The National Taxpayers Union has released the congressional ratings scorecard for the second session of the 116th Congress. NTU's ratings are the most comprehensive analysis of the way that members of Congress vote for taxpayers. For our 2020 congressional ratings, NTU scored a total of almost 200 roll call votes in Congress, which includes 17 votes in the Senate and 178 votes in the House of Representatives.
Every vote with a fiscal impact received a score and a weight from NTU. This year, 33 Representatives and 4 Senators had a voting record worthy of a “Taxpayers’ Friend” award, which are given to the members of Congress who set a high standard for protecting taxpayers’ interests.
The Taxpayer Score measures the strength of support for reducing spending and opposing higher taxes. In general, a higher score is better because it means a member of Congress voted to spend less money.
The Taxpayer Score can range between zero and 100. We do not expect anyone to score a 100, nor has any legislator ever scored a perfect 100 without missing a vote in the multi-year history of the comprehensive NTU scoring system. A high score does not mean that the member of Congress was opposed to all spending or all programs. High-scoring members have indicated that they would vote for many programs if the amount of spending were lower or if the budget were balanced. A member who wants to increase spending on some programs can achieve a high score if he or she votes for offsetting cuts in other programs. A zero score would indicate that the member of Congress approved every spending proposal and opposed every pro-taxpayer reform.
NTU believes a score qualifying for a grade of “A” indicates the member is one of the strongest supporters of responsible tax and spending policies. To receive a Taxpayers' Friend Award, a member of Congress must have not only achieved a grade of an A, but also voted on a minimum of 90 percent of weighted total votes in the House or 75 percent of weighted total votes in the Senate (due to the inability to cast proxy votes in the Senate this year). We are pleased to give those members of Congress our “Taxpayers’ Friend Award.”
- Click here for the PDF publication of NTU Rates Congress for the second session of the 116th Congress.
- You may view the 2020 list of Taxpayers’ Friends in the House and Senate here.
- To view the list of votes used to establish the NTU Ratings, click here.
Senate
Alabama | Kentucky | North Dakota | ||||||
Jones | 0% | F | McConnell | N/A | N/A | Cramer | 37% | D |
Shelby | 58% | C | Paul | 97% | A | Hoeven | 37% | D |
State Average | 29% | State Average | 97% | State Average | 37% | |||
Alaska | Louisiana | Ohio | ||||||
Murkowski | 25% | D | Cassidy | 51% | C | Brown | 5% | F |
Sullivan | 39% | D | Kennedy | 87% | A | Portman | 32% | D |
State Average | 32% | State Average | 69% | State Average | 19% | |||
Arizona | Maine | Oklahoma | ||||||
Kelly | N/A | N/A | Collins | 11% | F | Inhofe | 49% | C- |
McSally** | 20% | D | King | 0% | F | Lankford | 63% | C+ |
Sinema | 0% | F | State Average | 6% | State Average | 56% | ||
State Average | 10% | Maryland | Oregon | |||||
Arkansas | Cardin | 0% | F | Merkley | 21% | D | ||
Boozman | 37% | D | Van Hollen | 0% | F | Wyden | 21% | D |
