In 2003, the 108th Congress considered several pieces of legislation that would significantly impact America’s middle class.

The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy discusses this legislation in detail in Middle Class 2003: How Congress Voted, issuing members of Congress a grade based on their support of the middle-class position.

While the U.S. Census Bureau has no official definition of the “middle class,” conventionally it has come to represent a large swath of the American populace with incomes between approximately 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold and those of the nation’s top 5 percent income earners—roughly $25,000 to $100,000 a year.

Today’s middle-class families are deeply concerned about making ends meet, affording everyday essentials, saving for the future, obtaining affordable health insurance for themselves and their families, and avoiding the bankruptcy that has become nearly epidemic–all in the face of rising unemployment and health care costs.

In 2003:

• More than 92 percent of the 1.6 million Americans who filed for bankruptcy were middle class
• The cost of childcare swelled to as much as 40 percent of middle-class families’ income
• More than 40 percent of the 2.4 million newly uninsured Americans are middle class
• Average annual earnings for all Americans were down $1,400 compared to 2000Property taxes rose by an average of 2.8 percent in 2003, according to a survey of 108 major U.S. cities
• And, according to a national survey conducted by the Consumer Federation of America in July 2003, half of those surveyed with incomes between $25,000 and $75,000—the very definition of middle class—were “worried about their financial condition.”

The findings of this report demonstrate the need for greater urgency on the part of both political parties to halt the growing financial insecurity of middle-class families and to preserve economic mobility. It is time for concern for middle-class families to transcend rhetoric, and to deal effectively with workplace rights, economic stimulus, health care affordability, and tax relief.

MAIN FINDINGS:

• The Senate, overall, earned a B for its support of the financial stability of the American middle class. However, this average grade masks great disparities. Votes broke down, for the most part, along party lines.
• While almost all—96 percent—of Democratic Senators received an A, fully one quarter of Republican Senators received an F for their failure to support the middle class.
• Senators Kyl (R-AZ), Allard (R-CO), Chambliss (R-GA), Craig (R-ID), Crapo (R-ID), Lott (R-MS), Burns (R-MT), Gregg (R-NH), Sununu (R-NH), Nickles (R-OK), Cornyn (R-TX), Enzi (R-WY), and Thomas (R-WY) all scored lowest in their class with grades of F.
• The House of Representatives, overall, did a poor job of voting with the middle class, receiving a less than acceptable grade of C. As with the Senate, however, there were great disparities: 36 percent of the House received a failing grade, while 21 percent earned an A.
• Party divisions were especially evident in the House. Overall, only Democrats voted consistently for the middle class.
• 66 percent of Republican members of Congress received an F, compared to 1 percent of their Democratic peers.
• Two pieces of legislation garnered strong support from both parties: the Unemployment Compensation Amendment Act of 2003 (HR 2185) and the American Dream Downpayment Act of 2003 (S 811).

LOOKING TO 2004

2004 is a critical year for the middle class, with several additional relevant pieces of legislation up for consideration:

• The College Affordability and Accountability Act of 2003 (HR 3519), awaiting a vote in the House, will help American families afford the high cost of tuition at a four-year college.
• Employee Free Choice Act (S 1225), awaiting a vote in the Senate, will help American workers form, join, and assist labor unions.
• Payday Borrower Protection Act of 2003 (HR 2407), awaiting a vote in the House, will protect millions of Americans from the practices of unfair and unethical payday lenders.
• The Defending American Jobs Act of 2004 (HR 3888), awaiting a vote in the House, will require that American employers report on their workforce and compensation rates in the United States as well as abroad.
• Responsible Lending Act (HR 833), awaiting a vote in the House, will significantly weaken regulations governing the lending industry to the detriment of financially strapped Americans.
• The Dream Act (S 1545), awaiting a vote in the Senate, will relax some of the prohibitions preventing undocumented residents in good standing from attending a public university.

IN CONCLUSION

In politics, there is no greater force than incumbency. During the 2002 midterm election, nearly all incumbents seeking an additional term in office secured it, due in large part to the lack of comprehensive information available to American voters.
We hope that Middle Class 2003: How Congress Voted will serve as a yardstick by which Americans can measure how effectively Congress is acting in their interests. We believe that better social and economic policy can be created when middle-class Americans know how their legislators vote on the issues that matter most to them – and as importantly, when legislators know that their middleclass constituents are watching.