Click this link to read the 1997 Scorecard.
WASHINGTON — The Concord Coalition Citizens Council today released its
fifth annual Tough Choices Deficit Reduction Scorecard, which scores
members of Congress on their fiscal responsibility during the 1997
congressional session.
Click this link to read the 1997 Scorecard.
WASHINGTON — The Concord Coalition Citizens Council today released its
fifth annual Tough Choices Deficit Reduction Scorecard, which scores
members of Congress on their fiscal responsibility during the 1997
congressional session.
The Citizens Council noted that 1997 was a banner year for budget balancing
efforts. By late summer the Congress passed and the President signed into
law a plan to balance the unified federal budget by 2002.
"On the whole, Congressional leaders remained fiscally responsible during
1997," said Concord Executive Director Martha Phillips. "They repeatedly
resisted every effort to increase transportation spending above balanced
budget levels and, despite repeated flirtations with further tax cuts and
spending increases, they remained publicly committed to following through
on balancing the unified budget."
Phillips said that despite this welcome good news, there were also some
unfortunate budgetary developments in 1997. Several important initiatives
did not pass, including a series of Senate proposals that would have
improved Medicare’s long-term viability and a bill to adopt new enforcement
mechanisms to ensure that the balanced budget agreement is fully carried
out. Worse, Congress failed to tackle long-term entitlement reform, leaving
both Social Security and Medicare on unsustainable growth paths.
The 18 votes in the House and the 21 votes in the Senate used by Concord to
gauge members’ fiscal responsibility were chosen because they:
-
- Proposed increases or reductions in the deficit through spending or tax
decisions;- Involved means-testing of entitlements or other benefits;
- Offered a chance to eliminate or reduce spending for pork-barrel
projects, to eliminate big-ticket projects that cannot be afforded right
now, or promised to make government more efficient;- Involved important procedural issues affecting how budgeting decisions
would be made in the future. - Proposed increases or reductions in the deficit through spending or tax
Recognizing that neither Democrats nor Republicans enjoy a monopoly on good
ideas for balancing the budget, the scorecard credited fiscally responsible
measures introduced by members of both parties.
The Citizens Council also announced the criteria it will follow in
selecting votes for its 1998 scorecard. If members of Congress expect to
score well, they will have to vote to:
-
- Protect the surplus, by keeping it in reserve until the long-term Social
Security problem has been solved with a goal of ending the practice of
borrowing the Social Security annual surplus to meet the operating costs of
the rest of the government;- Support actions that address long-term generational pressures on the
federal budget and the nation’s economy, particularly such programs
affecting the elderly as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid;- Keep the budget enforcement procedures strong, including maintaining
spending caps on discretionary funds and the pay-as-you-go rules for
entitlements and revenues;- Oppose enactment of new permanent claims on the federal budget that would
be difficult to finance in the future, such as the creation of new
entitlement programs or the enactment of new tax breaks, tax entitlements,
or new large discretionary programs that could jeopardize future adherence
to the discretionary caps;- Favor reduction or elimination of unnecessary, wasteful, or duplicative
defense or domestic programs. - Protect the surplus, by keeping it in reserve until the long-term Social
"Maintaining budget discipline this year will be difficult, and there will
inevitably be pressures for new high-priority initiatives," said Phillips.
"The only way to both balance the budget and meet new priorities is to be
willing to give up outdated or lower-priority commitments."
Members of the House and Senate that scored in the 85th percentile or
higher were named to Concord’s Deficit Hawk Honor Roll. A list of the House
and Senate Honor Rolls follows:
1997 DEFICIT HAWK HONOR ROLLS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Raw Percentile
Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.) 92 100
Rep. Thomas M. Barrett (D-Wis.) 90 100
Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Calif.) 90 100
Rep. David Minge (D-Minn.) 90 99
Rep. Jim Davis (D-Fla.) 86 99
Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) 86 99
Rep. Bill Luther (D-Minn.) 86 99
Rep. John Edward Porter (R-Ill.) 86 98
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) 84 98
Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-Md.) 84 98
Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.) 84 98
Rep. Marge Roukema (R-N.J.) 84 98
Rep. Michael N. Castle (R-Del.) 82 97
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) 82 97
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) 82 97
Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-Fla.) 80 96
Rep. Calvin M. Dooley (D-Calif.) 80 96
Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney (D-Ga.) 80 96
Rep. Dan Miller (R-Fla.) 80 96
Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) 78 95
Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.) 78 95
Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) 78 95
Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) 78 95
Rep. James A. Leach (R-Iowa) 78 95
Rep. Scott McInnis (R-Colo.) 78 94
Rep. John E. Ensign (R-Nev.) 77 94
Rep. Mark W. Neumann (R-Wis.) 77 94
Rep. Robert E. Andrews (D-N.J.) 76 94
Rep. Charles F. Bass (R-N.H.) 76 93
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) 76 93
Rep. Thomas E. Petri (R-Wis.) 76 93
Rep. Lynn N. Rivers (D-Mich.) 76 93
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) 76 93
Rep. Bruce F. Vento (D-Minn.) 76 93
Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) 76 92
Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.) 74 92
Rep. Michael Doyle (D-Pa.) 74 91
Rep. Bob Franks (R-N.J.) 74 91
Rep. Jim Nussle (R-Iowa) 74 91
Rep. Steven R. Rothman (D-N.J.) 74 91
Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr. (R-Fla.) 74 91
Rep. Norman Sisisky (D-Va.) 74 91
Rep. Charles W. Stenholm (D-Texas) 74 91
Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.) 74 91
Rep. Rod R. Blagojevich (D-Ill.) 72 88
Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) 72 88
Rep. Harris W. Fawell (R-Ill.) 72 88
Rep. Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.) 72 88
Rep. Gerald D. Kleczka (D-Wis.) 72 88
Rep. Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.) 72 88
Rep. Karen McCarthy (D-Mo.) 72 88
Rep. Paul McHale (D-Pa.) 72 88
Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) 72 88
Rep. Glenn Poshard (D-Ill.) 72 88
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) 72 88
Rep. John E. Sununu (R-N.H.) 72 88
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) 72 88
Rep. W.G. (Bill) Hefner (D-N.C.) 72 87
Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) 71 86
Rep. John S. Tanner (D-Tenn.) 71 86
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) 71 86
Rep. Walter H. Capps (D-Calif.) 70 86
Rep. James T. Walsh (R-N.Y.) 70 86
SENATE Sen. Charles S. Robb (D-Va.) 85 100 Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) 80 99 Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) 79 98 Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) 77 97 Sen. Don Nickles (R-Okla.) 76 96 Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) 75 95 Sen. Richard H. Bryan (D-Nev.) 74 93 Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.) 74 93 Sen. William V. Roth Jr. (R-Del.) 74 93 Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) 73 89 Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) 73 89 Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) 73 89 Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) 73 89 Sen. John H. Chafee (R-R.I.) 71 85 Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.) 71 85 Sen. William H. Frist (R-Tenn.) 71 85 Sen. Connie Mack III (R-Fla.) 71 85