Cotton | 45% | C- | State Average | 0% | State Average | 21% | ||
State Average | 41% | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania | |||||
California | Markey* | 27% | D | Casey | 0% | F | ||
Feinstein | 0% | F | Warren* | 25% | D | Toomey | 74% | B |
Harris** | 7% | F | State Average | 26% | State Average | 37% | ||
State Average | 4% | Michigan | Rhode Island | |||||
Colorado | Peters | 0% | F | Reed | 0% | F | ||
Bennet | 0% | F | Stabenow | 0% | F | Whitehouse | 0% | F |
Gardner* | 14% | F | State Average | 0% | State Average | 0% | ||
State Average | 7% | Minnesota | South Carolina | |||||
Connecticut | Klobuchar | 0% | F | Graham* | 37% | D | ||
Blumenthal | 0% | F | Smith | 0% | F | Scott | 43% | C- |
Murphy | 0% | F | State Average | 0% | State Average | 40% | ||
State Average | 0% | Mississippi | South Dakota | |||||
Delaware | Hyde-Smith | 45% | C- | Rounds* | 55% | C | ||
Carper | 25% | D | Wicker | 37% | D | Thune | 37% | D |
Coons | 3% | F | State Average | 41% | State Average | 46% | ||
State Average | 14% | Missouri | Tennessee | |||||
Florida | Blunt | 37% | D | Alexander | 31% | D | ||
Rubio | 30% | D | Hawley | 51% | C | Blackburn | 63% | C+ |
Scott* | 48% | C- | State Average | 44% | State Average | 47% | ||
State Average | 39% | Montana | Texas | |||||
Georgia | Daines | 49% | C- | Cornyn | 44% | C- | ||
Loeffler* | 5% | C | Tester | 0% | F | Cruz | 80% | B+ |
Perdue | 56% | C | State Average | 25% | State Average | 62% | ||
State Average | 53% | Nebraska | Utah | |||||
Hawaii | Fischer | 51% | C | Lee* | 100% | A | ||
Hirono | 0% | F | Sasse | 53% | C | Romney | 49% | C- |
Schatz | 0% | F | State Average | 52% | State Average | 75% | ||
State Average | 0% | Nevada | Vermont | |||||
Idaho | Cortez Masto | 0% | F | Leahy | 5% | F | ||
Crapo | 60% | C+ | Rosen | 0% | F | Sanders** | 28% | D |
Risch | 60% | C+ | State Average | 0% | State Average | 17% | ||
State Average | 60% | New Hampshire | Virginia | |||||
Illinois | Hassan | 0% | F | Kaine | 0% | F | ||
Duckworth | 0% | F | Shaheen | 0% | F | Warner | 0% | F |
Durbin | 0% | F | State Average | 0% | State Average | 0% | ||
State Average | 0% | New Jersey | Washington | |||||
Indiana | Booker | 21% | D | Cantwell | 0% | F | ||
Braun | 87% | A | Menendez | 0% | F | Murray | 0% | F |
Young | 35% | D | State Average | 11% | State Average | 0% | ||
State Average | 61% | New Mexico | West Virginia | |||||
Iowa | Heinrich | 0% | F | Capito | 32% | D | ||
Ernst | 38% | D | Udall | 0% | F | Manchin | 4% | F |
Grassley | 39% | D | State Average | 0% | State Average | 18% | ||
State Average | 39% | New York | Wisconsin | |||||
Kansas | Gillibrand | 5% | F | Baldwin | 0% | F | ||
Moran | 48% | C- | Schumer | 0% | F | Johnson | 63% | C+ |
Roberts | 37% | D | State Average | 3% | State Average | 32% | ||
State Average | 43% | North Carolina | Wyoming | |||||
Burr | 37% | D | Barrasso | 51% | C | |||
Tillis | 40% | C- | Enzi* | 58% | C | |||
State Average | 39% | State Average | 55% |
House
Alabama | Indiana | North Dakota | ||||||
Aderholt | 85% | B+ | Baird | 82% | B | Armstrong | 87% | B+ |
Brooks | 89% | B+ | Banks | 87% | B+ | State Average | 87% | |
Byrne** | 86% | B+ | Brooks | 68% | C | Ohio | ||
Palmer | 91% | A | Bucshon | 78% | B- | Balderson | 73% | C+ |
