Contact: Barbara Riley
Tuesday, August 1, 2006

WASHINGTON, DC – In recognition of votes he cast in the Senate to make government more accountable to taxpayers, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) has honored United States Senator John Sununu (R-NH) with its “Taxpayer Hero” award. CCAGW tracked roll call votes made in 2005 to rein in deficit spending and reduce the tax burden; Sununu’s rating of 95% placed him among the top ten senators in the group’s survey.

“Talk is cheap,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said. “A member’s voting record is the best measure of his or her commitment to fiscal discipline. Senator Sununu votes to ease the burden of a cumbersome, bloated federal government.”

CCAGW’s 2005 Congressional Ratings cover 24 key Senate votes cast during the first session of the 109th Congress. The group’s ratings included votes on earmark reform, cuts to agricultural subsidies, and the so-called “bridges to nowhere” in Alaska. CCAGW specifically cited Sununu’s work to extend tax cuts and pass a budget reconciliation package that saves taxpayers $39.7 billion over five years.

“Senator Sununu thinks beyond the next election. He recognizes the long-term consequences of excessive spending and works to reduce the enormous debt being left to future generations,” Schatz continued. “No matter how wasteful it might be, every government program has a constituency that lobbies Congress for more funding. Senator Sununu puts the national interest ahead of special interests. Thanks to leaders like Senator Sununu, taxpayers have a fighting chance and will continue to score victories.”

CCAGW is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. To view the group’s full 2005 Congressional Ratings, visit www.ccagw.org.