Week #10: Iowa Republican Party Platform 2010

Fact:  In the October 12^th Maske-Latham Debate aired on KGLO Radio, Bill Maske asked Tom Latham the following question, “Do you agree with the Iowa Republican Party Platform?”

Fact:  Tom Latham responded by saying he agreed with the Iowa Republican Party Platform with the exception of the call for eliminating the Department of Agriculture.  He said it was important to keep the Department of Agriculture in place.

Fact:  In his rebuttal, Bill Maske said, “So, based on your response, you agree with all other aspects of the Iowa Republican Party Platform?”

Fact:  Tom Latham said he agreed with the substance of that document.

Fact:  The Iowa Republican Party Platform contains the following:

• Supports Term Limits of 12 years per office
• The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not to ensure equality.
• Opposes the “Bullying” Law
• Oppose unconstitutional “Hate” Crimes Laws
• Oppose teaching multicultural based curriculum
• Oppose duplication of educational programs for bilingual consideration
• Support deportation of undocumented workers
• Oppose the Dream Act
• Support repealing sexual orientation in the Iowa Civil Rights Code
• Abolish the Environmental Protection Agency
• Believe that claims of human caused global warming are based on fraudulent, inaccurate information and that legislation and policy based on this information is detrimental to the well being of the United States. 
• Oppose restrictions on Carbon Emissions
• Abolish the United Nations
• Support the continued use of Guantanamo Prison
• Abolish the Federal Reserve System
• Supports profiling
• Supports electronic surveillance
• Abolish Health Care Reform
• Repeal all mandatory minimum wage laws
• Abolish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• Abolish the Department of Energy
• Abolish the Internal Revenue Service
• Eliminate the State and Federal Department of Education
• Oppose earmarks and “Pork Barreling”
• Support reinstatement of the original 13^th Amendment
• We believe that the term “assault weapon” should not be used as a term applicable to a semiautomatic weapon. 

Fact:  Tom Latham signed the Contract with America in 1994 calling for term limits of 12 years.  Now he agrees with the Iowa Republican Party Platform on term limits for 12 years.  Yet, he seeks a 9^th term which would give him 18 years in the House.

Fact:  Tom Latham agrees with the Iowa Republican Party Platform on earmarks and “Pork Barreling,” yet few members of the House of Representatives are more involved in earmarks and “Pork Barreling” than Tom Latham.

Fact:  He supports the reinstatement of the original 13^th Amendment which basically says that government officials are not for sale, yet, he accepts hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from Political Action Committees.  Check it out at www.opensecrets.org.

Fact:  Bill Maske finds almost all of the provisions of the Iowa Republican Party Platform to be radical and dangerous to the health and well being of our nation and its citizens.

Week #9: Omnibus Appropriations 2009

Fact:  After voting against the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations, Tom Latham is taking credit for millions of dollars included in the legislation that will help local community colleges, health care clinics, and renewable energy producers in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.

Fact:  Latham keeps telling people he secured millions of dollars in funding for Iowa, but the fact is he voted against these investments. Latham’s voting record is clear for all to see by going to http://www.ontheissues.org/ or http://www.votesmart.org/. Counter to what Tom Latham would have you believe, these millions of dollars aren’t coming to Iowa because of his hard work; rather, these investments are being made in spite of his efforts to defeat this bill and the funding for Iowa.

Fact:  In press release after press release, Tom Latham has misled the voters of the 4th District by hiding the fact he voted against the Omnibus Appropriations 2009, and in fact made it appear he had championed its passage. In these press releases, he touted his commitment to community colleges, health care technologies, and renewable energy when he actually voted “no.”

Fact:  Latham voted against $1.4 million for equipment and supplies for programs at Des Moines Area Community College; $475,750 to Iowa Lakes Community College for a sustainable energy education center; $475,750 to Iowa Central Community College for laboratory equipment; $100.000 to North Iowa Area Community College to support the Regional Economic Development Organization; $500,000 to Iowa Valley Community College for the Iowa Valley Education and Training Center; and $333,000 to Iowa Central Community College for an Advanced Manufacturing Training Center.

