Ad Rhetoric

The Facts

ANNOUNCER 1: “Long after the ‘70s, he’s still a protester. Sherrod Brown says he marches for workers.  But if your work is protecting our country, Sherrod Brown doesn’t march for you.” 

FACT: DeWine Doesn’t Even Read the Intell Reports on the War He Sent Un-Armored Troops Into

DeWine Admitted He Doesn’t Read the Intel Reports.  “A consensus of 16 intelligence agencies,” the report “says the Iraq war is breeding potential new terrorists”. Despite being a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, DeWine did not read the report until this week even though he had access to it in April.  DeWine dismisses the central finding of the document as a “claim” that “has been made in the past.”  He only read it “when it became a flash point this week.”  [Plain Dealer, 9/28/06]

FACT: Sherrod Brown Has Fought, and Will Always Fight for a Smart, Tough Approach to Protecting America from Real Terrorist Threats. 

Brown Took Strong Stance Against Countries That Harbor Terrorists.  In June 2003, Brown co-sponsored a bill opposing the Syrian presence in Lebanon. The Syria Accountability and Lebanon Sovereignty Restoration Act would require that Syria be treated as a nation that harbors terrorists.  [HR 1828, Vote #543 10/15/03]

Brown Voted for Amendment Prohibiting Federal Assistance to Saudi Arabia in 2004.  On July 15, 2004, Brown voted to prohibit the use of taxpayer money allocated in the bill for assistance to Saudi Arabia. Supporters of the bill noted that Saudi Arabia had, in the past shielded terrorists and that 15 of the 19 hijackers on September 11, 2001 were from Saudi Arabia.  The amendment was included in the final version of the bill, which was signed by President Bush on December 8, 2004. [HR 4818, Vote # 389 715/04]

Brown Supported Clinton Air Strikes in Afghanistan and Sudan in 1998.  In August 1998, Brown voiced his support of missile strikes ordered by President Clinton against Al Qaeda targets in Sudan and Afghanistan in response to the terrorist bombings of two American embassies in Africa. Brown said “we have a responsibility to punish those who commit terrorist attacks:” [Akron Beacon Journal, 8/21/98]

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 Lauded Bioterrorism Bill That Stockpiled Vaccines in 2002.  In December 2002, Brown called the passage of a bioterrorism bill a victory for health concerns as it stockpiled vaccines to help states deal with a biological terror attack. Brown also authored provisions that dealt with food safety and resistance to antibiotics. [Associated Press, 12/25/03]

Brown Supported Bill to Require Screening of Airport Luggage for Explosives in 2001.  In November 2001, Brown supported a measure authored by Representative Ted Strickland (D-OH) that would require all airport luggage to be screened for explosives. The measure was added to airline security legislation signed into law by President Bush. The measure required that all bags be screened by either x-ray, bomb sniffing dogs, passenger-bag matches or hand inspections. Airlines said that the measure would take time to implement and would amount to more delays for passengers. [Associated Press, 11/19/01]

Brown Backed Critical Intelligence Restructuring Bill in 2004.  In December 2004, Brown backed the sweeping restructuring of the United States intelligence community. The bill aimed to make a number of changes to address intelligence errors noted by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Amongst other things the bill created a cabinet level position of the Director of National Intelligence, who would oversee 15 separate intelligence agencies and coordinate their efforts. The Pentagon and immigration opponents opposed the bill. [Akron Beacon Journal, 12/8/04]

Brown Voted to Establish Independent Commission to Examine Intelligence Failures Surrounding 9/11 Attacks in 2002.  On July 25, 2002, Brown voted to establish an independent commission to investigate the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  The amendment would have created a 10-member commission appointed by Congress with two members from the victims’ families. The White House initially opposed the commission but eventually bowed to pressure from families of September 11, 2001 victims forced the White House to ultimately compromise and agreed to a panel split evenly between appointees by Republicans and Democrats. The amendment to create the commission passed 219-188. The 9/11 Commission provision was included in the final bill, which was signed by President Bush on November 27, 2002. [HR 4628, Vote # 347, 7/25/02; USA Today, “Pressure Expands for 9-11 Inquiry,” 7/26/02; New York Times, 11/15/02]

