Dump Mike Ferguson (NJ7)

Once again Congressman Mike Ferguson is promoting some of his votes but not all of them to build his image. This time, and it is particularly appropriate to talk about this on Memorial Day, Rep. Ferguson is putting out part but not all of the story on his votes for veterans.

Earlier this month, Rep. Ferguson was voted "Outstanding Legislator of the Year" by the New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars. He immediately put out a press release to push the message that he is there for veterans.

On Thursday, May 26 Rep. Ferguson put out a press release entitled, "FERGUSON VOTES TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR VETERANS’ MEDICAL CARE." Michael Ferguson was one of 425 members of Congress who voted for this bill against only one objection, making this a case of reporting that a dog bit a man: there is simply no news there.

What Rep. Ferguson didn't put in his release is that on the same day he voted against an amendment that would have added $53,000,000 more to veterans' care. While with one hand he was sending out a release about his voting record on funding veterans' programs, his other hand was reducing the increase by $53 million.

The same amendment would have cut the funding for closing bases – base closings that will cost the tri-state region more than 15,000 jobs and close NJ's Fort Monmouth – and the savings would have funded the increased spending for veterans.

Even worse, the amendment failed by just one vote. Had Rep. Ferguson voted with the veterans instead of against them the amendment would have passed and there would be a lot more money in the pipeline to help our sick and injured veterans.

But he doesn't talk about that in his release, because he doesn't want you to know that he could have voted yes for veterans and chose not to.

Republican Chris Smith voted for the amendment. Democrats Rob Andrews, Steve Rothman, Frank Pallone, Bill Pascrell, Donald Payne and Rush Holt voted for the amendment.

Mike Ferguson voted against it. Write or call Mike Ferguson today and ask him why he voted against increasing veterans funding by $53 million, and why he didn't put that vote in his press release.

Or write a letter to the editor to your local paper talking about Rep. Ferguson's votes against funding for veterans.

Call his office at (908) 757-7835 or write to him from his Congressional Website.

When you are done, leave the answer in the comments for or write to dumpmike@gmail.com.

Posted by admin at 06:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congressman Mike Ferguson was quoted on Nightline, May 24, 2005 with his reason for opposing embryonic stem cell reasearch:

Every single person here was also an embryo. The gentleman from Texas, you were an embryo once. The -other gentleman from Texas, the chairman of the committee, yes, sir, you, too, were an embryo once. We didn’t look like we do today. But it didn’t mean it wasn’t you.

Posted by admin at 08:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday Congressman Michael Ferguson voted against advancing medical science that would potentially cure diabetes, spinal cord injuries and congenital heart disease. Congressman Ferguson has voted against every bill supporting embryonic stem cell research since he joined the Congress in 2001, yet his campaign web site doesn't mention his strident opposition to this cutting edge research.

In fact, that web site doesn't even have the word "stem" anywhere on it.

This kind of ideological decision, with no basis in solid science, is hurtful to the 7th Congressional District in more ways that one. Many of us have aging family members and neighbors who suffer from debilitating diseases that can be slowed or improved through stem cell research. The ability to live a dignified life in the home you labored to afford for your family is precious, and without the proper medical advances it could be taken away from scores of people right here in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Union Counties

We also have a thriving medical research industry in the 7th District. Companies such as Australia's National Stem Cell Center because President Bush has forbidden federal dollars to fund such research here. This misguided policy costs jobs, tax revenue and slows the pace of research that could help residents of Somerset County.

And right over the border from our district in New Brunswick is the New Jersey Stem Cell Institute, which brings jobs, medical solutions and hope to people of the 7th District.

Write or call Mike Ferguson today and ask him why he voted against federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, and why he is hiding his opposition from the voters of the 7th Congressional district.

Call his office at (908) 757-7835 or write to him from his Congressional Website.

When you are done, leave the answer in the comments for or write to dumpmike@gmail.com.

Posted by admin at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

It's been well documented on this and many other web sites that Mike Ferguson is the leading congressional recipient of money from Texas Congressman and House Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay's ARM PAC.

Another site called Techpolitics did some checking on former Tom DeLay staffers and discovered that these folks also donated to many of The Hammer's favorite beneficiaries. Among these is, of course, Congressman Michael Ferguson of New Jersey who picked up an additional $5,500 in contributions from these DeLay alums.

