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Special Interest Groups

Rating Group: Children's Defense Fund

1996 Positions

State Office District Name Party Rating
Daniel Akaka, Sr. 100%
WI Mayor At-Large Tom Barrett Democratic 100%
Anthony Beilenson 100%
David Edward Bonior 100%
CA U.S. Senate Jr Barbara Boxer Democratic 100%
OH U.S. Senate Sr Sherrod Brown Democratic 100%
Eva Clayton 100%
Ronald Coleman 100%
Barbara-Rose Collins 100%
MI U.S. House 13 John Conyers, Jr. Democratic 100%
William Coyne 100%
MD U.S. House 7 Elijah Cummings Democratic 100%
Ronald Dellums 100%
NY U.S. House 16 Eliot Engel Democratic 100%
Lane Evans 100%
PA U.S. House 2 Chaka Fattah, Sr. Democratic 100%
CA U.S. Senate Sr Dianne Feinstein Democratic 100%
CA Mayor At-Large Bob Filner Democratic 100%
Thomas Foglietta 100%
Barney Frank 100%
John Glenn 100%
Henry Gonzalez 100%
IL U.S. House 4 Luis Gutierrez Democratic 100%
Jesse Jackson, Jr. 100%
Patrick Kennedy 100%
John LaFalce 100%
Tom Lantos 100%
NJ U.S. Senate Sr Frank Lautenberg Democratic 100%
VT U.S. Senate Sr Patrick Leahy Democratic 100%
GA U.S. House 5 John Lewis Democratic 100%
MA U.S. House 5 Ed Markey Democratic 100%
WA U.S. House 7 Jim McDermott Democratic 100%
Cynthia Ann McKinney 100%
Juanita Millender-McDonald 100%
Patsy Takemoto Mink 100%
Patrick Moynihan 100%
WA U.S. Senate Sr Patty Murray Democratic 100%
John Olver 100%
Major Owens 100%
AZ U.S. House 7 Ed Pastor Democratic 100%
Donald Payne 100%
CA U.S. House 12 Nancy Pelosi Democratic 100%
NY U.S. House 13 Charlie Rangel Democratic 100%
CA U.S. House 40 Lucille Roybal-Allard Democratic 100%
Martin Olav Sabo 100%
VT U.S. Senate Jr Bernie Sanders Independent 100%
Paul Sarbanes 100%
Patricia Schroeder 100%
VA U.S. House 3 Bobby Scott Democratic 100%
NY U.S. House 15 José Serrano Democratic 100%
Gerry Studds 100%
Ray Thornton 100%
Michael Ward 100%
NC U.S. House 12 Mel Watt Democratic 100%
Paul Wellstone 100%
Lynn Woolsey 100%
Sidney Yates 100%
Bill Bradley 94%
David Pryor 94%
HI Governor Neil Abercrombie Democratic 93%
CA U.S. House 34 Xavier Becerra Democratic 93%
Jeff Bingaman 93%
FL U.S. House 5 Corrine Brown Democratic 93%
George Brown, Jr. 93%
Dale Bumpers 93%
SC U.S. House 6 Jim Clyburn Democratic 93%
Thomas Daschle 93%
OR U.S. House 4 Peter DeFazio Democratic 93%
CT U.S. House 3 Rosa DeLauro Democratic 93%
Julian Dixon 93%
CA U.S. House 20 Sam Farr Democratic 93%
Floyd Flake 93%
Richard Andrew Gephardt 93%
Earl Hilliard, Jr. 93%
Maurice Hinchey 93%
TX U.S. House 18 Sheila Jackson Lee Democratic 93%
William Jefferson 93%
TX U.S. House 30 Eddie Johnson Democratic 93%
Edward Kennedy, Sr. 93%
Joseph Kennedy II 93%
Dale Kildee 93%
CA U.S. House 19 Zoe Lofgren Democratic 93%
NY U.S. House 12 Carolyn Maloney Democratic 93%
Robert Matsui 93%
Michael McNulty 93%
Martin Meehan 93%
Carrie Meek 93%
NJ U.S. Senate Jr Bob Menendez Democratic 93%
MD U.S. Senate Sr Barbara Mikulski Democratic 93%
Carol Moseley Braun 93%
IL U.S. House 1 Bobby Rush Democratic 93%
