JOSH CLAIMS: He won’t raise taxes.

THE TRUTH: Josh Mandel signed Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge that would prohibit him from voting to end tax breaks for oil companies.

1. Josh Mandel signed lobbyist Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge. [Americans for Tax Reform]

2. Norquist’s group has warned senators that legislation stripping tax breaks for oil companies would violate his pledge. [The Hill, 5/17/11]

3. Mandel’s pledge means he is against closing tax loopholes for companies who ship jobs overseas. [Americans for Tax Reform, Press Release, 8/2/10]

4. Republican Senator George Voinovich refused to sign the pledge, calling it fiscally irresponsible. [The Hill, 6/2/10]

Josh Mandel Signed Grover Norquist’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge. [Americans for Tax Reform]

Grover Norquist Said The Focus Needed To Be On Spending Cuts Alone. In June 2010, The Hill reported, “Norquist said the focus needs to be on spending cuts alone.” [The Hill, 6/2/10]

Sen. Voinovich: Norquist Tax-Pledge Taken By Many Of His Republican Colleagues Is “Inconsistent With The Oath Of Office That They Took” When They Were Elected.  In June 201, The Hill reported “Sen. George Voinovich (Ohio) said the anti-tax pledge signed by his fellow Republicans conflicts with their responsibility as lawmakers to deal with the country’s $13 trillion debt problem. ‘I think that a lot of my colleagues have taken the pledge, and what they have to understand is that that pledge is inconsistent with the oath of office that they took when they became members of the United States Senate,’ said Voinovich last week at an event on the deficit organized by the center-left think tank Third Way.” [The Hill, 6/2/10]

The Hill: George Voinovich Was A Fiscal Hawk “Who Hasn’t Signed The Pledge.” In June 2010, The Hill stated, “Voinovich, a long-time fiscal hawk who hasn’t signed the pledge, said the American people may soon demand that lawmakers ‘act responsibly’ in dealing with red ink.” [The Hill, 6/2/10]

Grover Norquist’s Americans For Tax Reform Warned Senators That Legislation Stripping Tax Breaks For Oil Companies Violates The Taxpayer Protection Pledge. In May 2011, The Hill reported, “Americans for Tax Reform is warning senators that a vote for Democratic legislation that strips tax breaks for major oil companies would run afoul of the group’s pledge to oppose tax hikes that most Senate Republicans have signed.” [The Hill, 5/17/11]

Grover Norquist Personally Sent A letter To Lawmakers Urging Them Not To Vote Yes On The Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act. In May 2011, The Hill reported, “In a letter to lawmakers ahead of Tuesday evening’s vote, ATR President Grover Norquist argues that deductions that oil companies claim are not subsidies, stating ‘Every deduction or credit [the bill] proposes to revoke or limit has a specific purpose common throughout the tax code.’ ‘Raising taxes on oil and natural gas producers will do little to reduce the deficit — perhaps nothing — and only encourage Washington’s overspending problem. It is for these reasons that I urge you to oppose the S. 940, the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act of 2011, as it a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge,’ he writes.” [The Hill, 5/17/11]

Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform Opposed Amendment to Close Overseas Tax Loopholes. In August 2010, the Americans for Tax Reform called the Reid-Murray amendment to HR 1586 a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. ATR’s press release stated “The Reid amendment violates the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. ATR will be key-voting against cloture. The tax increases in question are all tax hikes on U.S. employers doing business overseas…” [Americans for Tax Reform, Press Release, 8/2/10]

Brown Voted For $16.1 In Medicaid Assistance For The States And $10 Billion For States To Keep Teachers’ Jobs Offset With Changing Foreign Tax Provisions.  In August 2010, Senator Brown voted for a Reid, D-Nev., motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment with a further Murray, D-Wash., substitute amendment no. 4575 that would provide $16.1 billion to extend increased Medicaid assistance to states and $10 billion in funding for states to create or retain teachers’ jobs. The cost of the programs would be offset by changing foreign tax provisions, ending increased food stamp benefits beginning in April 2014 and rescinding previously enacted spending. [Vote 228, 8/5/10]