Council for Citizens Against Government Waste Releases 2023 Congressional Ratings

(Washington, D.C.) - The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today released its 2023 Congressional Ratings, highlighting the voting records of all 535 members of Congress on 66 votes in the House of Representatives and 16 votes in the Senate during the first session of the 118th Congress. The report, which CCAGW has issued since 1989, identifies members whose voting records helped protect taxpayers, as well as those who consistently voted against their interests.

CCAGW 2023 Congressional Ratings Facts:

CCAGW rates members on a 0 to 100 percent scale. Members are placed in the following categories:

• Hostile: 0-19 percent.
• Unfriendly: 20-39 percent.
• Lukewarm: 40-59 percent.
• Friendly: 60-79 percent.
• Taxpayer Hero: 80-99 percent.
• Taxpayer Super Hero: 100 percent.

• Nine senators earned the coveted title of "Taxpayer Super Hero" with a perfect score of 100 percent.
  • Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).
  • In 2022, 36 senators earned "Taxpayer Super Hero" status.
• Two representatives earned perfect scores of 100 percent as a "Taxpayer Super Hero."
  • Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.).
  • In 2022, 138 representatives earned 100 percent.

• At the other end of the spectrum, 40 senators and 34 representatives earned an abysmal score of zero in 2023.

CCAGW President Tom Schatz said in a statement:

"We applaud the Taxpayer Super Heroes for their votes to cut wasteful spending and defend the interests of taxpayers in the face of pressure to continue funding programs that no longer have a useful purpose. In the face of an increasing national debt, the actions of these members are an encouraging sign, and their constituents should congratulate them. But there remain far too many lawmakers who supported expanding the federal bureaucratic state at taxpayer expense in 2023. Hopefully, these reckless spenders will change their views in 2024 and vote to eliminate the extensive waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement that still plagues the Washington swamp."

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The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.