Originally published on the CGS blog on April 26, 2010.
As the congressional campaign season gets rolling, GlobalSolutions.org is pleased to announce the release of our 2010 Congressional Report Card. This report “grades” members of the Senate and House of Representatives on their record of support for CGS legislative priorities over the past several years, as well as highlighting additional work certain members of Congress have undertaken which has helped to advance the goals of CGS. You can read the entire Report Card online by clicking here, as well as clicking on state-by-state links to quickly find the scores of your own Senators and House member.
The Report Card focuses on 10 votes in the Senate and 11 in the House of Representatives occurring between 2007 and 2009 on issues of particular importance to CGS and its supporters. These votes cover topics such as providing appropriate levels of funding for international and multilateral organizations; addressing climate change; prohibiting torture; and ensuring protection of human rights around the globe. Just like school, each member of Congress was given a grade between an F and an A+ based on how frequently their votes aligned with CGS’s positions on these issues.
Additionally, since not all the hard work of members of Congress is revealed solely through their voting records, CGS invited Senators and Representatives to apply for “extra credit” by telling us about other work they have done on these and other issues that are CGS priorities. This extra credit might come from making floor speeches, sponsoring legislation, or publishing op-eds on issues important to CGS. Lawmakers must earn extra credit in order to receive the highest grade of A+.
In this year’s Report Card, we are also posthumously honoring the late Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) for his outstanding work on CGS issues over the course of his nearly half-century in the Senate. In the House of Representatives, we are acknowledging Representatives Russ Carnahan (D-MO) and Anh “Joseph” Cao (R-LA) for their roles as co-chairs of the new bipartisan American Engagement Caucus.
The 2010 Congressional Report Card is used by the GlobalSolutions.org’ Political Action Committee to assist in deciding which members of Congress to endorse and/or give monetary contributions. We hope it will also be useful to you in judging the performance of your Senators and Representatives, as well as that of Congress as a whole, in standing up for our shared beliefs and legislative priorities.
