"Members of Congress repeatedly promise to support policy that will strengthen and expand the middle class," said Andrea Batista Schlesinger, executive director of the institute. "But our score card shows that Congress chose to prioritize corporate tax cuts and ideologically driven legislation over addressing the concerns of middle-class families struggling with debt and the skyrocketing costs of health care and education."

Ninety percent of GOP senators and 99 percent of GOP House members received failing grades for their votes on middle-class economic issues in 2004. In contrast, 98 percent of Democratic senators and 100 percent of Democratic House members got passing grades.

The score card was based on votes to increase the dollar amount for Pell Grants, a bill to protect overtime rights, another to stabilize faltering pension plans, health insurance laws for small businesses, bankruptcy reforms and tax cuts for corporate special interests, among others.

Originally called the Drum Major Foundation, the organization was founded by Harry Wachtel, a lawyer and adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement. It was relaunched in 1999 by New York attorney William Wachtel, Harry's son, Martin Luther King III, and Young as a counterbalance to conservative think tanks.

How the Utah delegation voted on all of the legislation considered in the score card can be found at www.drummajorinstitute.org.

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E-mail: spang@desnews.com