Roby** | 78% | B- | Carson | 4% | F | Beatty | 6% | F |
Rogers* | 81% | B | Hollingsworth | 85% | B+ | Chabot | 83% | B |
Sewell | 5% | F | Pence | 85% | B+ | Davidson | 96% | A |
State Average | 73% | Visclosky | 6% | F | Fudge | 10% | F | |
Alaska | Walorski | 75% | B- | Gibbs* | 75% | B- | ||
Young Don | 55% | C- | State Average | 63% | Gonzalez | 71% | C+ | |
State Average | 55% | Iowa | Johnson | 75% | B- | |||
Arizona | Axne | 18% | F | Jordan | 94% | A | ||
Biggs | 94% | A | Finkenauer | 15% | F | Joyce | 61% | C |
Gallego | 4% | F | King** | 92% | A | Kaptur | 4% | F |
Gosar* | 94% | A | Loebsack | 2% | F | Latta | 84% | B |
Grijalva | 8% | F | State Average | 32% | Ryan | 4% | F | |
Kirkpatrick* | 6% | F | Kansas | Stivers | 72% | C+ | ||
Lesko | 86% | B+ | Davids | 18% | F | Turner | 72% | C+ |
O'Halleran | 3% | F | Estes | 87% | B+ | Wenstrup | 84% | B |
Schweikert | 93% | A | Marshall | 82% | B | State Average | 60% | |
Stanton | 4% | F | Watkins | 83% | B | Oklahoma | ||
44% | State Average | 68% | Cole | 75% | B- | |||
Arkansas | Kentucky | Hern | 88% | B+ | ||||
Crawford | 80% | B | Barr | 81% | B | Horn | 31% | D |
Hill | 82% | B | Comer | 85% | B+ | Lucas* | 78% | B- |
Westerman | 86% | B+ | Guthrie* | 82% | B | Mullin** | 84% | B |
Womack | 80% | B | Massie | 96% | A | State Average | 71% | |
State Average | 82% | Rogers | 73% | C+ | Oregon | |||
California | Yarmuth | 6% | F | Blumenauer | 17% | F | ||
Aguilar | 4% | F | State Average | 71% | Bonamici | 14% | F | |
Barragan | 14% | F | Louisiana | DeFazio | 7% | F | ||
Bass | 6% | F | Abraham | N/A | N/A | Schrader | 32% | D |
Bera | 4% | F | Graves | 90% | A | Walden | 69% | C |
Brownley | 4% | F | Higgins | 91% | A | State Average | 28% | |
Calvert | 77% | B- | Johnson* | 86% | B+ | Pennsylvania | ||
Carbajal | 3% | F | Richmond | 10% | F | Boyle | 15% | F |
Cardenas | 5% | F | Scalise | 92% | A | Cartwright | 10% | F |
Chu | 11% | F | State Average | 74% | Dean | 4% | F | |
Cisneros | 4% | F | Maine | Doyle | 13% | F | ||
Cook* | 76% | B- | Golden | 24% | D | Evans | 6% | F |
Correa | 7% | F | Pingree | 6% | F | Fitzpatrick | 30% | D |
Costa | 4% | F | State Average | 15% | Houlahan | 4% | F | |
Cox | 4% | F | Maryland | Joyce | 83% | B | ||
Davis | 4% | F | Brown | 4% | F | Keller | 85% | B+ |
DeSaulnier | 18% | F | Harris | 94% | A | Kelly | 82% | B |
Eshoo | 6% | F | Hoyer | 4% | F | Lamb | 21% | F |
Garamendi | 4% | F | Mfume* | 7% | F | Meuser | 81% | B |
Garcia** | 73% | C+ | Raskin | 19% | F | Perry | 95% | A |
Gomez | 19% | F | Ruppersberger | 2% | F | Reschenthaler* | 78% | B- |
Harder | 4% | F | Sarbanes | 6% | F | Scanlon | 4% | F |
Huffman | 13% | F | Trone | 5% | F | Smucker | 83% | B |
Khanna | 23% | D | State Average | 18% | Thompson | 76% | B- | |
LaMalfa | 85% | B+ | Massachusetts | Wild | 12% | F | ||
Lee | 17% | F | Clark | 9% | F | State Average | 43% | |
Levin | 4% | F | Keating | 5% | F | Rhode Island | ||
Lieu | 10% | F | Kennedy | 20% | F | Cicilline | 4% | F |
Lofgren | 13% | F | Lynch | 6% | F | Langevin | 4% | F |
Lowenthal | 9% | F | McGovern | 19% | F | State Average | 4% | |
Matsui | 6% | F | Moulton | 4% | F | South Carolina | ||
McCarthy | 80% | B | Neal | 6% | F | Clyburn | 4% | F |
