New Low for Congressman Toomey’s Campaign of Deception

Makes False Claim about Standing up to Bush Spending after Voting for Every Single Bush Budget

MEDIA, Pa. — Today, in a remarkable display of dishonesty, Congressman Toomey claimed that he tried to stand up to spending during his years in Congress. The Associated Press reports, “Toomey told interviewer Ted Koppel on Monday that he also tried to stand up against such spending when he was in Congress.” [AP, 9/27/10]. He might assume that voters will never learn the truth, but his record of spending is clear.

“Congressman Toomey’s claims tonight prove that he is not only out of touch with Pennsylvania but clearly out of touch with reality,” said Sestak spokesman Jonathon Dworkin. “These claims are a low point even for his campaign of falsehoods.  The fact is that he led the biggest spending spree in American history and turned record budget surpluses into record deficits by voting for the reckless Bush budgets and against sensible Pay-as-you-Go legislation.  Meanwhile, his Wall Street friends reaped the benefits and ordinary Pennsylvanians were left with the bill.”

As much as Congressman Toomey tries to distort his record on spending, taxes and Social Security, the facts show that U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak is the only one in this race who will put Pennsylvania’s working families first.

“We can’t afford to go back to the same failed policies that got us into this mess – but that’s all we hear from Congressman Toomey,” said U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak. “This election is a stark choice between candidates of very different values. My opponent likes to talk in general terms about taxes and spending, but the fact is that I’m the only candidate in this race who has a detailed plan to create jobs. I believe we need to focus on tax credits for small businesses and the middle class. Congressman Toomey wants to focus on Wall Street with zero taxes on big banks and large corporations and gutting Social Security by letting it be gambled on Wall Street, even though he admits it worsens Social Security’s current shortfall and 20 million seniors rely on it to stay out of poverty.”

Congressman Toomey’s Record on Fiscal Responsibility

Toomey voted for all of President Bush’s budgets, which raised government spending by more than $50 billion every year and added a combined $1.7 trillion to the deficit. [SConRes 95, 05/19/04, #198; HConRes 95, 04/11/03, #141; HCR 353, 03/20/02, #79; HConRes 83, 05/09/01, #104; HCR 290, 04/13/00, #125]
President Bush and Toomey inherited a unified budget surplus of $236 billion from President Clinton, the largest surplus in American history.  Budget surpluses were expected to continue for another ten years when President Bush joined Toomey in Washington in January 2001.   In 2005, when Toomey left Congress, the budget deficit reached $318 billion. [Office of Management and Budget]

Despite contributing to three budget surpluses, Toomey allowed PAYGO rules to expire. As these rules required that any new spending be offset by increases in revenue or decreases in spending elsewhere, the deficit soared when the statute ended. Toomey later tried to block attempts to re-establish this responsible and commonsense policy. [HR 5708, 11/14/02, HRes 602, 11/13/02, 3472; HR 4663, 06/ 25/04, #317; SConRes 95, 05/05/04, #145]

In a television appearance, Toomey declared “I don’t think the deficits are the biggest problem right now,” showing a blatant disregard for the growing debt that his policies will burden our children with later. [MSNBC, Hardball, 07/10/06]

As a Congressman, Toomey testified: “But a broader point must be made about focusing excessively on budget deficits.  While  shrinking the federal deficit is important, it is not crucial as an end in itself, but only to the extent that it serves as a means to another end-increasing prosperity and economic growth.  At the end of the day, job growth, higher incomes, and gains in family wealth are more important than the number on the federal government’s ledger.

[http://budget.house.gov/hearings/2007/07.25toomey_testimony.pdf]