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Stories tagged with “David McKinley”

Health

GOP Congressman Says Ryan’s Medicare Plan Would Hurt Seniors

By Amanda Peterson Beadle on Jun 21, 2012 at 4:45 pm

Rep. David McKinley (R-WV)

House Republicans approved a budget in April that would drive up Medicare costs for seniors, and Mitt Romney has embraced the plan crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). But not all in the party are in agreement. Ten Republicans voted against Ryan’s budget in April, and now, Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) is campaigning on his opposition to it.

McKinley’s office outlines his opposition to the GOP-backed plan in a flier sent to his constituents, many of whom receive Medicare benefits. . “Congressman McKinley recently voted against the 2012 budget passed by the House because of the plan’s negative impact on northern West Virginia seniors,” it reads. Here’s the flier:


The GOP plan that McKinley opposes would give seniors the option of enrolling in traditional Medicare or taking a stipend to buy their own health care policy on the private market. Republicans have argued it would slow the federal government’s rising costs for Medicare, but the Congressional Budget Office says the plan would increase seniors’ out-of-pocket costs by privatizing Medicare.

In the flier, McKinley says Congress “must balance the budget,” but not on the backs of seniors. McKinley spokesman Jim Forbes told the Los Angeles Times that the congressman “is standing for what he believes in,” but in an election cycle dominated by health care and budget issues, McKinely’s stance is out of step with the rest of his party.

Economy

HOW BANKS BOUGHT THE TEA PARTY: Cash Transforms Populist Insurgents To Reliable Vote For Financial Industry

By Josh Israel and Adam Peck on May 21, 2012 at 3:45 pm

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) erupts at a constituent who asked about the bank lobby

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) erupts at a constituent who asked about the bank lobby

The 15 freshmen Republican representatives in the House Tea Party Caucus each ran in 2010 on a populist anti-Wall Street message, highlighting their opposition to bank bailouts like the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and criticizing Washington for enabling the banking sector as it became “Too Big to Fail.” After winning, all fifteen received significant PAC contributions from the banking industry — and have become a reliable vote and mouthpiece for the financial industry, a ThinkProgress analysis of campaign contributions, voting records and public statements reveals.

Rather than campaigning on a typical pro-business platform, the Tea Party freshmen tapped into public resentment of big banks and bailouts. For example, then-candidate Sandy Adams (R-FL) said on her campaign website that she “opposes government bailouts” and “would have voted against TARP and the auto bailout.” Jeff Landry (R-LA) said bailouts of private businesses had “corrupted our free market system by rewarding the irresponsible and penalizing the responsible,” blasting “bank bailouts, which led to taxpayer money directly or indirectly going into multi-million dollar bonuses.”

But in Congress, the Tea Party has toed the line for big banks. Eleven of the 15 have become co-sponsors of H.R. 3461, a top priority for the ABA. According to Americans for Financial Reform, the legislation would “tilt the playing field further in the direction of excessive deference to industry interests and tie the hands of regulators attempting to protect the public interest.” The bill would make it harder for bank examiners to do their job, giving regulatory responsibilities to an industry that’s already shown it can’t police itself.

Here is what happened:

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Election

Republicans Who Campaigned To End Taxpayer-Funded Campaigning Spend Big On Taxpayer Funded Flyers

By Josh Israel on May 16, 2012 at 10:12 am

"Franked" Mailing from Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)

"Franked" Mailing from Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)

The House Tea Party Caucus, chaired by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), says it seeks to represent the views of the people who have “had enough of the reckless spending and vast government overreach coming from Washington.” Fifteen House freshmen are part of the 60-member, all-Republican caucus. The group talks passionately about cutting spending and the need to “work towards getting our fiscal house in order, before the burden of debt is passed onto our children and grandchildren.”

Surprisingly, three of the freshmen Tea Party members were among the ten biggest spenders on taxpayer-funded mailings of the 444 people who served in the House over the last nine months of 2011, according to a new report by USA Today. They were:

  • #4 Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), $263,083
  • #8 Rep.Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), $253,156
  • #10 Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), $237,355

    • Members of Congress may send non-campaign materials to constituents by placing their signature in lieu of a postage stamp — a process known as “franking.” The mailings must be approved by a bipartisan commission.

    McKinley hilariously listed on his now-offline 2010 campaign website that he would “End Taxpayer-funded Campaigning.” His issues page said “David McKinley believes that it’s wrong to abuse taxpayer money by funding campaign-style ‘constituent’ mailings and phone calls during re-election years.”

    Joe Walsh promised in his 2010 campaign to “go to Congress to put a huge ‘STOP’ sign up in front of this runaway train of government spending.”

    On her campaign website, Hertzler calls for an “immediate end to the wasteful and inefficient pork-barrel spending” and “a freeze on discretionary spending except for our national defense, including veterans, Medicare, and Social Security.”

    But Hertzler defended her mailings, telling USA Today, “After 34 years of leadership by [the district's previous Congressman, Rep. Ike Skelton (D)], we feel like it’s important for me people to get to know me and for me to hear from them. It’s part of serving the people that you represent is to communicate with them, and that’s always been a priority of mine.”

    But considering that these three are part of the group that has been most vocal in opposing government spending on unnecessary items, it says a lot that they are more than happy to use public funds to boost their standing with voters.

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