The table below shows the latest BillTally findings on the Michigan 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 Michigan’s Congressional Delegation in the 112th Congress (Dollar Figures in Millions)
| Name | Party | Increases | Decreases | Net Spending Agenda | # of Increases | # of Decreases |
| Levin, Carl | D | $31,271 | ($43,897) | ($12,626) | 28 | 5 |
| Stabenow, Debbie Ann | D | $45,358 | ($17,819) | $27,539 | 64 | 12 |
| Amash, Justin | R | $38 | ($199,954) | ($199,916) | 3 | 11 |
| Benishek, Dan | R | $5,909 | ($178,651) | ($172,742) | 26 | 16 |
| Camp, David | R | $14,047 | ($182,316) | ($168,269) | 9 | 15 |
| Clarke, Hansen | D | $1,324,189 | ($15,020) | $1,309,169 | 73 | 5 |
| Conyers, John | D | $1,825,016 | ($51,219) | $1,773,797 | 170 | 12 |
| Dingell, John | D | $77,810 | ($13,731) | $64,079 | 40 | 4 |
| Huizenga, Bill | R | $323 | ($251,012) | ($250,689) | 17 | 23 |
| Kildee, Dale | D | $187,122 | ($5,047) | $182,075 | 84 | 4 |
| Levin, Sander | D | $55,271 | ($12,056) | $43,215 | 46 | 3 |
| Miller, Candice | R | $1,879 | ($175,537) | ($173,658) | 33 | 14 |
| Peters, Gary | D | $85,938 | ($7,093) | $78,845 | 57 | 9 |
| Rogers, Michael J. | R | $3,871 | ($44,021) | ($40,150) | 19 | 13 |
| Upton, Frederick | R | $12,649 | ($180,780) | ($168,131) | 15 | 16 |
| Walberg, Timothy | R | $15,767 | ($262,701) | ($246,934) | 22 | 36 |
| 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, Michigan’s House delegation had the 18th largest average net spending agenda: $145 billion. Two members were sponsors of legislation to enact a single-payer, universal health system exclusively administered by the federal government.
- Each House Democratic Representative from Michigan backed legislation that, overall, would lead to net spending increases.
- If all of the legislation that Representative Conyers either sponsored or cosponsored during the 112th Congress were passed into law, spending would increase by nearly $1.8 trillion – the most new spending supported by any Member.
- Each of the Republicans from Michigan were “net cutters”: if the legislation they each had sponsored were enacted into law, spending would decrease. Their net budget cutting agendas ranged from $40 billion to over $250 billion (Rep. Bill Huizenga).
- Among all House Members, Representative Amash’s agenda included the fewest amount of spending increases ($38 million), more than offset by nearly $200 million in cuts.
- In the Upper Chamber, Senator Levin was a net cutter: the bills he backed would, on net, cut spending by nearly $13 billion. Senator Stabenow supported 64 increase proposals and 12 proposals to cut spending, for a net agenda of $27.5 billion. The average Democratic Senator supported $39 billion in net increases.
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/ntuf This 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.