For Immediate Release:                 November 30, 2009

Contact:                                                Ryan Hobart    (573) 636-5241 Ext. 125

FLASHBACK – “There’s Nothing That Happens in Congress That Roy Blunt Isn’t a Major Architect of.”

Jefferson City, MO — Seven years ago today, shortly after Roy Blunt’s election as majority whip, George Bush’s political director Ken Mehlman told the Kansas City Star that “there’s nothing that happens in Congress that Roy Blunt isn’t a major architect of.” [Kansas City Star, 11/30/02]

Even way back then, according to the Star, Congressman Roy Blunt had already “mastered the game” of DC power politics by being an “inside player” and “twisting arms to prevent party defections.”

“Congressman Blunt can try to reinvent himself all he wants,” said Brian Zuzenak, “But whether it’s giving special favors to corporate lobbyists or ramming through President Bush’s disastrous economic policies, Missourians can see the terrible results of his record for themselves.”

And unfortunately for Missourians, Mr. Mehlman’s words are all too true today.  Congressman Roy Blunt is still one of the most powerful members of Congress and still must be held responsible for taking our country in the wrong direction.

·         Rampant Culture of Corruption: According to one report, Blunt ‘passionately embraced the corrupted culture of the Washington, DC lobbying world.’  According to the Washington Post, Blunt created a “political machine” that extended “deep into Washington’s K Street lobbying community.” [Washington Post, 5/17/05]

·         More Big Government: Blunt helped pass legislation characterized as the “largest expansion of the welfare state since President Johnson’s Great Society.” [New England Journal of Medicine, 7/23/09]

·         Ballooning Deficits & Reckless Pork Barrel Spending: The Springfield News Leader said Blunt “was one of the leaders in a Republican Congress that allowed earmarks to get out of control during an era of no accountability.” [Springfield News-Leader, 6/16/07]

·         Billions in Bailouts: Blunt later championed Bush’s $700 billion dollar bailout for Wall Street insiders and opposed caps in executive compensation for executives at companies that received bailout money. [HR 1424, Vote #681, 10/3/08; HR 1664, Vote #182, 4/01/09]

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Chairman Brian Wahby

November 23, 2009

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reports that in the third quarter, real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 3.5% – the first growth of GDP in over a year. This growth, though robust in comparison to the deep constrictions experienced in the dark days of the Bush Administration has not resulted in job creation.   Following the Bush’s Wall Street bail-out (aka TARP) and President Obama’s Emergency stimulus package the US economy needs directed stimuli to spur growth in jobs and to significantly increase consumption.

Some economists have argued that the first round of stimulus was not big enough and others argue that it was perhaps mis-targeted. What we do know is that the first round did break the free-fall that our economy had been experiencing – and for that we should thank President Obama and the Democrats in Congress, but its impact to jump-start job growth and the resulting increase in consumption has been less than apparent.

This recession ultimately is about the demand curve.  You don’t need a PhD in economics to know that the economy is driven by demand (Consumption + Investment + Government Spending).  And what our economy needs to jolt growth is real increases in demand.  The by-far largest component of demand is consumption; that’s us buying and consuming products.  The recession has been marked by a constriction of consumption as consumers have felt less confident about their short term financial security and have increased savings while pulling back on spending.

A new round of stimulus that is designed to provide job security and increase consumption by encouraging the purchase of domestically produced products is just what the American people need to shift recovery into high gear and begin the process of sustained job growth.  Many will argue that we cannot spend our way out of this recession and that we need to be concerned with deficits in the long-term, but we should remember, as economist John Maynard Keynes said, “In the long run we will all be dead.” Although projected long-term deficits are troubling, the Clinton years demonstrated that it is possible to use targeted public investments and sound fiscal policy to significantly grow the economy and turn large deficits into even larger surpluses. (By the way, those arguing against deficit spending were the ones who had no problem wasting the Clinton-era surpluses with wasteful tax breaks for the rich and a trillion-dollar war of choice). We need to worry about today – and creating jobs today.

As policy makers in Washington begin to consider ways to spur recovery they need to employ a portion of the un-used TARP funds to do two things: a portion should be allocated toward deficit reduction and a portion should be directed as stimulus funds focused on cities and major metropolitan areas.  Cities are concentrated centers for commerce.  Where better to jump start the national economy than in places where commerce takes place and takes place quickly?  Cities by their nature are the most efficient market places, allowing for fast transfers, multiple transactions and rapid value creation.  Putting $1000 in the hands of an urbanite provides a much better chance that the money is spent in a number of places for multiple products, thus being turned over more rapidly through more transactions.

As the Congress finishes wrestling with the reform of healthcare (a policy that will yield great returns in the long-run) it is imperative that our federal government craft a second round of stimulus focused on job retention and creation, a policy that focuses economic activity in urban areas where dollars turn faster.  It makes good economic sense for America and for Democrats, it makes good political sense.

DNC Chairman Tim Kaine’s Statement on the Senate’s Vote to Proceed to Full Floor Debate of Health Insurance Reform Legislation

Washington – DNC Chairman Tim Kaine issued the following statement after the Senate voted to begin full debate of health insurance reform legislation.

“Today, the Senate took another historic step on the road to enacting health insurance reform. By clearing this first procedural hurdle, senators will now have an opportunity to debate the health reform bill on the Senate floor and continue to make progress on delivering health insurance reform to the American people.  I want to extend my congratulations to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Dick Durbin for their tenacity in bringing the bill to the floor, and thank countless other senators for their commitment to reform as the Senate begins this historic debate.

