Meghan Hughes (202) 224-5972 / Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417

WASHINGTON -- The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) has named U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) a ‘Taxpayer Hero.' The organization recently released its latest ratings of Congress.

President of CCAGW Tom Schatz said, "Senator Graham put the interests of taxpayers ahead of politics by consistently voting to cut wasteful spending, reduce the tax burden, and make government more accountable to taxpayers. The rating is even more impressive given the record number of votes rated by CCAGW and the record number of representatives who could not vote even once to cut wasteful spending or taxes. While far too many members of Congress demonstrated little regard for the consequences of failing to reduce the record $1.4 trillion deficit and $13 trillion debt, Senator Graham's votes give taxpayers hope for the future."

For his defense of the taxpayer and fiscally sound policy, Graham earned a rating of 91 percent. The average rating for a Republican U.S. Senator was 81. The average rating for the U.S. Senate overall was 39.

CCAGW examines roll-call votes to separate the taxpayer advocates in Congress from those who favor wasteful programs and pork-barrel spending. CCAGW used 74 key votes in the Senate for this year's rating in order to ascertain accurate reflection of the intensely divided Senate, the Obama administration's pro-spending agenda, and the importance of supporting a pro-taxpayer agenda The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

A full copy of the report is available on their website at www.ccagw.org.