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Evidence

Announcer: “1993: the World Trade Center is bombed.  Months later, Congressman Brown votes to cut intelligence funding. 

Onscreen: [1993: The World Trade Center is bombed.  Congressman Sherrod Brown votes to cut intelligence funding. HR 2330 Roll Call Vote #393.]

FACT: Defense Hawks Side with Brown.

Co-Author of the PATRIOT Act Rep. James Sensenbrenner Voted for Same Amendment to HR 2330.  12 other GOP Representatives that voted for the amendment include Reps: Shays, Duncan, Nussle, Rohrabacher, and Roukema.  It was estimated to be a tiny percentage of the total intel budget, which would still get an increase that year. Reps. Shays, Duncan, Nussle, and Sensenbrenner voted against even final passage of the bill.  [HR 2330 Vote #393 8/4/1993; HR 2330 Vote #398 8/4/1993]

FACT: Brown Voted FOR Increase in Intell Funding that Year

Brown voted FOR the final passage of this bill, which increased intelligence funding from the year before. [HR 2330 Vote #398 8/4/1993]

FACT: Representatives on Both Sides of the Aisle Had Criticism for Intelligence Spending.

Conservative Defense Hawks Voted Same Way Brown Did in 90s to Rein in CIA Slush Fund Spending.  Congressman James Sensenbrenner is the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, an award-winning deficit hawk, and a hard-liner when it comes to defense.  He introduced the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001, and sponsored it for reauthorization again in 2005.  He has a 92% rating from the American Conservative Union, a 100% rating from the Center for Security Policy, and a 90% rating from the American Security Council.  In addition to his hawkish, right-wing positions on terrorism and national security, Congressman Sensenbrenner voted to cut intelligence spending at least 11 times throughout the 1990s.  The amendments he voted for were mainly sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank and Rep. Bernie Sanders.  His votes mirrored Sherrod Brown’s in all but two instances.  [HR 2330, Vote #393, 8/4/1993; HR 4299, Vote #333, 7/19/1994; HR 2126, Vote #643, 9/7/1995; HR 1655, Vote #654, 9/13/1995; HR 3259, Vote #185, 5/22/1996; HR 3259, Vote #187, 5/22/1996; HR 3259, Vote #188, 5/22/1996; HR 1775, Vote #253, 7/9/1997; HR 1775, Vote #255, 7/9/1997; HR 3694, Vote #137, 5/7/1998; HR 3694 Vote #407, 10/7/1998; vote-smart.org; http://www.house.gov/sensenbrenner/bio.htm ]

Sensenbrenner Cited “Classified” Information as Rationale for Votes.  When asked about his votes, he said his reasoning was “classified.”  Sensenbrenner was privy to the same information as other Representatives; in the public discourse after the Cold War ended, there was a great deal of criticism of bloated CIA budgets and intelligence slush funds.  [Plain Dealer, 7/22/06]

Intelligence Budget Contained Unreported Slush Fund. By 1995, many Americans were astounded when the National Reconnaissance Organization reported a estimated $1 billion slush fund in unspent appropriations.  The only reason this was disclosed was when the Congress questioned the purchase of a luxurious $300 million new headquarters in a Washington suburb.  The result of this was a budget scrub of all of the NRO’s programs – all of which are classified.  [Washington Post, “Spy Agency Hoards Secret $1 Billion,” 9/24/1995]

Size of Slush Fund Underreported. Later, the slush fund was found to have $4 billion, due to “a chaotic and poorly organized financial management system.”  For comparison, at the time the State Department’s total operating budget was less than $2 billion.  [Washington Post, “Spy Agency Accumulates $4 Billion Surplus,” 5/14/1996]

Former CIA Director and President Bush Saw Need for Intelligence Cuts After Cold War Ended.  Former President Bush, who is also a former CIA director, saw the need for cuts in intelligence spending after the fall of the Berlin Wall. [Washington Post, 6/17/1990]

