Congressional Democrats got high grades and Republicans generally floundered on a 2015 scorecard by the advocacy group Food Policy Action. The scoring included votes on hot-button issues such as GMO food labeling, the upstream reach of the Clean Water Act, and trade legislation, which inspired party-line voting. In addition, lawmakers’ scores went up if they cosponsored bills to limit use of antibiotics in livestock or to expand a summer food program for children.
The political split was dramatic in both chambers. In the Senate, the lowest score by a Democrat was 50 for Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, a member of the Agriculture Committee, and the highest score for a Republican was 88 for Susan Collins of Maine. Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell each got a 40. The senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, got a perfect score, as did Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.
Among senators seeking the presidency, Democrat Bernie Sanders of Vermont got the best score, 100. Texas Republican Ted Cruz scored 75, followed by fellow Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida at 60, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina at 40.
In the House, Speaker Paul Ryan got a 20 while Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi got 100, the top score. On the Agriculture Committee, chairman Michael Conaway got a 20 and Democratic leader Collin Peterson scored 45. The average score for the 26 Republicans on the Agriculture Committee was 22; Democrats on the panel averaged 78. The average score in the House was 52, said Food Policy Action.
On the Senate Agriculture Committee, Republicans scored an average of 44 and Democrats had an average score of 88.
“Congress has so far failed to act on major food policy reforms, including reauthorizing childhood nutrition programs and addressing the over-use of antibiotics in animal agriculture, among other disappointments,” said Food Policy Action.