LOWV event highlights differences between Pera, Lipinski

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For immediate release
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Media contact: Patrick Corcoran (847) 687-7579

Democrat Mark Pera continued to draw sharp distinctions between himself and Congressman Dan Lipinski on Sunday during a League of Women Voters 3rd U.S. Congressional District forum in suburban La Grange.

Speaking on the issue of energy and the environment, Pera said he would never have voted for the 2005 Bush energy bills, which gave big oil and energy companies $22 billion in tax breaks and allowed for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

In the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary Lipinski said he voted against drilling in ANWR and has resisted pressure from the Bush Administration to pass legislation that included tax breaks for big oil.

Pera said Lipinski had misrepresented his record to the voting public.

"I can't believe what I am hearing," Pera said. "Congressman Lipinski voted to open up [ANWR] for drilling. Congressman Lipinski voted for $8 billion in tax cuts for big oil. Now that he has a challenger like me, he's having an election year conversion."

Lipinski later admitted to voting twice in 2005 for the Bush energy bill (HR 6) in 2005, calling both votes a "tough choice."

Lipinski started badly as he showed up to the event late, keeping the overflow crowd waiting for 20 minutes. At the beginning of the forum he said he was unprepared to discuss two pre-assigned topics - healthcare and immigration - as part of his opening statement and asked if he could speak after the other candidates had completed their comments.

On Iraq, one of the defining issues of this campaign, Pera reinforced his belief that Congress needs to stand up to President Bush and cap funding to ensure that all of our troops return home in one year.

Lipinski tried to run from his Iraq voting record and said that the situation in that country reflected poor leadership on the part of President Bush, not Congress. Lipinski has voted for every Iraq war funding bill save the most recent one. That particular Iraq war funding proposal was included within the FY 2008 omnibus appropriations bill.

For more information, please call Mark Pera for Congress at (708) 579-2834.

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