In Same Time Period, Former CIA Director Called for Large Cuts; Former CIA Director Goss Attempted to Cut Intelligence Funding. “President Bush's nominee to be the director of central intelligence, Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.), sponsored legislation that would have cut intelligence personnel by 20 percent in the late 1990s. Goss, who has been chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for the past eight years, was one of six original co-sponsors of legislation in 1995 that called for cuts of at least 4 percent per year between 1996 and 2000 in the total number of people employed throughout the intelligence community.” [Washington Post, 8/24/04]

Goss Tried to Cut Funding for Human Intelligence.  “[T]he cuts Goss supported … specifically targeted the "human intelligence" that has recently been found lacking. The recent report by the commission probing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks called for more spending on human intelligence. … [O]n June 22, Goss was one of six original co-sponsors of legislation titled H.R. 1923, called the Restructuring a Limited Government Act. Among other things, the legislation, written by then-Rules Committee Chairman Gerald B.H. Solomon (R-N.Y.), directed that ‘the president shall, for each of fiscal years 1996 through 2000, reduce the total number of military and civilian personnel employed by, or assigned or detailed to, elements of the Intelligence Community by not less than 4 percent of the baseline number’ of employees on Sept. 30, 1995.”  [Washington Post, 8/24/04]

FACT:  Sherrod Brown voted for well over $2.9 Trillion in Defense funding. 

Brown Voted for $261 Billion in Defense Spending in 1993. In November 1993, Brown voted to authorize $261 billion for the Department of Defense. President Bill Clinton signed the bill on November 30, 1993. [Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 1993, 103 Congress- First Session; Roll Call 565, H.R. 2401, November 17, 1993; Roll Call 474, H.R. 2401, September 29, 1993]

Brown Voted for $243 Billion in Defense Spending in 1994. In September 1994, Brown voted to authorize $243.7 billion in appropriations for the Department of Defense. [Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 1994, 103rd Congress Second Session; Roll Call 446, H.R. 4650, September 29, 1994; Roll Call 313, H.R. 4650, June 29, 1994]

Brown Voted for $244 Billion in Defense Spending in 1996. In September 1996, Brown voted to appropriate $244.3 billion to the military, representing a $9.7 billion increase over the amount requested by President Clinton. [Congressional Quarterly Almanac 1996, 104th Congress, 2nd Session; Roll Call 455, H.R. 3610, September 28, 1996; Roll Call 274, H.R. 3610, June 13, 1996]

Brown Voted for $250 Billion in Defense Spending in 1998. In September 1998, Brown voted to appropriate $250.5 billion for the Department of Defense. [Congressional Quarterly Almanac, 1998, 54th Annual Edition; Roll Call 471, H.R. 4103, September 28, 1998; Roll Call 266, H.R. 4103, June 24, 1998]

Brown Voted for $317 Billion in Defense Spending in 2001. In December 2001, Brown voted to appropriate $317.5 billion in Defense Department spending. [Anti-Terror Funds Slow Defense Bill, “Congressional Quarterly Almanac Plus, 2001, 57th Annual Edition;” Roll Call 510, H.R. 3338, December 20, 2001; Roll Call 458, H.R. 3338, November 28, 2001]

Brown Voted for $355 Billion in Defense Spending in 2002. In October 2002, Brown voted to appropriate $355.1 billion in funds for the Department of Defense.  This was a $37.5 billion increase from fiscal year 2002. [No Expense Spared on Defense, “Congressional Quarterly Almanac Plus, 2002, 107th Congress, Second Session;” Roll Call 457, H.R. 5010, October 10, 2002; Roll Call 270, H.R. 5010, June 27, 2002]

Brown Voted for $368 Billion Defense Spending Bill in 2003: In September 2003, Brown voted to appropriate $368 billion in spending for the Department of Defense. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drove the passage of this record appropriations bill. [Record Defense Bill Clears Congress, “Congressional Quarterly Almanac Plus, 2003, 59th Annual Edition;” Roll Call 513, H.R. 2658, September 24, 2003; Roll Call 335, H.R. 2658, July 8, 2003]

