25
Aug
2014
Congresswoman Bustos promised to give up 10 percent of her salary if elected to Congress. Will she pay up?
If Bustos is not willing to keep her word on a simple campaign promise, how are voters supposed to trust her on anything?
EAST MOLINE, Ill.?It has been a rough week for Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, whose campaign has repeatedly claimed she "misspoke" when she promised the Chicago Tribune she would give up 10 percent of her pay if elected to Congress. It appears that Bustos has no intention of following through on her promise.
The Dispatch and Rock Island Argus took her to task for this on Saturday. The Peoria Journal Star followed up with severe criticism on Sunday after Bustos ran away from reporters last week.
Still, the Schilling campaign is holding out hope that Bustos will do the right thing and follow through on her campaign promise to give up 10 percent of her pay.
Jon Schweppe, communications director at Bobby Schilling for Congress, released the following statement:
"Hard-working taxpayers are wondering?is Congresswoman Bustos planning on paying up? It was crystal clear in that interview that she committed to giving up 10 percent of her pay as a way to show 'skin in the game.' That was certainly a nice gesture?now she needs to show that she meant it. If Congresswoman Bustos is not willing to keep her word on a simple campaign promise like this, how are voters supposed to trust her on anything? We are calling on Congresswoman Bustos to do the right thing and show that she has at least an ounce of integrity by following through on her promise to give up 10 percent of her pay.
"Bobby Schilling didn't need an opponent's campaign to remind him of his promises. He followed through. Bobby rejected his congressional pension and health care plans, and he voted to cut his office budget by more than 10 percent. Following those cuts, he returned an additional $110,000 surplus from his office budget to the taxpayers. Bobby voted against all pay increases for Members of Congress, and he even signed on to a letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction calling for a 10 percent decrease in pay for Members of Congress.
"There's no doubt: Bobby Schilling is the more honest candidate, the candidate with more skin in the game, and he's the better choice for middle class families in western Illinois."
Bobby Schilling (R-Colona) was born and raised in Rock Island, Illinois. He has been married to his wife, Christie for 28 years and together they have 10 children. Schilling represented the Illinois 17th District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011-2012, serving on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Agriculture Committee, and the House Small Business Committee. Schilling is seeking another term and is running against incumbent Congresswoman Cheri Bustos.
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