Feds group gives 4 lawmakers score of ‘0 percent’ for voting on key legislation

National Active and Retired Federal Employees released its scorecard lawmakers this week according to how they voted on various legislation in the 115th Congres...

National Active and Retired Federal Employees released its scorecard on lawmakers this week according to how they voted on various legislation in the 115th Congress, which the organization deemed beneficial or of concern to its members.

These included the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Resolution (H.Con.Res. 71) in October 2017, Continuing the Holman Rule (H.Res. 787) in March, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (H.R. 1892) in February, and the recent minibus (H.R. 6147) which included a 1.9 percent pay raise for civilian federal workers.

The minibus is the last of three spending packages needed to fund about 90 percent of the federal government, and this week House Republicans said they had enough votes to secure the raise. But the House will not return for a vote until at least Nov. 13, after the midterms.

Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) both voted against the legislation as well as the Bipartisan Budget Act. Paul’s press office sent an explanation for the senator’s vote. NARFE also gave him a lifetime rating of 17 percent for his voting record on federal employee-related legislation.

“With a debt of over $20 trillion and counting, Senator Rand Paul voted against the Bipartisan Budget Act and the minibus spending bill,” the office wrote in an email. “It’s a shame to see government unions lobbying for even more debt. Senator Paul will always continue to fight for the taxpayer.”

Lee and Paul are both up for reelection in 2020, while Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) are each running for reelection in this year’s midterms. Lee and Biggs’ offices did not respond to requests for comment on their scorecard rankings but Gosar’s Press Secretary Melissa Brown said in an email that the congressman was proud of his voting record. His lifetime rating from NARFE is 6 percent.

“Congressman Gosar was elected to reduce the size of the federal government,” she wrote. “The government, as currently structured, is riddled with waste and inefficiencies. He consistently votes against spending bills that either increase spending or contain no reforms to improve government. He is proud of his score that demonstrates his commitment to the taxpayers first.”

Also in the bottom nine, Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Trey Hollingworth (R-Ind.), voted in favor of H.R. 195 in January, which ended a three-day government shutdown and extended FY 2017 funding levels through Feb. 8. Reps. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Tom Garrett (R-Va.) supported an earlier version of the bill and Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) voted in favor of a Republican committee study of a FY 2018 budget resolution substitute ( H. Amdt. 455 to H. Con. Res. 71).

Meanwhile, NARFE rated 19 lawmakers at 100 percent for their stances on various bills. To receive a perfect score the lawmakers had to have voted in favor of, or not voted on the aforementioned legislation. Other proposed legislation which NARFE supported in the 115th Congress included various appropriations bills for FY 2017 and 2018.

However, the lifetime ratings for those with perfect scores in 2018 varied widely, from 100 percent for Rep. Vincente Gonzalez (D-Texas) to 32 percent for Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).

Some lawmakers with a perfect score were not elected when certain legislation was passed or defeated, such as Rep. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.).

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