Koch Brothers Announce Support and Investment for Peter Roskam,
Casten Helps Them Clear Up Record on Roskam

Downers Grove, IL (August 31, 2018) – Following the announcement that the billionaire Koch Brothers will be investing in Rep. Peter Roskam’s campaign, Sean Casten responded with helpful corrections of their inaccurate description of Peter Roskam’s policy positions:

“Two of the largest corporate benefactors of Peter Roskam’s tax scam have announced they’re returning the favor,” said Casten. “It’s understandable that the Koch Brothers, who stand to benefit from $1.4 billion in tax breaks thanks to Peter Roskam, would want to financially support him. But what is not factual are the policy positions they attribute to Peter Roskam as their rationale.”

“Peter Roskam voted to strip health coverage away from 30,000 of his constituents, eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions, added over $2 trillion to the deficit, voted against protecting Dreamers, and voted against increasing funds for veterans’ health care and post-traumatic stress disorder – that’s a record I’d be running from, not supporting.”

In their rationale for backing Roskam, the Koch Brothers erroneously attributed leadership to Roskam for his work on health care, budgets, Dreamers, and veterans. Casten highlighted where Peter Roskam is, in reality, bad on those issues:

• Voted to repeal all or part of the Affordable Care Act 60 times, and voted for Paul Ryan’s bill which would have left 23 million Americans –  including more than 30,000 6th District residents – without health care and raised premiums 20 percent.

• Voted for a tax bill that adds $2 trillion to the deficit, with 83 percent of the benefits in Peter Roskam’s tax scam going to corporate special interests and the wealthiest one percent, while its $10,000 annual cap on state and local tax deductions will force thousands of middle-class families to pay more.

• Voted against the DREAM Act as well as to restart deportations of undocumented immigrants protected under DACA and DAPA.

• Voted against increasing funds for veterans’ health care and PTSD treatment.