Smith Blasts Casey Record on Tax Hikes

Member Group : News Releases

SENATOR ZERO’S HAZY RECORD ON OBAMA TAX HIKES
"Casey Walking A Tightrope"

In The 2006 Campaign Casey Opposed Tax Cuts For Individuals Making More Than $200,000:

Casey: "Certainly [I Oppose Cuts] For Those Making Over $200,000 A Year." ("Casey Seeks Santorum’s Seat," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/5/05)

• "In An Interview, Casey Also Criticized Santorum’s Support For Bush Administration Tax Cuts." ("Casey Seeks Santorum’s Seat," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3/5/05)

In 2010, Senator Casey Votes To Raise Taxes Before Voting For Full Extension:

Casey Voted For Cloture On A Bill That Would Raise Taxes On Income Over $200,000 For Individuals And Over $250,000 For Married Couples. "Motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the Reid, D-Nev., motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment with a further Baucus, D-Mont., substitute amendment no. 4727 that would make permanent the 2001- and 2003-enacted tax cuts on income up to $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples filing joint returns." (H.R. 4853, CQ Vote #258, 12/4/10, Casey Voted Yea)

Casey Voted To Invoke Cloture On Legislation That Would Raise Taxes On Income Over $1 Million. "Motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the Reid, D-Nev., motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment with a further Schumer, D-N.Y., substitute amendment no. 4728 that would generally make permanent the 2001- and 2003-enacted tax cuts on income up to $1 million." (H.R. 4853, CQ Vote #259, 12/4/10, Casey Voted Yea)

"Casey Opposes Extending The Bush Tax Cuts For People Making More Than $200,000 A Year." "Casey opposes extending the Bush tax cuts for people making more than $200,000 a year which he said won’t give much ‘bang for your buck’ in job creation. But he acknowledged Republicans won’t let the middle-class tax cuts pass without them." (Mike Wereschagin, "Tax-Cut Deal Finds Few Fans In Pennsylvania," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 12/9/10)

"Casey Votes For Two Year Tax Cut Extension." "Casey votes for two year tax cut extension substitute amendment no. 4753 that would extend the 2001- and 2003-enacted tax cuts for all taxpayers for two years, as well as revive the lapsed estate tax at a 35 percent rate on estates worth more than $5 million. It also would extend unemployment insurance benefits for 13 months." (H.R. 4853, CQ Vote #276, m 1, 12/15/10, Casey Voted Yea)

In The 2012 Campaign, Casey’s Position Remains Unclear And Consistently Inconsistent:

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) Says That Congress May Have Little Choice But To Extend The Bush Tax Cuts At The End Of The Year. "Congress likely will have little choice but to extend Bush-era tax cuts and delay a year-end deadline that would trigger deep, automatic spending cuts, to avoid another recession, Sen. Bob Casey Jr. said on Friday. Since public confidence in Congress ‘took a really big, devastating hit because of the debt ceiling (arguments), you’ll have a lot of people – investors, taxpayers, markets – that’ll start to get worried in September’ that Democrats and Republicans won’t agree on how to avoid the cuts, Casey told Tribune-Review editors and reporters." ("Casey: Congress Likely To Keep Tax Cuts, Spending," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 6/23/12)

Casey Walking Political Tightrope In Election Year. "’Yes, he’s walking a tightrope, but he’ll be there as much as he can for Barack Obama in Pennsylvania,’ said Young, the retired Penn State political science professor." ("Analysis: Sen. Bob Casey Jr. Walks Political Tightrope As He Seeks Second Term," Harrisburg Patriot News, 7/15/12)

Casey "Mostly Supports" The President’s Tax Increase Proposal While "Brandishing His Political Autonomy." "And while he mostly supports Obama’s recent aim of extending the Bush tax cuts for Americans earning less than $250,000, Casey makes a point of brandishing his political autonomy by favoring bipartisan compromise over advancing the president’s position." ("Analysis: Sen. Bob Casey Jr. Walks Political Tightrope As He Seeks Second Term," Harrisburg Patriot News, 7/15/12)

Casey "Hasn’t Decided." "Democrat Bob Casey, who is running for a second term in U.S. Senate for Pennsylvania, says he hasn’t decided whether to go along with President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders on a plan to allow tax rates to rise for people making $200,000 or families making $250,000 a year. Casey in an interview Friday with The Associated Press touted himself as working to find compromise and while pushing for legislation he believed would encourage more hiring. Casey says he’d prefer to let tax rates rise on people who make $1 million or more." ("Casey Doesn’t Embrace Obama’s Plan On Tax Rates As Pa. Democrat Seeks 2nd Term In US Senate," The Associated Press, 7/20/12)

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:

Bob Casey Has Voted More Than 53 Times In Favor Of Higher Taxes. (Source: Senate Records)
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