Jon Tester and President Obama know each other very well. Obama was one of the few out-of-state Democrats who helped Tester get elected in 2006. Obama was nice enough to contribute $5,000 to Tester’s PAC and even headlined a fundraiser for him…in San Francisco. Tester called Obama the “real deal” and the partnership has continued. Since Obama got to the White House, Tester has voted for Obama’s agenda 95 percent of time. When Obama needed him, Tester was there to vote for his $1.18 trillion stimulus, the $1.76 trillion healthcare bill, and Obama’s numerous “irresponsible” trillion-dollar spending sprees. This isn’t the independent leadership Montana needs.
Tester Has Voted With Obama’s Position 94.667 Percent Of The Time:
|
TESTER’S VOTES WITH THE PRESIDENT’S POSITION |
|||||||
|
|
Voting |
Presidential |
Party |
Conservative |
|||
|
Year |
Support |
Oppose |
Support |
Oppose |
Support |
Oppose |
|
|
2011 |
99% |
90% |
10% |
87% |
13% |
||
|
2010 |
99% |
97% |
3% |
89% |
11% |
— |
— |
|
2009 |
99% |
97% |
3% |
92% |
8% |
— |
— |
|
2008 |
98% |
30% |
70% |
92% |
8% |
— |
— |
|
2007 |
99% |
37% |
63% |
84% |
16% |
— |
— |
(CQ Website, www.cq.com, Accessed 4/24/12)
Obama Was One Of The Few Out-Of-State People Who Helped Tester Fundraise And Campaign. “Although Tester appeared recently at a fundraiser in San Francisco with Democratic Party headline-grabber Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, he has limited his campaign help, in Montana at least, to veterans such as former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia, who lost three of his limbs in the Vietnam War, and former NATO supreme allied commander Gen. Wesley Clark.” (High-Ranking Guardsman Touts Tester,” Great Falls Tribune, 11/2/06)
- Barack Obama’s PAC, The Hope Fund, Contributed $5,000 To Tester’s 2006 Campaign. (The Center For Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed12/8/11)
- In 2006, Then-Sen. Obama Raised Money For Tester At A Fundraiser In San Francisco. “Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will raise money for Democratic Senate candidate Jon Tester in San Francisco Wednesday. Tester is challenging Montana Sen. Conrad Burns, a Republican, in one of the most closely watched Senate races this year. Spokesman Matt McKenna said Tester will attend the fundraiser. Obama, a freshman senator elected in 2004, made headlines Sunday when he acknowledged he is considering a run for president in 2008. He said he would not make a decision until after the Nov. 7 elections.” (Mary Clare Jalonick, “Obama Will Raise Money For Tester,” The Associated Press, 10/23/06)
TESTER: “He’s [Obama] The Real Deal…” (John Adams, “Tester Tours Obama’s ‘Real Deal’ Credentials,” Great Falls Tribune, 8/29/08)
Tester Voted In Favor Of The Stimulus Package. “Adoption of the conference report on the bill that would provide an estimated $787.2 billion in tax cuts and spending increases to stimulate the economy, plus provisions to prevent the alternative minimum tax from applying to millions of additional taxpayers in 2009 and to increase the ceiling on federal borrowing by $789 billion to $12.104 trillion. The tax provisions, estimated to cost $211.8 billion through 2019, would include extending current accelerated depreciation allowances for businesses, suspending taxes on the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits per recipient for 2009, and expanding a number of other individual tax credits, including the first-time homebuyer tax credit to $8,000. Mandatory spending increases, expected to cost $267 billion through 2019, include an extension of unemployment and welfare benefits, Medicaid payments to states, health insurance assistance for individuals and grants for health information technology. Discretionary spending, estimated at $308.3 billion through 2019 and include grants to state and local schools and funds for public housing, transportation and nutrition assistance.” (H.R. 1, CQ Vote #61: Adopted 61-37 NV-1: R 3-37; D 56-0; I 2-0, 2/10/09, Tester Voted Yea)
The Total Cost Of The Stimulus With Interest Is $1.18 Trillion:
- In February 2012, The Non-Partisan Congressional Budget Office Revised Their Estimated Cost Of The Stimulus Up To $831 Billion. “When ARRA was being considered, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that it would increase budget deficits by $787 billion between fiscal years 2009 and 2019. CBO now estimates that the total impact over the 2009-2019 period will amount to about $831 billion.” (Douglas Elmendorf, “Estimated Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act On Employment And Economic Output From October 2011 Through December 2011,” Congressional Budget Office, February 2012)
