U.S. REP. RON BARBER IS MOST INDEPENDENT ARIZONAN IN CONGRESS

TUCSON – U.S. Rep. Ron Barber is the most independent Arizonan in Congress and only three other members of the 435-member House vote against their party leadership more than Barber, according to a nonpartisan evaluation of congressional votes.

“I went to Congress to get something done, not to play partisan politics. Southern Arizonans sent me to Washington to work for them, not for party leaders,” Barber said today. “Every time I cast a vote, I focus on what is best for our community here in Arizona.”

The Sunlight Foundation, which operates the OpenCongress.org website, evaluated every vote taken in the 113th session of Congress, which began in January 2013.

The survey found that of the 492 votes Barber has cast, he went against his party leadership on 136 of them – 27.6 percent of the time. No Republicans and only three Democrats bucked their party leadership as often as Barber.

OpenCongress.org said the percentages and the numbers don’t capture the true independence of some members of Congress, writing: “Since the vast majority of the hundreds of votes factored in are routine in nature, the result is that even highly independent representatives have a seemingly high score on voting with their party.”

At the other end of the spectrum, one Democrat voted with her party’s leadership 97 percent of the time and a Republican followed his party’s leadership on 98.2 percent of the votes he cast. The complete ranking of House Democrats is here and the ranking of Republicans is here

National Journal reported on the OpenCongress.org findings and presented them in the following chart:

The Sunlight Foundation, operator of OpenCongress.org, is a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for open government globally and uses technology to make government more accountable to all.

Among the many times Barber has voted against the wishes of his party:

• To pass a five-year Farm Bill, extending most major federal farm and nutrition assistance programs through fiscal year 2018. A key part of the bill for Arizona was inclusion of funding for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, which reimburses counties for their inability to collect property taxes for federal land in their jurisdictions. This untaxable land poses a major financing burden for local governments.
• To end the government shutdown last fall. Barber fought to keep the shutdown from going into effect and when it did, he worked with Republicans and Democrats – and against the wishes of the leadership of both parties – to offer a proposal to end the unproductive standoff.
• To end the Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidy for members of Congress, saying that the taxpayers should not subsidize his health insurance.
• To prevent a steep cut to Medicare physician rates. Barber voted to pass a repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. The SGR calls for cuts to Medicare doctor reimbursement rates that threaten access to care for seniors. Congress has routinely avoided the cuts with temporary patches.
• To prevent retirement of the A-10, with many of the votes coming against opposition from his own party and the president. The House eventually agreed with Barber and voted to insert language in a Pentagon appropriations bill to keep the A-10 flying.

This is the latest of several surveys that have found Barber to be among the most independent members of Congress.

• In February, two studies confirmed that Barber ranks near the ideological middle in a House that has been sharply divided by partisan differences.
• In April, a National Journal analysis of the votes of all members of the House found that of the 201 Democrats in the House, only four Democrats bucked the party line more than Barber.

NEWS RELEASE
Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014

CONTACT
Mark Kimble
Communications Director
mark.kimble@mail.house.gov
(520) 881-3588 or (520) 904-5876