Ideological divides in Congress often frame disputes over policy goals. This article presents an original data set of tax/spending instruments used across House bills from 2007-2012, revealing that disagreements over economic policy are significantly more divisive than those on regulations or communications. Using exploratory factor analysis, we identify a primary 'economic dimension' highly correlated with NOMINATE's first axis but showing less polarization and explanatory power. A second conceptualized dimension aligns with NOMINATE's second axis.