NY U.S. House 25 Louise Slaughter Democratic 93%
MS U.S. House 2 Bennie Thompson Democratic 93%
Esteban Edward Torres 93%
Ed Towns 93%
NY U.S. House 7 Nydia Velázquez Democratic 93%
Bruce Vento 93%
CA U.S. House 33 Henry Waxman Democratic 93%
Albert Wynn 93%
Tom Bevill 91%
E. Kika de la Garza 91%
Harold Ford, Sr. 91%
Sam Gibbons 91%
Andrew Jacobs, Jr. 91%
Harry Johnston 91%
Bill Orton 91%
Lewis Payne, Jr. 91%
Pete Peterson 91%
Frank Tejeda 91%
Charles Wilson 91%
Claiborne Pell 89%
Paul Simon 89%
Kent Conrad 87%
Chris Dodd 87%
Byron Dorgan 87%
Russ Feingold 87%
Daniel Inouye 87%
Bob Kerrey 87%
NA U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry Democratic 87%
MI U.S. Senate Sr Carl Levin Democratic 87%
NV U.S. Senate Sr Harry Reid Democratic 87%
OR U.S. Senate Sr Ron Wyden Democratic 87%
Gary Ackerman 86%
Howard Berman 86%
OR U.S. House 3 Earl Blumenauer Democratic 86%
Robert Borski, Jr. 86%
William Clay, Sr. 86%
MI U.S. House 12 John Dingell Democratic 86%
CA U.S. House 18 Anna Eshoo Democratic 86%
FL U.S. House 20 Alcee Hastings, Sr. Democratic 86%
MI U.S. House 9 Sandy Levin Democratic 86%
NY U.S. House 17 Nita Lowey Democratic 86%
William Luther 86%
Matthew Martinez 86%
Karen McCarthy 86%
NY U.S. House 10 Jerry Nadler Democratic 86%
Jim Oberstar 86%
Solomon Ortiz, Sr. 86%
NJ U.S. House 6 Frank Pallone, Jr. Democratic 86%
Earl Pomeroy 86%
WV U.S. House 3 Nick Rahall II Democratic 86%
RI U.S. Senate Sr Jack Reed Democratic 86%
Lynn Nancy Rivers 86%
David Skaggs 86%
Pete Stark 86%
CA U.S. House 43 Maxine Waters Democratic 86%
Jim Exon 83%
J. Bennett Johnston 83%
Glen Browder 82%
Cardiss Collins 82%
Cleo Fields 82%
Bill Richardson 82%
Charles Rose III 82%
Harold Volkmer 82%
MT U.S. Senate Sr Max Baucus Democratic 80%
Richard Bryan 80%
Wendell Ford 80%
Daniel Graham 80%
IA U.S. Senate Jr Tom Harkin Democratic 80%
Ernest Hollings 80%
Joe Lieberman 80%
WV U.S. Senate Sr Jay Rockefeller IV Democratic 80%
NJ U.S. House 1 Rob Andrews Democratic 79%
Kenneth Bentsen, Jr. 79%
Rick Boucher 79%
Norm Dicks 79%
TX U.S. House 35 Lloyd Doggett Democratic 79%
IL U.S. Senate Sr Dick Durbin Democratic 79%
Victor Fazio 79%
Elizabeth Furse 79%
Sam Gejdenson 79%
TX U.S. House 29 Gene Green Democratic 79%
Tony Hall 79%
MD U.S. House 5 Steny Hoyer Democratic 79%
OH U.S. House 9 Marcy Kaptur Democratic 79%
Barbara Bailey Kennelly 79%
Gerald Kleczka 79%
Ronald Klink 79%
Thomas Manton 79%
CA U.S. House 11 George Miller Democratic 79%
David Minge 79%
John Moakley 79%
Alan Mollohan 79%
VA U.S. House 8 Jim Moran, Jr. Democratic 79%
Dave Obey 79%
OH State Senate 28 Thomas Sawyer Democratic 79%
NY U.S. Senate Sr Chuck Schumer Democratic 79%
IN U.S. House 1 Pete Visclosky Democratic 79%
NA Vice President Joe Biden, Jr. Democratic 73%
John Bryant 73%
Robert Byrd 73%
Jim Chapman 73%
Herb Kohl 73%
Sam Nunn 72%
Henry Scott Baesler 71%
John Baldacci 71%
James Barcia 71%
GA U.S. House 2 Sanford Bishop, Jr. Democratic 71%
MD U.S. Senate Jr Ben Cardin Democratic 71%
