“Mikie has shown she has the right priorities for New Jerseyans: reaching across the aisle, bringing folks together and working with everyone to get things done. Like when she brought Democrats and Republicans to the table in the House to finally repeal the cap on state and local tax deductions that crushed middle class families in New Jersey. Or her constant work to improve the health care system and oppose the President’s attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and kick millions off their health care, including those with pre-existing conditions. Or when she helped pass a bipartisan relief package to help families and small business owners that included more funding for our frontline workers during the pandemic. She’s fighting for programs to improve infrastructure and bring jobs to the state.” —DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos
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To: Interested Parties
From: Christine Bennett, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: July 7, 2020
Subject: The Case Against Rosemary Becchi
New Jersey Republicans cautioned that Rosemary Becchi’s record as a lobbyist would be detrimental to their chances of winning in November, and they aren’t wrong. Becchi publicly and aggressively lobbied for the 2017 Tax Scam that capped state and local tax deductions in high-tax states like New Jersey, raised taxes on middle class families, and lined the pockets of big corporations while putting Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block. And with virtually no name recognition, less than $300,000 (half of which is a personal loan) in the bank and a staggering burn rate of 124 percent in the last filing period, the road ahead looks treacherous for Rosemary Becchi.
In a cycle defined, in part, by their recruitment fails, Washington Republicans drafted Becchi knowing her profile as a tax lobbyist is both toxic and particularly damaging in a state that was disproportionately hurt by the legislation she helped become law.
The contrasts between Becchi’s record and that of Representative Mikie Sherrill couldn’t be clearer. Rep. Sherrill puts New Jerseyans first, not big corporations. Her experience in the Navy taught her the value of sacrifice, bringing people together, and putting others before herself, and that experience informs the work she does in Congress every day.
Rep. Sherrill brought Democrats and Republicans together in the House to work on repealing the SALT cap and introduced a bill to overturn restrictions on the charitable contribution tax deduction. She worked across the aisle to lower prescription drugs prices and to protect New Jerseyans with pre-existing conditions and is currently working on bipartisan plans to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and safely re-open New Jersey and surrounding states. And Mikie is working hard to make sure frontline health care workers have the resources to they need to do their jobs.
An effective and hardworking legislator with four of her own bills already signed into law by the president, Rep. Sherrill has the momentum and support needed to win re-election.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
HEADLINE: Rep. Sherrill Takes On Feds, Tries To Revive SALT Workaround [Patch.com, 7/17/2019]
HEADLINE: House Passes Restored ‘SALT’ Deduction Bill [Roll Call, 12/19/2019]
“Freshmen Democrats who spoke in favor of the bill on the floor included Mikie Sherrill and Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, Sean Casten of Illinois, Jennifer Wexton of Virginia and Katie Porter of California. All represent constituents with average SALT deductions in 2016 above $15,000, according to the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.”
HEADLINE: You Just Can’t Vote Against Puppies And Vets Jersey Democrat Says. And The House Didn’t [NJ.com, 2/6/2020]
The legislation would teach military veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and could benefit from service dogs how to train the animals, and then allow them to adopt them.
It passed the House by a voice vote Wednesday.
“As veterans, we’re very mission-focused,” Sherrill said.
HEADLINE: Sherrill Acts on Opioid Crisis, Gateway Funding [MyVeronaNJ.com, 5/1/2019]
HEADLINE: This Rookie Democrat Is Now A Shoo-In For Re-Election, D.C. Political Experts Say [NJ.Com, 2/24/2020]
HEADLINE: Sherrill Warchest Now At Nearly $3.2 Million [The New Jersey Globe, 6/25/2020]
HEADLINE: ‘Tis The Season To Be SALT-Y: Explaining The SALT Deduction Cap [Roll Call, 12/17/2020]
HEADLINE: Becchi Acknowledges ‘Research Error’ In Shot At Sherrill Record [The New Jersey Globe, 6/16/2020]
HEADLINE: Becchi lobbied for GOP tax plan, but says work unrelated to SALT CAP [The New Jersey Globe, 1/22/2020]
Rosemary Becchi: Every Flavor of Lobbyist
LOBBYING PINCHED SALT
Republicans lost the House in 2018 after everyday Americans rejected the massive tax scam they passed to give wealthy corporations a handout on the backs of middle class families. Rosemary Becchi’s lobbying work on this massive corporate handout is a reminder that she doesn’t share the concerns of New Jerseyans but is more focused on delivering for her high-powered clients.
