King Is Funded By Some of the Most Extreme, Hateful Fringe Groups In The Country
Between 2010 and 2018, King received $34,000 from the Family Research Council (FRC). FRC, which openly fights against same-sex marriage, hate crime laws and anti-bullying programs, was named a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Southern Poverty Law Center also accused the FRC of promoting false claims that the LGBT community sexually abuses children.
Between 2006 and 2012, Steve King took $2,550 from groups affiliated with the Minutemen Movement, including the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. The group was founded by a Neo-Nazi who was the subject of an FBI investigation in connection with the deaths of several migrants.
Steve King took $53,000 from Eagle Forum over the course of 2005 to 2017. The group was formed by the former right-wing leader Phyllis Schlafly to mobilize opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment. Schlafly has promoted various demeaning stereotypes about women, including stating that marital rape is not real and that women should not be firefighters or construction workers due to “inherent physical inferiority”.
King accepted $15,500 from The National Association For Gun Rights, a pro-gun group that is more extreme than the NRA. The National Association For Gun Rights has cast itself as an ultra-right alternative to the NRA and has stated that they believe “in absolutely 100% no compromise” on guns.
King took $26,500 from the National Pro-Life Alliance, an extreme anti-choice group that supported the idea of jail time for women that had abortions.
Steve King took $11,000 from The U.S. Immigration Reform PAC that has white nationalist and anti-semite ties. The group is linked to John Tanton, an anti-immigrant extremist, who supported eugenics for population control.
When King Isn’t Embarrassing Iowa With His Racism, He’s Actively Helping Wall Street
Over the course of his career, Steve King has taken $187,000 from the commercial banking industry and $163,000 from the securities & investment industry.
King cosponsored the Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act, which would allow banks to appeal regulatory decisions, including those made by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to an independent ombudsman. Critics of the bill said it would “undermine regulators” authority and create delays in addressing the problems faced by troubled banks.
Steve King cosponsored and voted for the TAILOR Act, which critics said would force regulators to put the needs of big banks over consumers.
King also voted during the housing crisis against the “Cramdown” provision that would have let bankruptcy judges cut mortgage terms to help borrowers avoid foreclosures. He then went on to also vote against Dodd-Frank and its new regulations on the financial services industry.
Steve King Spent Taxpayer Money on a Lavish Washington Lifestyle
Steve King has spent has at least $118,000 on government-funded fact-finding trips abroad, including trips with well-known anti-immigrant politicians throughout Europe.
King has gone to more than 20 countries while in office, with six trips costing taxpayers more than $10,000 each. Other Iowans in the House, such as Congressman Dave Loebsack, spent a fraction of that cost on official foreign travel.
During a trip to Russia, King stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Moscow and allegedly asked a diplomat to arrange for a “Chinese masseuse” to be sent to his room. The trip was sponsored by the House Small Business Committee and cost taxpayers a total of $24,000.
Meanwhile, King referred to unemployed people as “slackers” and tried to cut food stamps by $20 billion.
