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(Alexandria, VA) -- Last year's tax cut package was one of the only things that saved lawmakers' fiscal voting records from falling further into the hole, according to the widely-anticipated annual Rating of Congress released today by the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union (NTU). The average Senator or Representative still voted less than half the time to reduce or control the overall federal burden on taxpayers in 2003.

"Last year most Members of Congress left the job of providing relief from high taxes and wasteful deficit spending only half-finished," said NTU President John Berthoud. "A session that enacted one of the best tax cuts in recent memory but also created one of the worst new entitlement programs in recent history deserves mixed reviews from overburdened taxpayers."

In 2003, the average pro-taxpayer score in the House of Representatives rose to 45 percent -- four points higher than 2002's level. Averages took an upswing in the Senate as well, to 47 percent in 2003 versus 40 percent the year before. The worst averages during 2-1/2 decades of the comprehensive NTU scorecard were posted in 1988, when they plummeted to 27 percent and 28 percent, respectively, for the House and Senate. The highest marks were reached in 1995, when House and Senate averages were 58 percent and 57 percent, respectively.

In a curious twist, two North Dakotans bottomed out the Rating for their respective chambers. Byron Dorgan (D), who chairs the Senate's Democratic Policy Committee, earned the dubious distinction of being the lowest-scoring Member of the Senate in 2003, with a total of 11 percent. Earl Pomeroy (D) nabbed the "prize" for biggest spender in the House, by scoring 16 percent. On the other end of the pro-taxpayer scale, the highest scorer in the House was Jeff Flake (R-AZ), with 90 percent. In the Senate, John Ensign (R-NV) set the highest mark for 2003, with 87 percent.

Despite a small rise in averages, true "high performers" in Congress became even rarer -- just 29 lawmakers attained scores sufficient to win the "Taxpayers' Friend Award" (at least 74 percent in the House/80 percent in the Senate). In 2002, 36 Members received this top honor. However, 185 Senators and Representatives posted 2003 scores that were so low they were tagged "Big Spenders" (25 percent or less in the House or Senate).

Unlike those of other organizations, NTU's annual Rating does not simplistically focus on only a handful of equally-weighted "key votes." For this reason, it has received praise from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including former Senator (and "Golden Fleece Award" creator) William Proxmire (D-WI). The Rating is based on every roll call vote affecting fiscal policy (287 House and 269 Senate votes, a 25-year high), 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.

The 350,000-member NTU is a non-partisan citizen organization working for lower taxes, less wasteful spending, and accountable government at all levels. Note: The 2003 Rating, along with a searchable Rating database from the years 1992-2003, are both available online at www.ntu.org.

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Related Links:

• Click Here to Search NTU's Rating Database (1992-2003)
• Click Here for More Information on NTU's Rating & to Download NTU's Rating in PDF

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