No Democrats make the grade on list of ‘Taxpayer Super Hero’ lawmakers

While it’s not surprising that only a handful of Republicans lawmakers would earn high marks from a taxpayer advocacy group, it’s equally unsurprising that only Republicans would get high marks at all.

No Democrats and a small group of GOP lawmakers received “Taxpayer Hero” or “Taxpayer Super Hero” recognition from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) in the 2014 Congressional Ratings guide, published in August. CCAGW compiles its annual guide by assessing lawmakers’ voting records on meaningful fiscal measures.

Most lawmakers from both political parties come up short, and that was the case again for 2014.

Here’s how CCAWG describes its process:

CCAGW’s 2014 Congressional Ratings, for the second session of the 113th Congress, scored 85 votes in the House of Representatives and 13 votes in the Senate. By comparison, in 2013, CCAGW rated 80 votes in the House and 48 votes in the Senate.

CCAGW rates members on a 0 to 100% scale. Members are placed in the following categories: 0-19% Hostile; 20-39% Unfriendly; 40-59% Lukewarm; 60-79% Friendly; 80-99% Taxpayer Hero; and 100% Taxpayer Super Hero.

So who earned praise? Nine senators and eight representatives, all Republicans. “In 2014, 17 lawmakers (nine senators and eight representatives) earned the coveted title of Taxpayer Super Hero by achieving the highest possible score of 100 percent,” CCAGW writes. They are:

Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.); and Reps. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.), Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Ed Royce (R-Calif.), Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), and Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.).

A single representative, meanwhile — Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) — earned a perfect zero. She was joined by 30 senators, all of whom also received zeroes.

CCAWG touted votes on the Keystone XL Pipeline, an amendment barring the FCC from preventing states enforcing their own broadband Internet laws and limiting public funds for IRS conferences as the biggest spending victories in the House.

Good fiscal work in the Senate, though, was hard to find.

“CCAGW, and therefore taxpayers, enjoyed no victories in the Senate during 2014,” the report states. “In the run-up to the mid-term elections, then-Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) purposely shielded Democratic senators from tough votes by shamelessly becoming the Senate’s obstructionist-in-chief, preventing any fiscally conservative legislation from reaching the president’s desk.”

For more on the CCAWG’s report and its methodology, check out the website.

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