As Presidential Hopefuls Turn Up the Volume, Turn to NTU's Candidate Cost Analysis for Facts About Their Fiscal Rhetoric

9/3/2003

From: Maureen Tell or Pete Sepp, 703-683-5700 both of the National Taxpayers Union

News Advisory:

With Presidential candidates now shifting their post-Labor Day campaigns into high gear, the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), a respected source on voting records and fiscal platforms for three decades, has launched its online "Candidate Cost Analysis" project aimed at providing the media and the general public even easier access to its library of statistics.

WHO: John Berthoud, President, NTU and NTU Foundation; Pete Sepp, Vice President for Communications, NTU and NTU Foundation; Jeff Dircksen, Director of Congressional Analysis, NTU Foundation; Demian Brady, Senior Policy Analyst, NTU Foundation

WHAT: CANDIDATE COST ANALYSIS -- A Special Online Project of the National Taxpayers Union and National Taxpayers Union Foundation

In one convenient click from our home page, you can now access years of data in an easy-to-read format on the fiscal policy record of each Presidential candidate who currently serves or has previously served in Congress.

Features include:

-- National Taxpayers Union Rates Congress: Regularly featured in The Almanac of American Politics, NTU's rating is based on every roll call vote affecting taxes, spending, debt, and regulation (typically 100-200 votes per year, each weighted on a scale of 1-100 according to their impact). Each Senator or Representative receives a percentage score and a letter grade for their performance on these comprehensive criteria.

-- BillTally Cost Accounting System: NTU's education arm assigns a taxpayer cost to virtually every spending bill in Congress and provides the impact on annual federal spending if all the proposals a given lawmaker sponsored or cosponsored become law. This system provides a useful indication of each Senator's or Representative's personal policy agenda, irrespective of what Congress actually votes on during the session.

-- VoteTally Cost Accounting System: NTU's education arm also examines the net effect of each lawmaker's actual floor votes on spending -- including failed bills, vetoed measures, and "mandatory" spending growth.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: We're always available for interviews or to provide customized research for your own projects. Please call 703-683-5700, e-mail mtell@ntu.org, or visit the "Candidate Cost Analysis" portal at http://www.ntu.org.