Congressional Inequality Index - Who Is For the Middle Class

Inequality Report Card: Grading Congress on Inequality

By Sarah Anderson, Chuck Collins, Scott Klinger, Sam Pizzigati

http://www.ips-dc.org/reports/inequality-report-card/

We evaluate how well members of congress do in supporting legislation and measures to narrow America's widening economic divide.

Members of Congress have the capacity to make sure that all Americans, not just a privileged few, share in the wealth that we all together create. This first IPS “inequality report card” evaluates current members on how well they are exercising this power.

The report card is based on 40 legislative actions taken over the past two years that relate to inequality. The bills range from legislation to establish a “Buffett Rule” minimum tax rate that all wealthy Americans must pay to a measure that would raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation.

The report includes an overall “honor roll” — to highlight those representatives and senators who have done the most to narrow America’s economic divide — as well as a “dishonor roll” of lawmakers who have repeatedly tilted the “1%” way. The report card also details the “most 1% friendly” and “most 99% friendly” by party affiliation.
Among the report’s key findings:

• Republicans dominate the report card’s “dishonor roll.” They make up the entire list of the 48 representatives and 11 senators with an “F” grade. A dozen Republicans made the “honor roll” with “C” level grades.
• Not all Democrats distinguish themselves as champions of greater equality. Seventeen lawmakers who caucus with the Democrats rate only at the “C” level.
• Of the ten states with the nation’s most uneven distribution of income, according to just-released Census data, only one — Massachusetts — has senators and representatives with a composite average “A” level score.
• None of the 11 senators earning an “F” grade come from any of the nation’s five most equal states, as rated by the new Census figures. Likewise, of the 48 “flunking” members of the House of Representatives, only one — Republican Jason Chaffetz of Utah — comes from one of the nation’s five most equal states.

Download the detailed vote records here (excel file)

Take action using our Inequality Report Card Action Map!

[Click on the map to go to the inequality Report Card Action Map.  There you will be able to see how your state politicians are doing. ]

DATA DRIVEN VIEWPOINT:  Below are the results of grading our federal representatives based on the economic interests they represented in their voting records.  Note the party affiliations and see if you can detect an asymmetry between the two parties.

                                       SENATE  HONOR ROLL

STATE	SENATOR	PARTY	GRADE
CONNECTICUT	Sen. Richard Blumenthal	D	A
IOWA	Sen. Tom Harkin	D	A
MICHIGAN	Sen. Carl Levin	D	A
NEW JERSEY	Sen. Frank Lautenberg	D	A
NEW YORK	Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand	D	A
OREGON	Sen. Jeff Merkley	D	A
RHODE ISLAND	Sen. Jack Reed	D	A
VERMONT	Sen. Patrick Leahy	D	A
WASHINGTON	Sen. Patty Murray	D	A
CALIFORNIA	Sen. Barbara Boxer	D	A-
CALIFORNIA	Sen. Dianne Feinstein	D	A-
MARYLAND	Sen. Ben Cardin	D	A-
MARYLAND	Sen. Barbara Mikulski	D	A-
MONTANA	Sen. Max Baucus	D	A-
NEW MEXICO	Sen. Tom Udall	D	A-
NORTH DAKOTA	Sen. Kent Conrad	D	A-
WEST VIRGINIA	Sen. Jay Rockefeller	D	A-
ILLINOIS	Sen. Dick Durbin	D	A+
MINNESOTA	Sen. Al Franken	D	A+
OHIO	Sen. Sherrod Brown	D	A+
RHODE ISLAND	Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse	D	A+
VERMONT	Sen. Bernie Sanders	ID	A+

                             SENATE DIS-HONOR ROLL

STATE SENATOR PARTY GRADE ARIZONA Sen. John McCain R F ARKANSAS Sen. John Boozman R F GEORGIA Sen. Saxby Chambliss R F GEORGIA Sen. Johnny Isakson R F MISSOURI Sen. Roy Blunt R F NEBRASKA Sen. Mike Johanns R F NEVADA Sen. Dean Heller R F NORTH CAROLINA Sen. Richard Burr R F SOUTH CAROLINA Sen. Lindsey Graham R F SOUTH DAKOTA Sen. John Thune R F WYOMING Sen. Michael Enzi R F

