KELOLAND Debate Fact Check

VARILEK CLAIM: My Opponent Is The Reason We Don’t Have A Farm Bill.
 
FACT: Kristi Noem has helped lead a bipartisan effort to get a Farm Bill done:

• Led Bipartisan Signature-Gathering Effort. Almost immediately after the House Agriculture Committee passed its Farm Bill, Kristi was joined by Democratic Representative Peter Welch in a signature-gathering effort on a letter to leadership calling on them to bring a Farm Bill to the floor. The letter garnered 79 signatures from Republicans and Democrats. (“Noem, Democratic colleague, urge farm bill,” Associated Press, 7/19/12)
• Called On President Obama To Help Build Coalition. Kristi sent a letter to President Obama to seek his assistance in building a stronger bipartisan coalition for a Farm Bill. (David Montgomery, “Kristi Noem enlists Obama for farm bill,” Argus Leader, 8/17/12)
• Led A National Call To Action. Kristi was one of four Members of Congress invited to speak at a national bipartisan “Farm Bill Now” rally on the U.S. Capitol grounds calling on the House to bring the Farm Bill to the floor. (“Noem Speaks At Farm Bill Rally,” KDLT News, 9/12/12)
• Kristi Was The First Republican To Sign Onto A Discharge Petition To Force A Vote On The Farm Bill. Kristi was the first Republican and third Member of the House to sign a discharge petition to force a vote on the Farm Bill. (Clerk of the House of Representatives, “Discharge Petition for H.R. 6083,” Accessed 10/31/12)
• Kristi Voted “No” When The House Wanted To Recess In August. When The U.S. House wanted to go home in August, Kristi voted “no” because work on a Farm Bill wasn’t finished. (Clerk of the House of Representatives, “Roll Call Vote # 556, Providing for a conditional adjournment or recess of the Senate and an adjournment of the House of Representatives,” 8/2/12)

FACT: A large reason why the Farm Bill expired is because a large block of Democrats are opposed to food stamp reforms.

• Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Kristi’s Former Opponent, Says Democrats “Don’t Like The Magnitude Of The Cuts To The Nutrition Program.” “Herseth Sandlin also explained the struggle with finding common ground on the subject between Democrats and Republicans. ‘Folks on the left don’t like the magnitude of the cuts to the nutrition program (in the Farm Bill),’ she said. ‘We can’t pass it with just Republican votes.’” (Joey Sevin, “Former members of Congress visit campus,” USD Volante, 10/31/12)

 
OUTRAGEOUS ATTACKS
 
VARILEK CLAIM: My Opponent Isn’t Showing Up To Or Participating In Committee Hearings.
 
FACT: Despite sitting on three committees and nine subcommittees whose meetings sometimes overlap, Kristi Noem has a 99% voting record in committee and has met with over 800 South Dakotans in her first term.  (Ben Dunsmoor, “Fact Checking Noem, Varilek Attack Ads,” KELO, 10/11/12)
 
VARILEK CLAIM: My Opponent Is Selling Access
 
FACT: This is false. This was an unauthorized email sent from a fundraising group and was not authorized by Kristi.
 
MEDICARE
 
VARILEK CLAIM: My Opponent Voted To End Medicare.
 
FACT: This charge was named 2011’s “Lie of the Year” by PolitiFact. “PolitiFact debunked the Medicare charge in nine separate fact-checks rated False or Pants on Fire, most often in attacks leveled against Republican House members. Now, PolitiFact has chosen the Democrats’ claim as the 2011 Lie of the Year.” (Bill Adair & Angie Drobnic Holan, ““Lie of the Year 2011: ‘Republicans voted to end Medicare’,” PolitiFact.Com, December 20, 2011)
 
VARILEK CLAIM: My Opponent Voted For A Plan That Would Force Seniors To Pay $6,400 More A Year For Medicare.
 
FACT: There is not the evidence to support that claim. Under the plan Kristi supports, those at or near retirement wouldn’t see any changes to Medicare. As for the $6,400 number, PolitiFact says there isn’t enough evidence for Democrats to back up this claim.
 
