Now there is.

The charts in this article let you know how your elected representatives voted on issues that are vital to your business, your community and the U.S. economy. They also give an overall rating to help you make a judgment about your congressman's and senators' work.

The charts are designed to give you the information you need to discuss an incumbent candidate's voting record. Confront them with that record. Ask them the reasons for their votes. If you disagree, tell them so—and, most importantly, tell them why. Maybe you can change their minds. But even if you can't, at least they'll know that somebody is watching, that their constituents are watching, that voters are watching. Nothing is a better prod to an elected official than an informed voter.

Many of the votes on our charts (seven in the Senate and five in the House) deal with federal infrastructure construction programs, both highways and airports. AED members have consistently cited infrastructure programs as the single most important issue for our industry. Estate tax repeal—long another top priority for AED in Washington—accounts for two votes on each chart. The House of Representatives chart also includes a vote on product liability reform and on legislation to block implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency's new air standards.

Obviously, the charts and the ratings are a snapshot. They don't address everything. After all, in four years there are hundreds of votes. Some important issues don't make the list. For example, votes on social issues, on changes in the civil or the criminal law, or on the politically charged impeachment battle, have been excluded. In judging whether a congressman or senator has served you well, those issues also must be reviewed. But they are beyond the scope of AED's work on Capitol Hill.

Finally, there are some qualities that we seek in elected officials that cannot be measured by looking at a candidate's voting record: qualities of character, of leadership, of honesty and of integrity. One recent survey of AED members found that a candidate's personal integrity was the leading factor considered by AED members in deciding whom to vote for on election day. Party affiliation was at the bottom of the list. To AED members, personal values are more meaningful than any rating we can give involving economic issues.

So, with that in mind, here's a summary of the key votes from the last four years that we used to rate the current Congress. We hope you'll find it as interesting—and as helpful—as we did.

 

Click below to see		Click below to see
SENATE VOTES		HOUSE VOTES

(Please be aware the above links are large and will take some time to download and to navigate!)

QUESTION YOUR CANDIDATES!

It’s a good idea to learn everything you can about where your candidates stand on industry-related issues before you cast your vote. Here’s a handy list of questions to ask them when they’re asking for your vote. If he or she is an incumbent, get to know his or her voting record. Whether it’s at an AED ImPACt event, at a town meeting or at the grocery store, now is the time to get them to make a commitment on the issues.

 

The federal highway program is one of the most successful government undertakings ever. Its sole source of funding is the federal gas tax. If elected, will you oppose any efforts to repeal, reduce or suspend the gas tax? In 1998, when TEA-21 was adopted, the Congress guaranteed that revenues received from the gas tax would be placed into the Highway Trust Fund and used only for transportation purposes. Will you vote to continue this secure funding source for the federal road program? The federal estate tax threatens the survival of family businesses and causes a massive misallocation of resources throughout the economy. Both the House and Senate recently passed legislation to repeal the estate tax in its entirety. The president has promised to veto this legislation. If you are elected, will you support efforts to completely eliminate the estate tax?	There are members of Congress who believe that federal water infrastructure programs should be eliminated because they consider water issues to be a local problem. Do you favor the elimination of these programs or their continuation and expansion? Companies like mine that rent and sell products are frequently the defendants of first resort in product liability suits. Considering that we usually have no role in designing or manufacturing a product, this is inherently unfair. If we send you to Washington, will you support product liability reform legislation like the bill the House passed this year?

AND THE WINNERS ARE . . .

Kit Bond, Republican, MO; Michael Enzi, Republican, WY; Tim Hutchinson, Republican, AR; Pat Roberts, Republican, KS; John Warner, Republican, VA; Craig Thomas, Republican, WY; and John Tanner, Democrat, TN.

Hats off to these six senators who voted as AED urged on legislation critical to our industry. Of the 52 representatives and senators who cast the "right" vote on these issues, only one—Rep. John Tanner of Tennessee—is a Democrat.

There are 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 members of the Senate whose votes we analyzed for this article. Of those 535 individuals, 52 deserve special recognition: the 46 representatives and six senators who were with us on every single vote. (Take a look at the far-right column on the charts to see how often your elected representatives cast the “right” vote on industry-related legislation.) They deserve praise for their records because, in voting the way they did, somewhere along the line they came under significant pressure from their colleagues to do otherwise. So here they are:

 

Representatives Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) Steven Kuykendall (R-CA) Gary Miller (R-CA) Mary Bono (R-CA) Tillie Fowler (R-FL) Johnny Isakson (R-GA) Mike Simpson (R-ID) Dennis Hastert (R-IL) Tom Ewing (IL) Don Manzullo (R-IL) Ray LaHood (R-IL) John Shimkus (R-IL) Ed Pease (R-IN) Jerry Moran (R-KS) Ed Whitfield (R-KY) Ron Lewis (R-KY) Anne Northup (R-KY) Ernie Fletcher (R-KY)

David Vitter (R-LA) Billy Tauzin (R-LA) John Cooksey (R-LA) Richard Baker (R-LA) Dave Camp (R-MI) Fred Upton (R-MI) Jim Talent (R-MO) Rick Hill (R-MT) Heather Wilson (R-NM) Tom Reynolds (R-NY) J.C. Watts (R-OK) Greg Walden (R-OR) John Peterson (R-PA) Curt Weldon (R-PA) Bud Shuster (R-PA) George Gekas (R-PA) Jim DeMint (R-SC) John Thune (R-SD) Bill Jenkins (R-TN) Ed Bryant (R-TN)

John Tanner (D-TN) Larry Combest (R-TX) Jim Hansen (R-UT) Chris Cannon (R-UT) Herb Bateman (R-VA) Tom Petri (R-WI) Barbara Cubin (R-WY) Senators Tim Hutchinson (R-AR) Pat Roberts (R-KS) Kit Bond (R-MO) John Warner (R-VA) Craig Thomas (R-WY) Michael Enzi (R-WY)

In case you didn’t notice, there’s only one Democrat on the list: Rep. John Tanner of Tennessee—who, incidentally, is one of the lead sponsors of the estate tax repeal bill that the House and Senate passed this summer. Also, we can’t resist pointing out that there were two members of the House of Representatives—Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and David Obey (D-WI)—who didn’t vote right on any of our issues. They both scored a perfect zero. Thanks for nothing, guys! Finally, some interesting statistics about the voting records. The average Republican score in the House was 75 percent; the average Democrat score was 51 percent. This is because the House had more votes on issues where the Republicans have been strong, like product liability reform, the Environmental Protection Agency’s air regulations and estate tax repeal. In the Senate, things were reversed. The average Republican senator scored 63 percent, while the average Democrat scored 70 percent. The reason? Most of the key Senate votes were on infrastructure issues, where the Democrats are generally strong, and three of those votes were on gas tax suspension, which the GOP leadership sought to make a partisan issue earlier this year. Thankfully, several GOP senators broke ranks and put the national interest ahead of partisanship.