The National Taxpayers Union gave two of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden’s potential running mates low scores on their annual fiscal scorecard for lawmakers.
Rep. Val Demings of Florida was labeled a “big spender” with a 6% score by the fiscally conservative group while Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota was given a “poor score” at 21%.
Sens. Kamala D. Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts weren’t given scores, having voted on only 50% or less of the 43 votes the NTU used for the survey. Both Ms. Harris and Ms. Warren had their own presidential campaigns in 2019.
The NTU explained its taxpayer scores are based on lawmakers’ support for measures that either cut government spending or oppose raising taxes; though, a legislator will also score higher for advocating spending in one area if it’s balanced with offsets in another part of the budget.
Generally, Democrats prioritize government spending, earning lower scores from the NTU than Republicans. The 2019 report gave the party an 8% score in the Senate and 10% in the House while their respective Republican counterparts scored 49% and 75%.
Mr. Biden, who once pushed a balanced-budget amendment during his time in the Senate, has been walking a fine line between moderate Democratic approaches to spending with big-ticket progressive ideals as he tries to represent a “big-tent” party.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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