McCain's Record: A Dangerous Lack of Oversight

Leadership in Washington has been preaching for years that deregulation was the solution. "But the implosion in financial services—until recently seen as the shining example of U.S-style free market capitalism—is the definitive sign that deregulation has lost its allure." [Business Week, 9/18/08]

McCain Mocked Obama's Proposal To Give Greater Supervisory Authority To The Fed, Now He's Turning To The Same Policies. "In a March speech, [Obama] called for giving the Federal Reserve greater supervisory authority when it acts as a lender of last resort...McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a statement after Obama's speech that the Illinois senator is endorsing the 'failed liberal policies of the past.'In the current environment, though, those policies are looking more appealing, even to McCain who also called for streamlining regulation and appointing a central oversight agency." [Bloomberg, 9/17/08]

2008: Only Weeks Before The Bear Stearns Collapse, McCain Proclaimed Himself A “Deregulator” And Said “I’m Always for Less Regulation.” McCain told the Wall Street Journal “As far as a need for additional regulations are concerned...I am a fundamentally a deregulator. I'd like to see a lot of the unnecessary government regulations eliminated, not just a moratorium.” [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08]

2003: McCain: “I Am A Deregulator. I Believe In Deregulation.” While speaking about the cable and satellite television during an appearance on CNN’s “On the Money,” John McCain said, “I am a deregulator. I believe in deregulation.” [CNN, “In the Money,” 7/13/03]

1993: McCain Spoke In Support of a Banking Bill Because It Eliminated “The Tremendous Regulatory Burden Imposed On Financial Institutions.” While speaking in favor of bank deregulation on the floor of the senate, John McCain said, “This legislation takes a small but important step toward eliminating the tremendous regulatory burden imposed on financial institutions… One principal reason banks are unable to make loans is the bewildering array of statutory and regulatory restrictions and paperwork requirements imposed by Congress and the regulatory agencies. [Congressional Record, 11/19/93]

McCain: Out of Touch

The Army Times Said That McCain’s Comments Have Raised “Questions About The Arizona Senator’s Commitment To Funding The Ailing VA System.” The Army Times reported, “Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s call to ‘concentrate’ veterans’ health care on those with combat injuries is raising questions about the Arizona senator’s commitment to funding the ailing VA system… Paul Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, said McCain ‘appears to want to significantly narrow the number of veterans who can use VA, and that would alarm many veterans.’ Sullivan said veterans “should be very concerned by any effort to restrict access to VA health care and benefits by excluding other veterans with medical conditions clearly linked with their military service, such as illnesses related to Agent Orange poisoning, injures incurred in the combat zone, injuries due to training, and the adverse side effects of vaccines and experimental drugs.” [Army Times, 7/23/08]

Disabled American Veterans Legislative Director Said That McCain’s Proposal Would Increase Costs For Veterans Because His Plan Relies On Private Hospitals Which Are More Expensive Which Could Also Lead To Further Rationing Of Care. “To help veterans who live far from VA hospitals or need specialized care the VA can’t provide, McCain proposed giving low-income veterans and those who incurred injury during their service a card they could use at private hospitals. The proposal is not an attempt to privatize the VA, as critics have alleged, but rather, an effort to improve care and access to it, he said. Joe Violanti, legislative director of the Disabled American Veterans, a nonpartisan organization, said the proposal would increase costs because private hospitals are more expensive. The increased cost could lead to further rationing of care, he said.” [Las Vegas Sun, 8/10/08]

McCain Claimed To Have A Perfect Record From Organizations Like The Veterans Of Foreign Wars and The American Legion. July 2008: McCain: “The reason why I have a perfect voting record from organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and all the other veterans’ service organizations is because of my support of them.” [FactCheck.org, 8/9/08, YouTube]

The Veterans of Foreign Wars And The American Legion “Don’t Even Dole Out Ratings…” [FactCheck.org, 8/9/08]

IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America) Has Given Sen. John McCain A“D” Rating. [Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America]

2006: Obama Received An 80% Rating From The “Disabled American Veterans”; McCain Received A 20% Rating. In 2006, Obama supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 80% of the time and McCain supported their interests 20% of the time. [Project Vote Smart, accessed: 6/25/08]

McCain's Record On Veterans

McCain Refused To Support Bipartisan Legislation To Reform GI Bill. "On his campaign plane this afternoon, McCain said he and allies in the Senate are working on an alternative to the bill, but would only support something that included incentives to stay in the military. 'We are working on proposals of our own. I'm a consistent supporter of educational benefits for the men and women of the military,' McCain said. 'I want to make sure that we have incentives for people to remain in the military as well as for people to join the military.'" [ABC News, 4/14/08]

