Similar releases will be sent targeting candidates in Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, North Carolina, Arkansas, New Hampshire, Nevada, Missouri, and Florida.
Charles Koch told MSNBC he does “expect something in return” for his political donations. This week, we’ll highlight how the Senators and Senate candidates who accepted Koch cash and benefit from the support of Koch front groups are making sure the Kochs get their money’s worth – all at the expense of the middle class.
Recent Pennsylvania college graduates had an average of $33,264 in student loan debt – the third highest rate in the nation – but that didn’t stop Senator Pat Toomey from siding with the Koch brothers to block and cut college affordability programs. Koch political front groups opposed a bill that would allow students to refinance their federal college loans and also supported the deepest cuts to the Pell Grant program in history. Toomey has received nearly $60,000 in Koch cash and, as Charles Koch said in a national TV interview, he does “expect something in return.” So, Toomey made sure the Kochs got what they wanted by blocking the refinancing program, which would have helped more than 1.2 million Pennsylvania student loan borrowers, and voting to cut Pell Grants.
“These programs would have helped middle class students and families afford college, but Pat Toomey wouldn’t stand up to the Kochs and risk losing their campaign cash,” said Lauren Passalacqua, DSCC National Press Secretary. “Toomey’s votes are a part of a long record voting against Pennsylvania’s best interests, all to keep the billionaire Koch brothers happy. Pennsylvanians deserve better than a Senator who is more concerned with filling his campaign chest and protecting his political career than helping students and families.”
BACKGROUND:
Toomey Voted With Americans For Prosperity For The FY 2012 Ryan Budget. In May 2011, Toomey voted with Americans for Prosperity, who supported a “yes” vote on a: “Reid, D-Nev., motion to proceed to the concurrent resolution that would allow $2.859 trillion in new budget authority for fiscal 2012.” The motion was rejected 40-57. [AFP Scorecard, Accessed 11/14/15; H.Con.Res. 34, Vote 77,5/25/11]
- FY 2012 Ryan Budget Contained Largest Reduction In Pell Grants In History. “The budget lays out little in terms of cuts to specific programs, instead simply decreeing caps on levels of spending. But one cut is explicitly proposed in the document — a cut to the Pell Grant program, which provides college tuition assistance to low-income students. […] If implemented, this would be the largest reduction in Pell Grants in history, more than eight times higher than the previous record, which was a $100 reduction in the maximum award in 1994. These cuts ‘will reduce the number of low income students receiving Bachelor’s degrees each year by about 61,000.’” [ThinkProgress, 4/5/11]
- Headline: “House GOP Budget Slashes Billions From Pell Grants, Bumps Millions Of Students Out Of The Program”[ThinkProgress, 4/5/11]
Toomey Voted Against Legislation To Allow Students To Refinance Federal Student Loans Paid For By Taxes On Millionaires That Was Opposed By A Koch Front Group. In June 2014, Toomey voted against legislation to allow students to refinance their Federal student loans that, according to CQ, was offset “by requiring millionaires to pay a federal tax rate of at least a 30 percent.” A spokesperson for Generation Opportunity said that the proposal “misses the point” and “was shortsighted” because it raised taxes. [Rocky Mountain Collegian, 6/18/14; CQ, 6/11/14; S. 2432, Vote 185, 6/11/14]
- More Than 1.2 Million Pennsylvania Student Loan Borrowers Would Benefit From Student Loan Refinancing Proposal. According to the Department of Education, 1,223,000 Pennsylvania student loan borrowers would benefit from legislation that let them refinance their student loans at lower rates. [U.S. Department of Education, 2014]
Average Debt For Pennsylvania Class Of 2014 Graduates Was Nearly $35,000, The Third Highest In The Nation.According to TICAS, the average debt for Pennsylvania class of 2014 graduates was $33,264, the third highest in the nation. [TICAS, Accessed11/16/15]
Politico: Americans For Prosperity Was “The Main Political Arm” Of The Koch Brothers. “The Koch brothers’ main political arm intends to spend more than $125 million this year on an aggressive ground, air and data operation benefiting conservatives, according to a memo distributed to major donors and sources familiar with the group.” [Politico, 5/9/14]
CNN: Generation Opportunity Was “The Youth Engagement Arm Of The Koch Brothers’ Political Network.” “Evan Feinberg, who since 2013 was the executive director of Generation Opportunity, the youth engagement arm of the Koch Brothers’ political network, departed the organization in June. He will now lead a new group to be called Stand Together for America. Feinberg’s move is the most high-profile loss in what people familiar with Generation Opportunity describe as a string of senior level departures that are roiling the nonprofit group.” [CNN, 9/1/15]
TOOMEY HAS A 96% LIFETIME RATING FROM AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY
Toomey Had A 96% Lifetime Rating From Americans For Prosperity And Had A 100% Rating For The Current Congress.[AFP Scorecard, Accessed 11/13/15]
TOOMEY RECEIVED NEARLY $60K IN KOCH CASH & SUPPORTED BY KOCH-BACKED CAMPAIGN ADS
Members Of The Koch Family, Including Charles And David Koch, Have Contributed $17,100 To Toomey. [Influence Explorer, Accessed 11/15/15]
Koch Industries’ PAC And Employees Contributed $39,000 To Toomey And His Leadership PAC. [Influence Explorer, Accessed 11/15/15]
David Koch Contributed $2,000 To Toomey’s Leadership PAC. [Influence Explorer, Accessed 11/15/15]
Koch-Backed Veterans Group Pledged Spent $1.5 Million To Prop Up Toomey’s Re-Election Campaign. “Sen. Pat Toomey will be getting a very public pat on the back for his work on holding the Department of Veterans Affairs ‘accountable for its failures.’ Concerned Veterans for America are spending $1.5 million on a digital, TV and mail campaign to thank Toomey for being ‘a leader in the fight to hold VA bureaucrats accountable for failing Pennsylvania veterans.’ ‘Sen. Toomey’s actions make it clear that veterans issues are a top priority, and CVA wants Pennsylvanians to understand and appreciate his efforts to fix the VA and hold the VA accountable for failing America’s veterans,’ CVA CEO Pete Hegseth said in a statement announcing the ad campaign.” [PoliticsPA, 8/5/15]
- Concerned Veterans For America “Was Funded Almost Entirely By” The Koch Dark Money Group The TC4 Trust. “The Washington Post and the Center for Responsive Politics identified a coalition of allied conservative groups active in the 2012 elections that together raised at least $407 million, backed by a donor network organized by the industrialists Charles and David Koch. Most of the funds originated with two groups, the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce and TC4 Trust, both of which routed some of the money through a Phoenix-based nonprofit group called the Center to Protect Patient Rights (CPPR). […] Concerned Veterans for America, which in 2012 held events spotlighting the unemployment rate among veterans and the difficulties members of the military face in casting ballots. The group was funded almost entirely by TC4 in 2012.” [Washington Post, 1/5/14]