Brown Voted for Use of Force Authorization Against Those Responsible for 9/11.  Brown voted to authorize the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against the nations, organizations, or people that he determines planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, or that harbored such organizations or people, to prevent future acts of terrorism against the United States. [HJR 64, Vote #342, 9/14/01]

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 Lauded Bioterrorism Bill That Stockpiled Vaccines in 2002.  In December 2002, Brown called the passage of a bioterrorism bill a victory for health concerns as it stockpiled vaccines to help states deal with a biological terror attack.  Brown also authored provisions that dealt with food safety and resistance to antibiotics. [Associated Press, 12/25/03]

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 to Block the UAE Ports Deal. The vote was against blocking a parliamentary maneuver that would have allowed members to offer a future amendment to the National Uniformity for Food Act of 2005. Democrats wanted to offer an amendment to require an in-depth 45-day national security investigation of the proposed acquisition of certain U.S. port terminal operations by DP (Dubai Ports) World -- a company owned by the government of United Arab Emirates. Following the 45-day investigation, Congress would have an up-or-down vote on approving the deal. [Leadership Document, "Democrats are Fighting For the Guarantee of a Congressional Vote on Approval of Dubai Port Deal," 3/2/06; Washington Post, 3/3/06; HR 4167, Vote #21, 3/8/2006]

Brown Voted to Increase Funding for Nuclear Detection in Ports by $36 Million. The vote was for an amendment to the Homeland Security appropriations bill that would increase funding for the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office by $36 million. The DNDO, according to the Department of Homeland Security, provides, "a single accountable organization with dedicated responsibilities to develop the global nuclear detection architecture, and acquire, and support the deployment of the domestic detection system to detect and report attempts to import or transport a nuclear device or fissile or radiological material intended for illicit use." The amendment was defeated 205-216. [DHS Press Release, 4/20/05; HR 5441 , Vote #214, 5/25/2006]

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 Supported Comprehensive Approach To Homeland Security. The vote was for a Homeland Security Authorization proposal that would commit $41 billion to securing the nation from terrorist threats - $6.9 billion more than the President's budget. The proposal contained $28.4 billion for border and transportation security, immigration processing, and other security functions -- $4 billion more than the President's budget. It required chemical facilities to conduct vulnerability assessments, and to make security enhancements based on the assessment and mandated that 100% of cargo carried on passenger planes be physically inspected for explosives or other dangerous materials within three years. Furthermore, the proposal addressed the holes in securing the nation's ports by requiring DHS to develop container security standards, integrate container security pilot projects, and examine ways to integrate container inspection equipment and data. Currently DHS, has three very similar container security pilot projects that are not coordinated in any fashion, resulting in wasted money and redundant efforts. Finally, the plan required DHS to conduct a study of the risk factors associated with the port of Miami and ports in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, including the U.S. Virgin Islands. The alternative plan failed, 196-230. [Committee on Homeland Security Minority Office; HR 1817, Vote #187, 5/18/2005]

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 $94.5 Billion Emergency Supplemental Spending Bill. The vote was for a $94.5 billion emergency supplemental spending bill for hurricane relief and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The bill provides including $65.8 billion for defense-related expenditures, primarily for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan; $19.8 billion for Katrina-related aid; $500 million for agriculture aid for Gulf Coast states; $4 billion for foreign assistance; $2.3 billion for avian flu preparedness; and $1.9 billion for border security. Components of the bill include $480 million for safer, up-armored Humvees, $2 billion to develop IED countermeasures, $3.7 billion for levee improvements, and $5.2 billion for Community Development Block Grants to Gulf Coast states. [Leadership Document, "Fact Sheet: Conference Report on HR 4939, FY 2006 Iraq/Katrina Supplemental," 6/12/06; HR 4939, Vote #257, 6/13/2006, Passed 351-67 (R 204-19, D 146-48, I 1-0)]

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]

“Sherrod Brown voted against advanced body armor for our troops.”

[Screen reads: Sherrod Brown Voted AGAINST: Advanced Body Armor. H.R. 3239, CQ #601]

“Against up armored humvees.”

[Screen reads: Sherrod Brown Voted AGAINST: Armor Protected Humvees. H.R. 3239, CQ #601]

“Against better housing for military families.”

