March 12, 2002

Washington, D.C.-The Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) has released its annual scorecard which rates how members of Congress voted during 2001 on key small business issues.  SBSC also has ranked the states according to the average scores achieved by the members of their respective congressional delegations.

"With small business being so important for the economy across the nation, it is important to know which states are sending pro-small business members to Congress and which are not," said SBSC President Darrell McKigney.

SBSC's scorecard rates lawmakers based on 12 key votes in the U.S. House of Representatives and 12 votes in the U.S. Senate impacting small businesses.  Included in this year's ratings are votes on such issues as reducing taxes and regulations, death tax elimination, capital gains tax relief, expanding U.S. markets overseas, reducing dependence on foreign energy, and making health care more affordable.  

The state scores are simply the average scores of all of the House and Senate members in each state.

The state averages ranged from a perfect 100% for Idaho to a dismal 0% for the Massachusetts' delegation.  As noted in the table below, the top 10 congressional delegations voting in favor of small business were: 1. Idaho, 2. Alaska, 3t. Kentucky, 3t. New Hampshire, 5. Oklahoma, 6. Wyoming, 7. Kansas, 8. Alabama, 9. Utah, and 10. Nebraska.

At the other end of the spectrum, the bottom ten were: 41t. New York, 41t. Washington, 43. Maryland, 44. West Virginia, 45. Delaware, 46. Vermont, 47. Rhode Island, 48. Hawaii, 49. North Dakota, and 50. Massachusetts.

SBSC chief economist Raymond J. Keating added: "Small businesses provide the bulk of innovations, goods, services, and jobs in our economy. And while practically all members of Congress say they support small businesses, their voting records sometimes reveal a different story.  In particular, high tax and regulatory burdens take a big toll on small businesses, their employees, and therefore, the economy in general."

SBSC's Congressional Scorecard can be downloaded from SBSC's website at www.sbsc.org

SBSC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit small business advocacy group with more than 70,000 members across the nation.  For more information, please call SBSC at 202-785-0238.

State Score
1. Idaho 100%
2. Alaska 97%
3t. Kentucky 96%
3t. New Hampshire 96%
5. Oklahoma 92%
6. Wyoming 91%
7. Kansas 88%
8. Alabama 87%
9. Utah 85%
10. Nebraska 82%
11. Arizona 80%
12. Virginia 79%
13. Montana 75%
14t. Georgia 73%
14t. Louisiana 73%
14t. Tennessee 73%
17. Colorado 72%
18. Mississippi 69%
19. Indiana 65%
20t. Iowa 63%
20t. Ohio 63%
22t. Missouri 62%
22t. South Carolina 62%
24t. Florida 60%
24t. North Carolina 60%
24t. Texas 60%
27. Pennsylvania 59%
28. New Mexico 56%
29. Nevada 54%
30. Arkansas 51%
31. Illinois 50%
32. Michigan 44%
33. California 42%
34. Oregon 35%
35t. Connecticut 34%
35t. Minnesota 34%
35t. Wisconsin 34%
38t. Maine 33%
38t. New Jersey 33%
38t. South Dakota 33%
41t. New York 32%
41t. Washington 32%
43. Maryland 30%
44. West Virginia 29%
45. Delaware 28%
46. Vermont 12%
47. Rhode Island 6%
48. Hawaii 4%
49. North Dakota 3%
50. Massachusetts 0%