McCain Voted Against Increase Of $3.5 Billion Over President Bush’s VA Funding Request; Proposed Increase Would Cover Recommendations/Requests In Major Veterans Groups “Independent Budget.” In 2007, Obama twice voted for and McCain twice voted against the FY 2009 Democratic budget resolution, which provided for over $3.5 billion more in funding for Veterans than the Bush Administration’s proposal. [Vote 114, SCR 21, Adopted 52-47: R 2-47; D 48-0 (ND 43-0, SD 5-0); I 2-0, 3/23/07; Vote 181, HR 2206, Motion agreed to 80-14: R 42-3; D 37-10 (ND 32-10, SD 5-0); I 1-1, 5/24/07]

McCain Voted Against Increased Funding For Veterans; Readjustment Counseling Services. In 2005, Obama voted for and McCain voted against the Akaka amendment that would provide an additional $10 million for the Readjustment Counseling Service, offset with a $10 million reduction in the HealthVet account. [HR 2528, Vote 242, 9/22/05, Failed 48-50, D: 43-0, R:4-50, I:1-0]

McCain Voted For FY 2006 Budget Resolution That Cut VA Funding By Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars. In 2005, Obama voted against cutting $10 billion from Medicaid and provided tax breaks while increasing the federal deficit. Stabenow, a leading proponent of mandatory funding for VA health care, said on the floor, “Unfortunately, this budget makes cuts in veterans health care programs. Unbelievably, at a time of war, when more and more people are coming home and changing one cap for another, this conference report does not provide the full funding for veterans health care. Even though more and more of our brave men and women are coming home with extensive medical needs, even though many veterans have to wait up to 6 months to get into certain hospital services, this budget still cuts veterans health care. I believe this is morally wrong.” [HCR 95, Vote 114, 4/29/05, Passed 52-47, D:0-43, R:52-3, I:0-1]

McCain Voted For VA Budget That The American Legion Called “Inconsistent With The Thanks Of A Grateful Nation” Because Of Its Cuts In Funding For Veterans Health Care. In 2005, Obama voted against and McCain voted for the adoption of the concurrent resolution that would set broad spending and revenue targets over the next five years. The resolution would allow up to $848.8 billion in discretionary spending for fiscal 2006 and call for $17 billion in cuts in mandatory spending over five years. [Vote 81, 3/17/05, Passed 51-49, D: 0-44, R: 51-4, I: 0-1; cbpp.org, 4/28/05]

McCain Voted Against An Amendment To Create A Reserve Fund To Allow For An Increase In Veterans’ Medical Care By $1.8 Billion By Eliminating Abusive Tax Loopholes. McCain voted against Nelson’s 2004 amendment that failed 46-51-3. [SCR 95, S 2745, Vote 40, 3/10/04, Failed 46-51-3, D: 45-1-2, R: 0-50-1, I: 1-0]

McCain's Doublespeak on Taxes

McCain Vowed To Make Bush’s Tax Cuts Permanent. During a January 2008 GOP debate, McCain said: “I think it’s very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent.” [MSNBC/FAU GOP Debate, 1/24/2008]

FLASHBACK: McCain Lamented Bush's Tax Cuts, "I'd Like To See Much More Of This Tax Cut Shared By Working Americans...I Think It Still Devotes Too Much Of It To The Wealthiest Americans" [Washington Post, 4/25/08]

McCain Adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin Admitted, Contrary To What McCain Says, That They’re Going To Have To Raise Taxes. “And now, in a forthcoming book by Fortune columnist Matt Miller, he makes it clear that the next President is going to have to raise taxes....So why does tax-cutting mania persist among Republicans, I asked Holtz-Eakin, the McCain adviser--given...that, as Holtz-Eakin himself explain to me, taxes soon have to go up substantially in any event? ‘It's the brand,’ he said, ‘and you don't dilute the brand.’” [Joe Klein, Time Magazine, 9/12/08]

McCain Says He Would Treat Employer Sponsored Healthcare as Taxable Income. The Tax Policy Center wrote that McCain “says he would treat employer sponsored health benefits as taxable income, while giving individuals a tax credit for the insurance they buy. On its own, taxing employer insurance just like wages would be a huge tax increase—OMB estimates in the neighborhood of $1 trillion from 2009–2013. To many on the right, that alone would violate the no-tax pledge.” [Tax Policy Center, 2/19/08]

McCain's Record On Taxes

2007: McCain Voted To Extend Bush Tax Cuts.