[Screen reads: Sherrod Brown Voted AGAINST: Better Housing. H.R. 3239, CQ #601]

FACT: The One Vote the NRSC Cherry Picked Was a Bad Bill

Brown Voted Against Giving President Blank Check for Halliburton.  The House passed H.R. 3289, which provides $87 billion for the Iraq war.  Congressman Brown voted no on this bill because it provided no oversight of the money.  At the same time, the administration was providing no-bid contracts to Halliburton in Iraq. Sherrod wanted to make sure the money was actually used for our troops. [HR 3289, Vote 601, 10/31/03]

Brown Voted For Democratic Alternative Containing Funds to Improve the Quality of Life for Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He voted for an amendment sought to add $3.6 billion to the bill to improve the quality of life for the members of the armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.  This includes refurbishing used equipment that would be useless left unrepaired.  Without this funding, that equipment is unusable for 2 years and our readiness to deal with other problems around the world is substantially inhibited.  [H.Amdt. 407 to HR 3289 Vote # 547, 10/16/03]

The Democratic Substitute Spent More on the Military and Less on Iraqi Construction.  "House Appropriations ranking member David Obey plans to offer a comprehensive substitute amendment to a Republican-drafted, $86.7 billion, FY04 supplemental spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan.  Obey told reporters the measure would shift money away from reconstructing Iraq -- for which Appropriations Chairman Young has budgeted $18.65 billion -- and add spending to the military section, which would provide $65.1 billion under the chairman's mark.  The panel is expected to approve the $86.7 billion measure today, however, beating back Obey's amendment and sending the bill to the House floor. 'I believe both needs are being understated and hidden by the administration,' Obey said. 'The biggest problem is the immediate needs of the military are being understated.  I do not regard this as a partisan issue.'" [Congress Daily, 10/3/03]

$87 Billion Included Numerous No-Bid Contracts. “Six months ago the administration decided to cut corners onnormal bidding procedures and hand over large contracts to defense contractors like Bechtel and Halliburton on a limited-bid or no-bid basis. It bypassed the Iraqis and didn’t worry much about accountability to Congress. The plan was for “blitzkrieg” reconstruction. But by sacrificing accountability for speed, America is not achieving either very well right now. For months no one has seemed to be fully in charge of postwar planning. There has been so little transparency that even at the White House ‘it was almost —impossible to get a sense of what was happening’ on the power problem, says one official privy to the discussions. Numerous allegations of overspending, favoritism and corruption have surfaced. Halliburton, a major defense contractor once run by Vice President Dick Cheney, has been accused of gouging prices on imported fuel.” [Newsweek, 12/10/2003]

Reconstruction Funds Wasted on Police Academy that Was Declared to Be “Health Hazard.”  “It was intended to showcase U.S. rebuilding efforts in Iraq, but instead Baghdad's new police academy was declared a health hazard by U.S. inspectors who found human waste dripping from the ceilings.  In a congressional hearing on Thursday, where even the Republican chair said the U.S. rebuilding effort was not a "pretty picture," the Baghdad Police College was held up as an example of how the $21 billion U.S. reconstruction plan for Iraq went wrong . . . The chief U.S. inspector monitoring how U.S. funds are spent in Iraq, Stuart Bowen, recalled his recent visit to the police academy, which cost U.S. taxpayers $75 million, and said he was shocked by the unsanitary conditions there . . . ‘It boils down to a lack of oversight,’ said Bowen of the problems with the police college . . . In late 2003, Congress allocated $18.4 billion to rebuild Iraq and immediately handed out giant contracts to a small number of big U.S. construction companies, drawing criticism for not giving work directly to Iraqi firms.”  [Reuters, 9/28/06]

Contracted Companies Not Held Accountable. Helmut Doll, “the German site manager” in Iraq waited continuously “for the arrival of Bechtel engineers at the Daura power plant, Baghdad’s largest. U.S. construction giant Bechtel has the prime contract, now worth about $1 billion, for restoring Iraq’s infrastructure.” Doll reported, “Bechtel only came and took photos. We can’t judge Bechtel’s work progress because they’re not here. […] A British Christian aid group last week accused the [Coalition Provisional Authority] of not accounting for $4 billion of the $5 billion it has spent, most of which came from Iraqi oil proceeds. [Newsweek, 12/10/2003]

