Archives for July 2010

ALG Praises House Republicans for “Forcing House Democrats to Take First Step at Repealing ObamaCare”

July 30, 2010

July 30th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised House Republican Leader John Boehner and Representative David Camp for forcing House Democrats “to remove just one of the countless flaws in the ObamaCare abomination that would have forced businesses to file 1099 forms for every expenditure that exceeds $600.”

“House Republican Leader John Boehner, Representative David Camp, and the entire House Republican Conference led by Chairman Mike Pence deserve the thanks of the American people for forcing House Democrats to take the first step at repealing ObamaCare,” Wilson said.

House Republicans yesterday filed a Motion-to-Recommit (MTR) on HR 5893. The MTR would have eliminated this small business reporting requirement that is set to start in 2012.

Imposed by ObamaCare, the requirement which effectively forces small businesses to file a 1099 form with the IRS for every expenditure for goods or services of $600 or more. Corporations would also have to file information returns when they receive $600 or more in exchange for services or other determinable gains.

House Democrats responded by pulling HR 5893 from the floor, and submitting it as HR 5982 with the Republican provision included. The provision specifically repeals section 9006 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The provision was expected to raise $16 billion in revenue to pay for ObamaCare, but according to the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) National Taxpayer Advocate, it would have cost small businesses more than the Treasury would have gained as a result.

“Nancy Pelosi and her caucus are admitting they never read ObamaCare. They are admitting they had no idea or did not care how bad it would be for small business despite being warned. And ultimately they are admitting there is no way to pay for ObamaCare even with the multiple tax hikes they plan,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:

“A New ObamaCare horror story,” By Rick Manning, April 29th, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Demands Rangel Resign or Be Expelled

July 28, 2010

July 28th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in response to reports of ongoing plea bargain negotiations by the professional staff of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct with Representative Charlie Rangel’s lawyer:

“It is not sufficient for Representative Rangel to simply plead guilty to very serious charges, but be allowed to keep his seat. Any deal that does not result in him resigning will forever be tainted with the appearance of a ‘good ol’ boy’ cover-up. Charlie Rangel is a career politician who since the ethics probe began has contributed money to the campaigns of at least 119 members of Congress, including members of the ethics committee.

“Whether or not members give Rangel’s donations back, they will be stained if he is allowed to keep his seat. Charlie Rangel should resign or be expelled.”

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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Calls on Minnick to Oppose Pelosi as Speaker

July 27, 2010

Says to “Make Good” on Call for Rangel to Resign by “Holding Accountable the House Speaker that Protected Him”

July 27th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today called on Idaho Representative Walter Minnick to oppose the re-election of Nancy Pelosi to the top post of House Speaker for what Wilson called “Pelosi’s continued cover up of Charlie Rangel’s repeated violations of the law.”

“It is Nancy Pelosi who put Rangel in his position. It is Pelosi who has defended him for more than a year. It is Pelosi who has imposed the radical agenda on the American people. If Representative Minnick is being honest he would pledge to vote for someone other than the person who has caused all this mess,” Wilson said.

“It is up to Representative Minnick to make good on his politically opportune call for Rangel to resign by holding accountable the House Speaker that has protected him,” Wilson added.

Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has been charged by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct after it concluded its months-long investigation, according to the Hill. The Committee is expected to release its full findings on Thursday.

Previously, Pelosi has defended Rangel, saying that “he did not knowingly violate the rules,” as reported by the New York Times.

The imminent trial against Rangel has resulted in Congressman Minnick in calling for Rangel to resign, as reported by the IdahoReporter.com. Wilson said “the timing of Minnick’s call so close to the trial rings hollow. Pelosi has been slowing down the resolution of the Rangel scandals for months, and anyone truly committed to seeing justice in this case ought to find that reprehensible.”

Wilson cited several transgressions that he said “Nancy Pelosi has been protecting Rangel from”:

1) failure to report over $1 million in outside income and $3 million in business transactions as required by the House,

2) failure to disclose at least $650,000 in assets he had previously failed to list on his House financial disclosure forms,

3) failure to disclose to the IRS or on his financial disclosure forms $75,000 in rental income for a beach villa in the Dominican Republic,

4) violation of state laws by claiming three primary residences and broke municipal laws by maintaining four rent-controlled apartments,

5) violation of House rules by using congressional letterhead to solicit donations for an education center bearing his name at City College of New York, and

6) delinquency in paying his property taxes on two New Jersey parcels and failure to report the sale of a $1.3 million brownstone.

Said Wilson, “Representative Minnick cannot have it both ways. If he believes Rangel should resign in light of the overwhelming evidence that is being presented by the ethics committee, then he should oppose Nancy Pelosi for House Speaker who has protected him this whole time.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Praises Senate Republicans For Blocking “Obama’s Political Speech Gag Order”

July 27, 2010

July 27th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today praised Senate Republicans for blocking the DISCLOSE Act that Wilson said “is nothing more than Barack Obama’s political speech gag order to silence dissent in an election year.”