[2007 Senate Vote # 85, 3/21/07]

FLASHBACK: McCain: “Sixty percent of the benefits from [Bush's] tax cuts go to the wealthiest 10% of Americans—and that’s not the kind of tax relief that Americans need.

[Los Angeles Times, 1/5/00]

FLASHBACK: 2001 and 2003, McCain Voted Against Bush’s Tax Cuts.

[Senate vote #170, 5/26/01; Senate vote #196, 5/23/03]

McCain's Voting Record

McCain Voted At Least Eleven Times Against Tax Incentives For Renewable Or Alternative Energy. [2006 Senate Vote #42; 2005 Senate Vote #363, #213, #158; 2003 Senate Vote #317; 2002 Senate Vote #94, #77; 2001 Senate Vote #125; 1999 Senate Vote #246, #171; 1992 Senate Vote #150, 7/23/1992]

McCain Voted At Least Five Times Against Renewable Energy Mandates. [2005 Senate Vote #141, 6/16/2005; 2002 Senate Vote #59, 3/21/2002; 2002 Senate Vote #58, 3/21/2002; 2002 Senate Vote #55, 3/21/2002; 2002 Senate Vote #50, 3/14/2002]

McCain Voted At Least Seventeen Times Against Renewable And Alternative Fuel Mandates. [2005 Senate Vote #139, #138; 2004 Senate Vote #74, #73; 2003 Senate Vote #317, #209, #207, #206, #204, #203; 2002 Senate Vote #91, #88, #78; 1994 Senate Vote #255, 8/3/1994; 1992 Senate Vote #150, #27,#18]

McCain Voted Against And Obama Voted For Making Gasoline And Energy Price Gouging A Federal Crime. McCain voted against and Obama voted for the Cantwell, D-Wash. motion to waive the Budget Act with respect to the Stevens, R-Alaska, point of order against Cantwell amendment. The Cantwell makes price gouging on energy products, services or markets a federal crime. [S. 2020, vote 334, 11/17/05; Motion Rejected 57-42: R 13-42; D 43-0 (ND 39-0, SD 4-0); I 1-0.]

McCain Was The Only Senator To Miss A Vote To End Big Oil Tax Breaks To Invest In Clean Energy. In 2007, McCain was the only senator who failed to vote on a motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the Energy Independence and Security Act. This vote was about whether to close $13 billion in tax breaks for major oil and gas companies to invest in new clean energy technologies such as wind and solar, and efficiency. ’In December [2007], he was the only senator to miss a vote on whether to funding extension of tax credits for renewable energy by eliminating billions of dollars in tax deductions for oil companies.” Sixty votes were required for passage. The motion was rejected 59-40. [HR 6, Vote #425, 12/13/07, Failed: 59-40: D 49-1; R: 9-39; I: 1-0; WSJ, 5/12/08]

Did You Know?

McCain’s Tax Breaks And Giveaways For Big Oil Would Cost Virginia Residents $1.1 Billion. [Center For American Progress, 9/13/08]

McCain: Out of Touch

Ledbetter Lost Supreme Court Case. Lilly Ledbetter worked at a Goodyear Tire Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Alabama, for 19 years. By the time Lilly retired as a supervisor, she was making $6,500 less than the lowest-paid male supervisor. When she made a claim for pay discrimination, the Supreme Court dismissed her case, telling her she should have filed her complaint within six months of the discrimination - even though she didn’t know she was being discriminated against at that point. [National Women’s Law Center]

Senator Obama and other Democrats in Congress supported the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to allow women more time to make their claims. But John McCain supports the current regime: unless a woman makes a claim within 180 days of initially being discriminated against, she could go her whole career being paid less than her male counterparts with no legal recourse. When questioned about his opposition to the equal pay bill, he said women needed more “education and training.” Disagreeing with women’s organizations across the country, McCain later said the equal pay act wouldn’t do “anything to help the rights of women.” [USA Today, 4/23/08; National Committee on Pay Equity; Washington Post, 5/7/08]

McCain Brags About His Anti-Choice Record And Wants To Overturn Roe v. Wade. McCain has a long anti-choice record and he even bragged about the consistent “zero” score he had received from NARAL Pro-Choice America. His campaign website says he “believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned.” NARAL 8/11/08; McCain Website, "Human Dignity and the Sanctity of Life," 8/11/08]

Did You Know?

Women In Virginia Earn 76 Cents For Every Dollar A Man Makes, Which Is Below The National Average.