“Waste, Fraud and Abuse” Were Rampant in Reconstruction Efforts. “American companies are barred by law from paying bribes or taking kickbacks abroad. But Iraq is still largely a lawless place. And one company director for a British firm doing business in Baghdad says that makes all the difference. ‘I’ve never seen corruption like this by expatriate businessmen. It’s like a feeding frenzy,’ he says. One prominent Iraqi businessman said he was told he’d have to raise his bid by $750,000 to get a major contract, so long as he kicked back that amount to the contractor’s rep. […] Halliburton, a chief U.S. contractor under intense scrutiny for its ties to Cheney, has been accused of gouging prices on imported fuel—charging $1.59 a gallon to import nearly 200 million gallons of gasoline. SOMO, the Iraqi national oil company, indicated it can buy the same fuel at no more than 98 cents a gallon. ‘Why they don’t have the Iraqis bring it in rather than have Halliburton charge high prices for it, I don’t know,’ says a Democratic official on the Government Reform Committee, which first raised the issue. […] Behnam Polis, the Iraqi minister of Transportation, told Newsweek that another American contractor, Stevedoring Services of America, was overcharging in its administration of Umm Qasr. ‘They’re unloading cargo at $12 a ton. That’s a lot. Ports in Dubai and Kuwait do it for $3 a ton,’ he said. [Newsweek, 12/10/2003]

Opponents Were Concerned That Lack of Infrastructure to Get Missing Body Armor Overseas Meant Likely the Money Would Go To Halliburton, Others. Representative Jane Harman, Ranking Member on the House Intelligence Committee, stated, “our troops, our veterans and America's families deserve better. Members of this body rightly have complained about the Bush Administration's lack of a sustainable strategy for Iraq and the lack of a sincere attempt to explain the supplemental's details. The failure to spend funds wisely in Iraq and Afghanistan is already having a profound effect on our fighting men and women there. Earlier this week newspapers reported that ceramic inserts for soldiers' flak jackets - to be paid for with $300 million already appropriated - still have not been delivered and might not arrive until December! This is irresponsible. US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are targets of daily attacks; wearing the inserts is literally a matter of life and death should they be hit by assault rifle fire.” [Office of Jane Harman Statement, 10/16/2003]

Ohio Republican Steve LaTourette Voted Against $87 Billion. [H.R. 3239, Roll Call Vote #601, 10/31/2003]

On House Floor, Sherrod Read Letters of Ohioans Opposed to H.R. 3289. “From Jay from Richfield, Ohio, While listening to the speech of the President regarding Iraq last Sunday, I was struck by the fact he is asking for $87 billion for Iraqi reconstruction. What is magic about $87 billion, Jay writes. If we assume there are 290 million men, women and children in the U.S., that means that every man, woman and child will be contributing $300 to the reconstruction of a country we will never visit and whose welfare would never have affected us but for the lies of our President. […] Sue of Elyria, Ohio, writes, […] Bush continued to equate Iraq with al Qaeda terrorists even though there is no factual basis for the charge. Then he asked us for another $87 billion to bail him out, and I am sure this is only the beginning. President Bush will be back asking for more. […] For that amount of money, America could solve the school budget crisis in every one of our communities and provide health insurance for every uninsured American child for 15 years, provide food for all six million of the children who die from hunger around the world for the next 7 years. […] Ted from Lorain, Ohio, where I live, asked about the $87 billion more for the invasion of Iraq. He writes, What happened to the $69 billion he spent already? Was it all given to Halliburton, the ``no bid'' contractor and friend of the President's? Why does not Congress write into the law giving him money that no contracts be let without fair and open bidding? His concern for the people of Iraq is heartwarming, but what of us, Americans who pay him and are suffering from a terrible loss of jobs and income? What of our schools and our roads and our bridges and constitutional rights under the Bill of Rights? Not a word from the President on that. Jack from North Royalton, Ohio, writes, I believe that we, the American public, were manipulated by misleading statements by President Bush in order to gain support for a war in Iraq. This war is costing the American people billions of dollars. More importantly, it is costing the lives of American military personnel. This war has cost America the friendship and respect of law-abiding Nations. This is a sad period for America and for Americans. The Bush administration should be held accountable. President Clinton's lies were about a personal sexual matter. President Bush's lies are about an international issue. Matt from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, writes, The costly war, which has not ended, has cost thousands of civilian lives and hundreds of American military lives. It has not improved national security. It has weakened it. It was evident, Matt writes, as the administration danced around looking for reasons to attack Iraqi men, women and children that there were conflicts of interest between members of the administration and the possible reasons for going to war.” [Floor Statement by Sherrod Brown, 9/16/2003.]

