Documents Reveal Brian Kemp’s Height of Hypocrisy: He Would Turn Down Federal Medicaid Dollars, But He Had No Problem Taking Federal Stimulus Dollars for His Own Company

ATLANTA, Georgia, Oct. 15 -- The Georgia Democratic Party issued the following news release:

Today, the Democratic Party of Georgia released documents showing that Brian Kemp received millions of dollars in taxpayer federal stimulus dollars for his own company, despite his purported support of small government and his belief that expanding Medicaid would be a waste of taxpayer money.

" Brian Kemp had a choice between helping himself and helping Georgians, and he chose to help himself," said Democratic Party of Georgia spokesman Seth Bringman. "Mr. Kemp says there's not enough money to expand Medicaid but he had no problem taking federal stimulus dollars for his own company. That's the height of hypocrisy, and yet another reason why Brian Kemp can't be trusted to protect Georgians."

Newly revealed documents showed Hart AgStrong LLC received a $1,000,000 stimulus loan from the Small Business Administration in 2009. AgStrong Oils received a $2,622,575 stimulus loan from the Department of Agriculture's Rural Business Cooperative Service in 2010.

Since 2008 Brian Kemp has been a key investor, assistant manager, and member of the Board of Directors for Hart AgStrong, a tenure that has been marred by scandal. The company has been criticized by Governor Nathan Deal's administration for actions that "may be a felony under Georgia law," according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Kemp invested $750,000 in the company and personally guaranteed $10 million in loans to Hart AgStrong, about double his net worth. He also cheated his fellow investors and farmers, and he is refusing to pay back a $500,000 loan that he personally guaranteed.

Medicaid expansion, which Kemp opposes and claims is unaffordable, has helped 33 other states to cover a large share of their uninsured populations. Expansion would provide coverage to nearly 500,000 more Georgians, create more than 50,000 jobs, and help save rural hospitals.