The Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) has released its annual scorecard that rates how members of the United States Congress voted during 2001 on key small-business issues. SBSC also has ranked states according to average scores achieved by their respective congressional delegations.
SBSC's scorecard rates lawmakers based on 12 key votes in the House of Representatives and 12 votes in the Senate impacting small businesses.
Included in this year's ratings are votes on reducing taxes and regulations, death tax elimination, capital gains tax relief, expanding US markets overseas, reducing dependence on foreign energy, and making health care more affordable.
State delegation ratings are the average of all the House and Senate members scores in each state. The state averages ranged from 100% for Idaho to 0% for the Massachusetts delegation.
The top 10 congressional delegations voting in favor of small business were: 1) Idaho, 2) Alaska, 3) tie — Kentucky and New Hampshire, 5) Oklahoma, 6) Wyoming, 7) Kansas, 8) Alabama, 9) Utah, and 10) Nebraska.
The 10 delegations most hostile to small businesses were: 41) tie — New York and Washington, 43) Maryland, 44) West Virginia, 45) Delaware, 46) Vermont, 47) Rhode Island, 48) Hawaii, 49) North Dakota, and 50) Massachusetts.
SBSC's congressional scorecard can be downloaded from the web site at www.sbsc.org. For a complete list of state rankings, click on “SBSC's State Delegation Rankings.” For more information, phone SBSC at 202-785-0238.