FACT: Brown Has Supported Funding Body Armor to Protect Our Troops

The Body Armor Component DeWine Hits Brown on Is Less than 1% of the Total of the Bill.  “For the record, the body-armor money amounted to just over 1/3 of 1 percent of the $87 billion supplemental bill that Democrats opposed.”  [FactCheck.org, 3/16/04]

Brown Voted for $65.9 Billion in Supplemental Iraq Funding, Including Body Armor for Troops.  The House passed the first supplemental funding bill for the Iraq War.  HR 1559 provided $65.9 billion.  [HR 1559 Vote # 108, 4/3/03]

House GOP Leadership Prevented Brown and Other Representatives from an Up-or-Down Vote on Amendment that Would Have Increased Funding for Force Protection.  Rep. Tauscher offered a floor amendment to transfer $300 million from funding weapons inspections to Army force protection measures.  It was ruled out of order with no recorded vote.  [HR 3289, H Amdt. 430 10/17/03]

Brown Voted Twice for $25 Billion Iraq Supplemental that Included Funding for Body Armor.  The bill provided funding for added manpower requirements stemming from Iraq and Afghanistan and the increases in end strength approved by the House in its consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005. This amount also included over $14 billion for operation and maintenance; addressed critical force protection requirements such as up-armored Humvees and individual body armor; and provides funding in support of the Army brigade restructuring initiative, as it applies to units, which will be rotating into theater. [HR 4613, Vote # 284 6/22/04; HR 4613, Vote # 418 7/22/04]

Brown voted Yes on the $78.8 billion Iraq Supplemental that Included Body Armor and Up-Armored Humvees.  The bill provided our troops with the equipment and support they need, including body armor, up-armored Humvees, electronic jammers, and a host of other force protection gear and equipment repair.  [HR 1268 Vote #77 3/16/05]

Brown voted Yes on the $80 billion Iraq Supplemental that Included Body Armor and Up-Armored Humvees.  The bill provided our troops with the equipment and support they need, including body armor, up-armored Humvees, electronic jammers, and a host of other force protection gear and equipment repair.  [HR 1268 Vote #77 3/16/05]

Brown Voted for the $65 Billion Emergency Supplemental That Included Funding for Force Protection and Equipment to Combat IEDs.  He voted for Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery.  The bill included some $65.86 billion for war related costs in Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately the amount requested by the President.   In addition to providing increased levels of funding for new and refurbished equipment, and for enhanced force protection, the Committee recommendation fully funds the budget request of nearly $2 billion to procure and develop equipment to defeat Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). [HR 4939, Vote #65 3/16/06; HR 4939, Vote # 257 6/13/06]

Brown Voted For Democratic Alternative Containing Funds to Improve the Quality of Life for Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He voted for an amendment sought to add $3.6 billion to the bill to improve the quality of life for the members of the armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.  This includes refurbishing used equipment that would be useless left unrepaired.  Without this funding, that equipment is unusable for 2 years and our readiness to deal with other problems around the world is substantially inhibited.  [H.Amdt. 407 to HR 3289 Vote # 547, 10/16/03]

DeWine Voted Against $322 Million in Safety Equipment for U.S. Forces in Iraq Including Body Armor.  This amendment would provide an additional $322 million for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq offset by reducing the amount provided for reconstruction.  DeWine voted to table the amendment and succeeded in doing so.  [S. Amdt. 1817 to S. 1689, Vote # 376, 10/2/03]

DeWine Voted Against Revenue for Body Armor. In 2004, DeWine voted against an amendment that would express the sense of the Senate that legislation should be enacted that would impose an excise tax on a plaintiff's attorney in tobacco litigation cases equal to 5 percent of the excess fee transaction that exceeds $20,000 per hour. The revenue would be used to pay for military equipment, including heavily armored Humvees, body armor, unmanned aerial vehicles and ammunition. [S 2400, 5/19/04, #100]

FACT: DeWine Sent Troops to Iraq Without Body Armor

General Abazaid Did Not Dispute Troops Lacked Body Armor.  At a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing Sept. 24, 2003, Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of the U.S. Central Command, did not dispute the estimate that 40,000 troops were without the newer design, and said the $300 million was needed to buy more of the vests.  Abizaid said: “Now, I can't answer for the record why we started this war with protective vests that were in short supply. But I can tell you that by November, every soldier that's serving in Iraq will have one.  It's very important.”  [FactCheck.org, 3/16/04]

FACT: Mike DeWine Still Supports “Stay the Course” in Iraq.

