Maryland?s congressional delegation rates 46th among the states in its support for business issues, according to a report by the Maryland Business for Responsive Government.
Some of the lowest-scoring Maryland Democrats get substantially more campaign contributions from business interests than Republicanswith the highest scores.
With a rating of 39 percent, the eight congressmen and two senators rate substantially below those of delegations in neighboring states, and only those in Hawaii, Rhode Island, Vermont and Massachusetts rank lower.
The Maryland business group compiles the composite score based on ratings by four business groups, the National Federation of Independent Business, the Business-Industry Political Action Committee, the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. All the members had the best scores from the Chamber of Commerce.
The two Republicans representing mostly rural areas “earned praise,” the group said, and Democratic Congressmen Al Wynn and C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger “showed significant improvement,” raising their scores from the 20s. The two senators were “extremely low,” with scores in the teens.
The group also criticized corporate political action committees for “the counterproductive role business plays in re-electing anti-business incumbents.”
All the Democrats with lower scores were given more campaign funds from business PACs than the high-scoring Republicans, who received little support from corporate contributors. The most money, more than $500,000 a piece, went to two Democrats with the second and third lowest scores: Rep. Ben Cardin, a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. Steny Hoyer, the House minority whip.
“Business interests simply must learn to make sound, political investments with their money,” said group head Robert “Rocky” Worcester, rather than supporting people who vote against their interests.
Business Ratings for Maryland Delegation
» Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D, 17 percent
» Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D, 14 percent
» Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-1st, 80 percent
» Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger, D-2nd, 48 percent
» Rep. Ben Cardin, D-3rd, 19 percent
» Rep. Al Wynn, D-4th, 61 percent
» Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-5th, 24 percent
» Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-6th, 85 percent
» Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-7th, 23 percent
» Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-8th, 17 percent
Source: Maryland Business for Responsive Government