So if we include these contributions Mike has received $47,903 from the DeLay Contribution Network.

Here's the breakdown:

Posted by admin at 05:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Congressman Michael Ferguson attended an information for for the uninsured at the Hunterdon Medical Center in early May, 2005. He was the guest speaker, and had this to say:

"There are 45 million uninsured individuals in the United States and more than 1 million are living in New Jersey," said guest speaker U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-Hunterdon.

Ferguson, a former small business owner, said the No. 1 challenge businesses are facing is health care for employees. He referred to the budget recently passed by Congress that would cut the Medicaid program by $10 billion over the next four years, beginning in January 2006.

What Rep. Ferguson didn't note is that he voted for the budget that cut Meidcaid by $10 billion and that every uninsured person in that room who would lose access to prescription drugs, primary care visits and advanced care due to these cuts can thank the good Congressman and the Republican majority who voted for it.

The cuts Congressman Ferguson supports for New Jersey's most vulnerable citizens total a quarter of a billion dollars.

Contact Mike Ferguson on his website or by calling his office at 908-757-7835 and ask him why he voted to cut health benefits for New Jersey by $250,000,000.

Send the answer you get to dumpmike@gmail.com or post it in the comments below.

Also, write a letter to the editor to the Courier News at letters@c-n.com, the Home News Tribune at letters@thnt.com, or the Star Ledger at eletters@starledger.com.

Posted by admin at 07:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One of Mike Ferguson's constituents received a letter signed by Mike Ferguson on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) that blatantly misrepresents the Congressman's recent record on environmental issues.

Here's the letter, dated April 29, 2005 with the facts added in italics:

Dear Mr. ________

Thank you for contacting me regarding oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. I appreciate hearing from you and having the benefit of your views.

Like you, I oppose drilling in ANWR. In fact, I have voted three times — in 2001, 2003 and 2005 — to prohibit oil and gas exploration in ANWR.

[On April 21, eight days before this letter, Congressman Ferguson voted to permit oil and gas exploration in ANWR as part of the energy bill. Since the constituent, like Congressman Ferguson, does "oppose drilling in ANWR" it seems like they would be interested in hearing about this vote.]

As a father of four young children, I share your dedication to protecting the environment, and I am committed to ensuring the environment shared by future generations is safe, clean and protected.

That is why, since first becoming a member of Congress in 2001, I have been a strong advocate of protecting our environment. For example, I have voted to uphold strict drinking water standards, voted to increase fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks, and voted to block road construction and logging in our national parks.

[On April 21, eight days before this letter, Mike Ferguson voted twice to give blanket immunity to MTBE manufacturers in cases of groundwater contamination, even though there are at least two such pending lawsuits in his Congressional District. On March 20, more than a month before this letter, Mike Ferguson voted against an amendment to increase fuel efficiency standards by just eight miles per gallon in 10 years. The Congressman claims to be for clean drinking water and high fuel efficiency standards, but his votes in the days leading up to this letter go directly against that claim.]

In addition to opposing drilling in ANWR, I also have voted to prohibit oil and gas drilling on national monuments, off the coast of California, in the Great Lakes and in the Gulf of Mexico. I also support legislation that would prohibit oil and gas exploration off the New Jersey coast.

[Also on April 21, Mike Ferguson voted against an amendment that would have allowed oceanfront states like New Jersey to determine whether to allow liquefied natural gas terminals off their shorelines, and then voted for the energy bill that took that right away from New Jersey. A terrorist attack or major accident during a transfer of liquefied natural gas at one of these terminals would be as big an environmental disaster as an oil drilling accident.

Rest assured that in Congress I will remain a strong advocate of protecting and strengthening our environment.

After reading the letter, you can understand a constituent feeling pretty good about the environment. But after reviewing the votes of the past 45 days, the picture is much less clear.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your opinions with me and please visit my website at www.house.gov/ferguson for more information on issues important to New Jersey's 7th Congressional District.

Sincerely,

Mike Ferguson
Member of Congress

If you get a letter from Congressman Ferguson, please write to dumpmike@gmail.com and we will verify for you that his votes match his letter writing.