2,703 U.S. fatalities in Iraq as of 9/25/06 [CNN.com, Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, 9/25/06]

19,910 U.S. casualties in Iraq as of 9/25/06 [CNN.com, Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, 9/25/06]

123 Ohioan fatalities as of 9/25/06 [Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, 9/25/06]

Army Chief of Staff to Rumsfeld: Reduce Troop Levels in Iraq or Dramatically Increase Budget.  “The Army's top officer withheld a required 2008 budget plan from Pentagon leaders last month after protesting to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that the service could not maintain its current level of activity in Iraq plus its other global commitments without billions in additional funding.  The decision by Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, is believed to be unprecedented and signals a widespread belief within the Army that in the absence of significant troop withdrawals from Iraq, funding assumptions must be completely reworked, say current and former Pentagon officials.”  [L.A. Times, 9/25/06]

Four Thousand U.S. Troops Have Combat Tours Extended to More than One Year.  “The Army has extended the combat tours of about 4,000 soldiers who would otherwise be returning home, a defense official said Monday.  The 1st Brigade of 1st Armored Division, which is operating in the vicinity of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, will be kept in place for several weeks beyond their scheduled departure, the official said.  The brigade has about 4,000 soldiers in Iraq . . . They were scheduled to be there a maximum of 12 months, but they are not the first to be extended.”  [AP, 9/25/06]

Bush Dismisses Current Violence in Iraq as "Just a Comma."  CNN aired a portion of an interview with President Bush in which the President dismissed the current disastrous situation in Iraq as something that would be viewed in the future as "just a comma" in the history of the country.  A look at the facts shows that the situation in Iraq should not be so lightly dismissed.  [CNN, Interview with President Bush, 9/24/06]

Senate Intelligence Committee Issues Report: No Link Between Saddam and Al Qaeda.  “Saddam Hussein rejected overtures from al-Qaida and believed Islamic extremists were a threat to his regime, a reverse portrait of an Iraq allied with Osama bin Laden painted by the Bush White House, a Senate panel has found.  The administration's version was based in part on intelligence that White House officials knew was flawed . . .” [Associated Press, 9/9/06]

Afghanistan Failing On Every Level.  “However much it sounds like the war in Iraq, this is the war inAfghanistan, started in 2001 to oust the radical Taliban regime, capture Osama bin Laden and destroy the safe haven for his terrorist network al Qaeda. Five years later, U.S. and NATO troops are fighting a resurgent Taliban at the highest scale since the government was toppled in November 2001. Bin Laden remains at large, opium production is at a record high, and Afghanistan resembles a feudal hodgepodge of fiefdoms run by warlords instead of a centrally governed nation of 31 million people. At least one top Western military official, British Capt. Leo Docherty, quit last month, describing the failed campaign to rein in the Taliban as ‘a textbook case of how to screw up a counterinsurgency.’’ The state-building hasn't really proceeded as far as people have hoped for,’ said Robert Templer, an Afghanistan expert at the International Crisis Group, a conflict-resolution organization based in Brussels. In the absence of a strong government, ‘there is space out there for something like the Taliban to exist.’ The Islamic militia, which had all but disappeared in the first years after the war, has adopted Iraqi-insurgent-style suicide attacks. Suicide bombings in Afghanistan have killed 173 people this year, mostly civilians, NATO officials said last week. Hundreds of Taliban fighters are believed to operate in provinces along the porous border with Pakistan, where the Pashtun population shares ethnic ties with the Islamic militia.” [San Francisco Chronicle, 9/17/06]

“Can he be trusted to defend America now?”

[Screen reads: Sherrod Brown Let Us Down]

ANNOUNCER 2: “The National Republican Senatorial Committee is responsible for the content of this ad.”