              CONGRESSIONAL HONOR ROLL

REPRESENTATIVE	PARTY	STATE	GRADE
Ed Pastor	D	AZ	A
George Miller	D	CA	A
Mike Honda	D	CA	A
Sam Farr	D	CA	A
Henry Waxman	D	CA	A
Xavier Becerra	D	CA	A
Judy Chu	D	CA	A
Karen Bass	D	CA	A
Lucille Roybal-Allard	D	CA	A
Maxine Waters	D	CA	A
Laura Richardson	D	CA	A
Linda Sánchez	D	CA	A
Corrine Brown	D	FL	A
Ted Deutch	D	FL	A
Alcee Hastings	D	FL	A
John Lewis	D	GA	A
Bobby Rush	D	IL	A
Luis Gutierrez	D	IL	A
Danny Davis	D	IL	A
André Carson	D	IN	A
John Olver	D	MA	A
James McGovern	D	MA	A
Barney Frank	D	MA	A
Ed Markey	D	MA	A
Michael Capuano	D	MA	A
John Sarbanes	D	MD	A
Donna Edwards	D	MD	A
Elijah Cummings	D	MD	A
Chellie Pingree	D	ME	A
Dale Kildee	D	MI	A
Hansen Clarke	D	MI	A
John Dingell	D	MI	A
Keith Ellison	D	MN	A
Lacy Clay	D	MO	A
Emanuel Cleaver	D	MO	A
Brad Miller	D	NC	A
Frank Pallone	D	NJ	A
Bill Pascrell	D	NJ	A
Rush Holt	D	NJ	A
Jerrold Nadler	D	NY	A
Jóse Serrano	D	NY	A
Maurice Hinchey	D	NY	A
Marcy Kaptur	D	OH	A
Chaka Fattah	D	PA	A
Mike Doyle	D	PA	A
Al Green	D	TX	A
Sheila Jackson Lee	D	TX	A
James Moran	D	VA	A
Peter Welch	D	VT	A
Gwen Moore	D	WI	A
Zoe Lofgren	D	CA	A-
Joe Courtney	D	CT	A-
Rosa DeLauro	D	CT	A-
Frederica Wilson	D	FL	A-
Mazie Hirono	D	HI	A-
Richard Neal	D	MA	A-
John Tierney	D	MA	A-
Russ Carnahan	D	MO	A-
G.K. Butterfield	D	NC	A-
David Price	D	NC	A-
Mel Watt	D	NC	A-
Robert Andrews	D	NJ	A-
Steven Rothman	D	NJ	A-
Nydia Velázquez	D	NY	A-
Paul Tonko	D	NY	A-
Earl Blumenauer	D	OR	A-
Gene Green	D	TX	A-
Robert Scott	D	VA	A-
Tammy Baldwin	D	WI	A-
Raul Grijalva	D	AZ	A+
Lynn Woolsey	D	CA	A+
Barbara Lee	D	CA	A+
Pete Stark	D	CA	A+
Hank Johnson	D	GA	A+
Jan Schakowsky	D	IL	A+
John Conyers	D	MI	A+
Yvette Clarke	D	NY	A+
Dennis Kucinich	D	OH	A+
Marcia Fudge	D	OH	A+
Robert Brady	D	PA	A+
Steve Cohen	D	TN	A+
Eddie Bernice Johnson	D	TX	A+
Jim McDermott	D	WA	A+

           CONGRESSIONAL DIS-HONOR ROLL

REPRESENTATIVE	PARTY	STATE	GRADE
Martha Roby	R	AL	F
Mo Brooks	R	AL	F
Rick Crawford	R	AR	F
Tim Griffin	R	AR	F
Steve Womack	R	AR	F
Jeff Denham	R	CA	F
John Campbell	R	CA	F
ScottTipton	R	CO	F
Richard Nugent	R	FL	F
Dennis Ross	R	FL	F
Bill Posey	R	FL	F
Sandy Adams	R	FL	F
Austin Scott	R	GA	F
Todd Rokita	R	IN	F
Mike Pence	R	IN	F
Larry Bucshon	R	IN	F
Todd Young	R	IN	F
Kevin Yoder	R	KS	F
Mike Pompeo	R	KS	F
Steve Scalise	R	LA	F
John Fleming	R	LA	F
Andy Harris	R	MD	F
Dan Benishek	R	MI	F
Vicky Hartzler	R	MO	F
Billy Long	R	MO	F
Alan Nunnelee	R	MS	F
Steven Palazzo	R	MS	F
Renee Ellmers	R	NC	F
Sue Myrick	R	NC	F
Lee Terry	R	NE	F
Rodney Frelinghuysen	R	NJ	F
Nan Hayworth	R	NY	F
Ann Marie Buerkle	R	NY	F
Jim Jordan	R	OH	F
Robert Latta	R	OH	F
Bob Gibbs	R	OH	F
Tom Cole	R	OK	F
James Lankford	R	OK	F
Joseph Pitts	R	PA	F
Tim Scott	R	SC	F
Phil Roe	R	TN	F
Marsha Blackburn	R	TN	F
Kevin Brady	R	TX	F
Michael Conaway	R	TX	F
Kay Granger	R	TX	F
Pete Olson	R	TX	F
Jason Chaffetz	R	UT	F
Cathy McMorris Rodgers	R	WA	F