“The so-called DISCLOSE Act imposes arduous regulations on corporations and non-profits and is explicitly designed to intimidate dissent, all in violation of the First Amendment. Senate Republicans deserve the praise of all freedom-loving Americans who believe that free, unrestricted political speech is a basic and fundamental right under the Constitution,” said Wilson.

“This is intended to intimidate certain groups and individuals from saying anything at all and into giving up their First Amendment rights. It’s a cynical gag order,” Wilson said.

The final vote in the Senate was 57 to 41.

The Act’s disclosure requirements includes any expenditures in excess of $10,000 of express advocacy for or against a candidate up to 20 days before an election and in excess of $1,000 within 20 days before an election, which must be reported to the FEC within 24 hours. The disclosure requirements extend to 120 days prior to the first presidential primary or caucus, and 90 days before the first Congressional primary or caucus, and extend through general election day.

Anyone who invests or donates in excess of the specified minimums to a company or organization that engages in express advocacy of a candidate, except for media organizations and other exempt entities, would have their names submitted to the FEC.

“These disclosure requirements have a chilling effect on speech, which is why they previously have been found to be unconstitutional,” Wilson said. “If these sorts of requirements were in place during the ratification of the Constitution, there wouldn’t have been Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, which were published under pseudonyms.”

“There is no question that individuals’ speech is stifled by excessive disclosure requirements on independent expenditures,” Wilson said, pointing to Supreme Court precedent protecting anonymous donations made to groups that solely make independent expenditures in NAACP v. Alabama (1958). Then Justice John Marshall Harlan’s majority opinion stated, applying the First Amendment via the Fourteenth to Alabama, “We hold that the immunity from state scrutiny of membership lists which the Association claims on behalf of its members is here so related to the right of the members to pursue their lawful private interests privately and to associate freely with others in so doing as to come within the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

“The sole intent of authors of this legislation is to shame and intimidate certain corporations, groups, and individuals from saying anything about elections, and there is no question that it was unconstitutional,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:

“ALG Urges Senate to Reject First Amendment Restrictions; Highlights NRA, Media Carve-Outs,” July 26th, 2010.

“Disclosure is Overrated”, by ALG News Senior Editor Robert Romano, June 21st, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With:

ALG Urges Senate to Reject First Amendment Restrictions; Highlights NRA, Media Carve-Outs

July 26, 2010

July 26th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today urged the Senate to reject the DISCLOSE Act that Wilson said “imposes tortuous regulations on corporations and non-profits while exempting media organizations, the NRA, AARP, the Sierra Club, unions and others.”

“Senator Chuck Schumer cares less about disclosure and more about creating an unlevel playing field as it relates to campaign speech. The Senate has done nothing to remove the special carve-outs for certain organizations, despite the controversy over the House passage of this legislation. Congress still believes it has the power to hand out privileged speech licenses to the highest bidders,” Wilson said.

“The Senate version of the bill still includes the blanket exemption for media organizations, which can say whatever they want about candidates, for or against, without any regulation or disclosure at all,” Wilson said.

According to 2 USC 431 (9) (B) (i), the 1971 Federal Election Campaign Act: “The term ‘expenditure’ does not include any news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication”. This media exemption to campaign regulation is reinforced in the DISCLOSE Act’s language on page 24.

“No bribery crisis of elected officials has ever emerged over editorial endorsements by newspapers or any other media outlet, and yet they have long been exempted from disclosure. Meanwhile, we assume that such a crisis exists with all other speech,” Wilson has previously stated.

After criticism from both sides of the aisle, the NRA carve-out was broadened to exempt organizations meeting the following criteria: at least 500,000 dues paying members (down from 1 million), members in all 50 states, receives no more than 15 percent of total funding from corporations or labor organizations, and doesn’t use corporate or union money to pay for campaign-related expenses.

Labor unions too received an exemption since only aggregate contributions of over $600 would be disclosed — most union dues are less than that.

The previous House vote passing the legislation was 219 in favor, and 206 opposed.

The Act’s disclosure requirements include any expenditures in excess of $10,000 of express advocacy for or against a candidate up to 20 days before an election and in excess of $1,000 within 20 days before an election, which must be reported to the FEC within 24 hours. The disclosure requirements extend to 120 days prior to the first presidential primary or caucus, and 90 days before the first Congressional primary or caucus, and extend through general election day. Anyone who invests or donates in excess of the specified minimums to a company or organization that engages in express advocacy of a candidate, except for media organizations and other exempt entities, would have to have their names submitted to the FEC.

