Archives for March 2011

March 31st, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government’s General Counsel Nathan Mehrens is testifying in front of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions today on the damage the Obama Administration is doing to the Labor Department’s ability to enforce the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA).

Mehrens testifies that, “even before President Obama was sworn in there were signs that the new Administration would work aggressively to reduce the staff and resources [to enforce the law] as well as to rollback the improvements in transparency that were promulgated under President George W. Bush and Secretary Elaine L. Chao.”

Citing the Obama Labor Department’s immediate freezing of the effective dates of the union transparency reporting requirements, and the rescinding of these requirements, Mehrens makes a compelling case that the Obama Administration was more interested in helping their political allies hide their financial dealings rather than ensure that union member dues monies were used in conformance to the law.

The LMRDA was co-sponsored by Senator John F. Kennedy and was passed in response to union corruption scandals of the 1950’s.

Nathan Mehrens served as counsel to the Labor Department agency responsible for overseeing labor elections and ensuring that labor union member dues were not misused during the George W. Bush administration.

Mehrens is available for media interviews following his testimony. The testimony is available at:www.getliberty.org/files/NPMTestimonyHouseEduWorkforceHearing03-31-11.pdf.

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March 31st, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today praised Senate Republicans’ proposal for a Balanced Budget Amendment and urged speedy adoption before “a catastrophic default on the $14.2 trillion national debt and the collapse of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.”

“If something is not done to bring the nation’s fiscal house into order, soon the debt will become too large to even refinance, let alone be repaid,” Wilson wrote in his letter to U.S. Senators.

Senate Republicans present their amendment to the public at 3:30PM on Thursday.

Wilson noted that total interest payments on the debt were already spiraling out of control, reaching $413 billion in 2010 and rising to $430.4 billion in 2011. “Moody’s has warned that when interest owed on the debt reaches 18 to 20 percent of revenue, the nation’s gold-plated Triple-A credit rating will be downgraded. The trouble is that the Office of Management and Budget projects total interest owed for 2011 to be $430.4 billion, which is already 19.79 percent of the projected $2.174 trillion of revenue,” Wilson wrote.

“The total interest is a real obligation that requires real borrowing to meet, and cannot be readily discounted as revenue to the entitlement programs when it is in fact a liability to taxpayers,” Wilson warned, alluding to an accounting trick by the federal government to hide the nation’s total interest obligations by subtracting interest paid to the Social Security and Medicare trust funds from the total figure.

Wilson warned that the government was currently meeting its obligations by relying on the Federal Reserve to increase its U.S. debt holdings, which will rise to $1.5 trillion by June. Currently, the Fed is the largest lender to the U.S. in the world, more than China or Japan.

“Printing money to refinance the debt cannot continue for long without very severe consequences, including a potential collapse of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, hyperinflation, and a complete default on the nation’s obligations,” Wilson cautioned.

Wilson warned that American citizens may not be fully aware of the dangers posed by the spiraling increase of the debt. “The American people must be advised of these cataclysmic risks of inaction. There is a very dangerous misconception that the nation can just continue borrowing and printing money perpetually. It cannot. Nor will it long endure as the world’s foremost economic and military superpower if it tries to.”

Wilson continued, “Besides a failure to meet our fiscal obligations, a national default will mean that the U.S. will be unable to meet its security obligations around the world, destabilizing whole regions, and threatening national security.” He pointed to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, who has described the debt as the single biggest threat to national security.

ALG urged Senate Republicans to condition their support of an increase in the $14.294 trillion national debt ceiling to passage of the Balanced Budget Amendment, and to take their case directly to the American people. “If you will take a courageous stand to save this nation from certain ruin, the American people will surely stand with you,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:

ALG Letter to Senate Endorsing Balanced Budget Amendment, March 31st, 2011 atwww.getliberty.org/files/LetterBalancedBudget3-31-11.pdf.

Sen. Orrin Hatch Introduces A Balanced Budget Amendment, Video, Americans for Limited Government, March 31st, 2011 athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-hCiKDbxJk.

Senate Proposal to Balance the Budget, March 25th, 2011 at www.getliberty.org/files/BBA 032511.pdf.

One page fact sheet on Balanced Budget Amendment, March 25th, 2011 at www.getliberty.org/files/BBA One Pager 032511.pdf.

Soundbites:

Sen. Hatch on where American would be today if a balanced budget amendment would have passed in 1997:www.getliberty.org/files/hatch1_1-2.mp3

Sen. Hatch on the probability of passing his balanced budget amendment: www.getliberty.org/files/hatch2_1-2.mp3

Sen. Hatch on why Democrats should want to pass this amendment: www.getliberty.org/files/hatch3_1-2.mp3

Sen. Hatch has introduced a balanced budget amendment 26 times: www.getliberty.org/files/hatch4_1-2.mp3

Bill Wilson on the balanced budget amendment: www.getliberty.org/files/wilson on balanced budget_1-2.mp3

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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March 30th, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised Senator Marco Rubio for his “courageous stand” against increasing the $14.294 trillion federal debt ceiling.

Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Senator Rubio outlined his conditions for approving any increase in the ceiling, which will be hit between April 15th and May 31st according to U.S. Treasury estimates.

“I will vote to defeat an increase in the debt limit unless it is the last one we ever authorize and is accompanied by a plan for fundamental tax reform, an overhaul of our regulatory structure, a cut to discretionary spending, a balanced-budget amendment, and reforms to save Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” wrote Senator Rubio.

Wilson said Rubio’s conditions were “reasonable.” He explained, “Look, with a national debt that has already soared above $14 trillion that will become larger than the entire economy, soon the debt will become too large to even refinance, let alone ever be repaid.” By 2021, the Office of Management and Budget projects the national debt will soar to over $25 trillion.

“If Senate Republicans cannot use their leverage on the debt ceiling vote to achieve significant concessions, including a Balanced Budget Amendment, to turn the Ship of State around now, will assuredly sink into the Abyss in the not-so-distant future,” Wilson warned.

Currently, the $14.2 trillion national debt already stands at 95.5 percent of the nation’s $14.8 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Wilson said it was unclear at what percentage of debt-to-GDP that the debt becomes too large to refinance, but that “the warning signs are already there that we cannot even meet our current obligations honestly.”

“Right now, we’re currently meeting our financing obligations by having the Federal Reserve simply print money to buy debt. Anyone ever heard of the Weimar Republic? How’d that work out for them?” Wilson asked.

The Weimar Republic experienced hyperinflation in 1920’s as it attempted to print money to honor its war debts and reparations, destabilizing the country and leading directly to its fall.

Pimco reports that in 2009, 80 percent of treasuries were purchased by the Federal Reserve, and in 2010, it had to buy 70 percent, bringing its current U.S. debt holdings to $1.3 trillion. “The Fed is the largest lender to the U.S. government in the world, more than China or Japan. When the Fed ends QE2 in June, it will likely keep a high water mark of $1.5 trillion in treasuries holdings. That means it will still be buying U.S. debt to aid in refinancing,” Wilson explained.

“Republicans need to do a better job of explaining the fiscal catastrophe we face, and what will happen if the debt is allowed to become too large to even refinance,” Wilson noted.

“If the GOP cannot articulate what will happen to this country, specifically, if Congress fails to act and the debt soars to over $25 trillion in a decade, it will undercut their case for real fiscal reform,” Wilson explained. “Either the debt will become too large to service, or it can continue to grow forever with no danger. If members truly believe that indeed it can get too large, then Senate Republicans’ time to act is now.”

Wilson concluded, “This is not just about getting an up-or-down vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment. This is about actually making certain that the debt ceiling never needs to be increased again. Senator Rubio’s stand is an example all members should emulate. He’s trying to save his country before it’s too late, and we applaud him for that.”

Attachments:

ALG Praises Senate Republicans for Standing Tall on Debt Ceiling and Proposing Balanced Budget Amendment, March 25th, 2011.

Senate Proposal to Balance the Budget, March 25th, 2011 at www.getliberty.org/files/BBA 032511.pdf.

One page fact sheet on Balanced Budget Amendment, March 25th, 2011 at www.getliberty.org/files/BBA One Pager 032511.pdf.

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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March 25th, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising Senate Republicans for conditioning support of an increase in the $14.294 trillion debt ceiling to the passage of a balanced budget/spending limit/tax limit amendment:

“Senate Republicans today have taken the bold step of conditioning their support of an increase of the debt ceiling to the passage of a balanced budget amendment. This is precisely what the American people have been asking for, and it has not come a moment too soon. With a national debt soaring above $14 trillion that will soon be larger than the entire economy, soon the debt will become too large to even refinance, let alone ever be repaid.

“This is by far the best balanced budget proposal that has ever been offered. Reducing the share of government to 18 percent of GDP would be a huge first step.

“We praise Senate Republicans for keeping their word and offering a bold and innovative proposal to bring the nation’s fiscal house into order. We cannot afford to continue kicking the can on increasing the national debt, because the next time it is kicked, it may very well be off a cliff into fiscal insolvency. Now is the time to act.”

Attachments:

Senate Proposal to Balance the Budget, March 25th, 2011 at www.getliberty.org/files/BBA 032511.pdf.

One page fact sheet on Balanced Budget Amendment, March 25th, 2011 at www.getliberty.org/files/BBA One Pager 032511.pdf.

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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March 24th, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in support of Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) proposal to cap federal welfare spending at 2007 levels:

“Congressman Jordan’s proposal is a great step in the right direction to rein in so-called mandatory spending and reduce the $1.645 trillion budget deficit. Rolling back key portions of federal welfare spending back to 2007 levels could save $1.4 trillion over 10 years once fully implemented. The bill will also bring new levels of transparency to the budget process, and will require the Office of Management and Budget to provide 10-year totals of welfare spending at the federal, state, and local level.