Brown Voted for $417 Billion Defense Spending Bill in 2004: In July 2004, Brown voted to appropriate $417.5 billion for the Department of Defense. The bill included $25 billion in emergency war appropriations that the Pentagon could use to cover operational shortfalls in Iraq and Afghanistan.  [Quick Action on Pentagon Funding, “Congressional Quarterly Almanac Plus, 2004, 60^th Annual Edition;” Roll Call 418, H.R. 4613, July 22, 2004; Roll Call 284, H.R. 4613, June 22, 2004]

Brown Voted For $512.9 Billion Department of Defense Authorization. The vote was for the FY 07 DOD authorization bill. The measure included a $50 billion fund for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; a 2.7 percent basic pay raise for men and women in uniform and weapons funding the president seeks. The bill also extends access to the military's Tricare health program to all Reserve members and their families, not just those who are mobilized. [HR 5122, Vote #145, 5/11/06; CQ Today, 5/11/06]

FACT: Sherrod Brown voted against cutting Defense Spending.

Brown Voted Against Cutting Defense By $4 Billion. The vote was to strip a 1% across-the-board cut to all "discretionary" programs that had been attached to the FY 2006 defense spending bill. The cuts - totaling $8.5 billion - did not effect veterans' benefits or combat related accounts. However, the provision did include a $4 billion reduction to defense spending. This cut will adversely affect military pay, cause potential delays in weapons purchases and contract shortfalls, and undermine building maintenance. [House Committee on Appropriations Minority Staff, "Impact of the Across-the-Board Cut." 12/19/05; HR 2863, Vote #668, 12/19/2005]

Announcer: “1996: Al Qaeda kills 19 U.S. servicemen.  Brown votes again to slash intelligence spending.”

Onscreen: [1996: Al Qaeda kills 19 U.S. servicemen in Saudi Arabia.  Congressman Sherrod Brown votes to slash intelligence spending. HR 1775 Roll Call Vote #253.]

Co-Author of the PATRIOT Act Rep. James Sensenbrenner Voted for Same Amendment to HR 1775.  26 other GOP Representatives that voted for the amendment include Reps: Shays, Chenoweth, Hoekstra, Coburn, Nussle, Rohrabacher, and Ensign.  The final bill passed by voice vote.  Brown voted for final passage of the conference report in November.  [HR 1775, Vote #253, 7/9/1997; S 858, Vote #607 11/7/97]

FACT: DeWine Skipped Almost Half of Intel Committee Public Hearings

DeWine Claims Spending Up to Half of His Time on Intelligence Committee. DeWine told the Canton Repository that he “probably spends 40 percent to 50 percent of his time on Intelligence Committee work”. [Canton Repository, 8/11/06]

Over His Career, DeWine Missed Nearly Half of Public Meetings. 101 public committee meetings were held since 1995, when DeWine started his assignment on the committee. Of the 101 meetings, DeWine missed at least 48 of them. [Government Printing Office, c-span.org]

DeWine Missed At Least 48 Public Meetings. DeWine missed public meetings of the Senate Intelligence Committee on 5/16/2006, 2/2/2006, 7/21/2005, 7/19/2005, 6/16/2005, 5/24/2005, 4/19/2005, 2/16/2005, 6/18/2003, 10/9/2002, 4/25/2002, 4/17/2002, 2/7/2001, 9/26/2000, 6/14/2000, 6/8/2000, 2/2/2000, 6/9/1999, 2/26/1999, 2/4/1999, 7/8/1998, 5/22/1998, 5/21/1998, 2/11/1998, 2/4/1998, 10/1/1997, 9/18/1997, 3/13/1997, 12/11/1996, 12/4/1996, 11/26/1996, 10/23/1996, 9/25/1996, 9/5/1996, 8/1/1996, 7/17/1996, 6/19/1996, 5/23/1996, 5/21/1996, 3/27/1996, 3/19/1996, 2/28/1996, 2/22/1996, 9/20/1995, 8/9/1995, 6/21/1995, 6/14/1995, and 5/3/1995. [Government Printing Office, c-span.org]

DeWine Ranks Among Worst for Attendance. During the 109^th Congress, the combined attendance for DeWine’s committee colleagues was 60%, while DeWine’s attendance was a mere 33%. Only one member of the fifteen-member committee missed more meetings than DeWine. [Government Printing Office, c-span.org]

DeWine’s Missed Meetings Include:

• TWO Hearings on the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001
• 5/24/2006, 4/19/2005 [Government Printing Office]
• FIVE Annual Assessments by the Heads of the Intelligence Community
• 2/2/2006, 2/16/2005, 2/7/2001, 2/2/2000, 2/22/1996 [Government Printing Office; c-span.org]
• SEVENTEEN Confirmation Hearings for High-Ranking Intelligence Positions (These Meetings included confirmation hearings for some of the highest ranking intelligence officers who led the intelligence community leading up to the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks.)
• 5/16/2006, 7/21/2005, 7/19/2005, 6/16/2005, 6/18/2003. 10/9/2002, 4/25/2002, 4/17/2002, 2/26/1999, 2/4/1999, 7/8/1998, 5/22/1998, 5/21/1998, 10/1/1997, 3/13/1997, 6/14/1995, and 5/3/1995 [Government Printing Office; c-span.org]

Over Last Two Years, DeWine Missed Two-Thirds of Public Committee Meetings. 12 open meetings were held and DeWine missed eight of them. [Government Printing Office documents, c-span.org]

Since 9/11/2001, DeWine Missed At Least 12 Public Meetings. Even after the U.S. was attacked, DeWine continued his pattern of absences. DeWine missed meetings on 5/16/2006, 2/2/2006, 7/21/2005, 7/19/2005, 6/16/2005, 5/24/2005, 4/19/2005, 2/16/2005, 6/18/2005, 10/9/2005, 4/25/2005, and 4/17/2005. [Government Printing Office, c-span.org]

Announcer: “1998: Terrorists strike U.S. embassies.  Brown votes against the intelligence budget.”

Onscreen: [1998: Terrorists strike U.S. embassies in Africa.  Congressman Sherrod Brown votes against intelligence budget. HR 3694 Roll Call Vote #487.]

Co-Author of the PATRIOT Act Rep. James Sensenbrenner Voted Against HR 3694.  46 other GOP Representatives that voted for the amendment include Reps:  Barr, Chenoweth, Coburn, Duncan, Hayworth, Hilleary, Hostettler, Istook, Lucas, Rohrabacher, Scarborough, and Ensign.  [HR 1775, Vote #253, 7/9/1997; S 858, Vote #607 11/7/97]

FACT: Brown Has Record of Supporting Homeland Security Funding

Brown Was Leading Sponsor of Bioterrorism Bill in 2001.  In December 2001, Brown was a leading sponsor of the $2.96 billion bioterrorism bill. The bill included $1 billion to stockpile vaccines for emergencies and $100 million for food safety inspections. [Columbus Dispatch, “Ohio Lawmakers Busy as Congress Winds Down,” 12/16/01]

Brown Voted To Protect The Nation From Bio-Terror Attack. The bill is $5.6 billion anti-terrorism initiative called Project Bioshield to stockpile remedies against deadly germs that could be used in a biological attack. The bill creates a 10-year funding reserve for large public supplies of drugs and vaccines to battle potential bioterror weapons including anthrax, smallpox, plague and the Ebola virus. Project BioShield doesn't mean the government will make these products. Instead, it offers pharmaceutical companies a guaranteed buyer - an incentive the industry has long sought before spending millions in research to produce terrorism countermeasures. The legislation also would accelerate the approval process for the new products and allow more widespread distribution of experimental medications during a terrorist attack. If the private sector leaves a gap, the government would be allowed to operate emergency programs to research and produce vaccines. The measure passed 414-2. [San Francisco Chronicle, 7/15/04; Associated Press, 7/15/04; S 15, Vote #376, 7/14/2004]