Wilson said the Senate was not consistently applying First Amendment protections. “The way news media is given a blanket protection is the standard that should apply to everyone, especially when it comes to independent expenditures. The First Amendment protects political speech from restriction, even if the backers of ads do not wish to have their pictures featured in ads.”

Wilson pointed to Supreme Court precedent protecting anonymous donations made to groups that solely make independent expenditures in NAACP v. Alabama (1958). Then Justice John Marshall Harlan’s majority opinion stated, applying the First Amendment via the Fourteenth to Alabama, “We hold that the immunity from state scrutiny of membership lists which the Association claims on behalf of its members is here so related to the right of the members to pursue their lawful private interests privately and to associate freely with others in so doing as to come within the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

Wilson concluded, “The Senate has an opportunity to reject the special favors that are being extended by the DISCLOSE Act, which is more about who is exempted and the advantage they will gain than who is regulated and restricted. These special carve-outs are precisely what have the American people in a complete uproar over Washington politics. Instead, it is time simply apply the First Amendment across the board and, with it, unregulated, unrestricted political speech for everyone.”

Attachments:

Disclosure is Overrated, by ALG News Senior Editor Robert Romano, June 21st, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With:

ALG Praises Senate for Defeating $10 Billion States Bailout in War Supplemental, Calls for House to Pass Clean Bill

July 23, 2010

July 23rd, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising the Senate for defeating a House-passed version of the war supplemental that included $10 billion state education funding:

“The Senate has acted responsibly to defeat the House-passed version of the war supplemental that included a $10 billion political slush fund to bail out bankrupt states like New York and California. These states simply refuse to make the necessary cuts to balance their budgets. The $10 billion was set to go directly to the state teachers unions as a handout.

“The onus is now on the House to pass a clean war supplemental prior to the August recess, when the Department of Defense will be forced to cut combat pay. Defense Secretary Bob Gates has told Congress that failure to do so could result in a failure to pay active-duty military, and General Petraeus has called the supplemental ‘essential for the conduct of this mission.’

“Nancy Pelosi needs to stop playing politics with funding American troops in harm’s way. The nation’s troops are not chips on a table for political horse-trading, and now is the time to stop holding them hostage to public sector union politics. To do otherwise is tantamount to extortion.”

Attachments:

Troops’ Funding Held Hostage by Public Sector Union Politics, by ALG President Bill Wilson, June 28th, 2010.

“Driving Right Off the Cliff,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, June 16th, 2010.

ALG Letter to Congress Against States Bailout, May 27th, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Statement on Announced $1.47 Trillion Deficit for 2010

July 23, 2010

July 23rd, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in response to the White House’s projection of a $1.47 trillion budget deficit for 2010:

“The announced $1.47 trillion deficit by the Obama Administration is just the latest insult to American taxpayers, who during these stressful economic times are scaling back their family budgets but watch helplessly as government dramatically expands without paying for it. That money will have to borrowed through Treasury auctions, and what cannot be borrowed will simply be printed by the Federal Reserve, which already holds $777 billion in U.S. treasuries.

“In the process, the government is chaining the American people, and future generations, to a mountain of debt that cannot possibly be paid back, and strangling any hope of growth or economic recovery. The spending splurge is destroying hope of Americans who don’t want more unemployment insurance, but instead want a job.”

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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Condemns Continued Efforts to “Intimidate and Silence the American People”

July 22, 2010

July 22nd, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned statements by the NAACP and members of Congress who he said are “attempting to create a false perception of the tea party movement and any other citizen activists who dare to speak out against Barack Obama’s radical agenda.”

Wilson said the “true message of the tea party movement is against endless bailouts, it is against too much spending and too much control over health care, the financial sector, and energy. It seeks to save America from the sovereign debt crisis and to restore the nation as the economic superpower of the world.”

Wilson called the attacks against the movement “shameless” and that they were designed “to intimidate and silence the American people who wish nothing more than to return the nation to the tradition of constitutional government with limited powers.”

“This is the way organizations, media outlets, and elected officials attempt to silence legitimate dissent through its delegitimization. We expect this from the Hugo Chavezes and Saul Alinskys of the world, not in America,” Wilson said.

“Ultimately, this is about control of Congress, and it is clear members of Congress will stop at nothing to discredit the primary threat to their keeping power, and that’s the American people,” Wilson added.

Wilson said the NAACP’s claims were based on prior statements by elected officials, and said the organization “is being misled and used to help construct a false narrative about the tea parties.”

Wilson pointed to House Majority Whip James Clyburn’s claim that tea parties were a “kind of terrorism.” Others have alleged that activists shouted racial epithets at members of Congress on March 20th at a protest against the health care bill, as reported by the American Thinker. Others have attested that acts of vandalism were linked to the tea parties.

