By Evan Lehman

WASHINGTON - Vermont is one of just two states whose entire congressional delegation received topnotch grades for their support of the middle class, according to a report released Wednesday.

All three lawmakers took home report cards marked with an A+, reflecting their votes on 13 issues that the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy considers critical for the nation's struggling middle class.

Report card

Issues include raising the minimum wage, attempts to expand health insurance for children, reduce the cost of college and making vehicles more fuel-efficient.

"American democracy is at its best when it stands up for the middle class," U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said with his report card in hand, adding that regular Americans are "under assault" by economic challenges.

Vermont Senators Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, and Bernard Sanders, an Independent, rounded out the delegation's perfect score. Rhode Island is the only other state whose entire contingent of lawmakers received an A+.

"The gap between the very wealthiest and everyone else has grown wider during the Bush years," Leahy said in a statement. "That has been sapping the vitality of the

strong American middle class that has helped keep us on an even keel."

The report card largely reflects Democratic priorities, such as a proposed $35 billion increase to the State Children's Health Insurance Program and a plan to pay for middle-class tax exemptions by increasing taxes on equity fund managers.

Republicans widely opposed those measures and others deemed important by the nonprofit advocacy group. And it affected their report cards.

Only 25 percent of House Republicans received a passing grade, with just 1 percent getting an A. Meanwhile, 85 percent of House Democrats received an A, and none got grades below a C.

It's similar in the Senate, where 80 percent of Republicans received an F. On the Democratic side, 65 percent took home an A and none dipped below a C.

Still, Democratic lawmakers took pride in their votes last year, the first time in a dozen years they controlled both chambers and forcefully pressed economic priorities they say are streamlined specifically for Americans who earn a regular wage.

"At a time when the middle class is shrinking and good-paying jobs are harder to come by, it's imperative that Congress start standing up for ordinary people, not just the wealthy and powerful," Sanders, I-Vt., said in a statement.

"As Vermont's senator, I intend to do all that I can to change our national priorities and move our nation in a very different direction."