Received this e-mail from Senator Mark Pryor's (D. AR) campaign:
On Friday, the Cotton for Senate campaign issued a press release shamelessly politicizing the VA tragedy and flatly misleading Arkansans about Sen. Mark Pryor’s response to the situation. Cotton’s brazen attacks simply don’t stand up to the facts, and his willingness to falsely exploit this serious situation for political gain speaks to his blind ambition and temperament.
CLAIM: On Friday, Cotton claimed that “Pryor maintains silence on the VA scandal”
FACT: Since the scandal came to light, Pryor has repeatedly weighed in, calling the revelations “extremely disturbing” and promising to get to the bottom of what happened on behalf of all our veterans. He wrote a letter on May 21 to the VA secretary calling for answers and immediate reforms.
CLAIM: On Friday, Cotton’s campaign claimed that Pryor opposed legislation aimed at increasing accountability at the VA
FACT: On Thursday, the day before Cotton’s campaign went on the attack, Pryor voted to advance the very measure Cotton claims he opposes. If passed, the VA Management Accountability Act would be effective immediately, giving the VA Secretary additional authority to fire those responsible for the scandal.
“Playing politics with a tragedy is bad enough, but exploiting a tragedy by making blatantly false claims is insulting and Congressman Cotton should be ashamed of himself,” said Erik Dorey, Pryor for Senate spokesman.
Today, a Washington group funded by two out-of-state billionaires echoed Cotton’s false attack in a new television ad. See attached backup for a line-by-line breakdown of the ad’s false claims.
BACKGROUND:
Pryor Voted For “Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act” As An Amendment To The FY 2015 Military Construction-VA Appropriation Bill. According to Congressional Quarterly, “Responding to the VA medical care concerns, appropriators adopted by voice vote a Jerry Moran, R-Kan., amendment that would give the VA secretary the authority to discharge or remove employees from the Senior Executive Service if the secretary believes it is warranted. Similar legislation (HR 4031) passed the House 390-33 on Wednesday.” [CQ Markup & Vote Coverage, 5/22/14; FY15 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Report, 5/22/14]
Pryor Voted For “Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act” As An Amendment To The FY 2015 Military Construction-VA Appropriation Bill. According to Army Times, “Just a day after the House passed new legislation making it easier for top VA executives to be fired, senators included mirror legislation in their annual VA appropriations proposal. Amendment sponsor Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., called the move a reaction to ‘systemic dysfunction and a lack of leadership’ in the department. ‘VA personnel should be accountable for their actions,’ he said. ‘Otherwise, the current system of mediocrity and failure will remain.’ The measure would give the VA secretary broader authority to fire senior executives for poor performance or mismanagement. Both the White House and VA have expressed concerns over the legality of the measure, but said they will work on it with Congress.” [Army Times, 5/22/14; FY15 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Report, 5/22/14]
“Pryor Signed Onto The 21st Century Veterans Benefits Delivery Act.” “On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor signed onto the 21st Century Veterans Benefits Delivery Act, which would require audits of Benefits Administration regional offices, annual reports on the backlog and more information to veterans about completing the claim requests.”[Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 5/16/14]
Pryor Sent A Letter To Shinseki Calling For Immediate Reforms To Address The VA Situation And Ensure Our Veterans Receive The Care They Deserve. According to Saline River Chronicle, “Following numerous reports of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ failure to provide timely medical care for veterans, U.S. Senator Mark Pryor today sent a letter to Secretary Shinseki calling for immediate reforms to address this situation and ensure our veterans receive the care they deserve. ‘Recent reports about the VA’s systemic failure to take care of our vets are extremely distributing. These brave men and women laid their lives on the line for our country, and they must be treated with the utmost respect,’ Pryor said. ‘I won’t let up until I know the VA has taken steps to correct this problem. Our veterans deserve answers now.’” [Saline River Chronicle, 5/21/14]
Pryor Said “The VA Disability Claims Process Needs ‘A Complete Overhaul.’”According to The Associated Press, “Arkansas U.S. Sen. John Boozman is asking Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki for more information on wait times that Arkansas veterans face to receive medical care at VA facilities. Boozman is a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee but couldn’t attend Thursday’s hearing because he’s recovering from heart surgery. In a letter, Boozman said a full analysis of the future of VA health care is needed. Sen. Mark Pryor also said Thursday that the VA disability claims process needs ‘a complete overhaul.’ Shinseki says he hopes to have a preliminary report soon on how widespread treatment delays and falsified patient scheduling reports are at VA facilities nationwide. The hearing in Washington follows allegations that up to 40 veterans may have died while awaiting treatment at a Phoenix VA center.” [The Associated Press, 5/15/14]
Pryor: “The VA Needs More Than A Few Minor Changes To Its Flawed Claims System — It Needs A Complete Overhaul.” According to the Arkansas News Bureau, “Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., also issued a statement Thursday calling for legislative action to reform VA’s disability claims process. Pryor said a backlog in processing disability claims has left thousands of Arkansas veterans waiting for years to receive their earned benefits. ‘The VA needs more than a few minor changes to its flawed claims system — it needs a complete overhaul,’ Pryor said.” [Arkansas News Bureau, 5/15/14]
Pryor Voted To Require The Veterans Affairs Secretary To Submit A Plan To Reduce The Backlog Of Pending Claims For Veterans Benefits. On November 29, 2012, Mark Pryor voted yes on Senate vote #208. Congressional Quarterly reported the vote as: Cornyn, R-Texas, amendment no. 3158 that would require the Veterans Affairs secretary to submit a plan to reduce the backlog of pending claims for veterans benefits. [CQ Floor Votes; Senate Vote #208, 11/29/12]
Cotton will use anything to go after Pryor and so will Cotton's outside backers:
http://www.arkansasmatters.com/...
