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Freedom Index and Scorecards

Enforce the Constitution

After asserting “all men … are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,” the Declaration of Independence also asserted “that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men.” The Founding Fathers created the Constitution in 1787 to institute just such a government.

However, the security of our rights is at risk due to Congress’s increasing disregard for obeying the Constitution. The solution – hold congressmen accountable to the Constitution with The Freedom Index: A Congressional Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution.

To find the Freedom Index and the Congressional Scorecards, go to TheNewAmerican.com or TheFreedomIndex.org.

Congressional Scorecard

In addition to The New American’s Freedom Index, TNA now publishes Congressional Scorecards. Similar to the old TRIM Bulletins, these useful pamphlets focus on individual U.S. representatives and senators so one can more effectively educate Americans on that congressman’s fidelity to the Constitution.

To find TNA’s Congressional Scorecards, visit either TheNewAmerican.com or TheFreedomIndex.org and look for “Scorecard” under the header “Select Congress or Report.” For help finding or using the Scorecards, visit the Scorecard User Guide or watch the following tutorial video.

State Legislative Scorecards

Click on any of the 50 states below to view state legislators’ voting records.

The Freedom Index is a nationwide educational program of The John Birch Society. Its purpose is to create an informed electorate on how members of Congress are voting. The Freedom Index is nonpartisan; it is not meant to promote any candidate or political party. Bills are selected for their constitutional implications and cost to the taxpayers.

50 Years of Rating Congress

The John Birch Society has been known for publishing congressional scorecards based on the Constitution for over 50 years. Back in the early 1970s its scorecard was called the “Conservative Index” and was published a couple times a year in the Society’s weekly newsmagazine, The Review of the News. The “Conservative Index” rated all U.S. senators and representatives on how consistently each adhered to “the principles of national sovereignty and individual liberty laid down in the Constitution of the United States.”

In 1985 the “Conservative Index” moved over to another JBS news magazine, The New American. Then in 2007 the name changed to the “Freedom Index: A Congressional Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution.” Finally, the “Freedom Index” became available in an online format at TheNewAmerican.com in 2013.

Hold Your Congress Accountable

To learn just how constitutional your representative and senators are, go to TheNewAmerican.com and click on “Freedom Index” in the menu bar. You’ll be taken to the home page of the online “Freedom Index” where you’ll see a list of the current members of Congress arranged by state and by congressional district within each state. You can also go to TheFreedomIndex.org to view the Freedom Index.

Immediately you’ll see a cumulative score for all 100 senators and 435 representatives in Congress based on votes cast since 1999. A score of 100 percent would mean that the congressman has voted constitutionally on every roll call vote analyzed by the “Freedom Index” staff. Click on any congressman’s cumulative score and you’ll be taken to brief explanations of all the bills that he has been rated on, including why the vote was considered constitutional or unconstitutional.