Posted by admin at 03:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We've already discussed that Mike Ferguson is the single largest recipient of contributions from embattled House Majority Leader Tom DeLay with a whopping $42,403. And it was recently noted that Congressman Ferguson voted with DeLay 89 percent of the time – including for House rules that weakened ethics requirements to protect DeLay.

But now a look at MIKE PAC, the "Leadership PAC" for Congressman Ferguson, reveals that four of the top five recipients of 2004 contributions from Mike Ferguson were Congressional candidates from Tom DeLay's Texas.

The $27,000 MIKE PAC gave to Texas Congressional candidates was 44 percent of MIKE PAC's total contributions to candidates. No other state saw more than $5,000 in contributions from MIKE PAC, so MIKE PAC gave five times more money to candidates in Tom Delay's Texas than anywhere else.

New Jersey candidates received only $1,000, a single contribution to Bill Spadea on May 11, 2004.

That doesn't mean that ARMPAC donated this much extra money to Congressman Mike Ferguson in order to have it flipped back to candidates in Congress, but it is suspicious.

Here's who got the money (this has been edited to reflect updated information. Original links were from Open Secrets, but we went to the source at the Federal Election Commission for the updated information. Thanks to John C for pointing out the error ):

Randy Neugebauer (R-TX19) is one of only two candidates to receive $10,000 from MIKE PAC. In addition to the $10,000 from Mike PAC, Neugebauer also received $15,000 from ARMPAC, and was running in a safe district as a result of DeLay's redistricting to make it easier for Republicans to win in Texas.

Roger Sessions (R-TX - lost) also received $10,000 from MIKE PAC. Mr. Sessions is a little hard to track down as he appears to have run a pretty light campaign. He raised a total of $43,744, meaning Congressman Ferguson totalled about 23 percent of Mr. Session's total receipts. Mr. Sessions reveived nothing from ARMPAC.

Arlene Wohlgemuth (R-TX) got a $5,000 contribution from Mike, though she lost to Congressman Chet Edwards (D-TX17) who has represented the area for eight terms. She was recruited by DeLay, he raised money for her and he gave her $10,000 from ARMPAC.

Louis Gohmert and Ted Poe each received a $1,000 contribution from MIKE PAC. Gohmert also received $10,000 from ARMPAC, and Poe received $5,000 from ARMPAC.

Why is Mike Ferguson giving so much money – almost half of his money – to Texas Republicans and giving only a measly $1,000 to New Jersey Republicans? Maybe after all the money from Tom DeLay, Mike thinks he really represents Texas.

ADDITIONAL UPDATE: MIKE PAC also received $5,000 from ARMPAC, bringing the total Congressman Ferguson has reveived from Tom DeLay to $47,403. Add in former DeLay staffers, and the number passes $50,000.

EVEN MORE UPDATES: Atrios found that Tom DeLay's TRMPAC just lost a major round in civil court.

Posted by admin at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Here's another great research link to find out about Mike Ferguson's votes in the House of Representatives. Project Vote Smart has an amazing compendium of votes and report cards that will tell you all you need to know.

Go to the site, check it out and if you learn something come back here and share it.

Posted by admin at 06:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Drug reimportation from Canada and other countries with lower prescription drug costs can save the ill and infirm hundreds of dollars a week. These savings often make up the difference between having needed medicine and not.

Mike Ferguson, who takes a lot of money from the pharmaceutical industry, voted against reimporting drugs.

Why? This chart shows why. From 2001 to 2002 Congressman Ferguson was the number two recipient of campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry to the tune of $105,718.

Even more amazing is that Congressman Ferguson is the third largest recipient of campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry between 1989 and 2002 even though he entered Congress in 2001. His take? A cool quarter of a million dollars, $248,000.

There are literally hundreds of members of Congress who have been in Washington longer than Mike, and only two of them took more money from the pharmaceutical industry.

Congresswoman Nancy Johnson (CT-5) has received more money ($289,040) in that time, but she was first elected in 1982. And she voted for drug reimportation.

Congressman Bill Thomas (CA-22) received more money ($276,165) in that time, but he was first elected in 1978.

Congressman Ferguson has certainly been busy.

Posted by admin at 06:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)