New Commercial: Working Families Are Paying the Price for Elizabeth Dole's Washington

September 10, 2008

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Highlighting a record of cutting taxes while investing in the right priorities that have moved North Carolina forward, state Senator and U.S. Senate Candidate Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) released a new television commercial today entitled “Price,” which documents the cost of electing people like George Bush and Elizabeth Dole to office in Washington.

“Elizabeth Dole’s Washington has been a failure,” said Hagan Campaign Communications Director Colleen Flanagan. “Marked by the biggest government ever, $9.7 trillion in massive national debt, and her cooperation with Bush to ship North Carolina jobs overseas and give Big Oil and Gas $17 billion in tax breaks while we pay record prices, North Carolinians are wondering why she thinks she deserves six more years. North Carolina and the nation can’t afford six more years of Elizabeth Dole’s disastrous ‘buy now, pay later’ mentality, and they are looking to someone like Kay who has a proven track record of fiscal responsibility.”

Kay’s time in the state Senate has been marked by five balanced budgets, record investments in education and helping North Carolina earn the distinction of one of the best states in which to do business. Kay has prioritized investments that have been praised for moving North Carolina forward, including voting to cut taxes to the tune of $840 million and investing more than $90 billion for North Carolina’s public education system and colleges.

“During her time in Raleigh, Kay has been repeatedly named one of the top 10 most effective state senators, while Elizabeth Dole is scraping the bottom of the barrel at number 93 out of all her colleagues in terms of effectiveness,” Flanagan said. “Kay has helped working families get ahead, not watch while they fall behind. You only need to look at Kay’s record to see what kind of U.S. Senator she’ll be – unfortunately, the same can be said for Elizabeth Dole.”

Conversely, Dole’s record is full of fiscally irresponsible votes that have put our economy on the brink, increased the cost of gas, and shipped North Carolina jobs overseas. The Bush-Cheney-Dole team is responsible for increasing our national debt by 50%, to $9.7 trillion, and giving and maintaining $17 billion in tax breaks for Big Oil and Gas at a time when they are making record profits.

“When you’ve voted with Big Oil’s president 92% of the time and there are 92 other senators more effective than you, it’s time to go,” Flanagan said. “North Carolina’s working families deserve someone who will advocate for their best interests, not the Washington special interests.”

You can view the ad here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPNrivoelu4.

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“PRICE”

