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Audio Feature: This week in News for Rep. John Faso 20180417
Apr 14, 2018 9:43 am
Here's the week in the news for Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook), the District 19 Congressperson for the WGXC listening area. The Fivethirtyeight.com website currently reports Faso votes with Donald Trump's positions 87.3 percent of the time, up slightly from last week. Click here to download or play an audio version of this report (6:09).
• In a show vote, Republicans in Congress voted April 12 for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 233-184, with Rep. John Faso voting for the bill. It needed a two-thirds majority, which leaders knew it was not going to receive, so this was not a serious vote. Also, Republicans in Congress voted in December for a tax cut bill that was anything but a balanced budget bill, instead adding over $1 trillion to the deficit. On April 11, Faso voted for the Stress Test Improvement Act, a bill that weakens the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and mandates fewer financial tests on banks. The bill passed 245-174. Also on April 11 Faso voted "to amend the Volcker rule to give the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System sole rulemaking authority, to exclude community banks from the requirements of the Volcker rule, and for other purposes, and providing for motions to suspend the rules." And Faso also voted for the Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act on April 11, which would require the council when considering a company for systemic risk designation, to provide “with specificity the basis for so identifying the company.”
• Bill Mahoney is reporting for Politico New York Jeff Beals, one of seven Democratic candidates competing in the 19th Congressional District primary in June, is facing questions about the source of funds he loaned to his campaign last year. Beals has dismissed the issue as a "paperwork glitch." In June of 2017, Beals filed a financial disclosure report with the clerk of the House of Representatives that identified no personal assets and, with his wife, a combined annual salary of $72,500. In a campaign finance disclosure report filed 16 days later with the Federal Election Commission, Beals claimed that he contributed $56,000 of his own money to the campaign. That caught the attention of several district residents, and at least two complaints were subsequently submitted to federal officials. Craig Holman of Public Citizen called the behavior "highly suspicious." In a letter to Politico on April 4, the campaign claimed because Beals intended to make the loan at the time of the financial disclosure, "...acknowledging assets that would no longer be in his possession and were intended for filings with the Federal Election Commission was contrary to the open and transparent nature of the filing requirements.” Zack Feuer, a local co-founder of an anti-[John] Faso group said Beals' response "does not hold water." He said, “It does not stand up to any logical scrutiny and it makes me seriously doubt his integrity and his ability to be the Democratic nominee." Multiple people suggested the money may have come from his father, Allen Beals, the campaign's treasurer. Feuer said he's "heard consistent rumors" to that effect. Read the full story at Politico New York.
• Congressperson John Faso (R-Kinderhook) released a statement after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan announced he will not seek re-election: “Paul Ryan has been a dedicated public servant to his district and nation for 20 years. I regret his decision to retire but fully understand his desire to not miss the teenage years of his three children. I wish him and his family well and thank him for his service to the nation.”
• Dan Freedman reports in the Albany Times Union that Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) does not see the crest of a blue tsunami in the announcement that House Speaker Paul Ryan won't run for another term. “I don’t think it has any impact on me politically,” Faso said. “Personally I’m sad he made the decision, but I totally get it.” One of his potential rivals, Antonio Delgado who is among the Democrats running to take on Faso, disagreed. “The 'blue wave’ is coming, and Paul Ryan has been swept up in it,” said Delgado. “Hard-working families in the Hudson Valley, Catskills and across the whole nation are waking up and realizing that his attack on their health care and his tax scam for billionaires and big corporations are a dereliction of duty. Democrats … are going to take back the House and get our country back on track.” But Faso thinks that is just “political posturing. People shouldn’t count the votes seven months before and election.... I feel optimistic.” Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.
• Chris McKenna reports at The Fray most of the candidates running for New York's 19th Congressional seat this year got their signature petitions in to to the state Board of Elections by the April 12 deadline. The incumbent, John Faso, collected 9,600 signatures, his campaign said, to get on the Republican, Conservative, Independence, and Reform ballot lines. “I’m running for re-election because Washington needs problem solvers not rabid partisanship,” Faso said in a press release. “I’ll continue to focus my efforts on making Upstate New York more economically competitive, standing up for our farmers, tackling the opioid crisis and ensuring our veterans receive the services they’ve earned.” Democrats Antonio Delgado, Patrick Ryan, Brian Flynn, Gareth Rhodes, Jeffrey Beals, David Clegg, and Erin Collier also got signatures in as of mid-day April 12. Steve Greenfield filed petitions to run on the Green Party line in November. Chad J. McEvoy filed petitions to run on the Women’s Equality line; he is currently a candidate for NY Assembly District 101. McEvoy told WGXC that his petition entry is "just as a placeholder. The WEP will swap in the evental Democratic nominee for CD19." And Bob Cohen put in petitions on the Working Families Party line, perhaps as another placeholder. At press time, actor Diana Neal, who said she is running an independent campaign, had not filed petitions, nor had Luisa Parker, who previously said she would run as an independent.