Fact:  Latham voted against $1.4 million for the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities and the U.S. Department of Energy for a next generation wind energy production plant project.

Fact:  Latham voted against $95,000 for the Gunderson Lutheran Health System and the Gunderson Clinic in Decorah for the Newborn Monitoring Initiative.

Fact:  Bill Maske would have worked for and voted for passage of the Omnibus Appropriations 2009.

Fact:  As a member of the United States House of Representatives, Bill Maske will be honest and straightforward with the voters of the 4th Congressional District. He will never pass himself off as something he is not - that is called hypocrisy.

Week #8: Quotes from the joint appearance of Bill Maske and Tom Latham on Iowa Public Television

This version of Just the Facts comes from the joint appearance of Bill Maske and Tom Latham on Iowa Public Television.

Maske on the Case for Ousting Tom Latham:

• My whole purpose for running is based on my devotion to public service and I want to bring honor to the people of the fourth congressional district and to Iowa.  My opponent has failed to serve the best interests of hard working men and women and their families in the fourth district.
• He votes no on job creating legislation and the extension of unemployment benefits to hard working people, to people in need based on his concern for the deficit but he benefits himself from receiving nearly a half million dollars in federal farm subsidies over a seven year period.
• He voted no on healthcare reform which would extend healthcare benefits to millions of Americans while he himself benefits from a taxpayer paid program.
• He votes no on Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which is equal pay for equal work regardless of gender.
• He voted no on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Then he comes back to Iowa to the fourth district and takes credit for all of the things that happen as a result of that act.

Latham’s Response to the Above Charges:

• I'm very proud.

On the Handling of the Egg Recall:

• Latham: There should have been inspectors there, they should have been doing their job and unfortunately they haven't been. As far as regulations are already in place that would have caught this if in fact the USDA had told FDA about what was going on.  FDA has dropped the ball but the regulations are there, it's a matter of enforcement, of holding people accountable.
• Maske: People are upset that things aren't being done to protect consumers and protect the American people and so that plays right into the egg situation because it was a matter of not having enough regulations, enough oversight, and not having the government employees in place, that was needed to ensure those regulations were enforced.

On Extending the Bush Tax Cuts:

• Latham: This is exactly the wrong policy to have especially when we're trying to create jobs to get the economy going is to raise taxes on people who would do exactly what we want them to.
• Maske: The tax cuts need to stay in place for lower and middle class folks, but for the upper two percent, wealthiest two percent those tax cuts need to end.  It will bring more money into the government; it will help us drive down the debt.  Trickle Down economics does not work.

Are People Who Earn $250,000 Wealthy?

• Latham: Non-committal to make a statement. (Tom Latham, himself, is the wealthiest Iowan in the House of Representatives and the 56th wealthiest member of the House of Representatives.)
• Maske: You're darn right they are.

On Subsidizing Ethanol and Bio-Fuels:

• Latham: Well, certainly and it is one of the outrages today is the fact that the people in control in Congress last year for January 1st did not extend the biofuels, the biomass tax credit so we have plants sitting in Iowa closed today, thousands of jobs that are left vacant because they cannot get that tax credit that they need to keep those plants going.
• Maske: At the moment, yes.  However, Tom Latham has voted several times against legislation that moves renewable energy forward.

How Effective is Latham?

• Latham: I've been after the leadership forever and Miss Pelosi won't listen . . . Well, I think that's why there is a big change needed in Washington today to have people that actually do listen.
• Maske: I think Tom Latham is right, there needs to be a big change in Washington and he's one of them that need to be changed.