“This has been Congress’ tactic against the tea parties since they began in 2009,” Wilson added, noting what he said were “consistent false portrayals of activists at tea parties and town halls throughout 2009 by Congressional Democrats.”

Majority Whip Clyburn’s attack followed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wrote an oped in USA Today calling opponents “un-American”. Congressman Steve Kagen called opponents “uncivilized,” and Congressman Baron Hill called them “political terrorists.”

Congressman Brian Baird called opponents of the legislation “Brown Shirts” and compared them to domestic terrorists, “Some of the rhetoric that we’re hearing is… eerily reminiscent of the kind of things that drove Tim McVeigh to bomb the federal building in Oklahoma.”

Wilson pointed to the bailouts of delinquent borrowers, Bear Stearns, AIG, GM, and Chrysler; the $150 billion nationalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program; the Federal Reserve more than doubling the money supply; the $862 billion “stimulus”; the government takeover of the financial sector; and the $2.5 trillion health care bill all as “the true motivation for this grassroots movement that only wants to restore government to its primary, limited functions under the Constitution by eliminating the entitlement state.”

Attachments:

“Dem Hour Energy,” Cartoon by William Warren, July 22nd, 2010.

“Who are the Tea Parties?” by ALG News National Correspondent Rebekah Rast, video by Andrius Vaitekunas, April 21st, 2010.

“Remember Newt Gingrich?” by ALG Communications Director Rick Manning, July 18th, 2010.

“An American Revolution,” by ALG News Senior Editor Robert Romano, April 15th, 2009.

“The Mad Tea Party,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, July 15th, 2010.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Statement on Obama Signing Financial Takeover Bill

July 21, 2010

July 21st, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in response to the signing of the Dodd-Frank financial takeover bill into law:

“Today, Barack Obama claimed that ‘the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill for Wall Street’s mistakes,’ and yet that is exactly what the Dodd-Frank financial takeover will do — it contains a hidden tax to finance a perpetual bailout fund.

“This is taxation without representation. The Dodd-Frank bill authorizes the FDIC to levy without any vote in Congress an unlimited bank tax on bank holding and insurance companies with $50 billion or greater in consolidated assets, the costs of which will be passed on to consumers of financial products, savers, and investors, with more fees, higher premiums, and other hidden costs.

“The bank taxes, which the American people pay for, will finance a so-called ‘orderly liquidation fund’, which will be used to bail out politically-favored firms and seize disfavored ones, redistributing their assets to privileged constituencies, as GM and Chrysler were redistributed to labor unions.

“Since Obama is saying that bailouts and government takeovers will ‘never again’ occur, he bears responsibility for signing a bill into law that institutionalizes ‘too big to fail’ and ensures that the next time there is a crisis the American people will be on the hook, paying hidden taxes to fund more government interventions to prop up failing institutions, all without any vote in Congress.”

Attachments:

“’Down a Rabbit Hole:’ The Threat Posed by the Dodd-Frank Bill to the Private Sector,” Updated June 28th, 2010, Americans for Limited Government.

“Big Brother is Watching You: The Threat Posed by the Dodd-Frank Bill to Privacy,” Updated June 28th, 2010.

Letter to the U.S. Senate, ALG President Bill Wilson, April 26th, 2010.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Statement on Proposed $34 Billion Unemployment Extension

July 19, 2010

July 19th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement urging the Senate to reject an unpaid-for $34 billion extension of unemployment:

“With a $13.2 trillion national debt weighing down the economy and killing jobs amid the sovereign debt crisis and 9.5 percent unemployment, Congress must find ways to rein in uncontrolled deficit-spending. Now is the time to make cuts, and to find ways to pay for Congress’ insatiable appetite for spending. Currently, the proposed $34 billion extension in unemployment welfare payments is not paid for with anything other than borrowed and printed money.

“Senate Republicans have offered several ways to pay for the proposed $34 billion unemployment welfare extension, including utilizing unspent ‘stimulus’ funds. It is not obstruction to demand that new spending be paid for when the country is going bankrupt, it is a courageous act of patriotism. The fact is, the national debt has grown every single year since 1958, and it will take a sincere love of country motivating decisive action to reverse that trend before it is too late.

“Increasingly, the Treasury is depending on the Federal Reserve to print money to ‘lend’ to the government to meet up with Washington’s excessive funding obligations. With over $777 billion in outstanding treasuries on its balance sheet, the Fed is right behind China and Japan as the third top lender to Congress.

“The truth is that the $34 billion unemployment extension would have already passed if Senate Democrats would simply find a way to pay for it. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s partisan approach to this issue is to simply keep offering the same resolution over and over again without making any offsetting cuts to the budget.

“Senate Republicans have a point: Can Congress cut anything? Thus far, the majority is proving that they neither have the ability nor the will to do anything to address the sovereign debt crisis, and only know how to borrow recklessly.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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Filed Under: Press Releases
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