- CBO Estimated The Government’s Interest Costs From The Stimulus Would Total $347 Billion Between 2009-2019. “Under CBO’s current economic assumptions and assuming that none of the direct budgetary effects of H.R. 1 are offset by future legislation, CBO estimates that the government’s interest costs would increase by $0.7 billion in fiscal year 2009 and by a total of $347 billion over the 2009-2019 period (see enclosed table).” (Congressional Budget Office Website, www.cbo.gov, 1/27/09)
Tester Voted For The FY 2010 Senate Budget That Would Allow Up To $1.08 Trillion In Spending. “Adoption of the concurrent resolution that would set broad spending and revenue targets over the next five years. The resolution would allow up to $1.08 trillion in discretionary spending for fiscal 2010 and increase discretionary spending by $490 billion over five years. It would assume a three-year adjustment to prevent additional taxpayers from paying the alternative minimum tax. It would create numerous exceptions to the discretionary spending limit, including one to allow for health care changes and one for a cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions. It also would assume a deficit of $1.7 trillion in fiscal 2009 and $1.2 trillion in fiscal 2010.” (S. Con. Res. 13, CQ Vote #154: Adopted 55-43: R 0-41; D 53-2; I 2-0, 4/2/09, Tester Voted Yea)
- The Union Leader Called The Budget “The Most Fiscally Irresponsible Budget In The History Of The Federal Government.” “The Republicans under President Bush were far from prudent with the people’s money. They are pikers compared to Democrats under President Obama, who just passed the most fiscally irresponsible budget in the history of the federal government.” (Editorial, “Reckless; A Historic Failure,” The Union Leader, 4/5/09)
Tester Voted For The $1.1 Trillion FY 2010 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. “Adoption of the conference report on the bill that would provide $446.8 billion in discretionary spending for federal departments and agencies covered by six unfinished fiscal 2010 spending bills. The measure incorporates the following previously separate appropriations bills from the 111th Congress: Commerce-Justice-Science; Financial Services; Labor-HHS-Education; Military Construction-VA; State-Foreign Operations; and Transportation-HUD. It also would prohibit the release or transfer of detainees held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the United States, for any reason other than prosecution.” (H.R. 3288, CQ Vote #374: Adopted 57-37: R 3-32; D 52-3; I 2-0, 12/13/09, Tester Voted Yea)
Tester Voted For The Senate Version Of The Health Care Overhaul Bill. “Passage of the bill, as amended, that would overhaul the nation’s health insurance system and require most individuals to buy health insurance by 2014. It would create a system of national private insurance plans supervised by the Office of Personnel Management and create state-run marketplaces for purchasing health insurance. Those that do not obtain coverage would be subject to an excise tax. Excluded from the mandate would be those exempt from filing income tax and others with a hardship waiver, religious objection or those who cannot afford coverage. Employers with 50 or more workers would have to provide coverage or pay a fine if any employee gets a subsidized plan on the exchange. The bill would provide tax credits to certain small businesses for providing coverage and provide subsidies to individuals making up to four times the federal poverty level, excluding illegal immigrants. It would bar the use of federal funds to pay for abortions in the new programs created under the bill, except in the cases of rape, incest or if the woman’s life is in danger. It would bar insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions beginning in 2014, and also bar them from dropping coverage of people who become ill. It would expand eligibility for Medicaid, shrink the coverage gap under the Medicare Part D prescription drug program and create an advisory board to reduce the per capita growth rate in Medicare spending.” (H.R. 3590, CQ Vote #396: Passed 60-39: R 0-39; D 58-0; I 2-0, 12/24/09, Tester Voted Yea)
