Fact-checking Frank

Well, now I know where Bud the Blogger got some of his (mis)information. I stopped by the Democrats' table at the Autumn Wine Festival and secured a flyer which claimed Andy Harris wasn't on our side and cited a number of votes. A few of them I've already covered and Andy Harris chimed in with his own defense as well.

There are six votes on the card where it's claimed Andy Harris is the only State Senator to vote against particular bills. Here's the dirty half-dozen Kratovil wants us to believe were poor votes:

CLAIM: "Harris was the only State Senator...to vote against extending the child care tax credit to help more middle class Maryland families pay for child care expenses (SB355, 2000).

FACT: I'd love to blow that one out of the water, but in looking up that particular number I find the bill is actually listed as a bill that expanded jury pools to include those who have drivers' licenses along with registered voters. In fact, Harris did vote against the bill but was joined by Senator Alex Mooney. I happen to think that was a proper vote since that allows non-citizens to become jurors. Perhaps Kratovil's writers may want to do a bit more fact-checking.

CLAIM: Harris was the only State Senator...to vote against creating the State's cancer prevention and treatment program (SB896, 2000).

FACT: The programs in question were to be created from money extorted from tobacco companies as part of their settlement in the late 1990's. Included therein were a number of restrictions on how to use the money, mandated budgeting amounts, and the potential for the state to supplant local health departments in their usage of the money if they so deemed. Revised fiscal note is here and the bill itself here.

Personally, I've never thought it made sense to, on the one hand, try to prevent a product's usage but on the other hand derive millions of tax dollars from it in an effort to make the budget balanced.

CLAIM: Harris was the only State Senator...to vote against reducing class sizes for Maryland first and second graders (SB127, 1999).

FACT: Again, Kratovil's fact-checkers strike out. That particular bill was not voted on, it was an effort to lower the state's BAL from .10 to .08 and comply with federal mandates. However, I'll give them the break on a typo, because the bill in question was actually SB137. And what Harris actually voted against were grants to each school system which were contingent on having a proper number of provisionally certified teachers and could only be received AFTER any federal grants were spent.

One thing these brilliant minds in the General Assembly may not have figured out is the cost to the district of hiring all of these new teachers, building any needed facilities, and their future retirement benefits - especially when the fiscal note states that 2,000 new teachers overall would need to be hired but the state could only provide for 800. I see no problem with voting against the bill and being the fiscal conservative he is, I think Andy was looking out for the long-term interests of each school district.

CLAIM: Andy Harris was the only State Senator...to vote against a program to help clean up toxic land right here in Maryland (SB513, 2000).

FACT: Andy voted FOR the third reading bill that passed the Senate, but when House amendments were added that restricted the usage of the funding and made it possible to change the interest rate of money loaned, that may have changed his opinion of the bill. This is the third reading Andy voted for and the enrolled bill he voted against. Had the House amendments been rejected in the conference committee, Frank wouldn't have had this to complain about.

CLAIM: Andy Harris was the only State Senator...to vote against allowing women access to qualified OB/GYN providers of their own choosing (SB567, 2000).

FACT: Andy states his case here, although I notice he seems to have reversed the bills in question. No worse than miscitation on literature.

CLAIM: Andy Harris was the only State Senator...to vote against extending the time during which children with special needs are eligible for public education (HB552, 2000).

FACT: The bill was an unfunded mandate to local districts and serving students through age 21 was already a practice in the areas Harris serves, according to the fiscal note. By the way, the extension was for one extra year.

I'm still waiting on the actual citation where senior citizens are referred to as a new "welfare state". And while the Eagle Forum is against women in combat, they also have a number of core beliefs most agree with as well.

As a whole, I guess Bud's BS meter failed him in this case, because a lot of what Frank's talking about here is a pure load of crap.