FACT: Tom Lawrence Report In The Mitchell Daily Republic: “PolitiFact Said That There Isn’t Enough Data For Democrats To Make Such A Claim.” “The Noem camp said Varilek is continuing his ‘pattern of dishonest campaigning’ by claiming that the Ryan-Wyden plan would cost seniors an extra $6,400 a year. PolitiFact said that there isn’t enough data for Democrats to make such a claim. ‘We’ve rated similar claims from Democrats about that extra cost, rating them ‘Half True’ and ‘Mostly False’ because they rely on an analysis of an outdated Republican plan,’ the website states.”   (Tom Lawrence, “Medicare one of the clearest rifts between House hopefuls,” Mitchell Daily Republic, September 19, 2012)
 
VARILEK CLAIM: My Opponent Voted For The Exact Same Medicare Cuts.
 
FACT: Matt Varilek supports Obama’s plan to rob Medicare of $716 billion to pay for Obamacare. Kristi Noem supports a plan that uses those savings to support the long-term solvency of Medicare.

• Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan: “Our budget keeps that money for Medicare to extend its solvency. What Obamacare does is it takes that money from Medicare to spend on Obamacare.” (“This Week” With George Stephanopoulos Interview, 7/1/12)  

 
FACT: Kristi Noem has never supported or voted to cut Medicare as a means to pay for ObamaCare.  Varilek is the only candidate in this race to say he would’ve voted for ObamaCare.

• Matt Varilek: I Would Have Voted For ObamaCare. “That’s why I’m not afraid to say that I would have joined my former boss, Senator Tim Johnson, in voting for health care reform. That may lose me some votes, but the fact is that’s what I believe.”  (Matt Varilek, “ Where I Stand” email, 12/16/2011)

 
BIG OIL HYPOCRISY
 
VARILEK CLAIM: My Opponent Is Focused On Protecting Oil Companies
 
FACT: Matt Varilek is the only candidate in the race who has speculated in big oil.

• Tom Lawrence Report In The Mitchell Daily Republic: Varilek Owned “Shares Of Stock” In One Of The Oil Companies He Attacked Kristi For. “Democratic congressional hopeful Matt Varilek has criticized Rep. Kristi Noem for taking campaign donations from “Big Oil,” but he once owned 20 shares of stock in one of the companies he named in an attack on her. Varilek bought the Valero Energy stock in June 2008 while he worked as an aide to Sen. Tim Johnson.” (Tom Lawrence, “Varilek had shares in Big Oil company he criticizes,” Mitchell Daily Republic, 10/3/12)

FACT: Matt Varilek has accepted donations from Big Oil lobbyists. While criticizing Kristi Noem for supporting Big Oil, according to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) and lobbying disclosures filed with the House Clerk, Matt Varilek has accepted campaign donations from Big Oil lobbyists. (Source: Federal Election Commission & U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk)

• Elizabeth Gore, of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, lobbies for Samson Resources Company. She donated $500 to Matt Varilek on December 2, 2011.
• John Raffaelli, of Capitol Counsel, lobbies for the American Petroleum Institute and donated $1000 to Matt Varilek on December 8, 2011.
• Brian Griffin, of Duberstein Group, lobbies for BP America. He donated $500 to Matt Varilek on March 1, 2012.
• Emily Bacque, of CJ Lake LLC, lobbies for Western State Petroleum. She donated $250 to Matt Varilek on March 11, 2012.
• Lynnette Jacquez, of CJ Lake LLC, lobbies for Western State Petroleum. She donated $250 to Matt Varilek on March 11, 2012.
• Alexander Lurie, of SNR Denton LLP, lobbies for Ashland Oil and donated $250 to Matt Varilek on June 30, 2012.
• John Raffaelli, of Capitol Counsel, lobbies for the American Petroleum Institute and donated $1000 to Matt Varilek on June 30, 2012.

 
CAP-AND-TAX MATT
 
VARILEK CLAIM: I Only Analyzed Cap-And-Trade And Emissions Taxes, I Didn’t Advocate For Them.
 
FACT: Varilek spent close to a decade of his life studying, teaching and promoting a policy he now claims not to believe in. He is either attempting to mislead South Dakotans, or lacks conviction.

