2 Bad Weeks for Cheri Bustos
Did you see this story below on how Cheri Bustos’ campaign made a huge blunder yesterday? In an attempt to attack Bobby Schilling, the Bustos campaign ended up attacking themselves.
This comes just one week after Bustos was caught in a web of lies over her promise to cut 10% of her congressional salary. Yesterday, Bustos was met by protesters over the issue.
August recess has been rough for Cheri.
In case you missed it…
Bustos attacks Schilling for supporting program she also backed
Argus Dispatch
By Eric Timmons
August 28, 2014 – 4:41pm
http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=693181#.U_-kqOaY4E4.twitter
ROCK ISLAND — Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-East Moline, has hit out at Republican Bobby Schilling for voting for a program while he was in Congress that she also has supported since taking office.
Mr. Schilling, of Colona, voted to reauthorize the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program in 2012. The program grants visas to foreigners who invest $1 million or $500,000 in projects that create at least 10 U.S. jobs.
After Mr. Schilling, lost his seat in Congress in 2012 he took a job with CMB Regional Centers in Rock Island, which finds projects for foreign investors seeking EB-5 visas.
On Thursday, Rep Bustos released a statement that said Mr. Schilling “walked out of Congress into a six-figure job selling American visas to wealthy Chinese investors that pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to game the immigration system.”
The statement called EB-5 a “Visa for sale” program that has become “extremely controversial.”
But Rep. Bustos in January co-sponsored an immigration bill that would make the EB-5 program permanent. The bill has yet to be called for a vote. Rep. Bustos also personally promised to help Mr. Schilling’s employers at CMB gain a license to operate in Illinois.
Pat Hogan, CMB’s president, said earlier this year two of his staff spoke with Rep. Bustos about their application for an EB-5 regional center in Illinois.
Mr. Hogan said the application had been languishing for some time but four days after the conversation with Rep. Bustos it was approved. He said Rep. Bustos was a “major hypocrite” to turn around and criticize a program and a company she had committed to helping.
Rep. Bustos’ campaign manager Jeremy Jansen did not respond to questions about the meeting with CMB staff.
The Bustos campaign also has highlighted several cases of corruption in the EB-5 program. But none of the stories were directly linked to CMB, where Mr. Schilling works.
Mr. Hogan said none of CMB’s projects had failed and the company brought jobs and investment to the U.S.
Concerns from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, that applicants for the program had not been properly cited and could pose a national security threat also were cited by the Bustos campaign.
“You don’t throw away a good program because you’ve got bad actors,” Mr. Hogan said. “You get rid of the bad actors.
Since starting work with CMB, Mr. Schilling’s biggest project has been the redevelopment of the former Texaco headquarters in Houston, Texas. The building has been turned into office and residential space with investment from the EB-5 program, Mr. Hogan said.
The Schilling campaign mocked Rep. Bustos for criticizing Mr. Schilling’s support and work for a program she also has supported.
“One wonders what caused Cheri Bustos to make another unforced error of this magnitude,” Schilling campaign manager Steven Shearer said. “Out here in farm country it’s called stepping in a cowpie.”
Executives from CMB and their immediate families have made campaign contributions of at least $33,150 to Mr. Schilling, according to the Bustos campaign. Mr. Hogan said he and his wife have both been longstanding supporters of Mr. Schilling and had made donations to his political campaigns.