Jerry Costello 71%
Calvin Dooley 71%
PA U.S. House 14 Mike Doyle, Jr. Democratic 71%
Chet Edwards 71%
Jonas Frost III 71%
W.G. Hefner 71%
Paul McHale 71%
MA U.S. House 1 Richard Neal Democratic 71%
John Spratt, Jr. 71%
Louis Stokes 71%
Bart Stupak 71%
Karen Thurman 71%
Bob Wise, Jr. 71%
John Breaux 67%
Charles Robb 67%
Robert Clement 64%
Patsy Ann Danner 64%
Jane Harman 64%
Thomas Holden 64%
Paul Kanjorski 64%
Blanche Lincoln 64%
Jack Murtha 64%
Glenn Poshard 64%
Timothy Roemer 64%
Ike Skelton 64%
Robert Torricelli 64%
James Traficant, Jr. 64%
Pat Williams 64%
James Merrill Jeffords 60%
Robert Cramer 57%
Peter Deutsch 57%
Benjamin Gilman 57%
Lee Hamilton 57%
SD U.S. Senate Sr Timothy Johnson Democratic 57%
William Lipinski 57%
Frank Mascara 57%
Marge Roukema 57%
Norman Sisisky 57%
John Tanner 57%
Arlen Specter 53%
Bart Gordon 50%
MN U.S. House 7 Collin Peterson Democratic/Farmer/Labor 50%
Owen Pickett 50%
Jack Quinn 50%
Olympia Snowe 47%
James Hayes 45%
Peter Torkildsen 45%
Mark Hatfield 44%
Sherwood Boehlert 43%
Gary Condit 43%
James Leach 43%
Constance Morella 43%
Charles Stenholm 43%
Ben Campbell 40%
Peter Blute 36%
Bill Brewster 36%
Jim Bunn 36%
Jon David Fox 36%
FL U.S. House 27 Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Republican 36%
John Chafee 33%
William Cohen 33%
Brian Bilbray 29%
Thomas Campbell 29%
Mike Castle 29%
Lincoln Diaz-Balart 29%
TN U.S. House 2 John Duncan, Jr. Republican 29%
Robert Franks 29%
Amory Houghton, Jr. 29%
James Ramstad 29%
Christopher Shays 29%
Gene Taylor 29%
James Walsh 29%
Alfonse D'Amato 27%
Michael Patrick Flanagan 27%
Gary Franks 27%
Pete Geren 27%
Bill Martini 27%
John Warner 27%
Nancy Landon Kassebaum 22%
Philip English 21%
NJ U.S. House 11 Rodney Frelinghuysen Republican 21%
John Ganske 21%
Wayne Gilchrest 21%
James Greenwood 21%
Rick Lazio 21%
NJ U.S. House 2 Frank LoBiondo Republican 21%
John McHugh 21%
Susan Molinari 21%
Steven Schiff 21%
NJ U.S. House 4 Chris Smith Republican 21%
Edmond Spencer Abraham 20%
Bob Bennett 20%
Conrad Burns 20%
MS U.S. Senate Sr Thad Cochran Republican 20%
Paul Coverdell 20%
OH Attorney General Michael DeWine Republican 20%
Pete Domenici, Jr. 20%
Duncan McLauchlin Faircloth 20%
IA U.S. Senate Sr Chuck Grassley Republican 20%
UT U.S. Senate Sr Orrin Hatch Republican 20%
Jesse Helms 20%
Kay Hutchison 20%
Trent Lott, Sr. 20%
Dick Lugar 20%
KY U.S. Senate Sr Mitch McConnell Republican 20%
Frank Murkowski 20%
Rick Santorum 20%
AL U.S. Senate Sr Richard Shelby Republican 20%
Ted Stevens 20%
Craig Thomas 20%
Strom Thurmond 20%
William Clinger 18%
Steven Gunderson 18%
Fredrick Kenneth Fred' Heineman 18%
Greg Laughlin 18%
Jan Meyers 18%
G.V. Montgomery 18%
Alan Simpson 17%
Douglas Bereuter 14%
FL Justice of the Supreme Court Charles Canady 14%
Thomas Davis III 14%
John Ensign 14%
Michael Patrick Forbes 14%
TX U.S. House 4 Ralph Hall Republican 14%
Van Hilleary 14%
Stephen Horn 14%
Nancy Johnson 14%
Sue Kelly 14%
NY U.S. House 2 Pete King Republican 14%
