Fact Check: Sestak’s Press Club Interview Riddled with Errors

By TOOMEY FOR SENATE

Allentown – Congressman Sestak, when will the dissembling end?

Yesterday, at a speech before the Pennsylvania Press Club, Congressman Joe Sestak persisted in his dissembling and evasions on earmarks and bailouts.

First, Congressman Sestak was asked why he refuses to live up to a pledge on his campaign website to return campaign contributions from people who received earmarks through his congressional office. The Philadelphia Inquirer found that Sestak violated his pledge to the tune of $119,000.

In his answer, Congressman Sestak said he made “a personal policy” and “never announced it.” He also says that “no one has yet to show me . . . where we haven’t kept what we’ve tried to do.”

THE TRUTH: The pledge is very much public under the ethics section on Congressman Sestak’s campaign website. It is also simply not true that no one has highlighted Sestak’s specific violations. The Philadelphia Inquirer found at least $22,000 from senior executives that were received during the appropriations process that were not returned. And the Toomey campaign has published a handy list for Sestak as well, including:

Michael Piasecki, President, Dragonfly Pictures Inc., $9,500
Gregory Piasecki, CFO, Dragonfly Pictures Inc., $11,800
George Cornelius, President/CEO, Arkema Inc., $2,300
Charles Wardlaw, Vice President, Arkema Inc., $250
Jean H. McManus, President, Peak Beam Systems, $9,300
Annie McManus, Director of Marketing, Peak Beam Systems, $3,000
Robert Schena, CEO, Rajant Corp, $4,700
Frank N. Piasecki, Founder, Piasecki Aircraft, $4,600
Frederick Piasecki, Chairman of the Board & CTO, Piasecki Aircraft, $4,600
John W. Piasecki, Vice-President, Piasecki Aircraft, $5,600
Harshad Mehta, President & CEO, Silicon Power Corporation, $3,400
William P. Loftus, CEO, Gestalt LLC, $4,800
William P. Loftus, Managing Director, Accenture National Security Services, $4,700

Second, Congressman Sestak was asked why he voted to bail out Wall Street banks a second time in January of 2009 after voting to release the first half of the TARP money in October 2008. 99 Democrats, along with 171 Republicans, voted against releasing the second $350 billion in TARP money to the Wall Street Banks. (RC #27, 01/22/09). Congressman Sestak did not even remember this vote.

THE TRUTH: Congressman Sestak voted to bailout Wall Street banks in October 2008 (RC #681, 10/03/08). This was a $700 billion bailout program, but Congress only initially released $350 billion in bailout money. Three months later, a majority of Congress recognized that spending taxpayer dollars to bail out Wall Street banks was a bad idea. So the House of Representatives voted to stop the TARP program at $350 billion and withhold the second $350 billion (unfortunately, the bill died in the Senate), but Congressman Sestak thought taxpayers should continue to bail out Wall Street banks. Taxpayers have a right to know why.

“Congressman Sestak has been asked repeatedly to own up to the violation of his pledge on earmark-related contributions, and he has stonewalled for a week and a half straight,” Toomey Communications Director Nachama Soloveichik said. “Yesterday, he similarly refused to own up to his vote to bail out the Wall Street banks a second time. It is time for Congressman Sestak to start taking responsibility for his actions.”

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