Democrats and Republicans in Washington Differ Greatly on Spending Taxpayer Money

On Average, Wisconsin GOP to Reduce Spending by $48 Billion, Wisconsin Dems to Increase Spending $655 Billion

MacIver News Service | September 5, 2014

[Washington, D.C.] There is an unmistakable difference between Democrat and Republican members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation when it comes to spending legislation proposed. On average, Republican members would cut spending by $48 billion, while Democratic members would hike spending by $655 billion.

This eye-opening information is from a report released recently by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF), which analyzed trends of the 113th congress.

The report looks at the net cost of all of the spending cuts and increased spending legislation that was sponsored by congressional members, in the House and Senate. For each member, the study provides the average amount of spending they supported during the session.

The highest spender in Wisconsin was U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee), who tried to increase net spending by more than $1.3 trillion. U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble (R-Sherwood) was on the other end of the spectrum, hoping to cut spending by $119 billion.

During the first session of the 113th Congress, representatives authored 496 spending bills and 112 saving bills, while Senators authored 332 spending and 56 saving bills. The total net increase in spending, for bills that were not overlapping, would have been $1.17 trillion dollars or $9,570.55 per household.

Congressional Spending NTUF Report.png

The Wisconsin delegation from the House of Representatives had the eighth highest spending agenda compared to other state delegations. Moore’s sponsorship of $1.3 trillion in spending hikes was the 20th highest in the House. Nationally, the average congressman’s agenda would have increased net spending by $145 billion.

Wisconsin senators sponsored legislation that would, on average, reduce federal spending by a net $49 billion if enacted. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison) sponsored legislation that would increase net spending by $8.5 billion. However, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Oshkosh) would have cut net spending by $107 billion.

A searchable database for all 535 members of congress is available here.