On Health Care:

• Latham: I think we need to repeal it but if we can't do that and with the President in the White House for the next two years that is simply probably not going to happen because he'll veto any kind of repeal.
• Maske: I'm a pragmatist so I would have voted eventually yes for that healthcare bill because also I'm a history instructor and I understand social change takes time and sometimes it begins here and then it evolves over time to where it needs to be and so ... I believe we will evolve into and need a public option and that public option will eventually evolve into a universal single payer plan. I believe that will happen.

Federal Farm Subsidies:

• Latham: Well, I think it's very interesting that the Iowa Farm Bureau has come out with that position which I think is long overdue because we get a great amount of criticism because of the payments that go direct like they are and actually they were set up to reward people to set up conservation plans so there was a reason for it initially. But yeah, we've got to have policies I think in the next farm bill and I talk to Colin Peterson, the Democratic Chairman from Minnesota, every day about these issues and we worked together on the last farm bill but to have a way of either revenue assurance to make sure that we have policies that actually work so that when people do have a bad crop, if they have low prices they get some help but not just to shovel out money.
• Maske: Farm subsidies, the whole thing needs to be rewritten. It was meant to be a safety net and provide farmers with a basis from which to have a good price on their crops so it would promote them to continue to grow crops and it is not meant to be a bonus program and in today's environment we need to rewrite that.

Afghanistan:

• Latham: (Never did address this issue.)
• Maske: We need to withdraw from Afghanistan. Kay, chasing terrorists in Afghanistan is a lot like, what one might say, pushing Jell-O. We enter into Afghanistan and they go into Yemen, they go into Somalia, they go into Pakistan. What are we going to do? Are we going to chase them into all these other countries?

Week #7: Environment

Fact:  The impact of human activity on the environment has been an ongoing issue for decades.  In December, 1970, President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency by calling for the creation of “a strong, independent agency . . . to make a coordinated attack on the pollutants which debase the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land that grows our food.”  Since that time, the struggle has been on to safeguard our environment. Today the issues are too numerous to list.  Climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions leading to global warming and rising sea levels is a real concern.  Water pollution caused by acid rain, oil spills, algal bloom, urban runoff, herbicides, pesticides, and other sources greatly reduces water quality.  Land pollution due to intensive farming, soil erosion, urban sprawl, habitat destruction, deforestation, and waste disposal greatly compromise our earth.  In some way or form, almost all cultures have recognized the importance of nature and its biological diversity for their societies and have therefore understood the need to maintain it.  Yet power, greed, and politics have affected the precarious balance.

Fact:  Bill Maske is very much concerned about our environment and the future.  Bill believes the Environmental Protection Agency must have independent and far-ranging authority to address environmental issues.  Bill believes it is the responsibility of the United States Congress to act in a responsible manner to ensure we achieve and sustain the highest quality air, water, and land for ourselves and our posterity.  As a member of the United States House of Representatives, Bill would vote in favor of environmental rules, regulations, and initiatives to improve, restore, and achieve a healthy environment for all people.

Fact:  Tom Latham’s National Environmental score card regarding his voting record on environmental issues are as follows: 111th Congress, 0%; 110th Congress, 12%; 109th Congress, 3%; 108th Congress, 6%; 107th Congress, 14%; and 106th Congress, 0%.

Fact:  Tom Latham voted “No” on the Offshore Drilling Regulations (HR 3534) which established strict regulations and oversight on all offshore leasing and exploration for energy resources.  Bill Maske would have voted “Yes.”

Fact:  Tom Latham voted “No” on the Home Star Energy Retrofit (HR 5019) which would create jobs, save energy, and lower family energy bills.  This legislation created jobs in manufacturing energy efficient technology and construction.  Bill Maske would have voted “Yes.”

Fact:  Tom Latham voted “No” on the Clean Estuaries Act of 2010 (HR 4715).  An Estuary is the point where a river meets the seas (for example, Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico) and is critical to the health of our coastal environments.  The bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state officials in which the estuary is located to monitor the estuary and associated water quality conditions, monitor habitat conditions related to the ecological health and water quality conditions, and to monitor the effectiveness of the actions taken as part of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.  Bill Maske would have voted “Yes.”

