Taxpayer group ranks 'Big Spenders' in Congress

As Washington continues to print money and borrow from future generations, the number of Congressional members receiving the lowest pro-taxpayer scores has reached new heights, according to the National Taxpayers Union.

NTU has released its 30th annual Rating of Congress, a scorecard that examines every roll call vote affecting tax, spending, and regulatory issues.

This year's scorecard was based on 286 votes -- 182 in the House and 104 in the Senate -- in the second session of the 110th Congress (all of 2008), according to the NTU.

Just 48 lawmakers attained scores sufficient for a significantly "curved" grade of "A" (at least 80 percent in the House and 76 percent in the Senate) and hence were eligible for the "Taxpayers' Friend Award" -- a drop from the 52 who earned top grades in 2007, the NTU says.

The only member of Congress from Pennsylvania to earn an "A" is Rep. Joe Pitts, a Republican who represents the 16th Congressional District in Berks, Chester and Lancaster counties.

A record 267 Senators and Representatives captured the title of "Big Spender" for posting "F" grades (25 percent or less in the House and 15 percent or less in the Senate), according to the NTU scorecard.

From a press release issued today by the National Taxpayers Union:

Between 2007 and 2008, the average "Taxpayer Score" in the House rose slightly from 35 percent to 36 percent. The Senate's average dropped by five points, from 37 percent to 32 percent. Unlike those of other organizations, NTU's annual Rating does not focus on a handful of equally-weighted "key votes," but every roll call vote affecting fiscal policy.

For the sixth consecutive year, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) was the top scorer in the House with a 98 percent rating -- tying Rep. Ron Paul's (R-TX) record of six first-place finishes from 1979 through 1984. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) captured first place in the Senate for the third year in a row with a 96 percent rating. Rep. John Larson (D-CT) received the lowest score in the House with a 2 percent rating. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) was the biggest spender in the Senate, also with a 2 percent rating.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) became the first Republican Senator to receive an "F" grade since NTU began issuing letter grades in 1992. In the House, former Reps. Ray LaHood (R-IL) and Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) were the first GOP Members to receive "F" grades in a decade.

The 2008 Rating and a searchable Rating database is available at http://tinyurl.com/nturates08