Congresswoman Cheri Bustos and her opponent Bobby Schilling made several claims about one another during a debate at WQAD on October 9, 2014.
Bustos Claim: "My opponent supports tax breaks for corporations that actually send jobs overseas."
What you should know: Congresswoman Bustos did not specify what tax breaks Schilling supported. News Eight has done a fact-check on an ad making similar claims against Schilling that said he voted to reward companies that outsource and let them keep their tax break. The ad was referring to H.R. 9, known as the "Small Business Tax Cut Act." Bobby Schilling voted for this. The bill called for a 20% tax cut for businesses that employ fewer than 500 people. There was an amendment presented that would not let companies that move jobs overseas get that deduction and Schilling voted against that. The entire "Small Business Tax Cut Act" passed the House and then died in the Senate, never becoming law.
Schilling Claim: "Ms. Bustos actually voted for a $6 billion cut to Veterans. That's a fact."
What you should know: The vote was on the entire budget deal of 2013, not just a cut to veterans. The agreement on spending targets avoided a government shutdown and received bipartisan support. In the budget was a plan to lower pension increases for working-age military retirees by reducing the annual cost of living increase by 1%. The House Budget Committee said that would save $6 billion over the next decade. The cuts did upset veterans groups and last February Bustos voted to restore them.
Bustos claim: "Sequestration is a very, very dangerous place to go. My opponent voted for that."
What you should know: The sequester was a package of automatic spending cuts that were part of the Budget Control Act of 2011. That bill passed in August 2011 and Schilling voted for that. The bill ended what was referred to as the debt-ceiling crisis.