As she prepares for a tough reelection battle, the U.S. Senate’s most liberal member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is aggressively touting a recently-passed amendment to repeal her own job-killing IRS 1099 paperwork requirement from her own costly, unpopular health care overhaul. It’s remarkable that Stabenow asserts that she “authored the repeal of this onerous new paperwork requirement,” because not only did she specifically oppose such a repeal in the past, what she actually did is copy an amendment previously introduced by Republican Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE), who had already secured the necessary 60 votes to move it forward. Notably, Stabenow claims in a Detroit News op-ed today that “[c]reating an environment where small businesses can flourish is a top priority for me,” and attempts to align herself with pro-business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers. But these are the very same job-creators she blatantly…
Menendez-Malinsky Watch: Day 2
When Will Senator Menendez Explain His Relationship With Indicted Real Estate Developer, Return Tainted Cash? A full day after reports surfaced of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez’s (D-NJ) outsized campaign contributions from Aaron Malinsky – an indicted New York real estate developer who “faces federal conspiracy and money-laundering charges for allegedly funneling secret cash payments” to at least one New York state lawmaker – pressure continues to grow on New Jersey’s junior Senator to return his tainted cash and fully explain to voters his relationship with this developer. While New York’s U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand quickly dumped their own tainted Malinsky cash yesterday, Menendez is holding tight, insisting that he must “conduct a thorough review of the facts” before deciding whether to return the contributions. Notably, Menendez has received more than $20,000 from Malinsky, and at least $13,000 in additional contributions from members of the Malinsky family –…
10 Key Questions Remain Unanswered In Growing McCaskill Ethics Scandal
Embattled Senator Champions Transparency, Yet Hypocritically Refuses To Release Details Of Travel Billing Practices & Delaware-Based Company Last week, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill’s (D-MO) office insisted emphatically that her decision to bill taxpayers for travel on her personal aircraft did not violate any ethics rules, at the same time claiming that neither she nor her family personally profited from this behavior. But just 24 hours later, McCaskill’s office admitted that, in fact, she did bill taxpayers for “purely political travel on a private plane co-owned by her family, a violation of Congressional ethics rules that deepened questions around her use of the plane.” What’s more, McCaskill’s own 2007 personal financial disclosure report directly contradicts the second half of her statement, showing that, in fact, she did earn a profit of between $50,000 and $100,000 from the Delaware-based aircraft company owned by her and her husband (click here to view). Yet,…
As New York Senators Shed Tainted Campaign Cash, Bob Menendez Holds Tight
Outsized Contributions Raise Questions For New Jersey Senator As He Himself Remains Under Federal Investigation As several Senate Democrats rid themselves of past donations from an indicted New York real estate developer charged in a wide-ranging influence-peddling scheme, at least one Democrat Senator appears to be holding tight to his tainted campaign cash. New Jersey’s junior U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who himself remains under federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, has received over $20,000 from indicted developer Aaron Malinsky, and at least $13,000 in additional contributions from members of the Malinsky family. Notably, these outsized campaign contributions from Malinsky to Menendez stand in stark contrast to the just $250 that both Schumer and Gillibrand received and which they announced yesterday will be donated to charity. “It’s striking that as his fellow Senators rid themselves of their tainted campaign cash, Senator Menendez is silent on not just his…
Statement on Tim Kaine
After saying repeatedly earlier this year that he was not interested in running for the U.S. Senate, it seems the arm-twisting from his party patrons Washington is having its desired effect on Tim Kaine. Today’s development that Kaine has reversed himself and is now confirming that he is “likely” to run for the Senate, please consider the following response from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), and I’d also encourage you to click here to recall what Tim Kaine said about this race earlier this year: “As we’ve said from the moment Jim Webb announced his retirement, Senate Republicans would welcome the clear contrast that a candidacy by liberal Tim Kaine would provide in this race. Tim Kaine has been the most vocal cheerleader in Washington for the Democrats’ reckless economic policies that have failed to create new jobs while driving our national debt past $14 trillion. And as Kaine’s…
NRSC Statement On Reports Of Senator McCaskill’s Breach Of Ethics Rules
Two days ago, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill’s (D-MO) office claimed there was nothing unethical or improper about her decision to bill taxpayers for travel on her husband’s private airplane. Similarly, McCaskill’s office insisted that the Senator did not personally profit from these taxpayer-funded trips. But as Politico reports, their first claim was completely false, and McCaskill did in fact bill taxpayers for “purely political travel on a private plane co-owned by her family, a violation of Congressional ethics rules that deepens questions around her use of the plane.” Given this revelation, it’s especially notable that neither McCaskill nor her office have offered any evidence to support their second claim regarding any personal profits the Senator or her family may have made from billing taxpayers for travel on their personal aircraft. “There is a very easy way for Senator McCaskill to clear the air on this matter,” said National Republican Senatorial…
As Deficit Hits Record High And Americans Demand Action, Will Tester Continue To Refuse Commonsense Spending Cuts?
