
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, September 1, 1994                   TAG: 9409010107
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

CONGRESS' BIG SPENDERS GOING ON LINE

A new computer-linked system for listing the biggest congressional ``spenders'' and budget-cutters in the 103rd Congress is being unveiled today by the conservative-oriented National Taxpayers Union Foundation in time for the November elections.

The complex rating system, known as Votetally, makes available for the first time a detailed breakdown of Senate and House voting records to computer users and could influence the perennial battles over deficit reduction.

Votetally is designed to track the cost of each bill approved by the House or Senate and rank members of Congress on the net amount of spending and budget-cutting they voted for during this session.

``It will give hyper-accountability and drastically reduce the power of the [Democratic] leadership and of interest groups,'' said Paul Hewitt, executive director of the NTU Foundation. Hewitt devised the rating system, which will be available in a few weeks on CompuServe.

Rep. Jim Chapman, D-Texas, often regarded as a moderate, was listed as the top spender in the House while Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., had the best record for economizing of the 432 members studied.

In the Senate, it was Sen. J. Bennett Johnston, D-La., who topped the spending list, while Sen. Malcolm Wallop, R-Wyo., came in first on frugality.

by CNB