Black Hawk County Republicans

FACT CHET

Statement from Governor Culver on October 8, 2009

 "The fact is clear: Iowa has not spent too much, rather our revenue has fallen off by significant amounts as the result of this national economic recession."

Source:  Statement from Governor Chet Culver. Click here for entire document.

Fact Check

Reckless spending by Governor Culver and legislative Democrats has been compounded by the recession, but the recession is not entirely to blame for Iowa's money meltdown. Republicans were sounding warnings more than two years ago that Governor Culver was leading Iowans toward financial disaster. The real fact is that if Governor Culver had shown some financial restraint, we would be much better off right now and in years to come.

"Just imagine if Iowa encounters any type of fiscal downturn. Now imagine the challenges and the drastic steps we would need to take to align expenditures with reduced revenue growth, or worse yet, reduced revenues."  -- State Auditor David Vaudt, June 6, 2007  

"The REC numbers released today should be no real surprise to Iowans. Over the past two years, Democrats have increased state spending by nearly $1 billion and now we're seeing the results of that spending spree compounded by a weak economy." - House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen, March 30, 2009

"This is what Senate Republicans feared the most. Governor Culver and legislative Democrats once again failed to listen to those warning them about the economy and continued to spend at unsustainable record levels." - Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley, June 2, 2009

FACT CHET #3

FACT CHET

Statement from Governor Culver

Culver, when questioned about the legitimacy of $61,000 in expenditures related to implementation of the Help America Vote Act while he served as Secretary of State, said all of the money was spent appropriately.

Source:  Des Moines Register, 10-6-09.  Click here.

Fact Check

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission agreed with State Auditor David Vaudt, who questioned these expenditures, and ordered the state to repay the $61,000 back to the federal government.

Now, a just-released federal audit of Culver’s expenditures related to implementation of the Help America Vote Act while he served as Secretary of State found $2.5 million in questionable spending.

Current Secretary of State and fellow Democrat Michael Mauro declined to comment on the findings saying, “The audit speaks for itself.”

Click here to read the entire news article and find the PDF of the newest audit report.

FACT CHET #2

FACT CHET #1

Statement from Governor Culver

Discussing the state budget, Governor Culver said:  “We’re actually spending less in 2010–two-and-a-half percent less than we did in 2008.”  

Source:  Des Moines Register, 9-17-09.  Click here.

Fact Check

Governor Culver’s statement is deceptive and misleading.  Due to the receipt and expenditure of one-time federal stimulus money to backfill shortfalls in general fund revenue, state spending in 2010 is actually higher than in 2008.

State general fund appropriations in 2008 (understanding there was no federal stimulus aid to the states in 2008) totaled $5.9 billion.

State general fund appropriations in 2010 (including the $530 million in general fund expenditures being funded by federal stimulus receipts) totaled $6.3 billion.

The loss of this one-time stimulus money is a major portion of the projected $900 million general fund budget hole Governor Culver and Democratic lawmakers have created in the upcoming budget year (FY11).

Source:  Legislative Services Agency, 2009 Fiscal Report, July 2009, p. 17 (click here); Auditor of State, David Vaudt, August 2009, p. 20 (click here)

FACT CHET:  a periodic fact check report published to bring clarity to the frequent misstatements, misunderstandings, and outright deceptions coming from Governor Culver and his office.

 Record spending, record borrowing, and a budget cliff of nearly a billion dollars just one year away - this is the legacy of Governor Culver and the Democrat majority at the State Capitol.