Brown Voted For $7.4 Billion Port Security Bill. The vote was for a $7.4 billion port security bill that would require the Department of Homeland Security to take steps to install radiation detectors at U.S. ports, develop plans for the restoration of commerce during a disaster and authorize several existing port security programs. House Republicans pushed through a rule that barred Democrats from offering amendments to improve the bill. [Washington Post, 5/5/06; HR 4954, Vote #127, 5/4/2006]

Brown Voted Against Removing Dubai Ports Ban from Supplemental Spending Bill. The vote was against an amendment to remove the provision blocking the Dubai ports deal from the supplemental spending bill for hurricane relief and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. [CQ Today, 3/15/06; HR 4939 , Vote #43, 3/15/2006]

Brown Voted Against Massive Cuts To Homeland Security & Border Enforcement Efforts. The vote was to strip a 1% across-the-board cut to all "discretionary" programs that had been attached to the FY 2006 defense spending bill. The cuts - totaling $8.5 billion - did not effect veterans' benefits or combat related accounts. However, the provision did include a $48 million cut to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency. Of this amount, nearly $19 million would be cut from security operations between the ports of entry on our borders - i.e., the Border Patrol. In order to absorb this cut, CBP would be unable to hire, train, equip, and deploy approximately 100 new Border Patrol agents. Preparedness, Mitigation, Recovery and Response programs within FEMA will be reduced by $2 million dollars.  Cutting these programs would reduce funding for programs like catastrophic planning, including planning for mass evacuations. [Senate Committee on Appropriations Minority Staff, 12/19/05; HR 2863, Vote #668, 12/19/2005]

Brown Voted to Increase Homeland Security Funding by $1 Billion.  The vote would have slightly reduced the recent tax cuts for people earning more than $1 million a year in order to increase homeland security funding by $1 billion. A report by the Council on Foreign Relations found ‘the United States remains dangerously ill prepared to handle a catastrophic attack on American soil and that America will fall approximately $98.4 billion short of meeting critical emergency responder needs over the next five years if current funding levels are maintained.’ An effort to block the funding increase passed, 222-200. [AP, 6/25/03; Council on Foreign Relations, "Emergency Responders: Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared," 6/29/03; HR 255, Vote #305, 6/24/2003]

Brown Voted for $33.1 Billion Homeland Security Spending Bill. The vote was to provide $33.1 billion for the Department of Homeland Security. The measure provides $19.6 billion, 9% more than current funding, for border security and immigration programs and $4.2 billion, a 12% boost, for port and cargo security. [CQ House Action Report, Homeland Security Appropriations for FY 2007, 6/7/06; HR 5441, Vote #226, 6/6/2006]

Brown Voted To Fulfill The 9/11 Commission Recommendations On Border Security & Immigration. The vote was to improve border security and immigration enforcement by fulfilling the 9/11 Commission's border security recommendations. On December 5, 2005 the 9/11 Commission issued its final report card that highlighted the many failures of the Republican Congress and Administration in implementing the commission's recommendations. As Chairman Thomas Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton said in a joint statement on December 5, "There is so much more to be done...Many obvious steps that the American people assume have been completed have not been...Some of these failures are shocking...We are frustrated by the lack of urgency about fixing these problems." The alternative proposal would have hired more border agents, ended the "catch and release" practice by authorizing 100,000 additional detention beds and incorporated state-of-the art surveillance technology, including cameras, sensors, radar, satellites, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in order to ensure 100% border coverage. [Reps. Conyers, Thompson and Reyes Dear Colleague, "Fulfilling the 9/11 Commission's Recommendations," 12/16/05; HR 4437, Vote #660, 12/16/2005]

Announcer: “After 9/11 a bipartisan congress gives law enforcement tools to fight terrorism, but Congressman Brown votes no.  The record is clear.”