Fact:  Tom Latham voted “No” on Chemical Security (HR 2868) which would place chemical security under the Department of Homeland Security.  There are 6,300 high-risk chemical plants in the United States.  This legislation requires these plants to convert to safer manufacturing and storage practices.  Bill Maske would have voted “Yes.”

Fact:  Tom Latham voted “No” on the American Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454) which promotes the development of a clean energy economy through the creation of clean energy jobs, energy independence, and the reduction of global warming pollution.  This legislation provided for the creation of Cap and Trade.

Fact:  Bill Maske would have voted “Yes” on HR 2454 because of its far-reaching benefits for the environment.  However, Bill would have sought an amendment on Cap and Trade.  Bill believes Cap and Trade is a financial boondoggle for Wall Street with a lot of potential for corruption which would compromise the actual reduction of carbon emissions.  Bill supports capping carbon emissions but believe this should be accomplished in a straightforward manner.

Fact:  Tom Latham voted “No” on Omnibus Public Land Management Act 2009 (HR 146) which extends and protects public lands and wilderness areas.  This legislation also authorizes water preservation projects, as well as initiatives to protect the ocean.  Bill Maske would have voted “Yes.”

Fact:  Tom Latham voted “Yes” on Trade-in Vouchers for Fuel Efficient Cars (HR 2751).  This legislation was also know as "Cash for Clunkers."  Bill Maske would have also have voted “Yes” on this legislation.

Week #6: Education

Fact:  As a professional educator of 34 years, Bill Maske spent his career serving families and public school children as a teacher, building administrator, and school superintendent.

Fact:  The Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act (HR 1586) recently passed by the House provided $10 billion in funding for states to create or retain teacher jobs.  In Iowa, it is estimated that this legislation will keep 1,800 teachers in the classroom for the 2010-2011 school year.  Tom Latham voted “No” on this legislation; Bill Maske would have voted “Yes.”

Fact:  The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (HR 4247) which ensures that reasonable and appropriate measures are used in dealing with students.  This legislation protects the safety of children by preventing inappropriate restraint and seclusion through the establishment of minimum safety standards in schools, similar to protections already in place in hospitals and non-medical community-based facilities.  Tom Latham voted “No” on this legislation; Bill Maske would have voted “Yes.”

Fact:  The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facility Act (HR 2187) requires the Secretary of Education to make grants to states for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools, to make them safe, healthy, high-performing, and technologically up-to-date.  Tom Latham voted “No” on this legislation; Bill Maske would have voted “Yes.”

Fact:  The Student Aid Program Modifications Act of 2009 (HR 3221) aimed at increasing the availability of low-interest loans for post-secondary education.  Some of the provisions of this legislation include:

• Establishes the Federal Direct Perkins Loan Program with a $6 billion loan authority and loans being made at 5% interest rate.
• Appropriates $2.7 billion to finance Federal Pell Grants in 2008-2009 with the amount adjusted for inflation each year thereafter.
• Appropriates $2.02 billion for grants for public school facility renovation, modernization, and repair.
• Appropriates $1 billion per year for early education projects through 2017.
• Mandates all iron, steel, and manufactured goods used for renovation, repair, construction, and modernization projects funded by this act must be produced in the United States unless waived by the Secretary of Education.

Tom Latham voted “No” on this legislation. Bill Maske would have voted “Yes,” and he would work to see the interest rate on all student loans set at 3.4%.

 

Fact:  The 2007 College Cost Reduction and Access Act (HR 2669) would incrementally lower the interest rates for Federally Subsidized Student Loans and Federal Direct Stafford Loans every year until the rate is set at 3.4%.  It increases federal loan limits to provide borrowers with additional assistance in paying for college and to help them rely less on costlier private loans.  It expanded eligibility to include and serve more students with financial need.  It further does the following:

• Provides upfront tuition assistance to qualified undergraduate students who commit to teaching in public schools in high-poverty communities or high-need subject areas.
• Provides loan forgiveness for first responders, law enforcement officers, firefighters, nurses, public defenders, prosecutors, early childhood educators, librarians, and others.
• Revises policies to allow public servants to have their loans forgiven after 10 years.
• Establishes a partnership with federal, state, and local government entities, and philanthropic organizations through matching challenge grants aimed at increasing the number of first-generation and low-income college students.