Scott Klug 14%
Ray LaHood 14%
Steve LaTourette 14%
Jerry Lewis 14%
Joseph McDade 14%
KS U.S. Senate Sr Pat Roberts Republican 14%
Jim Saxton 14%
MI U.S. House 6 Fred Upton Republican 14%
Gerald Weller 14%
FL U.S. House 13 Bill Young Republican 14%
John Ashcroft 13%
Kit Bond 13%
IN U.S. Senate Sr Daniel Coats Republican 13%
Larry Craig 13%
William Frist 13%
Slade Gorton 13%
William Phillip Gramm 13%
Rodney Grams 13%
Judd Gregg 13%
OK U.S. Senate Sr Jim Inhofe Republican 13%
Dirk Kempthorne 13%
Jon Kyl 13%
Connie Mack 13%
AZ U.S. Senate Sr John McCain III Republican 13%
Don Nickles 13%
William Roth, Jr. 13%
Bob Smith 13%
Fred Thompson 13%
Robert Dole 11%
Larry Pressler 11%
William Baker 9%
Wes Cooley 9%
Frank Arnold Cremeans 9%
Bill Emerson 9%
Dan Frisa 9%
David Funderburk 9%
Enid Greene 9%
Jim Lightfoot 9%
James Longley, Jr. 9%
Toby Roth 9%
Barbara Vucanovich 9%
Bill Zeliff 9%
Richard Zimmer 9%
AL U.S. House 6 Spencer Bachus Republican 7%
TX U.S. House 6 Joe Barton Republican 7%
Herbert Bateman 7%
Michael Bilirakis 7%
Sonny Bono 7%
Steve Buyer 7%
MI U.S. House 4 Dave Camp Republican 7%
OK U.S. Senate Jr Thomas Coburn Republican 7%
GA Governor Nathan Deal Republican 7%
Vern Ehlers 7%
Harris Fawell 7%
Mark Foley 7%
Paul Gillmor 7%
David Lee Hobson 7%
Henry Hyde 7%
OH Governor John Kasich Republican 7%
James Kolbe 7%
Jack Metcalf 7%
Dan Miller 7%
Mark Neumann 7%
Robert William Ney 7%
John Edward Porter 7%
Deborah Pryce 7%
Ralph Regula 7%
Frank Duncan Riggs 7%
KY U.S. House 5 Hal Rogers Republican 7%
SC U.S. House 1 Mark Sanford, Jr. Republican 7%
E. Clay Shaw, Jr. 7%
Linda Smith 7%
Gerald B.H. Solomon 7%
William Tauzin 7%
Zach Wamp 7%
W. Curtis Weldon 7%
Rick White 7%
KY U.S. House 1 Ed Whitfield Republican 7%
AK U.S. House At-Large Don Young Republican 7%
Hank Brown 6%
Wayne Allard 0%
Bill Archer 0%
Richard Armey 0%
Richard Hugh Baker 0%
Cass Ballenger 0%
Robert Barr, Jr. 0%
Bill Barrett 0%
Roscoe Bartlett 0%
Charlie Bass 0%
Thomas Bliley, Jr. 0%
OH U.S. House 8 John Boehner Republican 0%
Henry Bonilla 0%
KS Governor Sam Brownback Republican 0%
Ed Bryant 0%
Jim Bunning 0%
NC U.S. Senate Sr Richard Burr Republican 0%
Dan Burton 0%
Herbert Callahan 0%
CA U.S. House 42 Ken Calvert Republican 0%
OH U.S. House 1 Steve Chabot Republican 0%
GA U.S. Senate Sr Saxby Chambliss Republican 0%
Helen Chenoweth-Hage 0%
Jon Lynn Christensen 0%
Dick Chrysler 0%
NC U.S. House 6 Howard Coble Republican 0%
Michael Collins 0%
Larry Combest 0%
Christopher Cox 0%
Philip Crane 0%
ID U.S. Senate Sr Mike Crapo Republican 0%
Barbara Cubin 0%
Randall Cunningham 0%
Thomas DeLay 0%
Jay Dickey 0%
John Doolittle 0%
Robert Dornan 0%
David Dreier 0%
Jennifer Dunn 0%
Bob Ehrlich, Jr. 0%
Terry Everett 0%
Thomas Ewing 0%
Jack Fields, Jr. 0%
Tillie Fowler 0%
Elton Gallegly 0%
George Gekas 0%
Newt Gingrich 0%
VA U.S. House 6 Bob Goodlatte Republican 0%
William Goodling 0%
Porter Goss 0%
SC U.S. Senate Sr Lindsey Graham Republican 0%
Gilbert Gutknecht 0%
Melton Hancock 0%
