Federal spending is a major issue in the U.S. Senate campaign of Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, the Republican trying to unseat incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown. Mandel says spending is wasteful and unsustainable, and he names Brown as a reason.
Among several claims in Mandel's TV ad "Change," which accuses Brown of trying to hide his record, is one that says "Brown sent billions of our tax dollars to foreign countries."
The ad claims Brown sent billions of dollars to foreign countries. The information that the ad uses to back up that claim, that Brown voted for the stimulus bill, has been proven false. Brown did not make decisions on how that money would be spent, and he was one of the senators who called for its suspension after the foreign grants were reported.
When confronted with those facts, the Mandel campaign offered as support for its claim that Brown votes for appropriations for U.S. foreign operations. That's the money for embassies, war-related spending to help establish new governments and the U.S. portions of international missions. That's a ridiculous stretch from what the ad implies, which is that Brown tried to hide that he irresponsibly sent billions or our tax dollars to foreign countries.
We have a rating for statements that are both false and ridiculous.