Tester Voted For The Health Care Reconciliation Bill. “Passage of the bill that would make changes to the 2010 health care overhaul law, revise student loans programs and include revenue-raising provisions. It would increase federal subsidies to help low- and moderate-income families purchase coverage through new health insurance exchanges established by the overhaul measure, phase out the coverage gap for Medicare prescription drug enrollees and adjust the federal matching funds for Medicaid. It would increase penalties levied on employers that do not offer health benefits and change the formula used to calculate penalties on employers with workers who obtain subsidies to obtain health insurance through the exchanges. It would freeze Medicare Advantage payments in 2011 and then re-formulate payments according to local costs. It also would specify that in all states, the federal government would cover 100 percent of the cost of coverage to newly eligible Medicaid recipients from 2014 to 2016. It would delay for five years, until 2018, the effective date of a tax on high-cost health plans and adjust the dollar amounts used to determine who would be affected by the tax. It would repeal a provision to allow the cellulosic biofuels producer credit to be claimed by producers of certain paper products. It also would make the federal government the sole originator of federal student loans and direct the savings generated to education programs, including Pell grants. It would shift all new federal student lending to the Direct Loan Program beginning July 1, 2010. It would increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,975 in 2017 and provide $2.6 billion for minority-serving institutions.”(H.R. 4872, CQ Vote #105: Passed 56-43: R 0-40; D 54-3; I 2-0, 3/25/10, Tester Voted Yea)
- In March 2012, CBO Reported That ObamaCare Will Cost $1.76 Trillion Over Ten Years, Nearly Twice The Amount Of The Original Forecast. “President Obama’s national health care law will cost $1.76 trillion over a decade, according to a new projection released today by the Congressional Budget Office, rather than the $940 billion forecast when it was signed into law. Democrats employed many accounting tricks when they were pushing through the national health care legislation, the most egregious of which was to delay full implementation of the law until 2014, so it would appear cheaper under the CBO’s standard ten-year budget window and, at least on paper, meet Obama’s pledge that the legislation would cost ‘around $900 billion over 10 years.’” (Philip Klein, “CBO: Obamacare To Cost $1.76 Trillion Over 10 Yrs,” Washington Examiner, 3/13/12)
In April 2009, Tester Voted For The Conference Report Of The FY 2010 Budget. “Adoption of the conference report on the concurrent resolution that would allow up to $1.086 trillion in non-emergency discretionary spending for fiscal 2010, plus $130 billion in fiscal 2010 for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would assume $764 billion in tax cuts over five years, including an extension of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for households earning less than $250,000 annually, a three-year adjustment to prevent additional taxpayers from paying the alternative minimum tax and a permanent extension of the 2009 estate tax levels. It includes reconciliation instructions to House and Senate committees to report a total of $2 billion in savings, presumably from health care and student loan program, by Oct. 15. It would create a deficit-neutral reserve fund for health care and climate change legislation.” (S. Con. Res. 13, CQ Vote #173: Adopted 53-43: R 0-40; 51-3, I 2-0, 4/29/09, Tester Voted Yea)
- The Final Budget Resolution Represented A $3.4 Trillion Spending Plan. “The Democratically controlled Congress yesterday easily approved a $3.4 trillion spending plan, setting the stage for President Obama to pursue the first major overhaul of the nation’s health-care system in a generation along with other far-reaching domestic initiatives.” (Lori Montgomery, “Congress Approves Obama’s $3.4 Trillion Spending Blueprint” The Washington Post, 4/30/09)
- Under The Budget Resolution, The Federal Deficit Was Expected To Exceed $1.2 Trillion In FY 2010. “The budget resolution did not win a single vote from Republican lawmakers, who were enraged that the deficit is projected to exceed $1.2 trillion next year.” (Lori Montgomery, “Congress Approves Obama’s $3.4 Trillion Spending Blueprint” The Washington Post, 4/30/09)
CBO’s 2012 Deficit Projection Means Obama Has Run A Deficit Of Over $1 Trillion For Each Of His First Four Years In Office. “If the CBO estimate is correct, it would mean that the U.S. recorded a deficit of more than $1 trillion for every year of Obama’s first term… The deficit was $1.4 trillion in 2009, $1.3 trillion in 2010 and $1.3 trillion in 2011. The largest deficit recorded before that was $458 billion in 2008.” (Erik Wasson, “CBO Projects $1.08T Deficit, Higher Unemployment,” The Hill, 1/31/12)
