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The Facts:

ANNOUNCER: With time running out, Mike DeWine is recycling discredited attacks newspapers have called “junk” and “trumped up charges.”

FACT: Major Ohio Newspapers Discredited The Allegations Against Sherrod Brown.

Allegations Called “Junk,” “Trumped-Up,” and “Officially Discredited.” The Dayton Daily News called the allegations against Sherrod Brown “junk,” “smut,” “sleazy,” “trumped-up charges,” and “officially discredited.” [Dayton Daily News, 10/18/90; 11/9/90]

Akron Beacon Journal: “No Proof of Impropriety Found in Drug Inquiry in Brown’s Office.” The Akron Beacon Journal said that there was “no evidence of impropriety” for the charges against Brown. [Akron Beacon Journal, 9/2/90]

Dayton Daily News: Allegations Against Brown “Full of Baloney.” The Dayton Daily News rebuked the Columbus Dispatch. “The Columbus Dispatch happens to have been full of baloney.” [Dayton Daily News, 11/4/90]

Dayton Daily News: “Prosecutor Says Brown Didn’t Stop Drug Probe.” [Dayton Daily News, 9/1/90]

FACT: Sherrod Brown Cooperated with Investigators.

Dayton Daily News: Brown “First to Notify” Authorities. “Patrol records do indicate that Brown was the first to notify law-enforcement officials of possible drug use in his office.” [Dayton Daily News, 8/21/90]

FACT: Investigation was not Handled Properly by State Highway Patrol.

Highway Patrol Accepted Fault for Withholding Information. “The patrol has accepted fault for not telling prosecutors about a mid-August 1985 drug buy.” [Akron Beacon Journal, 9/2/90]

Fact is, Sherrod Brown’s passed scores of bills that became law.

FACT: Sherrod Brown Has Sponsored or Co-Sponsored 131 Bills That Became Law.

Bills Sherrod Helped Pass Include:

H.R.32, Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act, signed into law 3/16/2006.

H.R.3448, Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, signed into law 6/12/2002.

H.R.4954, SAFE Port Act, signed into law 10/13/2006.

H.R.93, Federal Firefighters Retirement Age Fairness Act, signed into law 8/20/2001.

H.R.1, Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, signed into law 2/5/1993.

H.R.3295, Help America Vote Act of 2002, signed into law 10/29/2002.

H.R.1568, Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999, signed into law 8/17/1999.

H.R.3818, Microenterprise Results and Accountability Act of 2004, signed into law 12/23/04.

H.R.540, Nursing Home Resident Protection Amendments of 1999, signed into law 3/25/1999.

H.R.4365, Children's Health Act of 2000, signed into law 10/17/2000.

H.R.1791, Medicaid Certification Act of 1995, signed into law 10/9/1996.

H.R.1481, Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 1998, signed into law 10/19/1998.

Brown led the fight against job-killing trade deals, opposed tax breaks for corporations that outsource, took on the drug companies to lower health costs and worked for tuition tax credits for middle-class families. 

FACT: Throughout His Career, Sherrod Brown Has Stood Up to the Special Interests, Fought for the Middle Class.

The Columbus Dispatch Called Brown “a Vociferous ‘Fair-Trade’ Advocate.” [Columbus Dispatch, 5/29/06]

Brown Led Fight Against CAFTA. Leading up to the vote, The Hill reported that “the work of “whipping” the caucus [on CAFTA] is being led by Rep. Sherrod Brown.” More “no” votes were secured against CAFTA than had been cast against any trade agreement in history. [The Hill, 7/20/05; Congressional Quarterly, 7/29/05]

Brown Has Consistently Opposed Bad Trade Deals Like NAFTA, CAFTA, and Permanent Normal Trade Relations for China that Hurt Ohio. [H.R. 3450, 11/17/93, #575; HR 3045, #443; HR 4444, 5/24/00, #228; Washington Post, 6/12/05]