Tom Latham voted “No” on this legislation; Bill Maske would have voted “Yes.”

Week #5: Term Limits

Fact:  The Republican Contract with America, a written commitment with no fine print, set forth ten bills for introduction in the first 100 days of the 104th Congress of which number ten was the Citizen Legislature Act.  The Citizen Legislature Act proposed to enact term limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators.  This proposal called for House members under H.J. Res. 38 to be limited to six terms, and under H.J. Res. 160 to be limited to three terms.  This can be found at www.house.gov/house/contract/contract.html.

Fact:  On September 27, 1994, Republican Candidates for the United States House of Representatives stood on the capitol steps in Washington D.C. to pledge themselves to the Contract with America.

Fact:  As a Republican Candidate for the United States House of Representatives, Tom Latham signed the Contract with America.  This can be found at www.lib.umich.edu/files/libraries/govdocs/text/cwasign.txt.

Fact:  The 2010 Iowa Republican Platform says, "We support term limits for state and federal elected officials for a maximum of 12 years in each office, or a total of 18 years if serving in both offices."

Fact: Tom Latham - a signer of the Contract with America and member of the Iowa Republican Party - is completing his eighth term as a member of the United States House of Representatives and asking voters to give him a ninth term.  Tom Latham’s current years in congress is two terms beyond the longest span covered by the Contract with America and that which is called for in the 2010 Iowa Republican Party Platform.

Fact:  Bill Maske is not looking to be a career politician, but rather to serve the best interests of the 4th District and the people of Iowa as a Citizen Legislator.

Week #4: Campaign Contributions 2010

Fact:  In talking with people across the 4th Congressional District, many have brought up concerns about campaign finance. The main concern is how the financing of campaigns impacts elections and in particular the eventual decisions made by those who get elected.

Opensecrets.org is a non-partisan guide to money’s influence on U.S. elections and public policy. Opensecrets.org is a product of the Center for Responsible Politics.  The information presented in this edition of "Just the Facts" comes from Opensecrets.org.

Fact:  In preparing for the 2009-2010 election cycle, Tom Latham has received 55% ($484,250) of all his campaign contributions from PAC Contributions.

A few of the many examples:

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu PAC actively lobbies against oversight of the Accounting Industry.  In September 2002, federal investigators began to probe Deloitte and Touche for its role in a bookkeeping scandal at Adelphia Communications, one of the firm’s biggest clients.  Deloitte Touch Tohmatsu has contributed $6,000 to Tom Latham’s 2010 campaign.

Altria, formally Philip Morris is the number one tobacco company in the world. The Altria PAC has contributed $7,500 to Tom Latham’s 2010 campaign.  Furthermore, the tobacco industry has contributed $10,000 to Tom Latham’s Leadership PAC.

The American Bankers Association PAC has contributed $9,000 to Tom Latham’s 2010 campaign. While Latham is well known for his association with the seed industry, his family is very much vested in the banking business.  Commercial banks have contributed $12,500 to Latham’s Leadership PAC.

Anheuser Busch InBev PAC has contributed $10,000 to Tom Latham’s 2010 campaign. InBev is headquartered in Belgium.

The American Maritime Officers PAC has contributed $10,000 to Latham’s 2010 campaign.  The American Maritime Officers lobby for federal subsidies, and they promote drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

A sizeable amount of Tom Latham’s PAC money comes from out-of-state PACS.

As of May 19, 2010, Tom Latham has raised $886,635 for the 2009-2010 election cycle. Of the 45% ($397,245) which has come from individuals, a large portion of this has come from individuals associated with PACS.  In one case, $30,956 has come from individual lobbyists.