“While unfortunate, it’s not terribly surprising that no Republicans voted in favor of the motion to proceed. Defenders of the status quo have been working to derail reform for months – unfortunately, their obstructionist, just-say-no tactics represent more of the same. No matter. We know that there are some members of the Republican Party who understand the urgent need for health insurance reform and we remain hopeful that we can continue to work with those members to find common ground on this historic effort to pass health insurance reform that provides greater security and stability to Americans who have insurance and more quality affordable options to those who don’t.  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would bring down the skyrocketing costs of care for American families, businesses and our government, and reduce the national deficit $130 billion by 2019.

“We’ve been trying to reform our broken system since Harry Truman was president — now, we’re in the home stretch. This time, President Obama and Congressional Democrats will deliver health insurance reform to the American people.”

For Immediate Release:                         November 19, 2009

Contact:                                                Ryan Hobart    (573) 636-5241 Ext. 125

The Latest: Congressman Blunt Now “Concerned” About Wall Street Bailout, Forgetting He Made it Happen

“I am for it, but am also against it” approach shows why 65% of Missourians see Congressman Blunt as “Part of the Problem”

Jefferson City, MO – One year after Congressman Roy Blunt played a key role in passing a $700 billion bailout for his Wall Street friends, Roy Blunt says he is “concerned” about who is responsible for it.  Luckily, he won’t have to look much further than his Washington insider record to find the answer – he is.  Blunt voted to deregulate Wall Street which helped create the “too-big-to-fail” institutions like AIG, and then when they had gambled away Missourians’ hard earned savings, he voted to give Wall Street a hand out to the tune of $700 billion.

“This is like an arsonist talking about the importance of smoke alarms and exactly why 65% of Missourians see Congressman Blunt as part of the problem in Washington” said Brian Zuzenak, Executive Director of the Missouri Democratic Party.  “If he wants to know who is responsible, Congressman Blunt should look in the mirror. Congressman Blunt voted to let Wall Street run wild and then voted to bail them out, leaving Missourians holding the bag. And now he wants to ask questions – the hypocrisy is incredible.”

The Real Congressman Blunt:

St Louis Post Dispatch: “Blunt Has Been A Reliable Pro-Banking Industry Vote”: “Mr. Blunt was in Congress throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s when, during both Republican and Democratic administrations, the banks got everything they asked for, subsequently wrecking the economy. Mr. Blunt has been a reliable pro-banking industry vote, from repealing the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 to refusing to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages in 2009.” [St. Louis Post Dispatch editorial, 11/10/09]

Blunt Has Taken Over $2.8 Million from the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate Industries: Over the course of his career, Blunt has taken $2,853,855 from the finance, insurance and real estate industry, including the $1,653,699 he has taken from their industry PACs.  This includes $635,000 from the securities & investment industry and $506,000 from the commercial banking industry. [Center for Responsive Politics, Accessed 8/12/09]

Blunt Voted to Pass Landmark Wall Street Deregulation Bill – Which Opponents Predicted “Could Lead To An Economic Crisis Down The Road.” In 1999, Blunt voted to pass the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which allowed traditional banks to merge with insurance companies and investment Houses – as they had before the passage of the Glass Steagall Act during the Depression.   The New York Times wrote at the time that, “opponents of the measure gloomily predicted that by unshackling banks and enabling them to move more freely into new kinds of financial activities, the new law could lead to an economic crisis down the road when the marketplace is no longer growing briskly.” [Vote 570, 11/04/99; New York Times, 11/5/99]

• The “Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act … helped pave the way for companies such as AIG and Lehman Brothers to become behemoths laden with bad loans and investments,” according to the Washington Post, last year. [9/17/08]
• “If Glass-Steagall was never torn down, we’d never have this problem,” said industry expert Paul Muolo, executive editor of National Mortgage News and author of Chain of Blame — How Wall Street Caused the Mortgage and Credit Crisis. [Las Vegas Sun, 9/18/08]

Blunt Voted For $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout — TWICE. In October 2008, Blunt voted not once – but twice – in favor of the $700 billion financial rescue package championed by former President Bush and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. After the bill was defeated in the face of public outrage and opposition from his fellow Republicans, then Minority Whip Roy Blunt took the lead in convincing rejectionist Republicans to support the bailout. Though the bill ultimately passed 263-171, 108 Republicans, including Missouri Reps. Akin and Graves and former Rep. Kenny Hulshof, voted “no.” [HR 1424, Vote #681, 10/3/08; HR 3997, Vote #674, 9/29/09]

·         Blunt Key Negotiator On Financial Bailout Package. Blunt was a key House negotiator on the financial bailout package, working closely with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  On October 1^st, Congressional Quarterly reported that “Hoyer said he and Blunt, who has emerged as the GOP leadership’s point man in trying to get a recovery bill passed, had spoken by phone ‘three, four five times today.’ [CQ Today, 10/1/08]

·         Blunt: According to Secretary Paulson, Wall Street Rescue Bill Doomed To Fail Until Sen. Gregg And I “Stepped Up And Made It Happen.” During an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Blunt said Paulson had credited Blunt and Sen. Judd Gregg for making sure the TARP legislation passed. Asked “what would be a couple of high points as a leader,” Blunt said, “And then of course, I had (Treasury Secretary) Hank Paulson tell me on the phone last night that this rescue effort (for the $700 billion financial rescue) appeared not to be happening “until you and (New Hampshire Sen.) Judd Gregg stepped up and made it happen.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 11/23/08]

Congressman Blunt, Senator Chuck Purgason and Kansas City auto consultant Mark Memoly are competing in the August 2010 primary for the Republican nomination for US Senate

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