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FACT: Mike DeWine Cannot Be Trusted on the Senate Intelligence Committee that Failed on Oversight on Iraq Intelligence

Former Joint Chiefs Aide Said Senate Intelligence Committee as Responsible as Intelligence Agencies. Discussing the Senate Intelligence Committee and the 9/11 attacks in 2003, former Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff aide Jay Farrar said, "They should be held as accountable as the intelligence agencies." [The Ledger, 5/25/03]

Expert Said Committee “Didn’t Press Hard Enough.” In 2003, Loch Johnson, “a senior staff member to top lawmakers on two investigative intelligence panels in the 1970's and 1990's, said no one on the intelligence committees should escape unscathed. ‘They didn't press hard enough,’ said Johnson, a University of Georgia foreign policy and intelligence specialist teaching at Oxford University in England. ‘There's all the authority they need. They've got the power.’” [The Ledger, 5/25/03]

DeWine Acknowledged Failures of Oversight on Intelligence Committee.  “I think there's a general consensus among at least the Senate Intelligence Committee that we have not historically done as good a job in oversight as we should have.” [Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing on Confirmation of Porter Goss to Be CIA Director, 9/14/04]

9/11 Commission Criticized Intelligence Committee’s Oversight.  The 9/11 Commission criticized the House and Senate intelligence committees, saying they “lack the power, influence, and sustained capability” to oversee the nation’s intelligence community.  The commissioners added that Congress should share the blame for the intelligence failures that lead to 9/11.  [US News and World Report, 9/13/04]

9/11 Commission Chairman: Committee’s Partisanship “Distressful.”  Former Republican Governor and 9/11 Commission chairman Thomas Kean said the Intelligence Committee’s partisanship, “is new, at least to my mind, and it's distressful, because this is one area where partisanship does not belong, the committee is absolutely essential, and it can't allow partisanship to get in the way.” [Washington Post, 3/12/06]

Former CIA Staffer: Oversight Has Collapsed – Intel Committee A “Weakling.”  Marvin Ott, a former staffer at the CIA and the Senate Intelligence Committee, said, “There has been basically a collapse of the oversight system, particularly in the Senate, since the mid-1990s.  Everyone dealing with the intelligence committees in the intelligence world knows they are dealing with a weakling.”  Mike DeWine has been on the Senate Intelligence Committee since 1995.  [US News and World Report, 9/13/04]

Los Angeles Times: Intelligence Committee Should Be Renamed “Senate Cover-up Committee.”  “In a world without Doublespeak the panel … would be known by a more appropriate name — the Senate Cover-up Committee. Although the committee is officially charged with overseeing the nation’s intelligence-gathering operations, its real function in recent years has been to prevent the public from getting hold of any meaningful information about the Bush administration.” [Los Angeles Times, editorial 2/19/06]

DeWine has been on the Intelligence Committee for twelve years, and the world isn’t any safer.  Terrorist attacks tripled abroad in 2004, from 175 in 2003 to 655 that year.  The number dramatically increased in 2005: according to the National Counterterrorism Center Fact Sheet, there were 11,100 terrorist incidents that year.   The report also acknowledges the substantial increase of violent attacks against Iraqi civilians and the rising number of suicide attacks.  The number of high fatality incidents in Iraq increased from 65 in 2004 to 150 in 2005.  In Afghanistan the number of suicide attacks increased in 2005.  [Christian Science Monitor, 4/28/05; NCTC Report on Incidents of Terrorism 2005, 4/11/06]

U.S. Intelligence Knows “Disturbingly Little” About Nuclear Programs of Countries Like Iran.  In March 2005, the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction concluded that the intelligence community knows “disturbingly little” about the nuclear programs of countries like Iran. [The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the U.S. Regarding WMD, 3/31/05]

Intelligence Committee Has Not Made Progress on Oversight of Iran Intelligence.  According to Sen. Pat Roberts, the Intelligence committee chair, “we have not made the progress on our oversight of Iran intelligence, which is critical.”  The panel has done only piecemeal scrutiny of the CIA's work on Iran. “There is no organized committee staff effort to look at Iran right now,” says majority staff director Bill Duhnke. “It's all sort of on hold.” [U.S. News and World Report, 4/26/06]