Democrats tried to target Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy of Montana for alleged conflicts of interest, while ignoring incumbent Senator Jon Tester, who helped pass the Farm Bill, which benefited his own business.
Bloomberg reported on Friday that Sheehy’s fire-fighting airline has many government contracts, which could create conflicts of interest if he is elected in 2024. The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) expanded on this report.
A Sheehy spokeswoman told Fox News Digital that she would step down as CEO if elected to the next Senate. Meanwhile, Tester, who currently owns up to $5 million worth of farmland according to financial disclosures, voted in favor of a bill that would provide $400 billion in funding in 2018. Taxpayer subsidies and increased support for organic farming, which is at the heart of his own business. He has also received hundreds of thousands of dollars in agricultural subsidies over the past 30 years.
Maggie Abboud, spokesperson for the National Republican Senate Committee, told Fox News Digital, “Jon Tester voted for a farm subsidy that would benefit him and his family, but Democrats voted for Tim Sheehy over the fire service. It’s amazing to attack him,” he said.
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Senate code of ethics It prohibits senators and their employees from engaging in “outside business or professional activity, or employment for remuneration, that is inconsistent with, or inconsistent with, the conscientious performance of public duties.” Tester did not respond to Fox News Digital’s question about whether his grant constitutes a conflict of interest.
As the only Democrat in Montana to hold a statewide seat, Tester is struggling to keep his seat in a state that has voted Republican in the last two presidential elections. (Tom Williams)
Tester’s farm, T-Bone Farms, received $458,064 in commodity subsidies and disaster-related payments from 1995 to 2021, according to the Environmental Working Group, which compiles public data for the USDA. rice field.Additionally, Tester received about $283,288 Federal grants are listed in his own name. This total includes approximately $6,000 in conservation fees that testers receive each year, which will be used to reimburse farmers who have left their land uncultivated for environmental reasons.
Tester has been criticized for voting on major farm bills every six years, benefiting directly from the policies and subsidies contained therein.
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“As the only active soil farmer in the U.S. Senate, Jon Tester knows first-hand the challenges facing Montana farmers and ranchers. We’re fighting for a program that we can keep supplying,” the tester camp told Fox. Subsidy.
Farmers receiving agricultural subsidies may not be violating Congress’ ethics rules, but federal agency officials would be breaking the law if they were in a similar situation, according to Government Ethics in 1999. Walter Schaub, former director of the agency, said. Obama administration.
Tim Sheehy kicked off his Senate campaign on Fox News Digital. (Tim Sheehy, Senate Campaign Manager)
“If they were government employees, it would be a crime for those who are being paid to participate in a farmer welfare program like this,” Shoub told Politico earlier this year. rice field. “But there is no meaningful conflict of interest law that applies to members of parliament. always stands above the law,” said Mr Chaub of Senior Ethics. Fellow of the Government Surveillance Project.
While the Farm Bill received broad bipartisan support, some senators expressed concern about potential conflicts of interest among members of Congress like Tester. Tester’s net worth increased by about $5 million during his tenure as a U.S. Senator.
Democratic farmer Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) expressed dissatisfaction with the “loopholes” in the bill, particularly one that would allow farm owners’ families to collect subsidies.
Senator Jon Tester’s net worth increased by about $5 million during his time in the Senate. (Kent Nishimura)
After the passage, Grassley denounced a “loophole” that would allow distant families to receive subsidies “without the new requirement that they actually have to work.”
“To say we are disappointed that the bill has made more subsidies available to the wealthiest farmers and many non-farmers would be a huge understatement. Younger and novice farmers will face even greater hurdles due to the impact of being allowed to operate ,” Grassley said in 2018 after the bill was passed. “Today we have a farm bill purposefully written to allow the largest farmers to receive unlimited federal subsidies. There is no other way to characterize what the Congress Committee did. There is no.”
The latest version of the Farm Bill, passed in 2018, reauthorized and extended federal agriculture and nutrition programs, including crop subsidies, through fiscal year 2023.
According to 2021 Federal Election Commission (FEC) data, Tester’s net worth ranges from $1,768,009 to $6,695,000, partly made up of the value of farmland and related assets he owns. .
Tester, who is running for re-election in the Red State of Montana, has previously accused “millionaires” of not “understanding what a hard day’s work looks like,” and said he will be in office in 2021. Disputing Federal Election Commission (FEC) data. The Senator’s net worth is reported to be between $1,768,009 and $6,695,000.
Tim Sheehy is running to oust Senator Tester in 2024. (Tim Sheehy, Senate Campaign Manager)
Sheehy, who announced his candidacy for Tester in June, is a joint venture with Bridger Aerospace, an airline that has multiple federal contracts and has planes that fetch water to fight wildfires. Founder. Bloomberg News reported last week that Sheehy will likely face ethics issues in Congress, but the Republican candidate plans to step down as CEO and board to comply with ethics rules.
Craig Holman of consumer advocacy group Public Citizen told Bloomberg that there is a real conflict of interest if he receives funding or government contracts. “These issues are being addressed not only by the executive branch, but by Congress as well.”
“If Tim Sheehy is elected to the U.S. Senate, he will fully comply with the Senate’s ethics rules and standards of conduct,” Sheehy’s publicist Katie Martin told Fox News Digital.
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“Tim believes his private sector business experience, having founded and managed companies across multiple industries, including aerospace, technology and agriculture, will bring a unique perspective to Washington,” Martin said in a statement. ‘ said. “As a fiscal conservative, Tim’s top priorities include controlling spending, reducing waste and making government more efficient so it runs like a business. ”
FOX News’ Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