DeWine: “I’m Mike DeWine and I approve this message.”

Onscreen: [After 9/11. A bi-partisan congress gives law enforcement tools to fight terrorism.  HR 3162, Roll Call Vote #313. HR 3199, Roll Call Vote #29. Congressman Sherrod Brown votes NO.  HR 2417, Roll Call Vote #649. HR 3162, Roll Call Vote #398. HR 3199, Roll Call Vote #627.  The record is clear.]

[APPROVED BY MIKE DEWINE AND PAID FOR BY MIKE DEWINE FOR U.S. SENATE]

[On screen: black and white photo of mike DeWine]

FACT: Brown Supported Many Parts of the PATRIOT Act, Wanted to Improve Act Before It Went Into Law. 

Parts of the Patriot Act were found to be unconstitutional.  Specifically, courts found that the Patriot Act violated the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment.  [Doe v. Ashcroft, 334 F. Supp. 2d 471 (SDNY 2004); Humanitarian Law Project v. Ashcroft, 309 F.Supp.2d 1185, (Cal. C.D. 2004) L.A. Times, 9/29/04]

Brown Supports Government to Pursue Individuals with Suspected Terrorist Ties.  Brown supported many parts of the Patriot Act.  He opposed certain parts of the bill that overreach by imposing on the constitutional rights of everyday Americans.  He supported the rest of the bill, and supported a measure that would have remedied parts of the bill – the SAFE Act which was introduced by conservative Rep. Butch Otter [R-ID].  Unfortunately the Republican House leadership caused those amendments to die in committee.  [Rep. Brown Floor Statement 3/7/06; Dayton Daily News, 8/6/06; H.R. 3352]

Brown Supported Reauthorizing the Patriot Act with Oversight Provisions. The vote was for an effort to extend the Patriot Act's 16 sunset provisions for four years and create four-year sunsets for the "lone-wolf," National Security Letter and "material support" provisions. The "lone-wolf" provision provides the authority to wiretap and conduct surveillance on rogue terrorist suspects, known as "lone wolves," who are not connected with a foreign power or recognized organization. The National Security Letters provision gives FBI the power to use administrative subpoenas, which do not require a judge's permission, to acquire certain kinds of personal records. The "material support" provision imposes criminal penalties on any individual who provides vaguely-defined "material support" to terrorists. In debating the provisions of the Patriot Act Reauthorization, there is was no division in the willingness to provide law enforcement the tools they need to defeat terrorism and protect Americans. Extending the sunsets would allow Congress to evaluate the effectiveness of the Patriot Act provisions and decide whether there is a continuing need for them or a need to modify them. The proposal failed, 209-218. [Leadership Doc, "Patriot Act Motion to Recommit."; HR 3199, Vote #413, 7/21/2005]

FACT: DeWine Skipped Hearings on Patriot Act, bin Laden Warnings.

DeWine Considers PATRIOT Act “Essential” Yet He Missed Two of Three Open Hearings in 2005 Concerning the Act. At the one hearing for which DeWine was present, he attended only briefly, made no statement, and asked no questions. [Canton Repository, 8/11/06, Government Printing Office; c-span.org]

DeWine Missed At Least Eight of Ten Public Meetings Leading Up to 9/11/2001. Between February 4, 1999 and September 11, 2001, DeWine missed at least eight and as many as ten of ten public Meetings that preceded 9/11/2001. [Government Printing Office]

DeWine Missed All Public Meetings During Two Years Leading Up to 9/11/2001. Moreover, in the two years leading up to 9/11/2001, DeWine did not attend a single public hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee. [Government Printing Office]

DeWine Missed Crucial Hearing Seven Months Before 9/11/2001. On February 7, 2001, the heads of U.S. intelligence agencies issued their annual reports to the committee at a public hearing. During his testimony, CIA Director George Tenet warned, “Usama bin Ladin and his global network of lieutenants and associates remain the most immediate and serious threat.” DeWine missed the hearing. [cia.gov, Government Printing Office]