The National Taxpayers Union this week released its Taxpayer Ratings for the first session of the 112th Congress.

From NTU:

Every year National Taxpayers Union (NTU) rates U.S. Representatives and Senators on their actual votes — every vote that significantly affects taxes, spending, debt, and regulatory burdens on consumers and taxpayers. Unlike most organizations that publish ratings, we refuse to play the “rating game” of focusing on only a handful of Congressional votes on selected issues. The NTU voting study is the fairest and most accurate guide available on
Congressional fiscal policies. It is a completely unbiased accounting of votes.

NTU assigned weights to the votes, reflecting the importance of each vote’s effect.*

NTU has no partisan ax to grind. All Members of Congress are treated the same regardless of political affiliation. Our only constituency is the overburdened American taxpayer. Grades are given impartially, based on the Taxpayer Score.

The Taxpayer Score measures the strength of support for reducing spending and regulation and opposing higher taxes. In general, a higher score is better because it means a Member of Congress voted to lessen or limit the burden on taxpayers.

The Taxpayer Score can range between 0 and 100. We do not expect anyone to score a 100, nor has any legislator ever achieved a 100 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. 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.

Hawaii Senate

• Akaka ‘F’ 9%
• Inouye ‘F’ 11%

Hawaii House

• Hanabusa ‘F’ 9%
• Hirono ‘F’ 12%

A score significantly below average qualifies for a grade of “F.” This failing grade places the Member into the “Big Spender” category.