CONGRESSIONAL WHO’S WHO ON NATIONAL SECUR

(Washington, D.C.): As a contribution to an informed electorate essential to accountable democratic government, the Center for Security Policy is releasing today its third annual National Security Scorecard. The purpose of this Scorecard is to illuminate the voting records of members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives on important national security and foreign policy issues.

The Scorecard evaluates a total of 28 key votes by the two chambers (14 in each) and gives every legislator a CSP National Security rating for the second session of the 104th Congress. Highlights include: the list of Senators and Representatives who demonstrated the greatest commitment to the security of our Nation by achieving a perfect score of 100% (eight and sixteen, respectively); the six perfect-scoring elected officials who began the 104th Congress as freshmen; the scores of the 20 Senators running for re-election (including seven who earned CSP ratings of less than 40%); and the tallies of the ten members of the House of Representatives currently seeking Senate seats.

Paying Lip Service to National Security?

In contrast to the two previous CSP National Security Scorecards, the 1996 edition rates only fourteen key national security and foreign policy votes in each chamber during the course of the 1996 congressional session. Previous editions of the CSP National Security Scorecard have examined as many as 20 votes in a single year for each House of Congress. Unfortunately, the 1996 legislative session produced far fewer key national security and foreign policy votes than in years past — an indication of the generally inadequate attention being accorded security policy by official Washington at the moment.

Among the examined votes were those intended to: cut critical defense spending (including funds earmarked for ballistic missile defense, the F-22 advanced tactical fighter aircraft, the kinetic energy anti-satellite — ASAT — system and critical nuclear weapons research); disagree with the Clinton Administration’s renewal of Most-Favored-Nation trading status with communist China; constrain undisciplined, unconditional aid to Russia and other former Soviet Republics; strengthen economic sanctions against Cuba and encourage democratic reforms in that communist country; and cut funding for important intelligence-related programs.

A CSP National Security rating of 100 indicates that the elected official consistently cast his or her vote in a manner supportive of national security on these representative issues. By contrast, a score of 0 indicates that the member did not support U.S. national security in any of the test votes.

Honor Roll, Hall of Shame

Included among the 24 perfect-scoring elected officials are: Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, a member of the Center’s Board of Advisors and recipient of its 1994 “Keeper of the Flame” award; the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina; the chairman of the Armed Services Committee’s Acquisition and Technology Subcommittee, Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire; Senators Phil Gramm of Texas and Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma. (The latter four Senators are currently seeking re-election.) Among those earning this distinction in the House of Representatives were: the Speaker of the House and the 1996 recipient of the Center’s “Keeper of the Flame” award, Rep. Newt Gingrich of Georgia; the chairmen of the House National Security, Rules and Science Committees (respectively, Representatives Floyd Spence of South Carolina, Gerry Solomon of New York and the retiring Robert Walker of Pennsylvania); and Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana, the chairman of the International Relations Committee’s Western Hemisphere Subcommittee.

Regrettably, nine elected officials received scores of zero on this Scorecard — suggesting a reprehensible lack of concern on the recipients’ parts about important national security and foreign policy issues. This represents a significant increase over the two Members of Congress placed in this category by the penultimate CSP National Security Scorecard. They include: two members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senators Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Patty Murray of Washington; Armed Services member Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts; retiring Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois and Rep. Harry Johnston of Florida. Particularly noteworthy is the dubious distinction earned by Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, the only member of Congress — from either the House or the Senate — to have received three consecutive scores of zero on each of the CSP National Security Scorecard published to date.

The Bottom Line

In producing its annual National Security Scorecard, the Center for Security Policy hopes to educate the American people about the performance of their representatives with respect to vital national security issues — and to encourage thereby greater accountability on the part of Members of Congress for their votes in this field. Toward that end, the Center is distributing the 1996 National Security Scorecard to current U.S. Senators and Representatives, 1996 congressional candidates of both parties running for House or Senate seats, members of the press and citizens around the country concerned with the security of our Nation and the defense of its interests overseas. 

To read the full version 1996 National Security Scorecard click on the following PDF link: Full 1996 Scorecard (PDF)