Becchi lobbied for the tax law, forcing New Jerseyans to pay thousands more in taxes all while making millions for her clients. When lawmakers weren’t working fast enough to deliver those tax breaks to her clients, Becchi called on legislators to end debate over which deductions to keep in the tax bill, when she could have been fighting to keep the SALT deduction instead.
Becchi’s client Exxon Mobile earned nearly $5.9 billion in immediate savings from the tax bill. Because of her diligent efforts, Becchi’s clients made millions off the backs of taxpayers in high-tax states like New Jersey, as did her firm. Becchi and her employer received around $1.7 million in compensation for lobbying on the tax bill.
Because of her diligent efforts, Becchi’s clients made millions off the backs of taxpayers in high-tax states like New Jersey, as did her firm. Becchi and her employer received around $1.7 million in compensation for lobbying on the tax bill.
The tax bill hit New Jersey “harder than any other state” — particularly the 11th district. Fifty-four percent of tax returns in New Jersey’s 11th district took SALT deductions in 2016 — the second highest district for SALT deductions. The average SALT deduction taken in 2016 in the 11th district was $23,478. That may explain why Becchi had to tie herself in knots to explain why she lobbied for the tax bill.
Rep. Sherrill’s record is clear. She brought Democrats and Republicans together to pass a bill repealing the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction and will continue fighting until it is signed into law by the president.
SMORGASBORD OF SPECIAL INTERESTS
When Rosemary Becchi wasn’t actively working to advance the tax law that threatens adds $1.9 trillion to the debt — threatening cuts to Medicare and Social Security, while leaving middle class New Jerseyans to pick up the tab — Becchi was lobbying on behalf of big corporations and other special interests.
Becchi lobbied for a company that defrauded Medicare and lobbied for oil company Exxon Mobil, winning them billions in tax savings. She lobbied for legislation that has been used to weaken protections against pollution and deregulate harmful chemicals.
What’s worse, Becchi continued to work as a lobbyist while running for Congress, registering as a lobbyist as late as December of 2019.
Mikie Sherrill voted for the strongest anti-corruption bill in a generation. It would increase transparency, crackdown on corruption in both parties, and strengthen ethics laws to ensure everyone who serves in Congress is serving the people, not special interests.
STEWING IN THE SWAMP
Becchi is backed by and is a part of the Republican Party that supports legislation undermining protections for people with pre-existing conditions like asthma, heart disease, and cancer. The Republican Party’s plan also imposes what AARP calls an “age tax,” allowing insurance companies to charge older Americans up to five times more for health coverage than younger people, just because they’re over fifty. There’s no doubt about it, Rosemary Becchi will be a guaranteed rubberstamp for Washington Republicans reckless agenda and dangerous policies.
Becchi donated to Mitch McConnell in January 2019 because “she supports Senator McConnell.” In 2019, McConnell refused to act on many of the reforms passed by the House, including a bill to lower prescription drug costs. And during the coronavirus pandemic that killed over 13,000 New Jerseyans and forced 1.3 million more to file for unemployment, Mitch McConnell threatened to block federal funding to keep some of the hardest hit states — like New Jersey — calling the help a “Blue State Bailout.”
Rosemary Becchi has also taken thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from an anti-choice political group that supports anti-choice politicians. The group has even backed legislation that would ban abortion with no exceptions in cases of rape or incest or to protect the health of the patient.
Unlike Becchi, Mikie Sherrill isn’t beholden to special interests or any party because she believes elected officials should be held accountable to their constituents.
PATH TO VICTORY
New Jersey’s 11th district is a majority suburban (59.2%) district located in the northern portion of the state. The district’s voters have far higher educational attainment and household income than the country.
President Trump only carried the district by half a percentage point in 2016. And after former Republican Governor Chris Christie cleared 60% in both his gubernatorial elections, Democratic Governor Phil Murphy earned 53% of the vote in 2017. Democrats enjoy a registration advantage in the district. According to the New Jersey Globe, “Democrats outperformed Republicans in new voter registration by a 2 ½ to 1 margin.”
Rep. Mikie Sherrill won the district by nearly 15 points and has a raised 15 times more than her opponent. Sherrill’s raised over $782,000 in the first quarter of the on-year and has nearly $3.2 million in the bank. Nonpartisan race raters, Inside Elections said: Republicans “will have a tough time winning here.” Inside Elections rates this race Solid D.
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