Democratic National Committee - McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and American Workers

Democratic National Committee - McCain Myth Buster: John McCain and American
Workers

Today's McCain Myth: John McCain will help American workers.

WASHINGTON, June 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued
by the Democratic National Committee:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/DNCLOGO )

John McCain believes that "America needs experienced leadership to...protect
the American worker." Yet the facts show that when Senator McCain had the
chance to stand up for workers in our country, he instead helped ship their
jobs overseas. Senator McCain helped steer a tanker contract to a European
company for which 7 of his campaign advisors and fundraisers then lobbied -- a
bidding process the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, is now saying was
full of errors and recommended should be reopened. Likewise, when McCain had
the chance to help American workers in the Senate, he instead voted against
extending unemployment insurance and providing much-needed worker training.
[johnmccain.com, accessed 6/18/08]

With America's families struggling to make ends meet, John McCain's rhetoric
about helping workers in our country--when the facts show he hasn't--just
isn't believable.

John McCain: Not A Friend To America's Workers

Air Force Tanker Deal to Outsource Thousands of Jobs. According to reports,
McCain consistently weighed in against a Boeing contract that would have
supported 44,000 new and existing jobs in at least 40 states. Under best case
scenarios, the European tanker deal will support 17,000 fewer U.S. jobs, and
most that are created will not be in the United States until 2010 when
assembly is scheduled to move from France to Alabama. [AP, 3/8/2008:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/5603827.html ;
Business Week, 3/3/08]

McCain Sponsored Amendment that Ended Defense Department's Buy America
Requirement. In May 2003, Senate Republicans voted for a McCain amendment that
would allow the Defense Department to forego a requirement to purchase
American-made equipment if that equipment was manufactured by Australia, the
United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands or Spain. [Senate Vote 191,
5/21/03]

McCain Mimicked EADS on "Extra Features." McCain wrote to incoming Defense
Secretary Robert Gates in a letter that "echoed" the EADS complaints that the
Pentagon was not planning to "effectively evaluate differences between the
candidate aircraft's capability to execute key missions such as airlift and
the number of passengers it can haul in addition to fuel." [Inside the
Airforce, 2/2/2007]

GAO: Air Force Awarded EADS/Northrop Improper Extra Credit For Offering Larger
Plane. "Although the GAO denied some parts of Boeing's protest, it offered a
lengthy rationale for why the contract should be re-competed. Among its
conclusions was that the Air Force awarded the Northrop team improper extra
credit for offering a larger plane that could carry more fuel, cargo and
troops." [Associated Press, 6/18/08]

McCain Mimicked EADS on European Subsidies. In mid-2006, the EADS team "urged
the Pentagon on Friday to drop a requirement that might favor Boeing 's rival
drive to sell aerial-refueling tankers to the U.S. Air Force" by taking into
account a pending trade dispute on European government subsidies to
EADS/Airbus. McCain "exchanged a volley of letters with Deputy Defense
Secretary Gordon England over the WTO issue. McCain says he's concerned that
taking that matter into account will 'eliminate the competition even before
bids are submitted.'" Ultimately, "the Air Force, under pressure from Mr.
McCain, announced it was rewriting some of the rules" for the bid relating to
WTO provisions. [Seattle Times, 6/10/2006; Aviation Weekly, 10/2/06; NY Times,
12/26/2006]

McCain Opposed Granting Unemployment Benefits To Those Affected By Hurricane
Katrina. In 2005, McCain voted against allowing up to 52 weeks of unemployment
benefits to individuals affected by Hurricane Katrina. [2005 Senate Vote #234,
9/15/2005]

McCain Voted Against Extending Unemployment Benefits For Those Who Needed It.
In 2003, McCain voted against extending unemployment benefits by 7 weeks for
those who had received 26 weeks of benefits and by 13 weeks for those who had
received 13 weeks of benefits. [2003 Senate Vote #269, 7/10/2003]

McCain Voted Against a Pilot Program to Provide Low-Interest Loans to Workers
in Job Training or Assistance Programs. In 2002, McCain voted to kill an
amendment requiring the Labor Department to establish a pilot program
providing low-interest loans to workers in job training or job assistance
programs to enable workers to continue making their mortgage payments. [2002
Senate Vote #119, 5/21/2002]

McCain Opposed Job Training Research and Assistance Program. McCain opposed
$2,600,000 for the National Center on Education and the Economy.
[Congressional Record, 11/20/04]

After casting himself as a "Maverick" in 2000, the new John McCain is walking
in lockstep with President Bush, pandering to the right wing of the Republican
Party, and embracing the ideology he once denounced. On the campaign trail
McCain has callously abandoned many of his previously held positions, even
contradicted himself, in a blatant attempt to remake himself into a candidate
Republicans can accept in 2008. So just who is the real John McCain? The
Democratic National Committee will present a daily fact aimed at exposing the
man behind the myth.

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee,
www.democrats.org.

This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.

SOURCE Democratic National Committee

Damien LaVera or Caroline Ciccone, both of Democratic National Committee,
+1-202-863-8148