Instead of highlighting the real contrasts in Pennsylvania’s United States Senate race, Toomey resorts to untrue accusations about Katie McGinty and attempts to claim credit for positions foreign to his record.
Pat Toomey and his Wall Street-funded campaign are out with a new poorly-produced spot this morning. “Big Issues,” as the ad is titled, is an ironically fitting description for a commerical chock-full of claims that have no basis in reality. Instead of highlighting the real contrasts in Pennsylvania’s United States Senate race, Toomey resorts to untrue accusations about Katie McGinty and attempts to claim credit for positions foreign to his record.
CLAIM:
“Katie McGinty wants to raise middle-class taxes.”
BIG ISSUE:
McGinty Supports Tax Cuts For College And Childcare That Total Almost $6,000.
McGinty Supports the Helping Working Families Afford Child Care Act. McGinty has stated support for the Helping Working Families Afford Child Care Act. Sen. Patty Murray states: “Under the bill, in 2016, low- and middle-income families would be eligible for maximum credits of $2,800 or $5,600, depending on how many children for whom they incur qualifying expenses. The legislation also would index the new expense thresholds for inflation to ensure the reformed credit does not lose value over time.” [Murray.Senate.Gov; S. 661; KatieMcGinty.com]
McGinty Supports Expanding College Tax Credits Through the New American Opportunity Permanence and Consolidation Act. McGinty has stated her support for the American Opportunity Permanence and Consolidation Act, which would make the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent – which was successfully done in the December 2015 omnibus agreement — while also growing the savings a family can receive per student to $3,000 per year.[KatieMcGinty.com;Schumer
CLAIM:
“Pat Toomey wants lower taxes.”
BIG ISSUE:
One The One Hand, Toomey’s Voted To Raise Taxes On The Middle Class. On The Other, Toomey Supports Eliminating Taxes For Corporations, Opposes Ending Tax Breaks For Corporations That Ship Jobs Overseas, And Favors Giving Big Oil Massive Subsidies.
Toomey Voted Repeatedly for Budgets that Would Raise Taxes for the Middle Class — The 2013 Budget Would Have Cut Millionaires’ Taxes by $245,000 While Raising Taxes on the Middle Class by $3,000. Toomey voted three times for House Republican budget proposals. CBPP reported that the 2011 budget would cut taxes for millionaires by $125,000. The budget would also cut corporate tax rates by 10 percent. The 2012 budget would have cut taxes for millionaires by $265,000 and increase taxes for the middle class by $1,359. The 2013 budget would have cut taxes for millionaires by $245,000 and increased taxes for the middle class by $3,000. Both the 2012 and 2013 budgets would have, again, cut corporate tax rates by 10 percent. [CBPP, 4/20/11; Washington Post, 4/05/11; H.Con.Res. 34, Vote 77, 5/25/11; CBPP, 4/12/12; Tax Policy Center, 3/23/12; Joint Economic Committee via ABC News, 8/14/12; H.Con.Res. 112, Vote 98, 5/16/12; CBPP, 3/17/13; S.Amdt. 433 to S.Con.Res. 8, Vote 46, 3/21/13]
Toomey: “I Think That The Solution is to Eliminate Corporate Taxes All Together.” “I would disagree with the fact that we want to have a corporate tax burden at all…Corporations don’t pay taxes. People do…Let’s not tax corporations…I think that the solution is to eliminate corporate taxes all together.” [CNBC, 7/21/07]
Toomey Voted Four Times Against Ending Tax Breaks for Companies that Ship American Jobs Overseas. Toomey voted against legislation that discouraged US corporations from moving their operations overseas by closing tax loopholes and voted twice against legislation that encouraged companies to bring jobs back from overseas through tax credits. He further voted against legislation that would have ended tax incentives that encourage companies to ship jobs overseas. [S.Con. Res. 11, Vote 104, 3/26/15; S.Con.Res. 11, Vote 94, 3/26/15; S. 2569, Vote 249, 7/30/14; S. 3364, Vote 181, 7/19/12]
Toomey Voted Twice Against Ending $24 Billion in Tax Breaks for Big Oil Companies. [S.2204, Vote 63, 3/29/12; S. 940, Vote #72, 5/17/11; CNN, 3/29/12; Morning Call, 9/1/16]
CLAIM:
“Toomey stands up for our jobs, against big government and foreign trade cheaters.”
BIG ISSUE:
Toomey Supported Normalizing Trade Relations With China And Supported China’s Entrance Into The World Trade Organization — More Than 120,000 Pennsylvania Jobs Have Been Lost Since.
Toomey Voted in Support of Normalizing Trade Relations with China. In July 2001, Toomey voted to allow the president to provide “normal trade relations” to China. [H.J.Res. 50, Vote 255, 7/19/01]
Toomey Said He Was A “Big Supporter” Of China’s Entry To The World Trade Organization — Since 2001, Pennsylvania Has Lost More Than 120,000 Jobs to China. “Both English and Toomey said they support plans to allow China to join the WTO. […] Toomey said he is a ‘big supporter’ of China’s entry because it will force the nation to loosen import restrictions.” [Associated Press, 11/29/99; Economic Policy Institute, 12/11/14]
Toomey Has Refused To Hold China Accountable For Manipulating Its Currency, Which Negatively Impacts The U.S. Trade Deficit.
2000-2015: Toomey Repeatedly Voted Against Cracking Down On Currency Manipulation. Between 2000 and 2015, Toomey voted at least four times against cracking down on currency manipulation. [S.Amdt.1299 to S.Amdt.1221 to H.R.1314, Vote 187, 5/22/15; S.1619, Vote 159, 10/11/11; H.R.4444, Vote 228, 5/24/00; Politico, 10/11/11; Associated Press, 10/7/10; H.R. 644, Vote 179, 5/14/15]
Economic Policy Institute: Currency Manipulation Was “A Major Cause Of The Rapidly Growing U.S. Trade Deficit With China.” “A major cause of the rapidly growing U.S. trade deficit with China is currency manipulation. Unlike other currencies, the Chinese yuan does not fluctuate freely against the dollar.2 Instead, China has tightly pegged its currency to the U.S. dollar at a rate that encourages a large bilateral trade surplus with the United States. As China’s productivity has soared, its currency should have adjusted, increasing in value to maintain balanced trade. But the yuan has instead remained artificially low as China has aggressively acquired dollars and other foreign exchange reserves to further depress the value of its own currency. […] As of June 30, 2012, China held a total of $3.24 trillion in foreign exchange reserves (Bloomberg News 2012), about 70 percent of which were held in U.S. dollars. This intervention makes the yuan artificially cheap relative to the dollar, effectively subsidizing Chinese exports.” [Economic Policy Institute, 8/23/12]
Toomey’s Debt Ceiling Legislation Would Have Required The United States To “Pay China First” On Debt Repayments Before Spending Money On Anything Else.
Toomey Proposed Legislation That Would Have Required The United States To “Pay China First” On Debt Repayments Before Spending Money On Anything Else – Including Seniors, Our Troops and Our Veterans. “Now a Senate freshman, Mr. Toomey came to CPAC to pitch his maiden bill, which would obligate the government to make a priority of paying down interest on the national debt if the debt limit is not raised. His bill aims to give Republicans additional leverage in extracting spending cuts and budget overhaul in exchange for votes to raise the debt ceiling, as it would assure that the government does not default on its debt if the ceiling doesn’t rise. Democrats have attacked his measure as a plan to ‘Pay China First.” [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2/11/11]