Anne Barth Press Release

ANNE BARTH TALKS DIRECTLY TO WEST VIRGINIANS
ABOUT THE PATH TO A BETTER FUTURE
-Shelley Moore Capito Still Trying to Figure Out What Went Wrong-

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. – The Democratic nominee for West Virginia’s 2nd congressional district, Anne Barth, is spending several days in the Eastern Panhandle talking to voters one on one about her positive ideas for building a better future for West Virginia and getting America back on the right track.

Anne Barth spent the past few days talking directly with voters about the weak economy and issues facing taxpayers and working families, canvassing door to door in Martinsburg’s neighborhoods on Monday.

“West Virginians want someone representing them in Washington who will vote for the best interests of West Virginians every time, not just during election time,” Barth for Congress spokesperson Mark Ferrell said.

“Shelley Moore Capito voted against raising the minimum wage over and over again, before finally voting the right way once she saw her campaign race was getting hot. Mrs. Capito has repeatedly voted against extending unemployment insurance, until political pressure forced her to finally vote the right way recently. People expect their representatives to vote the right way the first time, not the fifth time. Mrs. Capito talks one way in West Virginia and votes another way in Washington. You can only play that shell game so long before your constituents catch on.”

Mrs. Capito was slated to stage a congressional field hearing in Martinsburg on Tuesday to try and figure out how the mounting housing crisis came to be. In the most recent fundraising quarter, Shelley Moore Capito took political contributions from Countrywide Financial, one of the key players guilty of driving the housing markets into the ground.

“Systematic weakening of regulatory oversight of the mortgage markets, while continually bleeding the Federal agencies charged with protecting consumers, led us here,” Ferrell said. “These are among the many failed policies of the Bush Administration that Shelley Moore Capito has supported, and this is how home owners are finding themselves suddenly homeless.”

“Once again, Mrs. Capito is late to the table. The Democratic Congress already passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act last week to address the foreclosure issue,” Ferrell said. “Considering the housing crisis began last year, this hearing is too little, too late. It’s the kind of political theater we have grown accustomed to from the Bush Administration and their supporters.”

“Now that housing legislation has been passed, Anne Barth believes we need is another economic stimulus, which the Bush-Capito team is blocking,” Ferrell continued. “We need infrastructure investments -- transportation, water and sewer, and community development -- in order to ensure jobs and long-term growth. West Virginians are hurting from high fuel and food prices, and hear frightening news about rising foreclosures. They need more from their Congresswoman than to show up for a photo-op hearing after the fact.”