Budget Deficit Hits Record $222.5 Billion In February As 95 Percent Of Likely Voters Believe That Lowering The Debt Is Important As the federal government’s budget deficit hit a record $222.5 billion in February and a new poll shows that 95 percent of likely voters believe lowering the national debt is important, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) called on liberal U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) to finally match his behavior to his rhetoric and embrace commonsense reductions in government spending. As a new poll conducted for The Hill shows, “Likely voters overwhelmingly believe deficit reduction is crucial to America’s future, but generally oppose raising revenue through tax reform to cut those deficits, a new poll conducted for The Hill found. A full 95 percent of likely voters believe that lowering the debt is either very or somewhat important, the poll found, with only 2 percent finding the issue not…
After Supporting 24% Increase In Federal Spending In Just Two Years, Kohl Votes Against 1.5% Decrease
Since President Obama took office, federal discretionary spending has increased 24 percent. Forty cents of every dollar we spend is borrowed. And despite playing a direct role in this spending spree by voting for every single major spending initiative put forward by President Obama, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) has frequently paid rhetorical lip service to the need for fiscal responsibility, calling for “bringing down spending and reducing the debt” as he prepares for an uphill reelection bid. Well, today the talking stopped. Every Senator was finally forced to lay their cards on the table, and once again Senator Kohl’s big-spending record did not match his rhetoric. Despite the fact that already this year, Washington has spent nearly $650 billion more than it’s taken in, Kohl joined his fellow Democrats today in defeating a modest Republican spending proposal that would cut non-emergency discretionary spending by just $61 billion. This represents…
After Supporting 24% Federal Spending Increase In Just Two Years, Stabenow Votes Against 1.5% Decrease
Since President Obama took office, federal discretionary spending has increased 24 percent. Forty cents of every dollar we spend is borrowed. And despite playing a direct role in this spending spree by voting for every single major spending initiative put forward by President Obama, the U.S. Senate’s most liberal member, Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), has increasingly paid rhetorical lip service to the need for fiscal responsibility, insisting that “things have to be done differently” and “We’ve got to tackle government waste” as she prepares for a tough reelection bid. Well, today the talking stopped. Every Senator was finally forced to lay their cards on the table and once again, Senator Stabenow’s big-spending record did not match her rhetoric. Despite the fact that, already this year, Washington has spent nearly $650 billion more than it’s taken in, Stabenow joined her fellow Democrats today in defeating a modest Republican spending proposal that would…
After Supporting 24% Increase In Federal Spending In Just Two Years, Casey Votes Against 1.5% Decrease
Since President Obama took office, federal discretionary spending has increased 24 percent. Forty cents of every dollar we spend is borrowed. And despite playing a direct role in this spending spree by voting for every single major spending initiative put forward by President Obama, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) has frequently paid rhetorical lip service to the need for fiscal responsibility, saying “There’s no question we’ve got to cut” as he prepares for his tough reelection bid. Well, today the talking stopped. Every Senator was finally forced to lay their cards on the table and, once again, Senator Casey’s big-spending record did not match his rhetoric. Despite the fact that already this year, Washington has spent nearly $650 billion more than it’s taken in, Casey joined his fellow Democrats today in defeating a modest Republican spending proposal that would cut non-emergency discretionary spending by just $61 billion. This represents cutting…
