February 28, 2006

“Americans strongly support the idea that their elected officials should work with our friends and allies to find global solutions to the challenges facing our country,” said Charles J. Brown, President and CEO of Citizens for Global Solutions. “By offering voters a detailed assessment of their members’ positions on a range of global issues, the Citizens for Global Solutions Report Card will help them determine whether their Representatives and Senators share their support for an engaged U.S. foreign policy.” 

Not only has Citizens for Global Solutions analyzed legislators’ voting records on global issues, it has awarded extra credit for sponsored legislation, floor speeches, public statements, articles and op-eds written or made by members of Congress in support of cooperative global solutions.

As Don Kraus, Executive Vice President of CGS, noted, “Citizens for Global Solutions wanted to recognize that legislators make essential contributions to global issues that are often not reflected in roll call votes. Our final grades award extra credit to those legislators who took such actions. Our Report Card can help Americans determine whether their members of Congress promoted effective global solutions or fought against constructive U.S. global engagement.”  

A total of 37 members of Congress were recognized by Citizens for Global Solutions for outstanding work on behalf of global issues.  Among those receiving extra credit were:

• Senator Richard Lugar, (R-IN), honored for outstanding service as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Lugar has been an aggressive advocate for internationalist solutions to global problems. He co-authored the Lugar-Biden Climate Change Resolution, endorsed the Law of the Sea Treaty and has supported robust funding to fight AIDS.

• Senator Joe Biden, (D-DE), recognized for his leadership as Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was an outspoken critic of John Bolton and was instrumental in convincing his fellow Senators to oppose the nomination and filibuster his nomination. He also introduced important Climate Change legislation with Senator Lugar and an amendment to remove harmful provisions capping the amount the U.S. can contribute to UN peacekeeping efforts.  

• Senator John McCain, (R-AZ), honored for sponsoring the Climate Stewardship Act and for addressing allegations of torture and abuse. He also wrote a joint op-ed in the Washington Post calling for U.S. /UN intervention to end the genocide in Darfur.

• Senator Russ Feingold, (D-WI), recognized for consistently advocating greater U.S. global engagement and for legislative action in support of democracy and good governance. He introduced S.Res.104, the People-to-People Engagement in World Affairs Resolution, which encourages Members of Congress to raise the importance of international engagement with their constituents.  He also passed an amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that provided $4 million for democracy and governance activities in Zimbabwe.

• Representative Chris Shays, (R-CT), honored for consistently supporting sound foreign policy instead of the party-line position. He provided valuable leadership on the House Bipartisan Task Force on Non-Proliferation. As Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations, he conducted hearings on a range of issues involving nuclear site security, to fostering democracy in the Middle East. Representative Shays joined his democratic colleague, Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA), in providing an alternative to the counter-productive Henry J. Hyde UN Reform Act.

• Representative Don Payne, (D-NJ), recognized for active leadership on Darfur. He introduced H.Con.Res. 467, which labeled the situation in Darfur genocide. He also introduced the Darfur Genocide Accountability Act of 2005.  As a senior member of the House International Relations Committee, Payne has pursued every opportunity to push for more U.S. involvement and to question Administration officials about the next steps for action on Darfur.

• Representative Chris Smith, (R-NJ), honored for being a leader in promoting international human rights. Smith serves as Vice-Chairman of the House Committee on International Relations, and as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations, where he has focused on promoting and protecting human rights, liberties, and religious freedom throughout the world. Smith also serves as Co-Chairman of the United States Helsinki Commission, which focuses on fostering and promoting human rights, democracy, and stability in Central and Eastern Europe.

• Representative Betty McCollum, (D-MN), recognized for championing global health and development issues. McCollum introduced a bill that doubled U.S. assistance to international family planning with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS education. She also sponsored H. Con. Res. 172, legislation urging U.S. adherence to the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. She was also the only member of Congress to participate in the G8 International Parliamentarians’ Conference on Development in Africa this past June.

CGS members across the country also use the Report Card to measure how their members of Congress stood on important global issues; many have told us that they also use it to guide how they will vote in the November elections. In addition, Citizens for Global Solutions and its political action committee, Global Solutions PAC, will use it to help determine which candidates to endorse and fund in the next election cycle.  

Further information on the Citizens for Global Solutions Report Card, including detailed vote descriptions, roll call breakdowns, method of calculation, domestic and international significance, as well as who received extra credit and why, is available at: www.globalsolutions.org/reportcard.

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+ CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CITIZENS FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS 2006 REPORT CARD

Notes to Editors:
Citizens for Global Solutions is a non-partisan membership organization that envisions a future in which nations work together to abolish war, protect our rights and freedoms, and solve the problems facing humanity that no one nation can solve alone.


Updated February 28, 2006

Howard Salter
Director of Communications
202 546 3950 ext 112