The National Taxpayers Union annual report card on Congress is out and it has Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky at the top, and all Democrats anchoring the bottom of the class.
Massie earned a score of 96% and earned the “Taxpayers’ Friend Award.” The overall House score was 43, with the Republican majority average at 74%.
Alaska’s only congressional representative, Rep. Mary Peltola, earned an F, just 20%, in the “Big Spender” category.
The scores, on a scale of 1-100, are given based on votes taken on spending and taxes, and votes that increase government debt.
The National Taxpayers’ Union is a nonprofit fiscally conservative taxpayer advocacy organization working for lower taxes, smaller government, and economic freedom.
For this year’s report, based on actions taken in 2023, Senators who received a score of 81% or above and Representatives who received a score of 87% or above earned an ‘A’ grade and a Taxpayers’ Friend Award. In more than 40 years of rating Congress, no legislator has earned a perfect 100 percent score from the group. The average in both chambers was only 43 percent.
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan received a 68% score, close to the Senate Republican average, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski was scored 59%, below average for Republicans.
“It is essential for Americans to be informed as to how their elected officials vote, not just what they say,” said Pete Sepp, President of NTU. “Average citizens and families need to make fiscally sound decisions and we expected nothing less from Congress. NTU’s rating holds our lawmakers accountable, and we are grateful for those Taxpayers’ Friend award winners who made an extra effort to remember taxpayers when voting on the floor.”
Peltola was low, but not the lowest. That ranking belonged to Democrat Rep. Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia who had a score of just 5%. During the fiscal 2024 appropriations process, Scott requested several million dollars’ worth of earmarked spending in appropriations bills.
The National Taxpayers Union, “The Voice of America’s Taxpayers,” is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working for lower taxes, smaller government, and economic freedom at all levels. More information on NTU’s work is available at www.ntu.org.
See the entire report and methodology at this link.
