Richard Anthony for Congress

Wolf Loses Key Support on SAFE Commission
Original Co-sponsor Jim Cooper and Long-time Ally Peter G Petersen Foundation Back Obama Over Wolf

Fair Oaks, VA – Last week, Congressman Wolf continued his frequent attacks on the Obama Administration, but this time it may have cost him support for one of his most prominent pieces of legislation—the SAFE Act.

Mr. Wolf’s original co-sponsor on the SAFE Act, Congressman Jim Cooper (TN-05) and a long-time ally of Wolf in the fight for a budget commission, the Peter G Petersen Foundation, issued a statement directly contradicting Congressman Wolf and praising the budget commission being proposed by the Obama Administration.

In response to the news that President Obama plans to create a bipartisan commission to reduce the federal budget deficit, Frank Wolf went on the attack:

“Today the press is reporting that a backroom deal has been cut with the Democrat leadership to create a deficit cutting commission by executive order. I oppose this effort, and so will the American people [. . .] A commission through executive order is political gamesmanship.” [Statement on House Floor, January 20, 2010]

I saw the article in this morning’s Washington Post about the Obama Administration cutting a backroom deal with the Democrat Leadership to create by executive order a commission to deal with our nation’s excessive spending. I am opposed to creating this panel by executive order [. . .] What the president and the Democrat Leadership - which has only now come around to addressing the issue because it needs political cover to increase the debt limit - have agreed to is a fig leaf [. . .] Creating this commission by executive order is the wrong way to go. [Press Release, January 20, 2010]

Unfortunately for Congressman Wolf, two of his most ardent supporters on the SAFE Act don’t agree with him. In a statement released the same day as Congressman Wolf, Rep. Cooper (D-TN) “praised reports that President Obama and Congressional leaders are embracing a fiscal commission designed to address the nation's long term deficit problems,” and went on to compare the president’s commission to the SAFE Act by saying that “the SAFE Commission Act is similar to reports of the President's proposal and has 108 bipartisan co-sponsors.” Rep. Cooper (D-TN) said the following about president Obama’s proposed commission:

"The faster Congress reduces low-priority spending and the deficits, the better off America will be. Every year that Congress waits, the problem is growing trillions of dollars worse. I welcome the White House initiative to create a bipartisan commission on fiscal responsibility that would prevent Congress from ducking these issues any longer. Of course, it would be even better if Congress rose to the challenge on its own but, rather than wait for Congress, let's help this commission complete its work." [Press Release, January 20, 2010]

Just one day after Rep. Wolf (R-VA) went on the attack against Obama’s proposed budget commission, a long-time ally of Wolf in the push for a budget commission, David Walker president of the the Peter G Petersen Foundation, also contradicted Wolf publicly:

The announcement of an agreement to create a presidentially appointed fiscal commission that will report to the Congress and be assured a vote on its recommendations is a major step toward putting our nation’s financial house in order while protecting our social safety net programs. [Obama to Create Panel to Study Deficit, Los Angeles Times, January 19, 2010]

“This is just another example of Frank Wolf taking the ‘my way or the highway’ approach to legislating” said Richard Anthony, a democratic candidate for Congress in Virginia’s’ 10th District. “Representative Wolf likes to consider himself an independent thinker, but more and more it seems he is content to resort to politics as usual and act as a puppet for the Republican leadership. The voters of the 10th district need a leader who will fight to get this country back on track and change the way Washington does business.”