The Truth about Pete Hoekstra:
Pete Hoekstra has spent his entire career fighting for well-connected special interests.
Pete Hoekstra doesn't fight for middle class families that work hard and play by the rules - what's important to him is that his clients at his D.C. lobbying firm. Hoekstra worked to further rig the rules for Washington special interests and insiders as a member of the House of Representatives, and it’s what he will do again if sent to the Senate in 2012. See below for the truth about Pete Hoekstra and his outrageous record:
HOEKSTRA FIGHTS TO VOUCHERIZE MEDICARE:
Hoekstra supports a plan that would turn Medicare into a voucher program and force seniors to pay $6,400 more out of pocket every year. Hoekstra would use that money to give even more tax breaks to millionaires and corporate special interests. By mandating that seniors buy insurance directly from insurance companies, Hoekstra would take away the guaranteed benefits seniors earned over a lifetime of hard work.
Hoekstra Supported Paul Ryan’s Budget Proposal
In 2012, Hoekstra said he would have “obviously” voted for Paul Ryan’s budget proposal had he been in Congress. “If I had the opportunity to vote for or against it in the House of Representatives, I obviously would’ve voted for it,” Hoekstra said. [ITPP Candidate Forum, 5/08/12]
The Ryan Budget Proposal Would Force Seniors To Pay $6,400 More For Medicare Coverage
According to the Congressional Budget Office, under the Ryan budget proposal, seniors would have to pay $6,400 more per year for Medicare coverage. [New York Times, 8/11/12]
Republican Proposal Would Convert Medicare Into A Voucher System
The Republican proposal would do away with Medicare’s direct payment for healthcare for seniors, replacing it with a voucher system in which seniors choose between private insurers. [Los Angeles Times, 4/15/11]
Wall Street Journal: [Ryan’s Budget] Would Essentially End Medicare
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ryan’s budget proposal “would essentially end Medicare, which now pays most of the health-care bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, as a program that directly pays those bills.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/04/11]
Plan Would Cut Taxes By $4.6 Trillion, With Most Going To The Wealthy
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the Ryan Budget proposal would cut tax by $4.6 trillion, with most of the tax cuts going to people earning more than $200,000. [Economic Policy Institute, 3/20/12]
Ryan Budget Proposal Would Extend The Bush Tax Cuts, Extend Additional Tax Cuts To The Wealthy
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Ryan budget proposal would give people with incomes above $1 million a $265,000 average annual tax cut. Coupled with an extension of the Bush Tax Cuts, people with incomes above $1 million would receive an annual tax cut of $400,000. [CBPP, 4/12/12]
Ryan Budget Cuts Corporate Income Tax Rate
The Ryan budget proposal would cut the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent and eliminate taxes on foreign profits of U.S.-based multinational. [CBPP, 3/22/12]