Rating Group: Children's Defense Fund

1997 Positions

Vote Smart displays all known interest group ratings for each candidate and official, regardless of issue or bias.

Keep in mind that ratings done by special interest groups often do not represent a non-partisan stance. In addition, some groups select votes that tend to favor members of one political party over another, rather than choosing votes based solely on issue concerns. Nevertheless, they can be invaluable in showing where an incumbent has stood on a series of votes in the past one or two years, especially when ratings by groups on all sides of an issue are compared. Website links, if available, and descriptions of the organizations offering performance evaluations are accessible by clicking on the name of the group.

With rare exceptions, Vote Smart displays interest group ratings as a 0-100 percentage. While many interest groups use percentages as ratings to begin with, please note that Vote Smart has translated some ratings to a percentage from a different rating system for consistency and ease in understanding. Please visit the group's website, email us at ratings@votesmart.org or call our Voter Information Hotline at 1-888-VOTESMART for more specific information.


results per page:
State Office Name Party Rating
John Tierney 100%
Esteban Edward Torres 100%
Robert Torricelli 100%
Bruce Vento 100%
Pete Visclosky 100%
Bob Weygand 100%
Bob Wise, Jr. 100%
Lynn Woolsey 100%
OR U.S. Senate - Sr Ron Wyden Democratic 100%
Albert Wynn 100%
Joe Biden, Jr. 91%
Richard Bryan 91%
Dianne Feinstein 91%
Ernest Hollings 91%
Bob Kerrey 91%
Mary Landrieu 91%
Carol Moseley Braun 91%
Jay Rockefeller IV 91%
Arlen Specter 91%
Paul Wellstone 91%
Gary Ackerman 89%
John Baldacci 89%
Marion Berry 89%
GA U.S. House - 2 Sanford Bishop, Jr. Democratic 89%
IL U.S. House - 7 Danny Davis Democratic 89%
James Davis 89%
Bill Delahunt 89%
Mike Doyle, Jr. 89%
Vern Ehlers 89%
Alcee Hastings, Sr. 89%
Earl Hilliard, Sr. 89%
Rubén Hinojosa, Sr. 89%
MD U.S. House - 5 Steny Hoyer Democratic 89%
Jesse Jackson, Jr. 89%
Eddie Johnson 89%
Jay Johnson 89%
Paul Kanjorski 89%
Joseph Kennedy II 89%
Patrick Kennedy 89%
Carolyn Kilpatrick 89%
Ronald Klink 89%
Nicholas Lampson 89%
Sandy Levin 89%
CA U.S. House - 18 Zoe Lofgren Democratic 89%
Carolyn Maloney 89%
MA U.S. Senate - Jr Ed Markey Democratic 89%
Frank Mascara 89%
MA U.S. House - 2 Jim McGovern Democratic 89%
Bob Menendez 89%
David Minge 89%
Alan Mollohan 89%
Jack Murtha 89%
Jim Oberstar 89%
Dave Obey 89%
Major Owens 89%
NJ U.S. House - 6 Frank Pallone, Jr. Democratic 89%
Ed Pastor 89%
Donald Payne 89%
David Price 89%
Nick Rahall II 89%
Charlie Rangel 89%
VT U.S. Senate - Sr Bernie Sanders Independent 89%
Max Sandlin, Jr. 89%
VA U.S. House - 3 Bobby Scott Democratic 89%
José Serrano 89%
John Spratt, Jr. 89%
Debbie Stabenow 89%
Louis Stokes 89%
Bart Stupak 89%
Ed Towns 89%
NY U.S. House - 7 Nydia Velázquez Democratic 89%
CA U.S. House - 43 Maxine Waters Democratic 89%
Mel Watt 89%
Henry Waxman 89%
Max Baucus 82%
State Office Name Party Rating
John Tierney 100%
Esteban Edward Torres 100%
Robert Torricelli 100%
Bruce Vento 100%
Pete Visclosky 100%
Bob Weygand 100%
Bob Wise, Jr. 100%
Lynn Woolsey 100%
OR U.S. Senate - Sr Ron Wyden D 100%
Albert Wynn 100%
Joe Biden, Jr. 91%
Richard Bryan 91%
Dianne Feinstein 91%
Ernest Hollings 91%
Bob Kerrey 91%
Mary Landrieu 91%
Carol Moseley Braun 91%
Jay Rockefeller IV 91%
Arlen Specter 91%
Paul Wellstone 91%
Gary Ackerman 89%
John Baldacci 89%
Marion Berry 89%
GA U.S. House - 2 Sanford Bishop, Jr. D 89%
IL U.S. House - 7 Danny Davis D 89%
James Davis 89%
Bill Delahunt 89%
Mike Doyle, Jr. 89%
Vern Ehlers 89%
Alcee Hastings, Sr. 89%
Earl Hilliard, Sr. 89%
Rubén Hinojosa, Sr. 89%
MD U.S. House - 5 Steny Hoyer D 89%
Jesse Jackson, Jr. 89%
Eddie Johnson 89%
Jay Johnson 89%
Paul Kanjorski 89%
Joseph Kennedy II 89%
Patrick Kennedy 89%
Carolyn Kilpatrick 89%
Ronald Klink 89%
Nicholas Lampson 89%
Sandy Levin 89%
CA U.S. House - 18 Zoe Lofgren D 89%
Carolyn Maloney 89%
MA U.S. Senate - Jr Ed Markey D 89%
Frank Mascara 89%
MA U.S. House - 2 Jim McGovern D 89%
Bob Menendez 89%
David Minge 89%
Alan Mollohan 89%
Jack Murtha 89%
Jim Oberstar 89%
Dave Obey 89%
Major Owens 89%
NJ U.S. House - 6 Frank Pallone, Jr. D 89%
Ed Pastor 89%
Donald Payne 89%
David Price 89%
Nick Rahall II 89%
Charlie Rangel 89%
VT U.S. Senate - Sr Bernie Sanders I 89%
Max Sandlin, Jr. 89%
VA U.S. House - 3 Bobby Scott D 89%
José Serrano 89%
John Spratt, Jr. 89%
Debbie Stabenow 89%
Louis Stokes 89%
Bart Stupak 89%
Ed Towns 89%
NY U.S. House - 7 Nydia Velázquez D 89%
CA U.S. House - 43 Maxine Waters D 89%
Mel Watt 89%
Henry Waxman 89%
Max Baucus 82%
arrow_upward