MEMORANDUM To: PA-12 Republican Conferees From: Club for Growth Action Date: February 21, 2019 Re: Important information about PA Rep. Jeff Wheeland Jeff Wheeland s time as a Lycoming County Commissioner and a Pennsylvania State Representative presents a variety of concerns about not only his ability to win the Special General Election but his fitness to represent the people of the 12 th District. Wheeland has: Missed more votes than 99 of his 123 Republican colleagues in 2017-2018 (Wheeland ranks 100 th in attendance!). Missed a whopping 11.19% of his committee votes over that same two-year period. Missed voting on final passage of a welfare reform bill, which included important restrictions on benefits for drug dealers and non-compliant sex offenders. Allowed Lycoming County s prison to become overcrowded on his watch as president of the Lycoming County Prison Board, costing taxpayers over $100,000. Said he supports tying automatic minimum wage increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Accepted campaign money from the Pennsylvania trial lawyers lobby. Accepted multiple campaign contributions from a pro-obamacare special interest group. JEFF WHEELAND HAS MISSED MORE VOTES THAN 80% OF HIS COLLEAGUES Jeff Wheeland has been an absentee State Representative, missing significantly more of both his committee and floor votes than his colleagues. Since taking office in January 2015, absenteeism has plagued Wheeland, with his worst showing coming during the 2017-2018 General Assembly, when he was either totally absent for or was otherwise recorded as having not voted/abstained/been on leave for 7.41% of his floor votes and the same for a whopping 11.19% of his committee votes. These charts breakdown Rep. Wheeland s voting attendance since he took office: Jeff Wheeland Floor Votes Vote Status 2015-2016 2017-2018 Yeas 1999 1806 Nays 232 267 Not Voted 2 0 Absent 47 166 Total 2280 2239 Percent Not Voted/Absent 2.15% 7.41% Jeff Wheeland Committee Votes Vote Status 2015-2016 2017-2018 Yeas 333 215 Nays 93 23 Not Voted 24 30 Total 450 268 Percent Not Voted 5.33% 11.19%
Rep. Wheeland ranks 100 th in attendance among 123 Republican legislators in 2017-2018 and his record of missed votes raises serious concerns that he would be an absentee Congressman. WHEELAND RAISES TAXES AND FEES Primary sponsor of a bill to allow the PA Fish & Boat Commission to create new fees and raise fees, rather than elected officials, who are accountable to voters, setting these rates. (HB 554, 2017) Voted for a death tax increase more than doubling death certificate fees, among other increases. (HB118, 2017) Co-sponsored and voted for a rain tax allowing government to tax property owners for stormwater. (HB913, 2017) Co-sponsored a resolution calling for a government study on fees for the use of water. (HR908, 2016) Co-sponsored a new recycling fee. (HB1624, 2015) Voted for an amendment that raised both income taxes and sales taxes. (A01564, 2015) WHEELAND CONSISTENTLY VOTES TO GROW GOVERNMENT AND EXPAND REGULATION & OVERREACH Wheeland has voted or co-sponsored legislation for: Expanding government handouts/unemployment. (HB319, 2016) Allowing government to ban or create a new tax on plastic bags. (HB1280, 2016) Expanding government bureaucracies regulating shade trees. (HB905, 2015) New government mandates on your healthcare. (HB174, 2017) New occupational licensing regulations on various industries mandated by politicians and bureaucrats. (HB863, 2017; HB1545, 2017; HB1862, 2017; HB516, 2015; HB1594, 2017; HB1001, 2017) New government mandates on automobile insurance. (HB1763 & HB2224, 2017) New government registration requirements for motorcycles. (HB1883, 2017) New mandates on rental contracts. (HB975, 2016) New regulations on short-term rental hosts. (HB1810, 2018) Extending and making permanent controversial red-light cameras that only seek to raise revenue and expand government. (HB950, 2015; SB1267, 2016) WHEELAND SUPPORTED HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN GOVERNMENT SPENDING HIKES $500 million spending increase for the Fiscal Year 2018 (HB218, 2017) Multiple budget bills with increases in spending above growth and increases in corporate welfare (HB2121, 2018; HB1929, 2018) WHEELAND S GREEN NEW DEAL & OTHER CORPORATE WELFARE
Wheeland voted for Democrats bill to create special, below-market financing rates for Green solar and wind products. (SB234, 2018) He has voted to create an exclusive loan program to benefit only certain businesses, as selected by politicians. (HB584, 2018) Wheeland opposed Republicans by voting for a crony special interest loan program cooked up by Democrats, which gave loans to commercial lending institutions who funnel loans to politically favorable industries. (HB810, 2015) WHEELAND WAS ABSENT FOR PASSAGE OF WELFARE REFORM BILL Jeff Wheeland was absent for the final passage of SB 6, a welfare reform bill, on October 17, 2018. The bill passed 124-62 and was later signed into law by Governor Wolf. Below is a summary of the welfare reforms included in the bill. The bill helped to limit benefits for drug dealers, and non-compliant sex offenders: 1 Central components of the bill, which address the eligibility of high-level felony drug dealers and non-compliant sex offenders, were contained in bills that passed the House last session with overwhelming bipartisan support. In a time when we are seeing neighbors and family members consumed by addiction, we should not be allowing drug dealers to be benefitting from taxpayer-funded assistance. We are talking about those convicted of having more than 50 pounds of marijuana or more than 100 grams of Schedule I or Schedule II narcotics, cocaine, methamphetamines, or heroin. Senate Bill 6 did not establish these levels they are the highest levels of drug trafficking convictions outlined in Title 18, Pennsylvania s Crimes Code. Additionally, my legislation implements a measure to ensure convicted sex offenders comply with registration requirements. Plain and simple if they fail to comply, they are ineligible for welfare benefits. Once they are in compliance, they will again be eligible. Statistics tell us that those in compliance are less likely to reoffend. Act 125 also places reasonable controls on how and where access cards, also known as EBT cards, can be used. No matter where you are from, I hope as a matter of statewide public policy, we can agree that taxpayer-funded benefits should be spent in grocery stores, not in strip clubs or casinos nor should an individual be allowed to withdraw money from their benefits card at these facilities. This welfare legislation included important, commonsense reforms, but Wheeland missed the vote. Wheeland s absenteeism has serious consequences. LYCOMING COUNTY PRISON BECAME OVERCROWDED ON WHEELAND S WATCH, COSTING LYCOMING COUNTY IN EXCESS OF $100,000 1 Delaware County Daily Times, Guest Column: New legislation provides important welfare reform, November 13, 2018
