The table below shows the latest BillTally findings on the Illinois 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 Illinois’s Congressional Delegation in the 112th Congress (Dollar Figures in Millions)
| Name | Party | Increases | Decreases | Net Spending Agenda | # of Increases | # of Decreases |
| Durbin, Richard | D | $65,429 | ($5,989) | $59,440 | 75 | 7 |
| Kirk, Mark | R | $2,277 | ($186,510) | ($184,233) | 23 | 22 |
| Biggert, Judy | R | $27,949 | ($45,274) | ($17,325) | 35 | 19 |
| Costello, Jerry | D | $135,178 | ($7,053) | $128,125 | 36 | 2 |
| Davis, Danny | D | $1,355,517 | ($3,358) | $1,352,159 | 69 | 3 |
| Dold, Bob | R | $12,055 | ($10,847) | $1,208 | 24 | 11 |
| Gutierrez, Luis | D | $1,401,974 | ($39,743) | $1,362,231 | 76 | 4 |
| Hultgren, Randy | R | $2,058 | ($145,895) | ($143,837) | 26 | 14 |
| Jackson, Jesse | D | $1,482,458 | ($56,353) | $1,426,105 | 150 | 10 |
| Johnson, Timothy | R | $11,844 | ($42,422) | ($30,578) | 18 | 13 |
| Kinzinger, Adam | R | $11,018 | ($71,059) | ($60,041) | 20 | 12 |
| Lipinski, Daniel | D | $35,750 | ($3,764) | $31,986 | 55 | 5 |
| Manzullo, Donald | R | $13,098 | ($120,679) | ($107,581) | 34 | 21 |
| Quigley, Mike | D | $53,540 | ($1,923) | $51,617 | 49 | 7 |
| Roskam, Peter | R | $1,138 | ($185,088) | ($183,950) | 17 | 15 |
| Rush, Bobby | D | $1,367,035 | ($3,380) | $1,363,655 | 85 | 4 |
| Schakowsky, Janice | D | $1,460,689 | ($66,660) | $1,394,029 | 135 | 10 |
| Schilling, Robert | R | $6,115 | ($145,624) | ($139,509) | 25 | 13 |
| Schock, Aaron | R | $25,163 | ($77,667) | ($52,504) | 39 | 18 |
| Shimkus, John | R | $9,760 | ($41,774) | ($32,014) | 15 | 11 |
| Walsh, Joe | R | $4,664 | ($497,696) | ($493,032) | 21 | 30 |
| 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, the Representatives from Illinois had the ninth largest average net spending agenda ($308 billion), due primarily to those in the delegation supporting legislation to enact a single-payer, universal health care plan. The Democrats’ agendas would all increase spending, ranging from $31 billion in net increases up to $1.4 trillion (the seventh largest net agenda in the House).
All but one of the Republicans were “net cutters” – if all of the legislation they sponsored were enacted into law, budget outlays would be cut. Representative Walsh had the sixth largest net cutting agenda.
On the Senate side, Senator Durbin called for $59 billion in new spending (the average Senate Democrat called for $39 billion in increases), and Senator Kirk’s legislation would have cut the budget by $184 billion, less than the Republican Senator’s average agenda to cut spending by over $270 billion.
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: https://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/