Republican challenger Todd Akin is going on the offensive against Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill by claiming her husband's businesses profited from the federal stimulus act.
Akin began running a TV ad Monday claiming "the stimulus made McCaskill rich." In an interview with The Associated Press, Akin noted that the 2009 stimulus law funded a federal program for low-income housing that directed about $1 million to corporations affiliated with McCaskill's husband.
McCaskill said Akin's assertions are "completely wrong." McCaskill's campaign says her husband has only a small ownership stake and received just several thousand dollars from the companies at issue.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development says the $2 billion in the stimulus act funded subsidies that already were due under government contracts and helped avoid delayed payments.