James Hansen 0%
J. Dennis Hastert 0%
WA U.S. House 4 Doc Hastings Republican 0%
J.D. Hayworth, Jr. 0%
Joel Hefley 0%
Wally Herger, Jr. 0%
Pete Hoekstra 0%
Martin Hoke 0%
John Nathan Hostettler 0%
Duncan Hunter 0%
Y. Tim Hutchinson 0%
Bob Inglis, Sr. 0%
Ernest Istook, Jr. 0%
TX U.S. House 3 Sam Johnson Republican 0%
NC U.S. House 3 Walter Jones, Jr. Republican 0%
Jay Kim 0%
GA U.S. House 1 Jack Kingston Republican 0%
Joseph Knollenberg 0%
Stephen Largent 0%
IA U.S. House 3 Tom Latham Republican 0%
Ron Lewis 0%
John Linder 0%
Robert Livingston 0%
OK U.S. House 3 Frank Lucas Republican 0%
Don Manzullo 0%
Bill McCollum 0%
James McCrery III 0%
Scott McInnis 0%
David McIntosh 0%
CA U.S. House 25 Buck McKeon Republican 0%
FL U.S. House 7 John Mica Republican 0%
Carlos Moorhead 0%
John Myers 0%
Sue Myrick 0%
George Nethercutt, Jr. 0%
Charles Norwood, Jr. 0%
James Nussle 0%
Michael Oxley 0%
Ronald Packard 0%
Mike Parker 0%
William Paxon 0%
WI U.S. House 6 Tom Petri Republican 0%
Richard Pombo 0%
OH U.S. Senate Jr Rob Portman Republican 0%
James Quillen 0%
George Radanovich 0%
CA U.S. House 48 Dana Rohrabacher Republican 0%
CA U.S. House 39 Ed Royce Republican 0%
AZ U.S. House 5 Matthew Salmon Republican 0%
Joe Scarborough 0%
Daniel Schaefer 0%
Andrea Seastrand 0%
WI U.S. House 5 Jim Sensenbrenner, Jr. Republican 0%
John Shadegg 0%
E.G. Shuster 0%
Joseph Skeen 0%
TX U.S. House 21 Lamar Smith Republican 0%
Nick Smith 0%
Mark Souder 0%
Floyd Spence 0%
Cliff Stearns 0%
TX U.S. House 36 Steve Stockman Republican 0%
Bob Stump 0%
James Talent 0%
Randy Tate 0%
Charles Taylor 0%
William Thomas 0%
TX U.S. House 13 Mac Thornberry Republican 0%
Todd Tiahrt 0%
Robert Walker 0%
Julius Caesar Watts, Jr. 0%
David Weldon 0%
MS U.S. Senate Jr Roger Wicker Republican 0%
VA U.S. House 10 Frank Wolf Republican 0%

How to Interpret these Evaluations

Keep in mind that ratings done by special interest groups often do not represent a non-partisan stance. In addition, some groups select votes that tend to favor members of one political party over another, rather than choosing votes based solely on issues concerns. Nevertheless, they can be invaluable in showing where an incumbent has stood on a series of votes in the past one or two years, especially when ratings by groups on all sides of an issue are compared. Website links, if available, and descriptions of the organizations offering performance evaluations are accessible by clicking on the name of the group.

Most performance evaluations are displayed in a percentage format. However, some organizations present their ratings in the form of a letter grade or endorsement based on voting records, interviews, survey results and/or sources of campaign funding. For consistency and ease in understanding, Project Vote Smart converts all scores into a percentage when possible. Please visit the group's website or call 1-888-VOTESMART for more specific information.

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