The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today identified members of Congress who sided with the prominent business federation most frequently on key legislation last year.
In all, 308 members of Congress — or nearly 60 percent of the membership — qualified for the Chamber’s “Spirit of Enterprise Award,” which was bestowed on those who backed the Chamber’s preferred position at least 70 percent of the time last year. The ratings are based on 27 votes in the House and 18 votes in the Senate.
The vast majority of the members who received the Chamber’s nod are Republicans, who supplied most of the votes for Chamber-backed legislation such as the Central American Free Trade Agreement, a permanent repeal of estate taxes and overhauls of laws governing banking, energy and endangered species.
The average House Republican scored 88 percent, compared to 47 percent for the average House Democrat. The average Republican senator scored 90 percent, compared to 48 percent for the average Democratic senator. And the three House members and 15 senators who scored 100 percent on the Chamber scorecard all are Republicans.
In fact, only two House Republicans failed to clear 70 percent: Ron Paul of Texas, a conservative contrarian who frequently provides the lone “no” vote on appropriations bills, and Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, an opponent of many free-trade agreements who voted against CAFTA.
Two senators scored below 70 percent: New Hampshire’s John E. Sununu and Rhode Island’s Lincoln Chafee. Chafee, who faces a tough fight for re-election in his strongly Democratic-leaning home state, breaks with the party line more often than any other Senate Republican.
Among the senators who received a 100 score was Pennsylvania Republican Rick Santorum, who faces a serious challenge this year from Democratic state Treasurer Bob Casey. Some House Republicans with high scores who face difficult re-election campaigns include Heather Wilson of New Mexico’s 1st District, who scored 96 percent, and Chris Chocola of Indiana’s 2nd District, who scored 93 percent.
Of the Democrats who did score well, many represent Republican-leaning constituencies in which the Chamber’s seal of approval could help insulate them from charges by GOP challengers that they do not have sufficiently pro-business records.
The highest-scoring Democratic senator, with 94 percent, was Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who backed the Chamber’s position on all but one of the 18 votes the organization scored. Nebraska votes strongly Republican for president and for most other offices, but Nelson is a popular former governor who is favored to win re-election over the Republican nominated in a three-candidate primary on May 9.
The top-scoring House Democrat was Henry Cuellar of Texas’ 28th District, who emphasized his pro-business profile in his competitive March 7 primary election against former Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez, who had backing from organized labor. Cuellar — who won that race by 12 percentage points and thus secured re-election, as the Republicans fielded no candidate — backed the Chamber on 24 of 27 scored votes (89 percent).
Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah’s 2nd District is another high ranker. He has warded off serious opposition in his heavily Republican district in large part by voting frequently with the Chamber’s positions.
Another top scorer among House Democrats was freshman Rep. Melissa Bean (73 percent), who was the only Illinois Democrat to clear 70 percent. Bean, who defeated veteran Republican Rep. Philip M. Crane two years ago in the GOP-leaning 8th District, will face the winner of a six-candidate Republican primary that will be held March 21.
The figures also showed that the mainly liberal, all-Democratic Congressional Black Caucus does not monolithically align with organized labor and against business interests. Two black Democrats from Georgia, Sanford D. Bishop Jr. of the southwestern 2nd District and David Scott of the suburban Atlanta 13th District, both scored above 70 percent on the Chamber’s scorecard.
Highest-scoring House Republicans
J.D. Hayworth, Arizona 5 — 100%
Henry J. Hyde, Illinois 6 — 100%
Mark Souder, Indiana 3 — 100%
Highest-scoring House Democrats
Henry Cuellar, Texas 28 — 89%
Robert E. “Bud” Cramer, Alabama 5 — 81%
Dan Boren, Oklahoma 2 — 81%
Lincoln Davis, Tennessee 4 — 78%
Jim Matheson, Utah 2 — 78%
Sanford D. Bishop Jr., Georgia 2 — 74%
David Scott, Georgia 13 — 74%
Bart Gordon, Tennessee 6 — 74%
Ruben Hinojosa, Texas 15 — 74%
Chet Edwards, Texas 17 — 74%
Lowest-scoring House Republicans
Ron Paul, Texas 14 — 33%
Walter B. Jones, North Carolina 3 — 58%
Lowest-scoring House Democrats
Robert Wexler, Florida 19 — 26%
Donald M. Payne, New Jersey 10 — 29%
Jan Schakowsky, Illinois 9 — 29%
Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin 2 — 30%
Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona 7 — 30%
Maurice D. Hinchey, New York 22 — 30%
Jesse L. Jackson Jr., Illinois 2 — 30%
Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio 10 — 30%
Edward J. Markey, Massachusetts 7 — 30%
Cynthia A. McKinney, Georgia 4 — 30%
Major R. Owens, New York 11 — 30%
Frank Pallone Jr., New Jersey 6 — 30%
Martin Olav Sabo, Minnesota 5 — 30%
Linda Sanchez, California 39 — 30%
John Tierney, Massachusetts 6 — 30%
Highest-scoring Republican senators
*George Allen, Virginia — 100%
Lamar Alexander, Tennessee — 100%
Robert Bennett, Utah — 100%
Christopher S. Bond, Missouri — 100%
Thad Cochran, Mississippi — 100%
Charles E. Grassley, Iowa — 100%
*Orrin G. Hatch, Utah — 100%
*Trent Lott, Mississippi — 100%
*Richard G. Lugar, Indiana — 100%
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska — 100%
Pat Roberts, Kansas — 100%
*Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania — 100%
Ted Stevens, Alaska — 100%
George V. Voinovich, Ohio — 100%
John Warner, Virginia — 100%
Highest-scoring Democratic senators
*Ben Nelson, Nebraska — 94%
Blanche Lincoln, Arkansas — 89%
Mark Pryor, Arkansas — 78%
Mary Landrieu, Louisiana — 76%
*Thomas R. Carper, Delaware — 72%
*Jeff Bingaman, New Mexico — 72%
Ken Salazar, Colorado — 72%
Max Baucus, Montana — 71%
* Senator is up for re-election this year
