The Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) has released its annual scorecard which rates how members of Congress voted during 2001 on key small business issues
SBSC also has ranked the states according to the average scores achieved by the members of their respective congressional delegations (see below), with Washington ranking near the bottom.
“With small business creating 75 percent of all new jobs, it’s vital for citizens to know if their state’s members of Congress are voting to help small businesses and create jobs, or if they are standing in the way,” said SBSC President Darrell McKigney.
SBSC’s scorecard rates lawmakers based on 12 key votes in the U.S. House of Representatives and 12 votes in the U.S. Senate impacting small businesses.
Included in this year’s ratings are votes on such issues as reducing taxes and regulations, death tax elimination, capital gains tax relief, expanding U.S. markets overseas, reducing dependence on foreign energy, and making health care more affordable.
The state delegation ratings are simply the average of all of the House and Senate members scores in each state.
The state averages ranged from a perfect 100 percent for Idaho to a 0 percent for the Massachusetts’ delegation.
The top 10 congressional delegations voting in favor of small business were: 1. Idaho, 2. Alaska, 3. Kentucky (tie), 3. New Hampshire (tie), 5. Oklahoma, 6. Wyoming, 7. Kansas, 8. Alabama, 9. Utah, and 10. Nebraska.
At the other end of the spectrum, the ten state delegations most hostile to small businesses were: 41. New York(tie), 41. Washington (tie), 43. Maryland, 44. West Virginia, 45. Delaware, 46. Vermont, 47. Rhode Island, 48. Hawaii, 49. North Dakota, and 50. Massachusetts.
“Small businesses provide the bulk of innovations, goods, services, and jobs in our economy. And while practically all members of Congress say they support small businesses, their voting records sometimes reveal a different story,” said Raymond J. Keating, SBSC chief economist.
“In particular, high tax and regulatory burdens take a big toll on small businesses, their employees, and therefore, the economy in general.”
SBSC is a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan, nonprofit small business advocacy group with more than 70,000 members across the nation.

SMALL BUSINESS SURVIVAL COMMITTEE STATE RANKINGS
1) Idaho, 100 percent
2) Alaska, 97 percent
3) Kentucky, 96 percent (tie)
3) New Hampshire, 96 percent (tie)
5) Oklahoma, 92 percent
6) Wyoming, 91 percent
7) Kansas, 88 percent
8) Alabama, 87 percent
9) Utah, 85 percent
10) Nebraska, 82 percent
11) Arizona, 80 percent
12) Virginia, 79 percent
13) Montana, 75 percent
14) Georgia, 73 percent (tie)
14) Louisiana, 73 percent (tie)
14) Tennessee, 73 percent (tie)
17) Colorado, 72 percent
18) Mississippi, 69 percent
19) Indiana, 65 percent
20) Iowa, 63 percent (tie)
20) Ohio, 63 percent (tie)
22) Missouri, 62 percent (tie)
22) South Carolina, 62 percent (tie)
24) Florida, 60 percent (tie)
24) North Carolina, 60 percent (tie)
24) Texas, 60 percent (tie)
27) Pennsylvania, 59 percent
28) New Mexico, 56 percent
29) Nevada, 54 percent
30) Arkansas, 51 percent
31) Illinois, 50 percent
32) Michigan, 44 percent
33) California, 42 percent
34) Oregon, 35 percent
35) Connecticut, 34 percent (tie)
35) Minnesota, 34 percent (tie)
35) Wisconsin, 34 percent (tie)
38) Main, 33 percent (tie)
38) New Jersey, 33 percent (tie)
38) South Dakota, 33 percent (tie)
41) New York, 32 percent (tie)
41) Washington, 32 percent (tie)
43) Maryland, 30 percent
44) West Virginia, 29 percent
45) Delaware, 28 percent
46) Vermont, 12 percent
47) Rhode Island, 6 percent
48) Hawaii, 4 percent
49) North Dakota, 3 percent
50) Massachusetts, 0 percent