Notes:
1. NTU
Congressional Rating – 2007 Grade and Rating – NTU's Rating
presents a comprehensive picture of the fiscal records of these Members.
Unlike those of other organizations, NTU's annual Rating does not simplistically
focus on only a handful of equally-weighted "key votes." NTU's
Rating is based on every roll call vote affecting fiscal policy
(in 2007, NTU included 182 Senate votes and 427 House votes), and assigns
a "Taxpayer Score" to each Member of Congress that indicates his or her
commitment to reducing or controlling federal spending, taxes, debt,
and regulation.
2. NTU
Congressional Rating – Percent of "A" Grades (1992-2007) – This
is the number of times, expressed as a percentage, that these Members
achieved an "A" on NTU's annual Rating over the course of their careers
since 1992. See Note 1 for a description of the NTU Rating methodology.
3. National
Taxpayers Union Foundation's (NTUF) BillTally – BillTally
determines the dollar cost of lawmakers' agendas. BillTally tabulates
the cost or savings of every piece of spending legislation introduced
in either House of Congress during each two-year session and cross-indexes
these figures with the sponsorship and cosponsorship records of every
Member of Congress. BillTally thus produces for each Senator and
Representative the amount (expressed in dollars) of their legislative
agenda. The numbers represent the annual change in federal spending
that would occur if all the legislation sponsored or cosponsored by that
Member were enacted into law. The data
presented in this table is for the First Session of the 110th Congress.
4. National
Taxpayers Union Foundation's (NTUF) Presidential Candidate Spending Analyses – NTUF
tallies the spending associated with the campaign promises made by the
presidential candidates. NTUF assumes the most conservative
cost estimates of federal outlays based on a variety of sources, including
the candidates' own projections; summaries from the Congressional Budget
Office, Congressional Research Service, and the White House Office of Management
and Budget; and results from equivalent legislation from NTUF's BillTally
cost accounting system.
5. Senator McCain's score is from 2006. In 2007, the Senator voted on
50%, or less, of the weighted total of votes cast. A score and grade were
not issued. |