Wrong for Pennsylvania

Sestak Voted For The $787 Billion Stimulus Bill, But Said It Was “A Bit Small,” Said He “Would Have Voted For $1 Trillion,” And Has Even Called For “Another Stimulus Plan.”

• Sestak Voted For The $787 Billion Stimulus Bill. (H.R. 1, CQ Vote #70: Adopted 246-183: R 0-176; D 246-7, 2/13/09, Sestak Voted Yea)
• Sestak Said The Stimulus Was “A Bit Small.” SESTAK: “This bill is actually a bit small in my opinion, but it’s the right step.” (CBS 3, “Newsmakers,” 2/22/09) Clip Available Here
• Sestak Said He Would Have Voted For A $1 Trillion Dollar Stimulus. ANCHOR: “This Stimulus bill that was passed, roughly $800 Million, is it too small? Are we going to come back in the summer and have another one?” SESTAK: “It’s the minimum amount needed. I would have voted for $1 trillion.” (NBC 10, 2/22/09) Clip Available Here
• Sestak Said He Wanted Another Stimulus. SESTAK: “I hope that the talk begins again about having another stimulus plan.” (Fox Business Channel, 3/31/09) Clip Available Here

Sestak “Pushed Hard” For Job-Killing Cap-And-Trade Legislation – That 4 Pennsylvania Democrats Voted Against – And Even Said He Was “Disappointed” The Legislation Didn’t Go Far Enough.

• Sestak Co-Sponsored And Voted For Job-Killing Cap-And-Trade Legislation. (H.R. 1590, Introduced 3/21/07; H.R. 2454, CQ Vote #477: Passed 219-212: R 8-168; D 211-44, 6/26/09, Sestak Voted Yea)
• Reps. Altmire, Carney, Dahlkemper, And Holden Voted Against The Cap-And-Trade Bill. (H.R. 2454, CQ Vote # 477: Passed 219-212: R 8-168; D 211-44, 6/26/09, Altmire, Carney, Dahlkemper and Holden Voted Nay)
• Sestak: “I Was Disappointed In This Bill Because I Thought It Was Eviscerated During The Process Too Much. I Did Vote For It However Because It’s Better Than Not Having It Done.” (Joe Sestak, Netroots Nation, 8/14/09) Clip Available Here
• Sestak: “I Pushed Hard For The Cap-And-Trade Bill. The One The House Passed Should Have Even Been More.” (Joe Sestak, PCN, May 2010) Clip Available Here

Sestak Voted For The $1 Trillion House-Passed Health Care Bill, And Supports A Government-Run Public Option. (H.R. 3962, CQ Vote #887: Passed 220-215: R 1-176; D 219-39, 11/7/09, Sestak Voted Yea; Carl Hulse and Robert Pear, “Sweeping Health Care Plan Passes House,” New York Times, 11/7/09)

• “Sestak Said He Was ‘150 Percent Behind’ A ‘Public Option’ Of Government-Run Health Insurance To Compete With Private Insurers, A Priority Of Obama’s.” (Thomas Fitzgerald, “Specter, Sestak Spar In Pittsburgh,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/15/09)
• Sestak Said It Would “Be Hard” For Him to Vote For a Bill Without A Public Option. SESTAK: “Yeah, I — it’s going to be hard for me to vote for a bill doesn’t have the public health-care plan option in it for two reasons. One is that, while universal coverage of everyone is a necessity for Americans, health-care reform is a necessity for America and its economy.” (MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” 8/18/09) Clip Available Here

Sestak Authored Taxpayer-Funded Mortgage Bailout Legislation In Which Taxpayers Would Subsidize Other Peoples Mortgages.

• Sestak Introduced H.R. 1356, The Home Ownership Vesting Plan Act Of 2009, Which Is A Bailout For Homeowners Whose Houses Are Worth Less Than The Amount They Still Owe On Their Mortgage. (H.R. 1356, Introduced 3/5/09)
• H.R. 1356 Currently Has No Cosponsors. (H.R. 1356, Introduced 3/5/09)
• “Sestak’s Homeownership Vesting Plan Act (H.R. 1356) Would Allow Borrowers Whose Loans Are Worth More Than The Current Depressed Value Of Their Houses To Get A New Federal Housing Administration Mortgage At A Little Below The Appraisal Value.” (Joseph N. DiStefano, “Renewed Interest In Stemming Foreclosures,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/16/09)
• “Mark Zandi Of Moody’s Economy.Com And U.S. Rep. (And Would-Be U.S. Senator) Joe Sestak (D., Pa.) Joined Yesterday To Revive Interest In A Plan For The Government To Bail Out Unlucky Americans Who Bought Houses During The Inflationary Years 2003-07.” (Joseph N. DiStefano, “Renewed Interest In Stemming Foreclosures,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/16/09)
• “Banks Would Get Paid What They Originally Lent, Ahead Of Schedule. Mortgage Servicers Would Get A $1,000 Bounty For Each Loan They Agree To Convert. Borrowers would get a cheaper rate on a smaller loan and would keep their homes. And taxpayers who didn’t want or couldn’t afford to pay inflated prices would get to bail out those who did.” (Joseph N. DiStefano, “Renewed Interest In Stemming Foreclosures,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/16/09)
• Zandi Said The Estimated Cost To Taxpayers Is $50 Billion. “The government would pay the original lender the difference between the old and new loans over the next five years, so long as the homeowners make their new payments. Zandi told me this would cost taxpayers about $50 billion.” (Joseph N. DiStefano, “Renewed Interest In Stemming Foreclosures,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/16/09)

Vernon Hill, Founder Of Commerce Bank, Said Sestak’s Plan Would Not Work And Would Be “Impossible To Execute.” “It won’t work, says Vernon Hill, founder of Commerce Bank and backer of Metro Bank. Hill’s responding to the proposal pending in Congress that I wrote about last week that would allow unlucky homeowners who bought houses in 2003-07 to get new mortgages at lower prices, with the government eating the difference.” (Joseph N. DiStefano, “Rip ‘Em Up,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/23/09)

• “The Plan Looks ‘Impossible To Execute’ And Marks ‘Another Destruction Of Contracts And The Rule Of Law,’ Hill Told Me When I Sent Him A Press Release Summarizing And Backing The Plan From U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak (D., Pa.) And Economist Mark Zandi Of Moody’s Economy.Com In West Chester.” (Joseph N. DiStefano, “Rip ‘Em Up,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/23/09)

‘“I’d Rather See Rate Concessions,’ Said Gerry Cuddy, President Of Philadelphia-Based Beneficial Bank.” (Joseph N. DiStefano, “Renewed Interest In Stemming Foreclosures,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/16/09)