Crapo Honored For Cutting Taxes

Washington, DC â?? Idaho Senator Mike Crapoâ??s consistent votes to cut taxes and ensure budget discipline have earned him top honors for the fifth straight year from a Congressional watchdog group in Washington, DC. The American Conservative Union (ACU) awarded Crapo its Best and Brightest of 2003 Award for his votes on a number of issues including taxes, health care, and defense.â??We considered a number of critical issues in the Senate during 2003,â?? Crapo said. â??From judicial appointments to tax cuts, the Senate considered legislation important to Idahoans and the nation as a whole. Despite opposition by some who would keep taxes high, the Senate succeeded in passing a bill that reduced taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars. We also prevented a repeal of the Death Tax and an attempt to rollback tax cuts. In addition to economic concerns, the Senate also provided for national security, through our homeland security initiatives, and authorizing testing of important weapons systems. The input from Idahoans throughout the process was invaluable.â?? â??Senator Crapo is a man who has stood up day in and day out for conservative values,â?? said David Keene, Chairman of the ACU. â??He has worked for tax cuts, a smaller and less intrusive federal government and a strong defense. We have enjoyed working with him. He is one of the best and the brightest in the Senate.â?? This yearâ??s awards were based on votes on nineteen bills considered important by the ACU. These bills and issues included the Budget Resolution, marriage penalty, taxes on investment, nuclear weapons development and the repeal of the Death Tax. To be considered for the award, Senators must score 85 percent or higher on votes considered important by the ACU. This year, Senator Crapo scored an 89 percent. He has a lifetime score of 93 percent.The ACU has conducted the annual rankings since 1971. For more information on this yearâ??s awards, as well as the votes used to rank members of the Senate, visit: http://www.conservative.org/. # # #