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SEN. TOOMEY’S
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Friday, May 8, 2015
WHAT TOOMEY SAYS IN PA
WHAT TOOMEY DOES IN DC
“Standing With Law Enforcement”
Voting Against Law Enforcement
On Tuesday afternoon, I took to the Senate floor to
deliver a speech in support of law enforcement
following the unrest and looting in Baltimore. We need
to have a conversation about bad police practices, but
we also need to have a conversation about what a
great job the vast majority of police are doing across
our country and how much they deserve our thanks
and our support.
The overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers
are honest men and women. They have very high
ethical standards and they don't have a racist bone in
their bodies. The next time there is a demonstration
about police conduct, I hope it is a demonstration to
thank the police for their dedication, their hard work,
and their courage. That is a demonstration that I will be
honored to join.
You can watch my floor speech here.
You can also read more about my support of law
enforcement in thePhiladelphia Inquirer and
the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
On a related note, the Senate recently passed two
bipartisan bills that I am proud to have cosponsored to
help keep law enforcement safe. The first is the
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program
Reauthorization Act, which - as the name implies helps local police departments buy this life-saving
equipment. The second is the National Blue Alert Act,
which establishes a national alert system to help track
down those who threaten, injure, or kill a law
enforcement officer.
It’s disingenuous for Sen. Toomey to say in
Pennsylvania that “police officers deserve our thanks
and our support” when he has repeatedly voted against
resources to help police officers as a Senator back in
Washington, D.C.
For instance, Toomey has voted to:
• End $1 billion in state and local law enforcement
grants, contracts and cooperative agreements that
help our first responders through training programs
and new equipment;
• Cut off funding that goes toward law enforcement
armor vests;
• Defund evidence-based programs that help police
officers reduce gun crime and gang violence; and
• Voted three times against the Interoperable
Communications Grants, which help local police,
firefighters and emergency responders talk to
each other during a crisis.
In addition to voting against programs that help police
officers, Toomey has voted against funding that helps
firefighters. For example, he has voted against $2
billion in firefighter assistance grants, which go
toward firefighter equipment, such as ladder trucks
and fireboats, and safety initiatives that are vital to
communities throughout Pennsylvania.
Toomey tells Pennsylvanians he cares about helping
first responders but his votes back in Washington, D.C.,
reflect the opposite of that.
WHAT TOOMEY SAYS IN PA
“Remembering Our Fallen Heroes”
WHAT TOOMEY DOES IN DC
Cutting Off Resources for Police
On Wednesday, I visited the National Law
Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.
to pay my respects to our fallen officers, especially
Pennsylvania State Trooper Corporal Bryon Dickson.
Corporal Dickson was killed last year in the line of
duty, and his name was recently etched into the
stone at this important memorial. You can see his
name in the photo above, just above my hand.
Former Admiral Joe Sestak joins Toomey in honoring
the late Pennsylvania State Trooper Corporal Bryon
Dickson, who was killed in the line of duty last year.
However, it’s disheartening that Toomey says in
Pennsylvania, “I am grateful for our law enforcement
officials, and next time you see a police officer, I
encourage you to thank him or her,” but then votes
against them in Washington, D.C.
Our police men and women are dedicated public
servants who put their lives on the line every day in
the name of serving and protecting. Our police have
incredibly difficult and important jobs to do.
As mentioned in above section, Toomey voted against
funding to help police officers do their jobs three times
as a Senator. In addition to his votes listed in the
previous section, he has also voted to defund
programs that help police officers protect victims
of violence. For example, he voted to:
My visit to this memorial serves as a reminder of
those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to serve
and protect their communities. I am grateful for our
law enforcement officials, and next time you see a
police officer, I encourage you to thank him or her.
You can watch a video of my visit to this
memorial here. Corporal Dickson, and all our fallen
police officers, will not be forgotten.
