Props to Congressmen Jeff Flake and (as much as it pains us) John Shadegg. The two were recently named "taxpayer super heroes" by a government-waste watchdog group.
The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste honored the two Arizona congressmen for scoring a perfect 100 on the group's 2009 Congressional Ratings.
"The perfect scores for Reps. Flake and Shadegg demonstrate their unparalleled commitment to cutting wasteful spending, reducing the tax burden, and making government more accountable to taxpayers," says CCAGW President Tom Schatz. "The rating is even more impressive given the record number of votes rated by CCAGW and the record number of representatives who could not vote even once to cut wasteful spending or taxes. While far too many members of Congress on both sides of the Capitol demonstrated little regard for the consequences of failing to reduce the record $1.4 trillion deficit and $13 trillion debt, Reps. Flake's and Shadegg's votes give taxpayers hope for the future."
The fiscally conservative CCAGW rated 120 key spending-related votes in the House and 74 in the Senate. Flake and Shadegg were two of only seven to receive a perfect score from the group.
Others are: Representatives Paul Broun (R-Georgia), Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Mike Pence (R-Indiana), and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Georgia).
Other members of Congress only achieved taxpayer "hero" status with a rating of 80 or better.
There's a small indicator as to which side of the political spectrum the group stands -- it gave "a perfectly abysmal score of zero" to 105 House Democrats. That number is up from the 2008 ratings, when only 34 Democrats scored a goose egg.
We have a feeling that a certain federal healthcare bill -- which isn't on the conservative group's list of favorite pieces of legislation -- contributed to the high number of Democrats on the list.
Check out CCAGW's full ratings here.
