Republicans representing Iowa in Congress get poor marks in a survey done by a consumer watchdog group. Amber Hard is spokeswoman for Iowa Public Interest Research Group or Iowa PIRG.She says the study tallied voting records of Congressmen on several issues. Congressmen Tom Latham and Jim Nussle tied for the worst with five percent, while Senator Chuck Grassley had seven percent. Congressman Greg Ganske scored 30 percent and Congressman Jim Leach had 45 percent. The only Iowa democrat in the House, Leonard Boswell, scored 50 percent. Hard says the scores focus on environment, consumer and democracy issues.Issues include: air and water pollution, lands preservation, toxic chemicals, bank fees, consumer privacy and campaign finance reform. Hard says only one Iowan in Washington got a superior ranking — democrat Senator Tom Harkin scored 93 percent. Hard says Harkin is clearly the only “hero” from the Hawkeye State.Hard says Congressman Jim Leach was a particular disappointment on this survey as he fell from 80 percent last year to 45 percent this year. The full score card can be viewed at www.pirg.org/score2000 on the Internet.
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