The freedom index: a congressional scorecard based on the U.S. Constitution

New American, The, Dec 10, 2007

Our second look at the 110th Congress shows how every, representative and senator voted on key issues, such as the REAL ID Act, foreign aid, the NAFTA Superhighway, and the DREAM Act.

House Vote Description

11 Funding the REAL ID Act (National ID). During consideration of the Homeland Security appropriations bill, Representative Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) offered an amendment to reallocate $150 million of the bill's funding to provide grant money for assisting states in conforming to the REAL ID Act of 2005. The REAL ID Act requires all states to issue standardized driver's licenses that would serve as national ID cards. It was supposed to go into effect three years alter the enactment of the act, but because of resistance from the states, the deadline has been extended to 2010 for states that request an extension. Once enacted, a federal agency would not be allowed to accept for any official purpose a driver's license or ID card issued by a state that fails to meet the act's requirements.

The House rejected the Bilbray amendment by a vote of 155-268 (Roll Call 479) on June 15, 2007. We have assigned pluses to the "nays" because the act would effectively create a national ID card.

12 Foreign Aid. The fiscal 2008 foreign-aid appropriations bill (H.R. 2764) would authorize $34.4 billion for foreign operations and economic assistance. This amount represents another huge increase over similar House-passed appropriations for previous fiscal years--$21.3 billion for 2007, $20.3 billion for 2006, and $19.4 billion for 2005.

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The House passed the bill by a vote of 241-178 (Roll Call 542) on June 22, 2007. We have assigned pluses to the "nays" because foreign aid is unconstitutional.

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ABOUT THIS INDEX

"The Freedom Index: A Congressional Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution" rates congressmen based on their adherence to constitutional principles of limited government, fiscal responsibility, national sovereignty, and a traditional foreign policy of avoiding foreign entanglements. We have changed the name of this index from "Conservative Index" to "Freedom Index" because the meaning of "conservative" has changed so dramatically since we began publishing "The Conservative Index" more than 35 years ago. Whereas preserving our Constitution, the freedoms it guarantees, and the moral bedrock on which it is based is what "conservatism" once meant, nowadays "conservative" is often used to refer to the exact opposites of these time-honored American values.

To learn how any representative or senator voted on the key measures described herein, look him or her up in the vote charts. The scores are derived by dividing a congressman's constitutional votes (pluses) by the total number he cast (pluses and minuses) and multiplying by 100.

The average House score for this index (votes 11-20) is 43 percent; the average Senate score is 36. Ron Paul (R-Texas) was the only representative to score a perfect 100. and John Ensign (R-Nev.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) share the top Senate score of 80 percent We encourage readers to examine how their own congressmen voted on each of the 10 key measures as well as overall. This is our second index for the 110th Congress. Our first index for the 110th Congress (votes 1-10) appeared in our July 23, 2007 issue. Previous "Conservative/Freedom Index" congressional scorecards are available online for the 107th. 108th. 109th, and 110th Congresses at www.jbs.org/taxonomy/term/210.> We also encourage readers to commend legislators for their constitutional votes and to urge improvement where needed. For congressional contact information and a series of pre-written letters to Congress on some key issues go to www.capwiz.com/jbs/home.> 13 Global Climate Change. During consideration of the fiscal 2008 Interior appropriations bill (H.R. 2643), Representative Joe Barton (R-Texas) introduced an amendment to strike from the bill nonbinding language calling for a mandatory program to combat global warming. Specifically, this provision of H.R. 2643 expresses "the sense of the Congress that there should be enacted a comprehensive and effective national program of mandatory, market-based limits and incentives" to reduce global greenhouse-gas emissions. An example of so-called "market-based limits" would be to allow companies that want to exceed their allowable emissions output to buy permits or allowances from companies that choose not to use their full allotment.

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The House rejected the Barton amendment, and thereby kept the global-warming language in the bill, by a vote of 153-274 (Roll Call 555) on June 26, 2007. We have assigned pluses to the "yeas" because mandatory limits on greenhouse-gas emissions would harm the economy.

14 Proof of Legal Residency for Federal Housing Vouchers. During consideration of the bill to authorize the Section 8 housing voucher program through 2012, Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) offered a motion to recommit the bill back to committee to add language requiring that all occupants of Section 8 low-income housing establish proof of legal residency. The proof could consist of one of the following: a Social Security card along with a state or federal photo ID card; a U.S. passport; a driver's license; or a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services photo ID card. The intent of Capito's motion is to prevent illegal aliens from receiving federally subsidized housing.