• Shut down programs that help officers protect
victims of human trafficking;
• End grants for rural law enforcement to better
address domestic violence;
• Defund the National Sex Offender Public Website
that compiles all 50 states data on sex offenders’
whereabouts for national use, and end funding for
the National Sex Offender Registry,
which oversees the requirement that sex offenders
update their whereabouts every three months for
life;
• Cut off resources for missing and exploited
children investigations; and
• End $1 million in funding three times for the
Department of Justice’s Missing Alzheimer’s
Disease Patient Alert Program. The program
allows police officers to develop plans so that they
can locate a person with Alzheimer’s disease who
wandered off in their communities.
WHAT TOOMEY SAYS IN PA
WHAT TOOMEY DOES IN DC
“Military Leaders, War College
Students Visit DC”
Voting Against Aid for College
Students
I met with students attending the United States Army
War College this week in my Washington office. The
War College is in Carlisle just to the southwest of
Harrisburg. American service members, civilians, and
international military officers attend this outstanding
institution. The class I met with included students from
Unlike Toomey, former Admiral Joe Sestak had the
honor of teaching courses on Ethical Leadership
and on Restoring the American Dream at Carnegie
Mellon University and Cheyney University, and
was the General Omar N. Bradley Chair in
Strategic Leadership, a joint faculty appointment
War College is in Carlisle just to the southwest of
Harrisburg. American service members, civilians, and
international military officers attend this outstanding
institution. The class I met with included students from
Poland, Lithuania, and Ethiopia.
and on Restoring the American Dream at Carnegie
Mellon University and Cheyney University, and
was the General Omar N. Bradley Chair in
Strategic Leadership, a joint faculty appointment
at the United States Army War College, Dickinson
College, and the Penn State University Dickinson
School of Law and School of International Affairs.
So while it’s nice Toomey took
students at the United States
would be better if he voted in
service members, veterans
students get through college.
the time to meet with
Army War College, it
ways that help active
and civilian college
For example, Toomey:
• Voted three times against funding for the GI Bill,
which provides educational assistance to members
of the Armed Forces, veterans and their family
members;
• Voted against increasing Pell Grant funding;
• Voted against protecting funding for Pell Grants
by opposing minimum funding levels and voted to
freeze Pell Grant funding;
• Opposed increasing funding for student
financial aid;
• Supported removing nearly 112,000 students
from work-study programs by voting to cut the
Work Study Program by $106 million; and
• Voted against keeping student loan rates below
6.8 percent four times as a Senator.
Additionally, Toomey once called government student
loans a “nationalization” of the student loan industry.
Toomey should stop acting like he cares about
Pennsylvanian college students when he repeatedly
votes against them back in Washington, D.C.
WHAT TOOMEY SAYS IN PA
“Cutting The VA Backlog”
I am a member of the bipartisan Senate VA Backlog
Working Group, and this week I was pleased to team up
with Senator Bob Casey tounveil legislation to reform
the broken claims system at the Department of Veterans
Affairs.
The backlog of veterans' disabilities claims in our state
and nationwide is a disgrace. But we may not know truly
how far behind the VA is in processing these cases
because it appears management has been covering up
the problem. Moreover, management may not have
followed standard or basic VA guidelines for audits, or in
some cases, veterans' privacy.
This is simply unacceptable and outrageous. I will
continue working with Senator Casey and other
members of the bipartisan Senate VA Backlog Working
WHAT TOOMEY DOES IN DC
Defunding Resources to End
VA Backlog
It’s insincere for Toomey to tell Pennsylvanians “The
backlog of veterans’ disabilities claims in our state and
nationwide is a disgrace,” when he has consistently voted
against resources that would address this issue.
Toomey has voted against 12 bills that included
funding for the Veterans Administration as a
Congressman and Senator, which fund the
caseworkers who can fix the backlog of disability
claims at our VA facilities across the country.
