
| Years (Congress) |
NTU Rating
of Congress |
NTUF BillTally
(Dollar Figures are in Billions) |
NTUF VoteTally
(Dollar Figures are in Billions) |
| |
1st
Session |
2nd Session |
Total |
Rank (All) |
Rank (Dem.) |
Total |
Rank (All) |
Rank (Dem.) |
| 91-92
(102nd) |
N/A |
F
(30%) |
$32.8 |
30 |
26 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| 93-94
(103rd) |
F
(24%) |
F
(22%) |
($9.6) |
66 |
52 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| 95-96
(104th) |
F
(21%) |
D
(36%) |
($10.4) |
73 |
45 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| 97-98
(105th) |
F
(16%) |
F
(13%) |
$41.9 |
10 |
8 |
$164.8 |
23 |
23 |
| 99-00
(106th) |
F
(11%) |
F
(13%) |
$95.2 |
2
| 2 |
$348.2 |
15 |
15 |
|
01-02
(107th)
|
F (07%)
|
F (18%)
|
$150.6
|
7
|
7
|
$466.5
|
33
|
33
|
| 03-04
(108th) |
F
(14%) |
N/A |
$182.0 |
11 |
11 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| Notes:
- N/A -- Data not available for these years.
- NTU Rating: (1) Percentage scores are out of a possible
100, (2) NTU started to give letter grades in 1992.
- BillTally and VoteTally: (1) Ranks are based on 1 being
the largest spender, (2)
Data for the 108th Congress is for the first
session only. BillTally cumulates the cost of all legislation
the Member is sponsoring or cosponsoring. VoteTally cumulates
the cost of all votes cast. VoteTally data include costs
of mandatory entitlement programs.
|
II. NTUF Analysis of John Kerry's Presidential Campaign
Promises
NTUF has reviewed Kerry's web site, speeches, and news coverage of his campaign
and has tallied the new spending associated with his campaign promises. As
of
July 12, 2004, Kerry has proposed ideas that would increase annual federal
spending by $226.1 billion
in spending ($2.261 trillion over ten years).
|
Policy Category
|
Category Spending
(in millions)
|
Category Savings
(in millions)
|
Category Total (in millions)
|
|
Agriculture/Rural
|
$0
|
-$165
|
-$165
|
|
Civil Rights
|
$115
|
$0
|
$115
|
|
Economy
|
$25,050
|
-$22,660
|
$2,390
|
|
Education
|
$74,883
|
$0
|
$74,883
|
|
Employment
|
$17,912
|
-$5,980
|
$11,932
|
|
Energy
|
$4,000
|
-$1,250
|
$2,750
|
|
Environment
|
$893
|
-$104
|
$789
|
|
Health Care
|
$71,120
|
$0
|
$71,120
|
|
Homeland Security
|
$7,004
|
$0
|
$7,004
|
|
Housing
|
$63
|
$0
|
$63
|
|
Infrastructure
|
$31,177
|
$0
|
$31,177
|
|
International Aid
|
$7,250
|
$0
|
$7,250
|
|
Justice
|
$7
|
$0
|
$7
|
|
Military/Veterans
|
$16,810
|
$0
|
$16,810
|
|
Science/Technology
|
Unknown
|
$0
|
Unknown
|
|
Overall Total:
|
$256,284
|
-$30,159
|
$226,125
|
|
|
|