Brown Stood up to Corporations that Outsource, Co-Sponsored Patriot Corporations for America Act.  This bill would “provide tax breaks and preferences in federal contracting” for companies meeting labor standards and “producing at least 90% of their goods and services in the United States.” [Office of Jan Schakowsky Press Release, 6/28/06; HR 5699]

Brown Stood up to Pharmaceutical Companies, Called for Changes to Fix Medicare Part D. In February 2006, Brown called for the government to be able to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to secure bulk discounts and for Medicare to pay a portion of premiums directly instead of third-party insurance companies. [Dayton Daily News, 2/11/2006]

Brown Led Effort to Pass Legislation to Open Access to Generics.  Brown worked on a bicameral, bipartisan basis with Senator McCain (R-AZ) and Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) to pass key provisions to close loopholes in federal law that enabled brand-name drug companies to block consumer access to generic drugs. These provisions were signed into law as part of the Medicare Modernization Act on December 8, 2003. [HR 2491 and HR 1199, Greater Access to Affordable Pharmaceuticals Act of 2003]

Sherrod Brown Voted For the College Tuition Tax Credit to Help Middle Class Families. [H.Amdt. 207 to HR 2014 Roll Call 243 6/26/97; HR 2014, Vote #350, 7/31/1997]

Mike DeWine turned his back on the middle-class on each of these issues. 

FACT: Throughout His Career, Mike DeWine Has Sided With the Special Interests, Supported Policies That Have Harmed the Middle Class.

DeWine Supported Trade Deals That Cost Ohio Jobs.  DeWine supported NAFTA and voted for CAFTA and Permanent Normalized Trade Relations with China. [Columbus Dispatch, 8/30/92; S 1307, 6/30/05 #170; HR 4444, 9/19/00, #251]

DeWine Defends NAFTA, Which Cost Ohio Jobs. “Mike DeWine defends NAFTA as a “big success from Ohio’s point-of view.”” But, Ohio has lost 50,000 jobs due to NAFTA. [Economic Policy Institute Issue Brief, “NAFTA’s Cautionary Tale,” 7/20/05; Associated Press, 7/14/06]

DeWine Voted For Overseas Profits and Against a Manufacturing Jobs Tax Credit.  In May 2004, DeWine voted against an amendment that would strike international tax provisions, which critics charged would encourage manufacturers to move jobs overseas, instead of create more jobs for Americans.  It would replace them with a new tax credit equal to 1.66 percent of the wages an employer paid to each employee in manufacturing up to $35,000 per employee. [S 1637, 5/5/04, #82]

DeWine Voted to Keep Tax Incentives for Offshore Companies. In March 2005, DeWine voted against repealing tax incentives for domestic companies that move their manufacturing plants to offshore. [S Con Res 18, 3/17/05, #63]

DeWine Voted For Medicare Prescription Drug Bill Heavily Tilted Towards Drug Companies. The Medicare reform plan that was larded with perks for private companies that increase the cost of Medicare and hurt seniors. The legislation made it illegal for Medicare to negotiate over price with drug companies, which will give drug companies an additional $139 billion in “windfall profits.” [HR 1, 11/25/03, #459; Washington Post, 10/31/03; Alan Sager, Boston University School of Public Health, 10/31/03]

DeWine Opposed Republican and Democratic Drug Re-Importation Bills.  Bills sought to allow safe reimportation of prescription drugs from Canada. In July 2004, The Hill reported that, “…Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), a key swing voter on the panel, does not like the Gregg bill or a competing alternative introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) that has attracted wide bipartisan support.” [The Hill, 7/21/04]

DeWine Voted to Eliminate Tax Tuition Deduction. Voted against a college tuition tax deduction at least five times, then voted to eliminate it.  The college tuition deduction benefited over 134,000 Ohio students. [HR 8, 7/13/00, #182; HR 8, Vote #182, 7/13/2000; HR 1836, Vote #114, 5/17/2001; Vote #516, 10/26/95; Vote #121, 5/22/96; HR 4297 Vote #118,  5/11/06; Senate Finance Committee Press Release, 11/7/05]

SHERROD BROWN: I’m Sherrod Brown – I approve this message.  It’s time to put the middle-class first.