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Fallon Campaign: Fallon criticizes Boswell on taxpayer-funded 'environmental' mailing
2/11/2008

Contact:
Stacy Brenton, Communications Director
C. 515-822-3029

Des Moines (2/11/08) - Today, Democratic candidate Ed Fallon criticized Congressman Leonard Boswell for the latter's mass mailing last week on the environment, paid for at taxpayer expense. "Boswell is trying to paint himself as an environmentalist," Fallon said, "but his voting record says otherwise. And for him to mail campaign literature on the public's tab is flat out wrong."

The mailing focuses on Boswell's vote in December for the Energy Independence and Security Act that raises fuel efficiency standards to 35 mpg by 2020. However, in 2001 when House Democrats tried to raise these same CAFE standards to 27.5 mpg by 2007, Boswell joined Republicans to defeat the proposal (08/01/01). "Boswell's reversal of position, Fallon said, "came only after he learned I might be running against him." He said the same was true of Boswell's support for the Safe Climate Act, which was introduced in March 2007. "It took until December - nine months - for Boswell to decide to support the legislation," Fallon said.

Fallon also pointed to Boswell's votes to end a 25-year moratorium against offshore oil drilling (H.R. 4761, 06/29/06), to give billions of dollars in tax breaks to big oil and gas companies (H.R. 6, 07/28/05), and in favor of continued government funding for a website for kids promoting nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain (Amendment A008 to H.R. 5427, 05/24/06). "In each of these votes," Fallon said, "Boswell voted with Bush and against the environment."

Fallon also points to Boswell's enthusiastic support for greater use of coal, pointing to a letter Boswell wrote to the House Democratic leadership saying "coal will be the mainstay for electricity for decades to come" (02/16/07). Fallon supports a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants.

Fallon also criticized Boswell's use of taxpayer money for the mailing. "This mailing looks a lot more like a campaign mailing than a communication with constituents," Fallon said. "What does a large color photo of two cute little girls holding their arms around a globe have to do with legislation? It's an expensive ad, not an informational mailing, and paid for by taxpayers instead of Boswell's campaign. It's just wrong and I hope voters let Boswell know that."

"The ultimate irony here is that Boswell's irresponsible record on global warming and the environment is one of the main reasons I decided to run for Congress," Fallon concluded.


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