Fact:  In preparing for the 2009-2010 election cycle, Bill Maske has received $2000 or 3% of all his campaign contributions from PAC Contributions.

OpenSecrets.org does not list any specific PAC contributors for Bill Maske.

As of June 30, 2010, Bill Maske has raised $75,984 for the 2009-2010 election cycle. Of the 42% which has come from individuals, the bulk of these contributions have ranged between $25 and $100.

Of the $75,984 raised thus far, 37% ($28,055) has come from self-financing.

Week #3: Small Business Revitalization

Fact:  In early March, 2010, the House of Representatives voted on the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act.  This bill provided $13 billion in payroll tax relief over 10 years for employers who hire unemployed workers and extend through 2010 a law that allows small businesses to deduct up to $250,000.00 in qualified expenses.

In late March, 2010, the House of Representatives voted on the Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act. This bill provides tax incentives for small business job creation, extends the Build America Bonds program, and provide other infrastructure job creation tax incentives.

Also in late March, 2010, the House of Representatives voted on the Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act of 2010. This bill provides funds for disaster relief, summer jobs, and small business programs.

In late June, 2010, the House of Representatives voted on the Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010. This bill establishes a $30 billion lending fund administered by the Treasury Department to invest in financial institutions, like community banks, with the intention of expanding the availability of credit to small businesses.

Fact:

• Tom Latham voted “No” on the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act. 
• Tom Latham voted “No” on the Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act. 
• Tom Latham voted “No” on the Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act of 2010. 
• Tom Latham voted “No” on the Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010.

Fact:

• Bill Maske would have voted “Yes” on on the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act.
• Bill Maske would have voted “Yes” on the Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act.
• Bill Maske would have voted “Yes” on the Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act of 2010.
• Bill Maske would have voted “Yes” on the Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010.

Week #2: Energy and Oil

Fact:  In 2001, the United States House of Representatives voted on an amendment to maintain the prohibition on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  In 2004, the House voted on a comprehensive national policy for energy conservation, research and development.  The bill would authorize a $25.7 billion tax break over 10 years for energy producers, specifically oil and gas.  In 2006, the House voted on an amendment that would maintain the 25-year moratorium on oil and gas drilling in environmentally sensitive areas offshore.  In 2007, the House voted on legislation which established a new direction for energy independence through new innovative technologies, reducing carbon emissions, creating green jobs, protecting consumers, increasing clean renewable energy production, modernizing our energy infrastructure, and providing tax incentives for the production or renewable energy and energy conservation.  In 2008, the House voted on the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act aimed at the development of wind, biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar, biodiesel, and cellulosic alcohol fuel.

Fact:

• In 2001, Tom Latham voted “No” on prohibiting oil drilling and development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• In 2006, Tom Latham voted “No” on keeping moratorium on drilling for oil offshore.
• In 2007, Tom Latham voted “No” on investing in homegrown biofuel.
• In 2008, Tom Latham voted “No” on tax incentives for renewable energy.

Fact:

• As the 4th District Congressman, Bill Maske would have voted “Yes” to prohibiting oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• As the 4th District Congressman, Bill Maske would have voted “Yes” on keeping the moratorium on drilling for oil offshore.
• As the 4th District Congressman, Bill Maske would have voted “Yes” on investing in homegrown biofuel and tax incentives for renewable energy.

Week #1: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and The Paycheck Fairness Act

Fact:  The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act restored workers’ rights to challenge illegal wage discrimination in the federal courts. The Paycheck Fairness Act closes loopholes, strengthens incentives to prevent pay discrimination, and brings the Equal Pay Act in line with other civil rights laws. It also prohibits retaliation against workers who inquire about employers’ wage practices or disclose their own wages.

Fact:  Tom Latham voted “No” on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  Tom Latham voted “No” on the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Fact:  As the 4th District Congressman, Bill Maske would have voted “Yes” for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.