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Take Two: Congressman Blunt Politicizes Public Health and Safety to Run From 12 Year Washington Insider Record
For Immediate Release: November 5, 2009 Contact: Ryan Hobart (573) 636-5241 Ext. 125 Take Two: Congressman Blunt Politicizes Public Health and Safety to Run From 12 Year Washington Insider Record Voted against $7 billion in funding to invest in H1N1 preparedness and response efforts this year Blunt Supported Wall Street with $700 Billion Bailout, Now is Against Them Receiving Flu Vaccine Jefferson City, MO – One week after his first statement of “outrage” over H1N1 preparedness, Congressman Blunt again took to politicizing public health and safety. Blunt failed to mention that he actually voted against a crucial $7.65 billion investment in H1N1 preparedness funding just 4 months ago [Vote 348, 6/16/09]. Now, he has turned his attention to his old friends on Wall Street, and he is displeased because of reports that Wall Street bankers are getting the vaccines before Missourians. Blunt is hoping this will help Missourians forget that he was one of the strongest supporters of a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street banks just last year. “Congressman Blunt is using a public safety issue to run from his 12 year Washington insider record of supporting corporate special interests on Wall Street,” said Brian Zuzenak Executive Director of the Missouri Democratic Party. “The truth is Blunt was an enthusiastic supporter of the Bush economic policies that let Wall Street rake in record profits and then handed out $700 billion when the party was over. Now he is again ‘outraged’ and running from his Washington insider record, using public health safety as a political football.” Blunt’s rhetoric of putting Missourians first doesn’t match his record of putting corporate special interests and pet projects in line before Missouri families. Congressman Blunt was a leader in the Republican-led Congress that stuffed over 58,000 earmarks into appropriations bills at a cost of over $140 billion. Just this year, Blunt voted for a $1 million earmark for potato research in Idaho, Oregon and Washington that could have paid for 50,000 flu vaccines – enough to inoculate the entire city of Joplin, MO [Vote 507, 7/9/09]. --30--
