Extra Credit:
Citizens for Global Solutions recognizes that legislators make important contributions to global issues that are often not reflected in roll call votes. Rather than ignoring this hard work, we strive to incorporate it into our final grades by awarding Extra Credit to legislators who promote U.S. global engagement and advocate for more effective international institutions outside the arena of recorded votes. Examples of credited actions include sponsorship of legislation, op-eds, floor speeches and other public statements that demonstrate support for, and raise awareness of, our core issues.

Methodology:
In order to calculate a legislator’s grade we first determined a percentage rating. To get the percentage rating we add the weighted value of all favorable votes to get the numerator. We then divide by the denominator, which is determined by adding the possible weighted values of all issues on which that person voted. We then set letter grade parameters (based on mean and median averages) to convert a percentage grade into a letter grade. Finally, if a legislator earned extra credit, he/she received one full letter grade higher than his or her converted percentage grade to get their final grade. Legislators who already had an A+ did not receive any extra credit because it could not improve their grade.

Freshman Members:
Freshman members of Congress received an (I) for incomplete unless they submitted a response to our 2004 Candidate Questionnaire during their campaign for office, or they were a freshman Senator in 2005 who served in the House of Representatives during the 108th Congress. A freshman legislator’s grade was determined either by their answers to our 2004 Candidate Questionnaire or, in the case of freshman Senators with prior service in the House during the 108th Congress, their 108th voting record. Extra credit was not available to freshman members of Congress.