Hagan Senate Committee, Inc.
9/9/08
:30 TV Ad

TRANSCRIPT	FACTS
Narrator: Elizabeth Dole’s Washington… Text: Elizabeth Dole’s Washington	Dole Has Worked In Washington For 43 Years Under Six Presidents. In 1965, Elizabeth Dole moved to Washington D.C. after graduating from law school. During her 43 years in Washington, Dole worked under six presidents, including Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. [Charlotte Observer, 10/14/02; Houston Chronicle, 10/29/96]
Narrator: The biggest government ever. Nine trillion in debt. Text: Biggest Government Ever – OMB Nine Trillion In Debt – Dept of Treasury	Federal Government Spending Has Consistently Increased To The Largest Amount In History. According to the Office of Management and Budget, the federal government was estimated to spend $2.9 trillion in fiscal year 2008, the largest amount in history. Fiscal year 2009 spending was estimated to be $3.1 trillion. [Office of Management and Budget historical budget data, viewed 9/8/08] Dole And Bush Have Increased Federal Debt By More Than 50 Percent, To $9.67 Trillion. Bush and Dole have presided over the largest explosion of debt in our nation’s history. Under the Bush-Dole team, the federal debt has increased 51 percent, from approximately $6.4 trillion at the beginning of 2003 to an estimated $9.67 trillion in September 2008. [U.S. Department of the Treasury, Daily Debt calculation, 9/8/08]
Narrator: Helping Bush give tax breaks to corporations who ship jobs overseas … and billions to Big Oil. Text: Bush Tax Breaks for Outsourcing - Vote 63, 3/17/05 Billions for Big Oil - Vote 146, 6/10/08	Dole Voted In Favor Of Tax Breaks For Companies That Send Jobs Overseas. In 2005, Dole voted against an amendment that would repeal $3.2 billion in tax incentives for domestic companies that move their manufacturing plants to offshore locations. In 2004, Dole voted against an amendment that would have struck $39 billion in tax breaks on overseas income and provided an immediate 9 percent tax deduction for domestic manufacturers. In 2004, Dole also voted against prohibiting American tax dollars from being used to ship jobs outside the country. [Vote 63, 3/17/05; Vote 90, 5/11/04; Vote 41, 3/11/04] Dole Voted To Keep $17 Billion In Tax Incentives for Big Oil. On June 10, 2008, Dole voted against a bill to repeal tax benefits for large oil companies and, instead, invest the money into renewable energy development. [Vote 146, 6/10/08]
Narrator: Now we're paying the price. KH: I'm Kay Hagan. As State Senator, I balanced five straight budgets and cut taxes, all while making record investments in education. It's why North Carolina was named "one of the best states to do business". Text: Kay Hagan 5 Straight Balanced Budgets Voted for $840 Million In Tax Cuts Record Investments in Education “The Best States to Do Business” -Forbes KH: I approve this message because together, we can get our economy moving again.	Hagan Balanced Five Consecutive Budgets While Chair Of The Senate Budget Committee. The North Carolina Fiscal Research Division, a nonpartisan office which provides fiscal and policy information to the Legislature, has issued a report for each fiscal year’s budget. These reports show the budget was balanced every year Hagan served as co-chair of the Appropriations/Base Budget Committee. [2007 FRD Budget Overview; 2006 FRD Budget Overview; 2005 FRD Budget Overview; 2004 FRD Budget Overview; 2003 FRD Budget Overview; Associated Press, 10/31/07; Greensboro News & Record, 5/16/08] Hagan Has Worked To Enact At Least $840 Million In Tax Cuts. Hagan has supported a variety of tax cuts as a state senator, including economic incentive packages, property tax exemptions for disabled veterans, tax credits for small businesses providing health care for employees, a sales tax holiday for energy efficient appliances, a cap on the gas tax, increased the deduction for married couples and increased the child tax credit. The Charlotte Observer has praised the state budget, saying, “N.C. lawmakers use money wisely, cutting taxes, giving big bucks to education needs and helping counties with rising Medicaid costs.” [Vote 1584, 7/8/08; Vote 1076, 7/30/07; Vote 1357, 7/5/06; Vote 851, 8/11/05; Vote 5, 11/4/04; Vote 1386, 7/17/04; Vote 3, 12/10/03; Vote 785, 6/30/03; Vote 1507, 9/20/02; Charlotte Observer, 11/22/07; 2/8/07; 12/12/03; Raleigh News & Observer, 2/11/07; 12/11/03; Winston-Salem Journal, 11/5/04; Durham Herald-Sun, 12/11/03] Hagan Has Supported More Than $90 Billion For North Carolina’s Public Education System And Colleges. Since 1999, Hagan has supported allocating more than $20 billion to the University of North Carolina System, with annual funding increasing by $1 billion during her tenure in the Senate. She supported allocating more than $7.34 billion to the North Carolina Community College System, with annual funding increasing by more than $350 million, and more than $63 billion to the Department of Public Education, with annual funding increasing by more than $2.54 billion during her tenure in the Senate. [Vote 1584, 7/8/08; Vote 1076, 7/30/07; Vote 1357, 7/5/06; Vote 851, 8/11/05; Vote 1386, 7/17/04; Vote 785, 6/30/03; Vote 1507, 9/20/02; Vote 1047, 9/21/01; HB 1840, signed into law on 7/6/00; HB 168, signed into law in 7/1/99] North Carolina Repeatedly Ranked As One Of The Best States For Business. Site Selection Magazine named North Carolina as the state with the top business climate in 2007. Additionally, Forbes.com ranked North Carolina third in the country for its positive business climate in both 2006 and 2007. Site Selection said, “Among North Carolina’s strengths cited by numerous corporate executives were its pro-business policies in the areas of tort and taxation, a vibrant existing talent base backed by workforce development capabilities, affordable land, and private- and public-sector leadership.” Forbes.com praised North Carolina’s low labor costs and fast income growth. [Forbes.com, 7/11/07; Conway Data press release, 11/1/07] Editorials Praised Hagan’s Budgets. A 2007 Charlotte Observer editorial stated, “A remarkable thing happened in the state Senate the other day: Democrats proposed a $20 billion budget raising spending and boosting debt - and Republicans voted for it overwhelmingly…The money will do, in fact, a lot of good: more prison space and new UNC system building, including a $76 million energy research facility at UNC Charlotte.” A 2006 Raleigh News & Observer editorial said, “The money presents a welcome opportunity for North Carolina to enhance its work force with well-educated young people.” In 2004, the Raleigh News & Observer editorialized, “To heal economic injury, it makes sense to focus state spending on educating North Carolina's work force and creating jobs…the new state budget measures up fairly well…History only smiles on those sorts of investments when they work, giving people good jobs to support their families.” [Raleigh News & Observer editorial, 7/20/04, 7/10/06; Charlotte Observer editorial, 6/3/07]

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