NRCC Weekly Rundown: NRCC breaks fundraising records, Steve Santarsiero’s claims rated False by Politifact, and more!
And here’s this week’s edition of the NRCC Weekly Rundown:
National: The NRCC continued its record breaking fundraising pace in March, raising a record $14 million, and ending the month with $50 million on hand compared the DCCC’s $44 million. Keep up the great work NRCC Finance Team!
National: House Republicans passed a package of bills this week aimed at the restoring accountability to the IRS and making the agency more responsive and friendly to taxpayers.
CA-25: After collecting $0 in donations from residents of the 25th District in his first FEC report, Bryan Caforio’s latest report showed that just 1.4% of his first quarter donations came from residents. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as the favorite of the DCCC has been rejected by local Democrats.
MI-08: The NRCC asked whether dog-pampering tax-cheat Melissa Gilbert would use Tax Day to remedy the $360,000 in back taxes she owes to the federal government or the $112,000 tax lien against her in California.
MN-08: Rick Nolan voted against a bill that would bar the IRS from hiring new employees until it certified that its current employees were not seriously delinquent in paying their taxes. It seems Nolan is more interested in protecting tax delinquent bureaucrats than Minnesota taxpayers.
PA-08: Do-nothing State Representative Steve Santarsiero’s claim that he wrote PA’s gun safety law was rated “False” by Politifact. In fact, in his seven-plus years in the PA House, Santarsiero has never had a single bill passed into law.
VA-10: Financial disclosures revealed that tax cheat Luann Bennett lied to the Washington Post about renting out her Washington DC luxury apartment in 2015. The disclosures showed that she received $0 in rent from her DC property last year.
NEWS AND NOTES:
House panel OKs tougher gas storage rules in bill influenced by the Aliso Canyon leak
The bill, which reauthorizes the Department of Transportation’s pipeline safety program for four years and sets new federal safety standards requirements for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, also includes language proposed by Rep. Steve Knight (R-Palmdale), who represents the Porter Ranch area affected by the leak. READ
Lawmakers press for attribution on govt software security hole
Lawmakers want to know who is behind an unauthorized government backdoor found in software used by agencies including the Defense Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the State Department and the Office of Personnel Management. “I feel like in this case, of the Juniper ScreenOS hack, people have been reticent to do attribution, even general attribution,” Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) said during a House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Technology hearing Wednesday. READ
MacArthur’s Military Family Initiative Included in NDAA
Congressman Tom MacArthur today announced that his Adoption Leave for Military Families language has been included in the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. This provision will allow couples serving in the military to take leave immediately following the adoption of a child, similar to the leave available after childbirth. READ
Comstock convenes hearing on IRS vulnerability to cyberattacks
“As the deadline to file taxes winds down, the only question on taxpayers’ minds should be when they will receive their tax refund, and not whether someone else has already beaten them to it,” Comstock said. “As someone whose information was compromised in last year’s (Office of Personnel and Management) hack, I assure you, more security is better than less.” READ
US Rep. McSally Has Another Big Fundraising Quarter, While Dem Victoria Steele Has Another Terrible One
Southern Arizona Congresswoman Martha McSally had another titanic fundraising quarter, bringing in nearly $853,000. McSally’s fundraising machine is an astonishing thing to watch in action: Even before she was elected, she was one of the best congressional fundraisers in the country. She raises so much money that her accountants can barely keep track of all of it, as several amended FEC reports have shown. READ
Rep. Mia Love’s first bill to pass the House focuses on small banks
For the first time, the House passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah. It would allow community banks and their owners to grow larger without triggering increased federal regulation. Love, a freshman member of the Financial Services Committee, said expanding the asset threshold from $1 billion to $5 billion would make it easier for community banks that are growing to lend more money. “These small banking institutions are critical to the people and the local communities in which they reside,” Love said on the House floor. “They support the credit needs of families, small businesses, farmers and entrepreneurs.” READ
Stefanik working to help nontraditional college students
Stefanik, who chaired the hearing in Washington on Tuesday, said she hopes to add provisions in a comprehensive higher education bill to provide flexibility in application deadlines for spouses of military members who are transferred. READ