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PolitiFact: Was Sen. Russ Feingold the lone vote against Department of Homeland Security?

Posted at 7:40 PM, Sep 21, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-21 20:50:31-04

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The battle for the U.S. Senate seat between Ron Johnson and Russ Feingold is down to the final few weeks. PolitiFact Wisconsin checked out a claim made against Feingold's Senate record.
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A Super PAC supporting Republican Ron Johnson claimed in a TV ad that Democrat Russ Feingold was the "only senator to vote against Homeland Security."
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In 2002, the Department of Homeland Security was established in an effort to reorganize several federal agencies into one department to focus on terrorism. The vote was 90-9.

A year earlier, in 2001, Feingold was known for his lone vote against the Patriot Act - an anti-terrorism law.
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"It's one of those that may sound familiar" said Greg Borowski at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "because Sen. Feingold was the only person to vote against the Patriot Act which was a different measure relating to surveillance. He was not, however, the only person to vote against the Homeland Security Act."
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PolitFact Wisconsin rated the claim made by the pro-Johnson Super PAC as false.

That measure had nine no votes, all Democrats against it," said Borowski, "and at the time Russ Feingold said he was concerned with other measures that were rolled into the bill before them."
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PolitFact Wisconsin says the Super PAC, Let America Work, didn't respond to its requests for information.