By the end of January 2005— the same month Toomey
retired as a Congressman—the backlog reached over
400,000. That figure had doubled three years ago and
now Toomey wonders why that happened. He had an
opportunity to fix this issue when he was a Congressman
but he chose to do nothing. Toomey shares
This is simply unacceptable and outrageous. I will
continue working with Senator Casey and other
members of the bipartisan Senate VA Backlog Working
Group to help tackle this critical and longstanding issue.
You can read more about our efforts here.
WHAT TOOMEY SAYS IN PA
“Honoring A Pennsylvania Hero”
400,000. That figure had doubled three years ago and
now Toomey wonders why that happened. He had an
opportunity to fix this issue when he was a Congressman
but he chose to do nothing. Toomey shares
responsibility for the “disgrace” he speaks of.
WHAT TOOMEY DOES IN DC
Voting Against Our Heroes
Do you know the name Mike Crescenz? Corporal
Michael J. Crescenz was a Philadelphia native and
served in the Vietnam War. He has a truly incredible
story - one of bravery and heroism that made him
Philly's only Medal of Honor recipient of the Vietnam
War. And now, after my bipartisan bill passed the Senate
unanimously last December, the Woodland Avenue
Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia has
been renamed after this amazing hero.
It’s appropriate that Toomey took the time to honor
Corporal Michael Crescenz with the renaming of a VA
hospital. In Pennsylvania, Toomey said he hopes “the
renaming of this medical center will serve as a
reminder of the sacrifices of all of Pennsylvania's
Vi e t n a m Wa r v e t e r a n s , ” b u t t h e n v o t e s i n
Washington, D.C., against all funding needed to
provide health services for veterans at that very
hospital.
I spoke at the renaming ceremony last weekend, and I
enjoyed hearing from Corporal Crescenz's family about
his life and legacy. I hope the renaming of this medical
center will serve as a reminder of the sacrifices of all of
Pennsylvania's Vietnam War veterans.
In addition to voting against VA appropriations bills
mentioned above, Toomey has voted against other
bills that help our heroes. For example, he:
• Voted to send our young men and women to war
but then filibustered the bipartisan Veterans Jobs
Act that would have helped our troops find jobs in their
hometowns after deployment overseas.
• Filibustered the Veterans Health and Benefits Bill,
which would have expanded job training programs
and health care services to our warriors.
- The bill would have provided services for veterans
suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) and other forms of mental anguish as a
result of serving in combat zones overseas.
- It also would have expanded counseling services for
women veterans to include financial counseling,
occupational counseling and stress reduction.
- It would have extended the Veterans Retraining
Assistance Program (VRAP), which helped over
75,000 veterans learn new skills to find jobs. After
voting to end VRAP, he denied he voted to end it,
saying, “I want to know why it was terminated.”
• Voted against enhancements in primary health care
for veterans along with programs that help female
veterans who are victims of sexual trauma and
PTSD; and
• Voted to defund Small Business Administration
(SBA) Veterans Business Outreach Centers.
We need to honor our wonderful heroes such as Corporal
Crescenz here in Pennsylvania. But in Washington,
D.C., Toomey should not be voting time and time
again against the very resources that serve our
veterans.
PTSD; and
• Voted to defund Small Business Administration
(SBA) Veterans Business Outreach Centers.
We need to honor our wonderful heroes such as Corporal
Crescenz here in Pennsylvania. But in Washington,
D.C., Toomey should not be voting time and time
again against the very resources that serve our
veterans.
What Toomey Says in PA and What Toomey Does in DC
Pennsylvanians deserve a Senator who votes for bills that protect
our children, seniors, women and veterans on a consistent basis. Pennsylvanians have lost trust in our politicians like Toomey who
will say one thing in Pennsylvania, and then quietly vote against
commonsense, bipartisan measures back in Washington,
D.C., that help Pennsylvanian working families.
NOTE FOR MEDIA:
Citations for any information above will be provided upon request.