Washington Post: Adapting to campaign-finance rulings, Democrats build big-spending network

Mitt Romney's Tax Returns

2010 Mitt and Ann Romney Return Part A 2010 Mitt and Ann Romney Return Part B 2010 Mitt and Ann Romney Return Part C 2010 Mitt and Ann Romney Return Part D 2010 Mitt and Ann Romney Return Part E 2010 Mitt and Ann Romney Return Part F 2010 Mitt and Ann Romney Return Part G 2010 Mitt and Ann Romney Return Part H See more after the jump.

Mitt Romney On Climate Change

Romney Said Obama’s Promotion Of Cap And Trade “Tax” Dissuaded “Expansion By Employers In The Energy Sector.” Romney wrote, “Promoting an open-ended cap-and-trade tax dissuades expansion by employers in the energy sector.” [Romney Op-Ed, Boston Globe, 8/18/10] Romney: Close Down Any Talk Of Cap And Trade And Expand Our Commitment To Nuclear And Natural Gas. Romney wrote, “Close down any talk of carbon cap-and-trade. It will burden consumers and employers with billions in new costs. Instead, greatly expand our commitment to natural gas and nuclear, boosting jobs now and reducing the export of energy jobs and dollars later.” [Romney Op-Ed, USA Today, 12/3/09]

Mitt Romney On The Federal Budget

Romney Said That When Government Is “Bailing Out Banks” That “We Have Every Good Reason To Be Alarmed And To Speak Our Mind!” Romney said at the Values Voter Summit, “There’s something else that should concern us when the federal government expands at such a rate. When government is trying to take over health care, buying car companies, bailing out banks, and giving half the White House staff the title of czar – we have every good reason to be alarmed and to speak our mind!” [Romney Values Voter Summit Speech, 9/19/09]

Dean Heller On Mortgage Reforms

Heller Voted to Terminate the Home Affordable Modification Program. On March 29, 2011, Heller voted to terminate the Home Affordable Modification Program meant to prevent mortgage foreclosures. According to the Los Angeles Times, “The House voted 252 to 170 to end the Obama administration’s main mortgage foreclosure prevention program, saying the much-criticized initiative has been ineffective and given false hope to hundreds of thousands of homeowners who ultimately lost their homes anyway. The vote […] follows votes this month […] to end three smaller federal programs designed to help homeowners and communities deal with the foreclosure crisis. […] HAMP is the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s efforts to keep struggling homeowners in their houses but has drawn bipartisan criticism for failing to meet its objectives. It was launched with great fanfare in early 2009 with the goal of helping 3 million to 4 million homeowners avoid foreclosure through 2012 by providing cash incentives for lenders to reduce monthly payments. Funded with as much as $30 billion from the $700-billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, HAMP has permanently lowered payments for about 540,000 homeowners through January.” [Roll Call 198, H 839, 03/29/2011; Los Angeles Times, 03/30/11]

170,000 Nevadan Homeowners Are Underwater On Their Mortgages. “The financial firm First American CoreLogic reports that 170,000 mortgage holders in Nevada owe more than 25 percent above their home’s value. In a state with a jobless rate now higher than 10 percent, bankruptcy may be the option of last resort for those cases, experts have said.” [Las Vegas Sun, 5/3/09]

Heller Has Taken Over $358,000 From Real Estate Interests. According to the non-partisan Center For Responsive Politics, Senator Dean Heller has taken at least $358,450,098 in federal campaign contributions from real estate interests throughout his career. [Opensecrets.org accessed 6/24/2011]

Mitt Romney's Record With The Massachusetts Budget

During Romney’s Tenure As Governor Massachusetts’ Economic Performance Was “One Of The Worst In The Country” On “All Key Labor Market Measures.” “As Mitt Romney pursues his bid for the presidency, his record as Massachusetts governor will come under scrutiny, including how the state’s economy performed during his administration. Our analysis reveals a weak comparative economic performance of the state over the Romney years, one of the worst in the country. On all key labor market measures, the state not only lagged behind the country as a whole, but often ranked at or near the bottom of the state distribution.” [Boston Globe, 7/29/07]

Mitt Romney On Defense And Homeland Security

Mitt Romney Wrote That One Of The Agendas For A Free And Strong America Was To “Add At Least 100,000 Troops To Our Ground Forces…” In his book “No Apology” Mitt Romney wrote that one of the agendas for a free and strong America was to “Add at least 100,000 troops to our ground forces; provide top quality care and benefits to our veterans.” [“No Apology” 2011 Pg. 320]

Dean Heller On Tax Breaks For Oil Companies

Heller Voted To Keep Oil And Gas Subsidies While Not Voting To Renew Renewable Energy Loan Guarantee Program. Heller voted to keep billions in tax breaks for oil and gas while voting against the renewable energy loan guarantee program that funded projects such as the Crescent Dunes plant in Tonopah, NV. Ian Rogoff, the executive chairman of Heliopower, an integrated energy develop company, commented that the federal government favored oil and gas companies over renewable energy, “Oil and gas tax benefits have been renewed, which means government support for those industries has been renewed ... for the most part, these incentives [such as loan guarantees] are just in place to allow these new technologies and new industries to compete effectively, and compete against incumbents.” [Las Vegas Sun, 5/25/11; Las Vegas Review-Journal, 6/25/11, Las Vegas Sun, 5/20/11] Heller Voted to Protect Oil Company Tax Breaks Over Middle Class. In 2008, Heller voted to kill a one-year adjustment for the Alternative Minimum Tax with instructions that it be reported back promptly with language that would eliminate tax increases providing offsets in the bill, and provide that deductions in mileage rates for vehicles used for charitable purposes are treated the same as medical travel and moving rates. Democrats put revenue-raising offsets into the bill, arguing that the $62 billion in revenue that would be lost through the patch must be made up. The revenue increases targeted private-equity managers, the oil and gas industry, certain foreign-owned corporations and merchants who underreport their income. Republicans contended that offsets were unnecessary because the patch would simply maintain the tax status quo. They also said a temporary tax reprieve should not require permanent revenue increases and argued that the budget deficit should be closed by spending cuts, not revenue increases. Rep. McCrery, the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, offered the motion to recommit that would have removed the offsets and increased the tax deduction for miles driven for charitable purposes. McCrery warned about the proposal’s economic effects, saying “that change in our tax code would discourage, at the margin, that capital from coming to this country, being invested in this country and creating jobs in this country,” he said. The motion failed, 199-222. [Vote #454, 6/25/2008; CQ Today, 6/25/08]

Mitt Romney On Taxes

In September, 2011 Mitt Romney Said He Would Keep The Bush Tax Cuts In Place. The Washington Post reported that “Romney said he would keep the Bush-era income tax cuts unchanged.” [The Washington Post, 9/6/11] CBO: One-Third of The Bush Tax Cuts Went To People With the Top 1% of Income, Who Earn On Average $1.2 Million. “Fully one-third of President Bush’s tax cuts in the last three years have gone to people with the top 1 percent of income, who have earned an average of $1.2 million annually, according to a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to be published Friday… The new estimates confirm what independent tax analysts have long said: that Mr. Bush’s tax cuts have been heavily skewed to the very wealthiest taxpayers.” [Washington Post, 8/13/04]