2 Michiganders Make Hardest-Working in Congress List

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Dearborn, MI — U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, is one of the hardest-working members of Congress, according to a new ranking that comes on the heels of national polls that suggest Americans don’t think much of the job their elected officials are doing in Washington, DC.

Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, also made the list of the 25 hardest-working members of Congress released by Newsmax Thursday.

In April, a Gallup poll showed confidence in Congress in the cellar, around 17 percent, though that was an improvement from a month earlier, when the approval rating sunk to 13 percent. For some context, Congress doesn’t normally fare well in these polls, averaging only 32 percent since Gallup began measuring it in 1974.

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Dingell was 21st on the list. Newsmax noted:

“In contrast to her husband and predecessor John Dingell (who served a record 60 years in the seat until retiring in ’14), freshman Rep. Debbie is back in the Dearborn-based district almost every Thursday to Monday. But she also wears the hats of Washington insider as a member of the Democratic National Committee and a top fundraiser for charities and fellow Democrats.”

Upton ranked 23rd. Newsmax said:

“ ‘I saw Fred Upton's high energy level first-hand in 1981,’ recalled TV commentator Larry Kudlow, referring to the days when he was deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget under Ronald Reagan and the young Upton was an aide to then-Director David Stockman. During the fight over Reagan's historic tax and budget cuts of 1981, said Kudlow, ‘when email wasn't invented, Fred would go night and day running confidential messages to key Members of Congress. And we won.’ Five years later, Upton became one of the handful of House Members who got to Congress by defeating a member of his own party. Now finishing the sixth and last year of his ‘termed out’ stint as House Energy Committee chairman, Upton, at 63, shows no signs of slowing down and has signaled he will remain in Congress after relinquishing his chairman's gavel.”

Here’s the full list:

1. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma
2. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Massachusetts
3. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin
4. Rep. Juan Vargas, D-California
5. Rep. Peter King R-New York
6. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois
7. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas
8. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Arizona
9. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii
10. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Florida
11. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida
12. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee
13. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Florida
14. Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho
15. Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Indiana
16. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa
17. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-New York
18. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas
19. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana
20. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland
21. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Michigan
22. Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey
23. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Michigan
24. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-South Carolina
25. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas

Newsmax said the survey wasn’t scientific, but was based on interviews by its editorial team with  dozens of people “who know the House of Representatives really well.”

Here’s how Newsmax described the process:

“Our survey was not scientific, but was based on solid criteria, including a House member’s commitment to their job, their interest in constituent services and follow-up, their championing of issues and causes important to the national interest, their honesty, and their ability to get things done. Our survey did not include ideological litmus tests, and it comprises a bipartisan roll call of the House’s greatest. We looked at each member’s concern and passion for the public good.”