[Census, Table 6, 8/2007]

McCain: Out of Touch

McCain Called Mortgage Crisis Victims "Irresponsible." "I have always been committed to the principle that it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.” […] “Any assistance must be temporary and must not reward people who were irresponsible at the expense of those who weren't.” [McCain Housing Speech, 3/25/08]

Top McCain Economic Adviser: No Assistance To Those Who Failed In Assessing Credit Risks. In an editorial published in the Washington Post, McCain’s top economic adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, wrote that one of the principles McCain will apply in addressing the mortgage crisis would be that “No taxpayer dollars should bail out real estate speculators or financial market participants who failed to do due diligence in assessing credit risks.” [Washington Post, 3/24/08]

McCain Did Not Know How Many Houses He And His Wife Own. McCain said in an interview “that he was uncertain how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own. ‘I think — I'll have my staff get to you,’ McCain told Politico in Las Cruces, N.M. ‘It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you.’ The correct answer is at least four, located in Arizona, California and Virginia, according to his staff. Newsweek estimated this summer that the couple owns at least seven properties.” [Politico, 8/21/08]

Unlike Rival, McCain Rejects Broad U.S. Aid On Mortgages. The New York Times reported, “Senator John McCain of Arizona warned Tuesday against vigorous government action to solve the deepening mortgage crisis and the market turmoil it has caused, saying that ‘it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.’” [New York Times, 3/26/08]

Did You Know?

Virginia Homeowners Are Expected To Lose Close To $135 Billion Property Value In 2008-2009. [U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, State-by-State Figures: Foreclosure and Housing Wealth Losses, April 10, 2008]

Virginia Foreclosure Rates Will Increase By Close To 52% Between The First Quarter of 2008 and 2009. [Joint Economic Committee, accessed 9/5/08]

In The Second Quarter of 2008 1 out of every 228 Virginia Households Received A Foreclosure Filing. [Realty Trac Press Release, 7/25/08]

McCain's Voting Record

McCain Voted Against An Amendment That Would Increase Funding For Conservation Programs. The amendment would have increased support for Function 300 by $2.9 billion in budget authority in FY 2007. Function 300 includes a wide variety of programs whose primary purpose is to develop, manage, and maintain the nation’s natural resources and environment. The funding would have bolstered U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' civil works programs, Clean Water State Revolving Fund, National Park Service, NOAA, USDA Forest Service and conservation programs, and other natural resource needs. [2006 Senate Vote #60, S. Amdt. 3103 S. Con. Res. 83, 3/16/06]

McCain Voted For A Measure Which Would Reduce Funding For Land And Water Conservation. McCain Voted for a motion to waive the Budget Act in order to permit consideration for an amendment that would reduce funding for Land and Water Conservation Fund land acquisitions by $121 million. [2005 Senate Vote #159, S. Amdt. 1019, H.R. 2361 6/28/05]

McCain Missed A Vote That Would Have Helped Increase Funding For Multiple Conservation Programs. McCain missed a vote on a motion to table an amendment, which reduced a subsidy for a below-cost timber program administered by the Forest Service and increase funding for other National Forest programs. The following amounts became available for the following Forest Service programs: $33.7 million for wildlife habitat management, $22.1 million for inland fish habitat management, $24.3 million for fish habitat management, $29.5 million for threatened, endangered and sensitive species habitat management, $196.9 million for timber sales management, $86.9 million for road construction and $122.5 million for road maintenance. [1999 Senate Vote #272, S. Amdt. 1588, H.R. 2466, 9/14/99]

McCain Missed A Vote That Helped Outline Proposed Budget Levels For The National Park Centennial Fund. McCain missed a vote that outlined the proposed federal budget for next year, as well as proposed budget levels for Fiscal Year 2008 and Fiscal Years 2010 through 2013. Included in the Budget was a deficit neutral reserve fund for the National Park Centennial Fund. The Budget Resolution provides a fiscally responsible plan for funding critical national priorities, and reaches balance without raising taxes. [2008 Senate Vote #85, S. Con. Res. 70 3/14/08]

McCain Voted Against The NRA Marksmanship Program. In 1993, McCain voted to kill an amendment to the Fiscal Year 1994 Defense Appropriations bill (HR 3116) to kill the $2.5 million in funds for the Civilian Marksmanship Program to help the National Rifle Association and private gun clubs teach shooting skills to young people. This amendment was killed by a vote of 67 to 30. [Arizona Republic, 10/24/93; Senate CQ Vote# 325, 10/21/93]