FACT CHECK: PAC's attack ad on Rep. Paul Gosar

PRESCOTT, AZ - The political action committee Club For Growth Action is running several attack ads in Arizona in the hopes of sending Rep. Paul Gosar down to defeat.

ABC15 put the claims in the ad "File" to a FACT CHECK.

The first allegation in the ad is that "Gosar voted to raise the debt ceiling by more than a trillion dollars."

ABC15 determined that claim is a FACT.

Gosar was the only Republican Congressman from Arizona to vote in favor of raising the debt ceiling.

The TV spot next claims Gosar "opposed even modest spending cuts."

ABC15 determined that accusation is MISLEADING.

Gosar tells ABC15 voted to raise the debt ceiling in order to get 2.1-trillion-dollars in spending cuts that were part of the package.

Republican leadership in Congress touted it as the largest cuts to spending since World War II.

The Club For Growth's sources for the claim are Gosar's votes against cutting $6 million from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program and $2.7 million from the Council on Environmental Quality.

The Club For Growth Action ad goes on to say "Worst of all, Gosar voted to give our tax dollars to ACORN, the radical liberal group notorious for voter fraud."

ABC15 determined this claim is INCONCLUSIVE.

Gosar correctly points out the ACORN parent organization disbanded in 2010 .

However, on June 2nd, 2011 Gosar did vote NO on an amendment that prohibited the use of funds for "various ACORN and Community Organizations."

"ACORN was not just one entity – it was a massive network with literally dozens of affiliates," Barney Keller, spokesperson for Club For Growth Action, told ABC15. "But, I guess if Paul Gosar wants to claim that what he really wanted was to keep sending tax dollars to ACORN successor groups, ACORN spin-offs, and other radical left-wing groups affiliated with ACORN, he’s more than welcome to offer that clarification to his constituents."

Gosar's campaign released the following statement to ABC15:

"ACORN ceased to exist as an organization in April 2010. Paul Gosar did not take office until January 2011. The Club for Growth is simply lying when it says Representative Gosar voted to give money to ACORN.
Representative Gosar voted to cut $2.3 trillion from the federal budget because Washington spending is out of control. His vote reigns in spending while allowing the country to pay its bills. The Club has spent about $620,000 to buy a congressional seat in rural Arizona. This Wall Street group does not represent the values or concerns of rural Arizona. So what is the Club getting for its $620,000?"