McClintock | 96% | A | Pressley | 23% | D | Cunningham | 27% | D |
McNerney | 6% | F | Trahan | 6% | F | Duncan | 94% | A |
Napolitano | 6% | F | State Average | 11% | Norman | 96% | A | |
Nunes | 82% | B | Michigan | Rice | 96% | A | ||
Panetta | 4% | F | Amash | 96% | A | Timmons** | 88% | B+ |
Pelosi | N/A | N/A | Bergman | 76% | B- | Wilson | 80% | B |
Peters | 4% | F | Dingell | 9% | F | State Average | 69% | |
Porter | 6% | F | Huizenga | 79% | B- | South Dakota | ||
Rouda | 4% | F | Kildee | 14% | F | Johnson | 79% | B- |
Roybal-Allard | 4% | F | Lawrence | 4% | F | State Average | 79% | |
Ruiz | 4% | F | Levin | 19% | F | Tennessee | ||
Sanchez | 6% | F | Mitchell** | 72% | C+ | Burchett | 87% | B+ |
Schiff | 6% | F | Moolenaar | 77% | B- | Cohen | 6% | F |
Sherman | 6% | F | Slotkin | 6% | F | Cooper | 4% | F |
Speier | 5% | F | Stevens | 4% | F | DesJarlais | 83% | B |
Swalwell | 4% | F | Tlaib | 25% | D | Fleischmann | 76% | B- |
Takano | 8% | F | Upton | 56% | C- | Green* | 85% | B+ |
Thompson | 4% | F | Walberg | 83% | B | Kustoff | 80% | B |
Torres | 4% | F | State Average | 44% | Roe | 82% | B | |
Vargas | 12% | F | Minnesota | Rose | 86% | B+ | ||
Waters | 9% | F | Craig | 4% | F | State Average | 66% | |
State Average | 17% | Emmer* | 78% | B- | Texas | |||
Colorado | Hagedorn | 84% | B | Allred | 4% | F | ||
Buck | 96% | A | McCollum | 4% | F | Arrington | 93% | A |
Crow | 4% | F | Omar | 25% | D | Babin | 96% | A |
DeGette | 9% | F | Peterson | 34% | D | Brady | 82% | B |
Lamborn | 87% | B+ | Phillips | 10% | F | Burgess | 78% | B- |
Neguse | 11% | F | Stauber | 64% | C | Carter** | 83% | B |
Perlmutter | 4% | F | State Average | 38% | Castro | 12% | F | |
Tipton | 84% | B | Mississippi | Cloud | 96% | A | ||
State Average | 42% | Guest | 86% | B+ | Conaway | 84% | B | |
Connecticut | Kelly | 90% | A | Crenshaw | 80% | B | ||
Courtney | 4% | F | Palazzo* | 83% | B | Cuellar | 14% | F |
DeLauro | 4% | F | Thompson | 9% | F | Doggett | 14% | F |
Hayes | 6% | F | State Average | 67% | Escobar | 7% | F | |
Himes | 4% | F | Missouri | Fletcher | 8% | F | ||
Larson | 4% | F | Clay | 6% | F | Flores | 80% | B |
State Average | 4% | Cleaver* | 7% | F | Garcia* | 4% | F | |
Delaware | Graves | 79% | B- | Gohmert | 93% | A | ||
Blunt Rochester | 4% | F | Hartzler | 78% | B- | Gonzalez | 7% | F |
State Average | 4% | Long | 92% | A | Gooden | 96% | A | |
Florida | Luetkemeyer | 79% | B- | Granger** | 65% | C | ||
Bilirakis | 77% | B- | Smith | 89% | B+ | Green | 6% | F |
Buchanan | 65% | C | Wagner | 69% | C | Hurd | 64% | C |
Castor | 6% | F | State Average | 62% | Jackson Lee | 6% | F | |
Crist | 4% | F | Montana | Johnson | 7% | F | ||
Demings | 4% | F | Gianforte | 80% | B | Marchant | N/A | N/A |
Deutch | 4% | F | State Average | 80% | McCaul | 66% | C | |
Diaz-Balart | 69% | C | Nebraska | Olson | 79% | B- | ||
Dunn** | 86% | B+ | Bacon | 68% | C | Ratcliffe | N/A | N/A |
Frankel | 6% | F | Fortenberry | 66% | C | Roy | 94% | A |
Gaetz* | 91% | A | Smith | 88% | B+ | Taylor | 85% | B+ |
Hastings | 6% | F | State Average | 74% | Thornberry | 82% | B | |
Lawson | 8% | F | Nevada | Veasey | 4% | F | ||
Mast | 83% | B | Amodei | 80% | B | Vela | 6% | F |
Mucarsel-Powell | 4% | F | Horsford | 10% | F | Weber* | 96% | A |
