The table below shows the latest BillTally findings on the Iowa delegation from National Taxpayers Union Foundation’s analysis of the 112th Congress. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the net cost of all of the spending and savings bills sponsored or cosponsored by each Member of Congress. We cross-index our database of cost estimates with each bill supported by each Member to calculate their net spending agenda (excluding overlapping/duplicate measures).
Net Cost of Legislation Sponsored and Cosponsored by Iowa’s | ||||||
| Name | Party | Increases | Decreases | Net Spending Agenda | # of Increases | # of Decreases |
| Grassley, Charles | R | $1,355 | ($257,259) | ($255,904) | 27 | 26 |
| Harkin, Thomas | D | $272,185 | ($690) | $271,495 | 78 | 5 |
| Boswell, Leonard | D | $80,907 | ($3,613) | $77,294 | 76 | 9 |
| Braley, Bruce | D | $140,408 | ($13,607) | $126,801 | 71 | 8 |
| King, Steve | R | $739 | ($163,028) | ($162,289) | 15 | 22 |
| Latham, Thomas | R | $10,749 | ($175,014) | ($164,265) | 48 | 11 |
| Loebsack, David | D | $37,167 | ($3,567) | $33,600 | 83 | 8 |
| Note: The links in the names will open a detailed report of that Member’s sponsored bills that had cost estimates. | ||||||
Among the states and territories, Iowa’s Republican House delegation would cut spending by an average of $163 billion. That was the 19th largest net decrease agenda out of all House Republican delegations. All of Iowa’s House Democrats were “net spenders,” meaning that the legislation they sponsored would, on net, increase federal spending if passed. The opposite was true of Iowa’s two House Republicans.
The net overall agenda proposed by the entire House delegation, including both parties, amounted to $18 billion in budget cuts. Out of all the states and territories, Iowa’s House delegation had the 20th lowest net spending agenda.
Iowa’s Senate contingency supported a net average spending agenda of nearly $8 billion, which was the 15th largest proposed out of all Senate delegations. However, there was a sharp divide along party lines: Republican Senator Charles Grassley’s proposals would cut the federal budget by $256 billion, a total agenda nearly $527 billion lower than the $271 billion in increases sponsored by Democratic Senator Thomas Harkin. In fact, Senator Harkin’s net spending agenda was the 2nd largest of any Senator in Congress.
The full report contains lots of other data points, including the cost of all bills introduced in each Chamber and a look at fiscally-related member caucuses such as the Tea Party Caucus.
Links:
- Report: http://www.ntu.org/foundation/billtally-report-112-3.html (or pdf)
- Press Release: https://www.ntu.org/foundation/52813_112th-congress-billtally-spending-report.html
- Searchable Database of Members’ Legislation: https://www.ntu.org/on-capitol-hill/billtally/
National Taxpayers Union Foundation108 North Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314703-683-5700, fax: 703-683-5722, e-mail: ntuf@ntu.orgwww.ntu.org/ntufThis report should not be construed as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress or as reflecting on a Member’s fitness to serve.