$20 Million in Stimulus Money Went to Sen. McCaskill’s Husband’s Firms
This report caught my eye. Maybe it will catch yours, too.
An analysis of public records by the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) has found more than $20 million in federal stimulus funds benefitting real estate projects financially tied to Joseph Shepard, husband of Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill.
Earlier this month, the Associated Press published an analysis, stating, “businesses affiliated with the husband of Senator Claire McCaskill have received almost $40 million in federal subsidies for low-income housing developments during her first five years in office…”
The NLPC analysis released today showed more than $20 million in financial benefits from the federal stimulus law to real estate projects associated with McCaskill’s husband, with all of the $20 million benefitting projects different than those identified by the Associated Press story.
Missouri Tax Credit Fund: More Than $1 Million in Annual Income For the McCaskill Household in 2009, 2010 and 2012
While the AP study focused on federal subsidies going to entities listed on Financial Disclosure Reports filed by Senator McCaskill, NLPC reviewed voluminous public records involving the Missouri Tax Credit Fund, L.P. (MTCF), a business listed as an asset by Senator McCaskill on her reports.
None of the six real estate projects identified by NLPC as receiving over $20 million in federal stimulus funds were listed on McCaskill’s Financial Disclosure Reports or covered by the AP analysis.
According to McCaskill’s Financial Disclosure Reports, MTCF was listed as having an asset value of over $1 million in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Asset values are reported in broad ranges with “Over $1,000,000” being the highest category. Therefore, it is possible that the asset value of MTCF is much larger than $1,000,000.
In 2008, prior to the stimulus law, officially known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed in 2009, MTCF was listed by McCaskill as having an asset value of “$500,000 to $1,000,000.”
The lucrative nature of this asset is underscored by McCaskill’s Financial Disclosure Reports showing “over $1,000,000” in income for each of the years 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Since this category is the highest listed in the Senate Financial Disclosure Reports, it is likely that the annual income from MTCF to Senator McCaskill’s husband’s business was higher than $1,000,000 in each of those years.
The current standard annual salary for a U.S. Senator is $174,000.
Follow the Money: How Stimulus Funds Came to Benefit McCaskill Household Income
There is no question that Senator McCaskill was deeply involved in the policies and politics of the stimulus bill signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. The public record shows Senator McCaskill speaking in favor of it on the Senate floor, supporting amendments, voting for it, and issuing press statements about it.
One such McCaskill press statement issued April 20, 2009 proved very prophetic at least for one Missouri family:
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill wants Missourians to know about all the ways the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help put a little extra cash in their pockets over the coming months and during next year’s tax season.
Buried in the massive legislation were several provisions designed to finance low-income housing. The first program, called the Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP), disbursed funds in the forms of grants or loans for capital investment to state-run entities to promote housing projects, especially those that were “shovel-ready.”
(click the link for more on this.)
Continue reading on nlpc.org.
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Published on October 29, 2012. The original is here.
Sen. McCaskill (D-Missouri) was defeated last year. As of February 2019, she is a political analyst for MSNBC.