Murphy | 9% | F | Lee | 4% | F | Williams | 84% | B |
Posey | 91% | A | Titus | 4% | F | Wright** | 91% | A |
Rooney | N/A | N/A | State Average | 25% | State Average | 55% | ||
Rutherford | 74% | C+ | New Hampshire | Utah | ||||
Shalala | 4% | F | Kuster | 4% | F | Bishop* | 87% | B+ |
Soto | 4% | F | Pappas | 4% | F | Curtis | 86% | B+ |
Spano | 84% | B | State Average | 4% | McAdams | 41% | C- | |
Steube | 95% | A | New Jersey | Stewart | 83% | B | ||
Waltz | 76% | B- | Gottheimer | 5% | F | State Average | 74% | |
Wasserman Schultz | 4% | F | Kim | 4% | F | Vermont | ||
Webster* | 80% | B | Malinowski | 4% | F | Welch | 16% | F |
Wilson | 7% | F | Norcross | 4% | F | State Average | 16% | |
Yoho* | 95% | A | Pallone | 6% | F | Virginia | ||
State Average | 44% | Pascrell | 4% | F | Beyer | 4% | F | |
Georgia | Payne | 6% | F | Cline | 91% | A | ||
Allen | 89% | B+ | Sherrill | 5% | F | Connolly | 4% | F |
Bishop | 4% | F | Sires | 5% | F | Griffith | 90% | A |
Carter | 84% | B | Smith | 36% | D | Luria | 24% | D |
Collins* | 90% | A | Van Drew | 38% | D | McEachin | 8% | F |
Ferguson | 85% | B+ | Watson Coleman | 16% | F | Riggleman* | 77% | B- |
Graves** | 88% | B+ | State Average | 11% | Scott | 4% | F | |
Hall | N/A | N/A | New Mexico | Spanberger | 23% | D | ||
Hice* | 95% | A | Haaland | 4% | F | Wexton | 4% | F |
Johnson | 13% | F | Lujan | 5% | F | Wittman | 80% | B |
Lewis | N/A | N/A | Torres Small | 23% | D | State Average | 37% | |
Loudermilk** | 88% | B+ | State Average | 11% | Washington | |||
McBath | 8% | F | New York | DelBene | 4% | F | ||
Scott* | 83% | B | Brindisi | 20% | F | Heck | 6% | F |
Scott | 4% | F | Clarke | 20% | F | Herrera Beutler | 65% | C |
Woodall | 84% | B | Delgado | 4% | F | Jayapal | 30% | D |
State Average | 62% | Engel | 5% | F | Kilmer | 4% | F | |
Hawaii | Espaillat | 19% | F | Larsen | 4% | F | ||
Case | 7% | F | Higgins | 4% | F | McMorris Rodgers* | 80% | B |
Gabbard* | 21% | F | Jacobs** | 59% | C- | Newhouse | 76% | B- |
State Average | 14% | Jeffries | 8% | F | Schrier | 4% | F | |
Idaho | Katko | 43% | C- | Smith | 4% | F | ||
Fulcher | 92% | A | King | 49% | C- | State Average | 28% | |
Simpson | 75% | B- | Lowey | 4% | F | West Virginia | ||
State Average | 83% | Maloney | 19% | F | McKinley | 65% | C | |
Illinois | Maloney | 4% | F | Miller | 83% | B | ||
Bost | 71% | C+ | Meeks | 6% | F | Mooney | 94% | A |
Bustos | 4% | F | Meng | 19% | F | State Average | 80% | |
Casten | 4% | F | Morelle | 5% | F | Wisconsin | ||
Davis | 9% | F | Nadler | 17% | F | Gallagher* | 77% | B- |
Davis | 56% | C- | Ocasio-Cortez | 25% | D | Grothman | 87% | B+ |
Foster | 4% | F | Reed | 62% | C | Kind | 4% | F |
Garcia | 23% | D | Rice | 5% | F | Moore | 16% | F |
Kelly | 6% | F | Rose | 10% | F | Pocan | 17% | F |
Kinzinger | 71% | C+ | Serrano | 15% | F | Sensenbrenner* | 92% | A |
Krishnamoorthi | 4% | F | Stefanik | 63% | C | Steil | 77% | B- |
LaHood | 81% | B | Suozzi | 4% | F | Tiffany** | 89% | B+ |
Lipinski | 18% | F | Tonko | 9% | F | State Average | 57% | |
Quigley | 3% | F | Velazquez | 16% | F | Wyoming | ||
Rush | 6% | F | Zeldin | 74% | C+ | Cheney | 80% | B |
Schakowsky | 13% | F | State Average | 22% | State Average | 80% | ||
Schneider | 5% | F | North Carolina | |||||