• In a show vote, Republicans in Congress voted April 12 for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 233-184, with Rep. John Faso voting for the bill. It needed a two-thirds majority, which leaders knew it was not going to receive, so this was not a serious vote. Also, Republicans in Congress voted in December for a tax cut bill that was anything but a balanced budget bill, instead adding over $1 trillion to the deficit. On April 11, Faso voted for the Stress Test Improvement Act, a bill that weakens the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and mandates fewer financial tests on banks. The bill passed 245-174. Also on April 11 Faso voted "to amend the Volcker rule to give the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System sole rulemaking authority, to exclude community banks from the requirements of the Volcker rule, and for other purposes, and providing for motions to suspend the rules." And Faso also voted for the Financial Stability Oversight Council Improvement Act on April 11, which would require the council when considering a company for systemic risk designation, to provide “with specificity the basis for so identifying the company.”
• Bill Mahoney is reporting for Politico New York Jeff Beals, one of seven Democratic candidates competing in the 19th Congressional District primary in June, is facing questions about the source of funds he loaned to his campaign last year. Beals has dismissed the issue as a "paperwork glitch." In June of 2017, Beals filed a financial disclosure report with the clerk of the House of Representatives that identified no personal assets and, with his wife, a combined annual salary of $72,500. In a campaign finance disclosure report filed 16 days later with the Federal Election Commission, Beals claimed that he contributed $56,000 of his own money to the campaign. That caught the attention of several district residents, and at least two complaints were subsequently submitted to federal officials. Craig Holman of Public Citizen called the behavior "highly suspicious." In a letter to Politico on April 4, the campaign claimed because Beals intended to make the loan at the time of the financial disclosure, "...acknowledging assets that would no longer be in his possession and were intended for filings with the Federal Election Commission was contrary to the open and transparent nature of the filing requirements.” Zack Feuer, a local co-founder of an anti-[John] Faso group said Beals' response "does not hold water." He said, “It does not stand up to any logical scrutiny and it makes me seriously doubt his integrity and his ability to be the Democratic nominee." Multiple people suggested the money may have come from his father, Allen Beals, the campaign's treasurer. Feuer said he's "heard consistent rumors" to that effect. Read the full story at Politico New York.
• Congressperson John Faso (R-Kinderhook) released a statement after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan announced he will not seek re-election: “Paul Ryan has been a dedicated public servant to his district and nation for 20 years. I regret his decision to retire but fully understand his desire to not miss the teenage years of his three children. I wish him and his family well and thank him for his service to the nation.”
• Dan Freedman reports in the Albany Times Union that Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) does not see the crest of a blue tsunami in the announcement that House Speaker Paul Ryan won't run for another term. “I don’t think it has any impact on me politically,” Faso said. “Personally I’m sad he made the decision, but I totally get it.” One of his potential rivals, Antonio Delgado who is among the Democrats running to take on Faso, disagreed. “The 'blue wave’ is coming, and Paul Ryan has been swept up in it,” said Delgado. “Hard-working families in the Hudson Valley, Catskills and across the whole nation are waking up and realizing that his attack on their health care and his tax scam for billionaires and big corporations are a dereliction of duty. Democrats … are going to take back the House and get our country back on track.” But Faso thinks that is just “political posturing. People shouldn’t count the votes seven months before and election.... I feel optimistic.” Read the full story in the Albany Times Union.
• Chris McKenna reports at The Fray most of the candidates running for New York's 19th Congressional seat this year got their signature petitions in to to the state Board of Elections by the April 12 deadline. The incumbent, John Faso, collected 9,600 signatures, his campaign said, to get on the Republican, Conservative, Independence, and Reform ballot lines. “I’m running for re-election because Washington needs problem solvers not rabid partisanship,” Faso said in a press release. “I’ll continue to focus my efforts on making Upstate New York more economically competitive, standing up for our farmers, tackling the opioid crisis and ensuring our veterans receive the services they’ve earned.” Democrats Antonio Delgado, Patrick Ryan, Brian Flynn, Gareth Rhodes, Jeffrey Beals, David Clegg, and Erin Collier also got signatures in as of mid-day April 12. Steve Greenfield filed petitions to run on the Green Party line in November. Chad J. McEvoy filed petitions to run on the Women’s Equality line; he is currently a candidate for NY Assembly District 101. McEvoy told WGXC that his petition entry is "just as a placeholder. The WEP will swap in the evental Democratic nominee for CD19." And Bob Cohen put in petitions on the Working Families Party line, perhaps as another placeholder. At press time, actor Diana Neal, who said she is running an independent campaign, had not filed petitions, nor had Luisa Parker, who previously said she would run as an independent.