- Tester Voted For The Massive 2010 Omnibus Spending Bill Conference Report. “Adoption of the conference report on the bill that would provide $446.8 billion in discretionary spending for federal departments and agencies covered by six unfinished fiscal 2010 spending bills. The measure incorporates the following previously separate appropriations bills from the 111th Congress: Commerce-Justice-Science; Financial Services; Labor-HHS-Education; Military Construction-VA; State-Foreign Operations; and Transportation-HUD. It also would prohibit the release or transfer of detainees held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, into the United States, for any reason other than prosecution.” (H.R. 3288, CQ Vote #374: Adopted 57 – 35: R 3 – 32; D 52 – 3; I 2 – 0, 12/13/09, Tester Voted Yea)
- Tester Voted For The Continuing Resolution To Fund The Government Through 12/3/10. “Passage of the bill that would make would provide continuing appropriations through Dec. 3, 2010, for all federal departments and agencies, none of whose fiscal 2010 appropriations bills have been enacted. It would provide several spending adjustments including an increase of $624 million for the National Nuclear Security Administration and $23 million for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. It would reduce spending for the Census Bureau to $964 million. It also would extend year-round child nutrition programs and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s pre-disaster mitigation operations. The bill would allow the District of Columbia to implement its local budget beginning on Oct. 1, 2010.” (H.R. 3081, CQ Vote #247: Passed 69-30: D 56-1; R 11-29; I 2-0, 9/29/10, Tester Voted Yea)
- Tester Voted For The Continuing Resolution To Fund The Government Through 3/4/11. “Reid, D-Nev., motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment with a further Reid substitute amendment no. 4885 that would continue most appropriations at fiscal 2010-enacted levels through March 4, 2011. The measure would provide an overall annualized spending rate that is $1.16 billion more than fiscal 2010 levels. It would provide additional funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Pell grants. It also would allow the awarding of a Navy contract for shipbuilding of Littoral Combat Ships to multiple suppliers.” (H.R. 3082, CQ Vote #289: Motion agreed to 79-16 : D 52-2; R 25-14; I 2-0, 12/21/10, Tester Voted Yea)
- Tester Voted For The FY 2012 Minibus, Which Funded Specific Departments Through 12/16/11. “Adoption of the conference report on the bill that would provide about $128.1 billion in discretionary funds for the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and for science programs and other related programs in fiscal 2012. Excluding emergency funding, the bill would provide roughly $19.8 billion for Agriculture programs, $52.7 billion for Commerce, Justice and science agency programs and $55.6 billion for Transportation and HUD programs. The measure would provide approximately $2.3 billion in emergency-relief funding. It also would include provisions to make continuing appropriations for all other programs through Dec. 16, 2011.” (H.R. 2112, CQ Vote #208: Passed 69-30 : D 51-0; R 16-30; I 2-0, 11/17/11, Tester Voted Yea)
- Tester Voted For The FY 2012 Omnibus“Adoption of the conference report on the bill that would provide approximately $915 billion in discretionary appropriations for fiscal 2012. Included in that total is approximately $518.8 billion in base Defense funding, $32.1 billion for the Energy Department and related agencies, $21.5 billion in discretionary funding for Financial Services, $41.3 billion for Homeland Security, $29.2 billion for Interior-Environment, $156.3 billion in discretionary funding for Labor-HHS-Education, $4.3 billion for Legislative Branch, $73.7 billion in discretionary funding for Military Construction-VA and $33.5 billion for the State Department and foreign assistance.” (H.R. 2055, CQ Vote #235: Adopted 67-32 : D 50-1; R 16-30; I 1-1, 12/17/11, Tester Voted Yea)
CBO Estimated A “Nearly $1.1 Trillion” Deficit In 2012. “As specified in law, and to provide a benchmark against which potential policy changes can be measured, CBO constructs its baseline estimates of federal revenues and spending under the assumption that current laws generally remain unchanged. On that basis, the federal budget will show a deficit of nearly $1.1 trillion in fiscal year 2012 (see Summary Table 1).” (“The Budget And Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 To 2022,” Congressional Budget Office, 2/12)