Jun 22, 2018 | In the News

Louisiana congressman Steve Scalise was one of just 11 members of the U.S. House of Representatives to be rated a “Taxpayer Super Hero” by the government watchdog group the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste in its recently updated 2017 Congressional Ratings.

Congratulations to Scalise, a Republican, who is still recovering from last year’s shooting, for his outstanding voting record. Scalise is also the House majority whip.

The group scrutinized the voting records of all 535 members of Congress to hold lawmakers accountable for their votes.

While Scalise was the only member of the Louisiana congressional delegation to score a perfect 100 percent in the ratings, four of the five others were rated as “Taxpayer Heroes.”

Southwest Louisiana’s own congressman, Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Port Barre, was among the “Taxpayer Heroes,” with a 95 percent rating. Other Louisiana representatives listed as “Taxpayer Heroes” were Mike Johnson, with a score of 96; Garret Graves, 94; and Ralph Abraham, 95. They are all Republicans.

The only Democrat in the Louisiana congressional delegation, Cedric Richmond of New Orleans, scored a 2017 rating of just 2, and was listed as “Hostile” to taxpayers.

Both of Louisiana’s Republican senators, John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, were rated as “Taxpayer Heroes.” Cassidy had a 2017 score of 85, and Kennedy’s was 89.

“As president of CCAGW, I applaud these Taxpayer Super Heroes for their commitment to helping President Trump cut wasteful spending and taxes and make government more accountable to taxpayers,” Thomas A. Schatz wrote in the group’s newsletter. “These elected officials are determined to restore America to a sensible and sustainable fiscal path.”

“These Ratings measure the first session of the current Congress, highlighting a total of 93 votes in the House of Representatives and 27 votes in the Senate, covering a range of issues from Obamacare and the Trump Tax cuts to overregulation,” reads the newsletter.

Those interested can find the entire congressional ratings at www.cagw.org/gww/spring-2018.

American Press Editorial Board

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