Shimkus* | 76% | B- | Adams | 4% | F | |||
Underwood | 4% | F | Bishop | 95% | A | |||
State Average | 25% | Budd | 93% | A | ||||
Butterfield | 8% | F | ||||||
Foxx | 81% | B | ||||||
Holding** | 75% | B- | ||||||
Hudson* | 88% | B+ | ||||||
McHenry* | 79% | B- | ||||||
Meadows | N/A | N/A | ||||||
Murphy* | 82% | B | ||||||
Price | 4% | F | ||||||
Rouzer | 91% | A | ||||||
Walker** | 95% | A | ||||||
State Average | 66% |
NTU’s federal budget experts assigned a weight to each vote. A low weight was assigned to votes that had relatively smaller effect on the size of the federal budget, while a high weight was assigned to votes with the most significant effect on federal spending.
Weights were based on the relative effect of each vote on the total amount of federal spending, taxation, or regulatory impact. Consideration was given to the broader effect of a vote on future fiscal policy, even though relatively little might be immediately at issue.
Scores were computed by dividing the weighted total of votes cast against higher spending (or taxes or for lower spending or taxes), by the weighted total number of spending and tax issues on which the member of Congress voted. Average scores for each state were also computed using the weighted total of votes cast by each state delegation.
In computing these scores, we included only those votes on which the member actually voted for or against a bill, resolution, or amendment. Paired votes, announced positions, and absences were excluded. Due to the pandemic, proxy voting rules in the House of Representatives allowed members to vote without being present in the chamber. However, proxy voting was not permitted in the Senate, which contributed to an extremely small number of votes in that chamber. We urge readers to take into account the lack of suitable proxy voting procedures in the Senate when assessing Senators’ voting attendance and scores. NTU made every effort to do so in the unprecedented and extraordinary circumstances of 2020.
Additionally, because some members either missed votes frequently, cast certain votes to permit the usage of procedural tools, or otherwise abstained from voting yes or no, their scores may not accurately reflect spending attitudes. The members falling into this category are noted. We analyzed every roll call vote taken in the Second Session of the 116th Congress and selected all votes that could significantly affect the amounts of federal taxes, spending, debt, or regulatory impact. A total of 17 Senate and 178 House votes were selected. It should be noted that this year’s Rating includes much fewer Senate votes than normal because of the pandemic and also because there were many votes regarding issues not directly related to fiscal policy, including judicial nominations and procedural matters.
We included votes cast on appropriations bills, authorization bills, budget target resolutions, tax bills, amendments, and certain procedural and policy votes that could affect the burden on taxpayers. Votes that simply shifted equal amounts of spending from one area to another were excluded. Also excluded were unanimous votes and votes where there was a significant difference of opinion on how to vote to reduce or control the size of government.