A flood of television and online advertisements are hitting Arkansas airwaves this week featuring Rep. Tom Cotton in his bid to defeat Senator Mark Pryor in November.
Two advertisements, one online, come from Cotton's campaign and began running earlier this week.
Five other television ads began running this week, two on Wednesday, from five different special interest groups supporting Cotton.
Americans for Prosperity, Club for Growth, Concerned Veterans for America, Government Integrity Action Fund and American Crossroads are spending a combined $3.1 million this week on ads in support of the freshman congressman from Arkansas' 4th District. - Arkansas Matters, 5/28/14
And the Arkansas Democratic Party points out that Cotton's outside groups want to end affordable student loans:
Starting this week, over $3 million dollars in outside special interest money will be spent on television advertising in Arkansas. All of it is coming from outside special interest groups trying to buy Congressman Cotton a senate seat. Their agenda serves the best interests of their out of state billionaire backers, not Arkansas – and Congressman Cotton is their most reliable vote.
A clear illustration of just how beholden Congressman Cotton is to these outside groups? Look no further than his votes against making college affordable for working families. Cotton was the only Arkansan to vote for higher interest rates on student loans, making college too expensive for thousands of Arkansans. He also voted to cut Pell grants.
Even more shocking, Cotton used those very same federal student loans to attend Harvard and help pay for his Ivy League education. Congressman Cotton wants to pull the ladder up behind him. Congressman Cotton’s blind ambition for higher office leads him to support the irresponsible agenda of outside groups who are willing to spend millions to send him to the Senate to end federal student loan programs.
When Arkansans turn on their TVs and see groups like Americans for Prosperity and Club for Growth attacking Mark Pryor, they deserve to know why. Congressman Cotton is the outside special interest groups’ man in Washington. Congressman Cotton is listening to them, not Arkansas – and Arkansas’s students are the ones who have the most to lose.
And Cotton needs these groups support because he's turning out to be a lousy candidate:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/...
Republicans are widely favored to pick up the six seats they need to gain the Senate majority, but race by race, it may not be the slam dunk the GOP anticipates. Sabato recently switched the Senate race in Arkansas from leaning Republican to toss-up based in part on incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor’s attacks on his challenger, Rep. Tom Cotton, for his votes for the Ryan budget and a more draconian Republican Study Committee (RSC) budget for those who thought the Ryan budget didn’t go far enough to cut spending.
“The RSC budget is a travesty, and any Democrat who can use it should,” says Matt Bennett, senior vice president for public affairs and a cofounder of Third Way, a centrist Democratic group whose support for entitlement reforms has taken flak from more traditional Democrats. On the study group budget, there is no divide.
Voted on with little fanfare in March 2013, just before the Republican-controlled House passed the Ryan budget, the RSC budget is what MSNBC host Rachel Maddow called the Democrats’ “secret sauce” in a recent segment that featured the Pryor-Cotton race. “It does all the same things [as the Ryan budget], but it does them sooner and does them worse,” says Erik Dorey, Pryor’s deputy campaign manager. While Ryan increases the retirement age to 67, RSC takes it to 70 and hastens the transformation of Medicare into a voucherized system. “It’s a great vote to cite because it gives you some punch to TV ads,” says Sabato. “It’s not just rhetoric; it’s an actual vote.”
The RSC budget is particularly effective against Cotton, as he was the only member of the Arkansas congressional delegation to vote for it. He also was alone in his vote against the farm bill this year, which hurt him. “Cotton hasn’t roared out of the gate the way people thought he would, and the Pryor name is golden there,” says Sabato, adding that while the Democratic incumbent may not win in the end, the race is going to be much closer than anyone anticipated when Pryor was called “toast” just a few months ago.
The RSC contains a litany of problematic items for Cotton, from drastically cutting Pell grants to eliminating subsidized air service for smaller communities, a market access program that helps rural states sell their products, and a number of regional conservation programs. These items may not end up in ads, but Pryor highlights them as he travels around Arkansas.
This summer, the Senate will vote on the Medicare Protection Act, introduced by Pryor to require a 60-vote majority to make changes in the program; budget issues normally require a simple majority. “We’re on solid ground when this race is a choice between two very different records in Washington,” says Dorey, who has watched Pryor pull ahead in recent polls. - The Daily Beast, 5/27/14
We can hold onto this seat but we will need to get the base out to ensure Pryor's victory. Click here if you want to donate and get involved with Pryor's re-election bid:
http://pryorforsenate.com/