Kratovil Continues Phony Negative Attacks While Ignoring His Own Record

SEVERNA PARK, Md. – Congressman Frank Kratovil yesterday continued his series of false, negative attacks on Andy Harris while ignoring his own vote for the job-killing, tax-hiking Cap and Trade Energy Tax.

In a letter to Kratovil last Friday, Andy Harris insisted Kratovil remove his misleading attack ad. In an evident reaction to the challenge, Kratovil amended his ad – only to include more incorrect information.

The study Kratovil sites in his ad was not done on the Fair Tax, but on a combination of both the Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Simplified Income Tax Plan.

“It amazes me Frank Kratovil can lie to Marylanders and then ask for their vote all within a 30 second ad,” said Bill Lattanzi, Campaign Manager for Andy Harris for Congress. “Voters cannot trust someone who is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars spreading phony claims about his opponent.”

Frank Kratovil must have also forgotten about his vote for the outrageous Cap and Trade Energy Tax. A vote that the Congressional Budget Office estimates would increase household costs by $1,600 per year (CBO Testimony to Congress, 2009). A vote that Obama said would “necessarily skyrocket” the price of electricity (“Coal in your stocking,” National Review, Nov. 3, 2008).

“Frank Kratovil got so caught up in fabricating lies about Andy Harris he forgot about his vote for Cap and Trade, a mere 15 months ago,” said Lattanzi. “Cap and Trade will devastate the Eastern Shore and raise energy prices regardless of location or income. Maryland can thank Frank Kratovil for voting for a tax that will hit every single American.”

FACT CHECK:

Claim:“A Bush tax panel said families could pay $6,000 more a year.”

FACT:In an apparent refusal to study his own accusations, Kratovil missed an important fact in his research.  The Bush Panel studied a combined system of the Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Simplified Income Tax Plan, not the Fair Tax. In the 272 page document, the term “Fair Tax” is not used once.  For the second week in a row, Frank Kratovil lies explicitly. (The President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform)