From The Michigan Democratic Party
LANSING – Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer today issued the following statement on Tea Party Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra’s belief that the anti-middle class Romney-Ryan Plan for America actually doesn’t go far enough:
“If you asked Pete Hoekstra how he feels about Romney and Ryan’s plan to raise taxes on the middle class and end Medicare as we know it, he’d tell you it doesn’t go far enough,” said Mark Brewer, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. “If elected to the Senate, Hoekstra will stop at nothing to make birth control illegal, give millionaires and billionaires massive tax breaks, reward corporations that ship Michigan jobs to China and end Medicare as we know it. The Romney-Ryan-Hoekstra plan is great for the special interests backing his campaign, but a very bad thing for everyday folks all across our state.”
Immediately after leaving Congress in 2010, Peter Hoekstra went to work at a high-powered Washington lobbying firm where he could keep fighting for special interests and against middle-class families. Not only does he support Herman Cain’s infamous 9-9-9 tax plan that would raise taxes on middle-class families by $4,400 a year, but he wants to entrust Social Security to Wall Street bankers and turn Medicare into a risky voucher program.
See below for background on Hoekstra’s outrageously anti-middle class agenda — it’s even worse than Romney and Ryan’s.
Hoekstra Supported Romney-Ryan Plan To Essentially End Medicare. In 2012, Hoekstra said he would have “obviously” voted for Rep. Ryan’s budget proposal had he been in Congress. [ITPP Candidate Forum, 5/08/12]
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]
The Ryan Budget Proposal Would Turn Medicare into a Voucher System and 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]
Hoekstra Supported Privatizing Social Security. According to the Grand Rapids Press, Hoekstra said “he supports private accounts” for Social Security. [Grand Rapids Press, 4/05/05]
Hoekstra Said Social Security Reform Must Include Privatization. In 2005, Hoekstra said, “I have a bias in favor of some portions of Social Security going into private accounts.” According to the Grand Rapids Press, Hoekstra said, “Any solution would have to include private accounts.” [Grand Rapids Press, 3/03/05]
Hoekstra Advocated For Social Security Privatization. In 2001, Hoekstra signed a letter from members of Congress to the President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security that advocated for the privatization of Social Security.
From the letter: “Social Security reform must offer younger workers the opportunity to improve their rates of return using personal retirement accounts. Personal retirement accounts will transform Social Security from a government IOU into personal property and real assets that workers can own and pass along to their children.” [Letter To President’s Commission to Strengthen Social Security, 5/24/01]
Hoekstra Co-Sponsored Personhood Legislation Seven Times. From 1996-2000, Hoekstra co-sponsored seven bills that declared life begins at fertilization. [HR 881, co-sponsored on 2/04/09; HR 618, co- sponsored on 1/22/07; HR 552, co- sponsored on 2/02/05; HR 3069, co-sponsored on 5/05/04; HR 639, co-sponsored on 2/09/99; HR 641, co-sponsored on 2/06/97; HR 1625, co-sponsored on 1/03/96]
Personhood Legislation Would Make Abortions Illegal In Cases Of Rape Or Incest. According to the New York Times, personhood legislation would ban nearly all abortions, including those resulting from rape or incest. [New York Times, 10/25/11]
Personhood Legislation Would Make Contraception Illegal. According to the Washington Post, “personhood” legislation would not only outlaw abortion, but also hormonal birth control, IUDs and emergency contraception. [Washington Post, 10/28/11]
Hoekstra Supported Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Tax Plan. In February, Hoekstra campaigned with Herman Cain in Michigan and said he supported Herman Cain’s “9-9-9 Tax Plan.” According to The Hill, “Hoekstra [was] one of the only candidates to have signed on as supportive of the plan.” [The Hill, 2/16/12]
9-9-9 Proposal Would Raise Taxes On Middle-Class Families By $4,400. Cain’s 9-9-9 tax proposal would raise taxes on middle-class households by an average of $4,400. [Associated Press, 10/18/11]
Millionaires Would Receive an Average Tax Cut of Nearly $500,000. According to PolitiFact, under Cain’s 9-9-9 proposal, millionaires would see an average tax cut of $487,300. [PolitiFact, 10/18/11]
Hoekstra Voted Repeatedly to Protect Tax Breaks for Companies Who Ship Jobs Overseas. Hoekstra voted three times to protect tax breaks for companies who ship jobs overseas. [HR 4213, Vote #324, 5/28/10; HR 1586, Vote #518, 8/10/10; HR 4520, Vote #258, 6/17/04]
Michigan Has Lost 79,868 Jobs Due To Trade Deficit With China. According to the Economic Policy Institute, between 2001 and 2010 Michigan lost 79,868 jobs due to the trade deficit with China. [Economic Policy Institute, 9/20/11]
Hoekstra: The Problem Isn’t Anything That The Chinese Are Doing At All. In a CNN interview, Hoekstra said, “The problem is American public policy, American domestic policy; the problem here is not anything that the Chinese are doing at all.” [CNN, 2/06/12]
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