Jeff Wheeland served as president of the Lycoming County Prison Board when he served as a County Commissioner. During his tenure as head of the county prison board, Wheeland oversaw the overcrowding of Lycoming County s prison, which had previously won awards for its efficiently run prisons. In 2012, Lycoming County s prison population ballooned, and Lycoming County was forced to house 40 prisoners in neighboring counties due to overcrowding. Wheeland admitted that Lycoming County taxpayers were on the hook for over $100,000 in bills to house their prisoners in other counties, WNEP-TV reported: 2 WILLIAMSPORT A number of county prisons in our area have been dealing with overcrowding. That is nothing new. For the prison in Lycoming County it is something new and a bit of a surprise to local leaders. Lycoming County has won award after award even as recently as June for keeping its prison population under control. Then, for some reason the number of inmates spiked around that same time, meaning Lycoming County will suddenly have to pay up to have prisoners housed in other counties. The Lycoming County prison in downtown Williamsport can hold just shy of 400 men and women at any one time. Up until the past several months there has been enough room, said officials. That is not the case anymore, according to officials at the prison who said nearly 40 inmates are staying in prisons in neighboring counties. We re befuddled, said Lycoming County Commissioner Jeff Wheeland Wheeland showed off awards the county won in recent years for keeping the prison population in check. Wheeland heads the prison board and said that success was due in part to programs like family court and drug court that keep offenders out of prison. Then, inexplicably, the numbers jumped in the middle of this year. It s all over the board, simple assaults, aggravated assaults, D.U.I. s. It was a tsunami that hit us, said Wheeland. Wheeland said a task force made up of the courts, prosecutors and probation will look into the cause of the overcrowding and a possible solution at the prison. In the meantime, the overcrowding is costing the county. We re in excess of $100,000 to house these prisoners outside Lycoming County, said Wheeland. Sending so many prisoners to other counties was not in the budget and it will come out of the rainy day fund, according to officials. The increase in inmates cannot be blamed on a population boom thanks to the natural gas industry, added Wheeland. 2 WNEP-TV, County Investigating Cause of Prison Overcrowding, September 18, 2012
As Wheeland served as president of the Lycoming County Prison Board while prisons became overcrowded and taxpayers were forced to foot the bill, the failure to better plan for an influx of new prisoners falls at Wheeland s feet. WHEELAND SUPPORTS JOB-KILLING AUTOMATIC INCREASES TO THE MINIMUM WAGE In a candidate forum held in September 2018, Rep. Jeff Wheeland said that he supports tying the minimum wage level to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Due to inflation, fixing the minimum wage to the CPI would assuredly result in automatic increases to the minimum wage over time: 3 I believe there is a simple solution as we go forward and that is to tie the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index.... That being said, we have the minimum wage. It s not going away. Wheeland cannot be trusted to oppose federal minimum wage increases or to repeal the federal minimum wage. ANTI-FREE SPEECH, ANTI-REPUBLICAN Wheeland TWICE co-sponsored a resolution (HR357, 2016 & 2017) calling for an anti-free speech amendment to the US Constitution that would unfairly restrict political speech, a cornerstone of Democracy, and also undermine Republicans ability to compete in elections. WHEELAND HAS RECEIVED SEVERAL CONCERNING POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS & MADE A QUESTIONABLE CAMPAIGN FINANCE PAYMENT Trial Attorney Lobbyists Jeff Wheeland s campaign accepted a contribution from LAWPAC in October 2018. LAWPAC is the PAC of the lobby for trial attorneys: 4 3 Williamsport Sun-Gazette, Candidates talk about biggest national issue, state s minimum wage, October 7, 2018 4 Pennsylvania Association For Justice, LAWPAC Impact
Pro-Obamacare Special Interest Below are three contributions totaling $750 that Jeff Wheeland s campaign accepted from HAPAC, the PAC of the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania: The Hospital Association of Pennsylvania signed onto a letter in May 2017 urging the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation to preserve Medicaid expansion provisions in the Republican s American Healthcare Act (AHCA). 5 Additionally, The Hospital Association of Pennsylvania sent a letter to Pennsylvania s US Senators in June 2017 urging them to reject the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), on similar grounds. 6 The Hospital Association of Pennsylvania is decidedly pro-obamacare. Wheeland accepting campaign contributions from them raises questions as to whether he can be trusted to be a fighter for Obamacare repeal in Washington. 5 Hospital Association of Pennsylvania, May 2, 2017 Letter 6 Hospital Association of Pennsylvania, June 28, 2017 Letter
Made a Payment to His Own Company from Campaign Account Wheeland s campaign finance reports show that he gave campaign supporters money to a company that he owned, Home Service Beverage, in June 2015: Paid for by Club for Growth Action and not authorized by any candidate or candidate s committee. ClubForGrowthAction.org