Missouri GOP: McCaskill's husband played major role in investments

(From the Missouri Republican Party)

Following an Associated Press report on nearly $40 million in federal subsidies that went to companies linked to her, Claire McCaskill is now bizarrely claiming that her family has not benefited from any of these subsidies.

This statement defies common sense, and it is disputed by government documents as well as McCaskill’s own financial disclosures. 

“Claire McCaskill wants us to believe that she has an investment in more than 300 projects, and yet she’s not making any money from them.  That’s absurd,” said Lloyd Smith, Executive Director of the Missouri Republican Party. “It has long been known that Claire McCaskill’s husband aggressively seeks public subsidies, and documents show that he continues to play a major role in these taxpayer-subsidized projects.  McCaskill knows she cannot defend the clear conflict of interest that has arisen over her votes for the very legislation that puts money in her pocket, so she’s desperately trying to confuse the issue.”

In 2006, the Post-Dispatch reported that Joe Shepard “aggressively sought public subsidies and made millions, mainly in rural, low-income housing.”  The Kansas City Star reported that McCaskill’s “family fortune is based on Shepard’s involvement in developing and managing low-income housing.”

Now, McCaskill wants us to believe she has an investment in more than 300 projects but that she’s not making any money from them.  According to the AP, McCaskill even claimed that her husband only has “passive, minor investments” in the projects.

But McCaskill’s own disclosures contradict her statements.  In fact, several projects listed on her 2011 personal financial disclosure form received federal subsidies and provided significant amounts of income to McCaskill.  A few examples:

• Cambridge Manor LP in Madison, FL received $147,072 in federal subsidies in 2011, and McCaskill declared $15,000-$50,000 in income from the company that year.
• Carriage Gate of Palatka LP in Palatka, FL received $160,860 in federal subsidies in 2011, and she declared $15,000-$50,000 in income.
• Putney First LP in Putney VT received $180,432 in federal subsidies in 2011, and she declared $50,000-$100,000 in income.
• Windwood Development in Cairo, GA received $86,700 in federal subsidies in 2011 and she declared $100,000-$1,000,000 in income.

Most middle-class Missourians don’t believe that projects netting $15,000-$1,000,000 in income are “passive, minor investments.”

Furthermore, government document show that Shepard plays a critical role in many of these projects. Two examples:

• The November 2007 contract renewal for Kansas Rural Housing of Atchison, which has taken nearly $500,000 in federal subsidies since 2007, was signed by Joe Shepard as the “owner” (see pages 5 & 20). In fact, Shepard is the only representative of the company to sign the contract, making it clear that he has the authority to act on behalf of the company.
• Additionally, this letter from the New Mexico housing authority was addressed to Joe Shepard and is “in response to your request for an increase in rental rates” for the Sunset Hills Apartments in Gallup, New Mexico.