• Carleton Environmental Community Newsletter The Green Bean: As “Director Of Policy And Research At Natsource” Varilek “Leads Consulting Projects On Emissions Trading” And Has “Remained At The Center Of Environmental Issues.” “Matt [Varilek] has been working as the Director of Policy and Research at Natsource LLC in New York. At Natsource Matt leads consulting projects on emissions trading and acts as a environmental brokerage. His clients have included the World Bank and the European Commission amongst other groups. Matt has had an interesting career path since majoring in philosophy at Carleton, but has remained at the center of environmental issues” (“ENTS Alum Awarded Gates Scholarship,” An ENTS Newsletter For The Carleton Environmental Community The Green Bean, May 30, 2001)
• Matt Varilek: The Kyoto Protocol Is “The Way Ahead.” Before becoming a Congressional aide, Varilek called the Kyoto Protocol, which is based around a cap-and-trade scheme, “the way ahead.” (Graciela Chichilinsky and Matthew Varilek, “Kyoto Protocol: The Way Ahead,” Earth Matters, Spring 1998)
• Matt Varilek: To Maximize Environmental Benefits Of Carbon Trading “Penalties To Deter Non-Compliance … Must Be Set Well Above The Likely Market Price For Emissions Permits.”  “In order for penalties to deter non-compliance with emissions restrictions, they must be set well above the likely market price for emissions permits. If penalties are set below the market price, sources may simply pay the penalty and continue emitting, which would erode much of an emissions trading programme’s environmental benefits.” (Matt Varilek and Nina Marenzi, “Greenhouse Gas Price Scenarios for 2000-2012: Impact of Different Policy Regimes,” IWOe Discussion Paper No. 96, November 2001, page 21)
• Natsource Website: Contact Matt Varliek For A Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Broker. “Contact Natsource GHG brokers: Neil Cohn [email protected] Garth Edward [email protected] Hillary Nussbaum [email protected] Matthew Varilek [email protected]” (Source: Archived Natsource webpage, Zoominfo.Com, accessed Oct. 12, 2012)

 
VARILEK CLAIM: He Was Working As A Journalist When Writing Favorably About Cap-And-Trade.
 
FACT:  Nowhere in Matt Varilek’s biography does it mention “journalist.” Varilek keeps changing his story. At first he was just an analyst. Now he says he was a journalist. What we do know is that he was the ‘Director of Policy and Research,’ and ‘greenhouse gas emissions broker’ for a greenhouse gas brokerage firm. His inability to be honest with South Dakotans on this issue is troubling.

•  Opinion Leader Bob Mercer: “Varilek’s Official Campaign Biography … Doesn’t Make Any Mention Of Any Work As A Journalist … [It] Does List Four Years Spent As A Market Analyst At An Energy Commodities Trading Company.”  “Noem used part of her time to portray Varilek as favoring a national energy tax. She referred to several reports that Varilek authored about carbon credits and climate change.  Varilek tried to defend his writings by saying he was merely working as ‘a journalist’ in producing those analyses. He said his role wasn’t any different than Rapid City Journal reporter Kevin Woster, who was standing in a doorway taking notes on the debate.  Varilek’s official campaign biography on his website doesn’t make any mention of any work as a journalist, however, other than as a paper boy. The Varilek biography does list four years spent as a market analyst at an energy commodities trading company.” (Bob Mercer, “During House debate, Varilek ducks Noem’s question about Obama,” Aberdeen American News, Oct. 13, 2012)

 
VARILEK & OBAMA
 
VARILEK CLAIM: This Election Isn’t About President Obama, It’s About Who Is South Dakota’s Lone Voice In The U.S. House.

•  Matt Varilek: I Would Have Voted For ObamaCare. “That’s why I’m not afraid to say that I would have joined my former boss, Senator Tim Johnson, in voting for health care reform. That may lose me some votes, but the fact is that’s what I believe.”  (Matt Varilek, “ Where I Stand” email, 12/16/2011)

 
FACT: Varilek would be a mouthpiece for President Obama and liberal Democrats. Varilek says he agrees with the President “on a great many issues” but couldn’t give a single example of how Obama is good for South Dakota:

•  Matt Varilek: “I Am In Line With The President On A Great Many Issues.” (Matt Varilek, Brookings Democratic Debate, May 23, 2012)

 
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