Obama Blasts McCain for Voting Against Iowa Flood Funds

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Last updated on July 1st, 2012 at 07:07 am

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While speaking to the U.S. Conference of Mayors today in Miami, FL, Barack Obama hammered John McCain for going to inspect the flood damage in Iowa, but voting against levee and flood control programs for Iowa that he considered pork.

“And just the other day, Senator McCain traveled to Iowa to express his sympathies for the victims of the recent flooding. I’m sure they appreciated the sentiment, but they probably would have appreciated it more if he hadn’t voted against funding for levees and flood control programs, which he seems to consider pork. Well, we do have to reform budget earmarks, cut genuine pork, and dispense with unnecessary spending, as we confront a budget crisis left by the most fiscally irresponsible administration in modern times,” Obama said.

Tucker Bounds of the McCain campaign called Obama a typical politician who is trying to distort McCain’s record, “It is beyond the pale that Barack Obama would attack John McCain for actually trying to fix the problem and change the way Washington works. Barack Obama’s willingness to continue the status quo pork-barrel politics in Washington, and then engage in political attacks that entirely disregard the facts, once again fundamentally shows that he’s nothing more than a typical politician.”

So who’s right? According to the Des Moines Register, McCain voted against flood control money for Iowa last year In fact contrary to the McCain camp’s protests, the Senator voted against the bill initially and also voted to uphold President Bush’s veto because he felt that the $23 billion bill was full of pork.

When he voted against the bill McCain said, “This legislation is fundamentally flawed, authorizing nearly 1,000 new projects without any method for prioritizing the needs of our national water infrastructure.” He added that the bill was “full of pork projects and unchecked government spending.” So it seems that the McCain campaign is once again distorting his record on flood control. Obama told the truth today, while McCain was once again hiding his record of supporting George W. Bush.

Obama’s Remarks

McCain Campaign Statement