“The House must act now to protect the very solvency of the nation. With a spiraling national debt of $14.1 trillion, which will soar to over $25 trillion by 2021, now is the time rein in federal welfare spending, before the debt becomes so large that it cannot be serviced. This is a good start.”

Attachments:

ALG Exclusive Video Interview with U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan on his Plan to Cap Welfare Spending, March 24th, 2011.

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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March 24th, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today demanded that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) give equal time for an advertisement urging that Congress defund public broadcasting.

“The debate over taxpayer funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has clearly reached a level where disparate opposing points of view should be allowed on stations that receive taxpayer dollars to fund programming,” Wilson wrote in his letter to the CPB.

The letter cites ads that have been run by the CPB: “Currently, television stations that receive taxpayer funds through the CPB, including WETA which broadcasts in the Washington, DC area, are posting a video clip on their website called ‘Let Congress Know How You Feel’ extolling the virtues of public broadcasting and encouraging viewers to contact their Congressmen.”

ALG has in turn requested equal air time, free of any cost, with a 30-second video, “ALG Wants You To Help Defund Public Broadcasting”.

Wilson noted that the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 requires that the CPB operate with a “strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.”

The letter concluded, “Public broadcasting advocates have loudly proclaimed that you provide a balanced voice for those who otherwise would not have their message heard, now it is time to prove it by running this 30-second piece that balances the position that you are already articulating.”

Attachments:

“ALG Wants You To Help Defund Public Broadcasting,” Video Ad, March 24th, 2011.

Letter to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, March 23rd, 2011.

Script of ALG ad for airing on public broadcasting, March 24th, 2011.

ALG Memo: “Why Public Broadcasting Stations Should Run Our Ad Free of Cost,” March 16th, 2011.

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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March 22nd, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising the New Hampshire House for passing legislation that would allow municipalities to enact tax and spending caps (HB 341) that had been overturned by the state’s Supreme Court:

“The New Hampshire House has acted appropriately to return control over municipal fiscal and budgetary matters where it properly belongs: with the municipalities. In 2008 and 2009, then-mayor of Manchester, Frank Guinta, now Congressman Guinta, spearheaded and fought to enact a strict caps on taxes and spending to an index of inflation for his city.

“Thanks to Guinta’s leadership, such laws have been enacted in a total of seven towns and cities in New Hampshire, until the Supreme Court intervened under specious grounds to block the municipalities from deciding what’s in their own charters. Now, the House bill offers an opportunity for the state’s elected representatives to right that wrong.

“The bill proceeds to the Senate for action and then to Governor John Lynch to sign. This must not be blocked. Members should pass the legislation and return authority to the citizens of New Hampshire to decide what limits they wish to place on their own governments. A vote against this bill is a vote against self-government.”

Attachments:

“The Conservative Conundrum,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, November 4th, 2009.

“A Fundamental Right to Limit Government,” by ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, November 21st, 2008.

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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March 21st, 2011, Fairfax, VA— Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised Bloomberg News’ victory at the Supreme Court today, and demanded the Federal Reserve comply with a court order to disclose the recipients of some $2 trillion of loans it made at the height of the financial crisis requested by Bloomberg News in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

“The Federal Reserve has exhausted all of its avenues of appeal, and now it must disclose who received over $2 trillion in secret emergency loans. The American people have a right to know the full extent of the Fed’s relationship with financial institutions, foreign banks, and foreign central banks really is,” Wilson said.

The central bank has thus far refused to comply with Bloomberg’s FOIA request despite a Southern District Court of New York order that the Federal Reserve Board of Governors comply with Bloomberg News’ Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to produce the details of some $2 trillion in emergency loans that were made. This includes who received the $2 trillion of loans, the terms under which they were received, and what collateral was taken by the Reserve branches in exchange for the loans.

The Fed had appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, but the court decided not to hear their appeal, according to Bloomberg News.

“Just because control over the nation’s monetary policy has been outsourced to essentially private financial institutions does not shield those institutions from public scrutiny,” Wilson said, concluding, “The banks’ resistance in this case to transparency reminds the American people of why Congress needs to regain control of those policies.”

Attachments:

ALG Blasts Fed Refusal to Comply With Court Ruling to Disclose $2 Trillion in Bailout Loans (August 24th, 2010)

ALG Urges Senate to Condition Bernanke Reappointment on Fed Compliance with Court Ruling (August 26th, 2009)

ALG Calls Upon House to Enact Fed Audit Bill (May 28th, 2009)

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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March 17th, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement responding to threats against Wisconsin business owners by public sector unions, including police and firefighters unions:

“In a thinly veiled threat to business owners that have supported Governor Scott Walker, police and firefighter unions imposed a March 17th deadline for those businesses to publicly denounce recently enacted legislation signed by Walker eliminating collective bargaining for health care and pension benefits paid for by taxpayers. If they refuse, the public sector unions have promised a boycott of those businesses. This is essentially ransom.

“When those tasked with protecting society are willing to publicly target individuals simply for their political beliefs, it is clear that this debate has headed into dangerous waters. Any public safety employee that engages in such activity should be fired.

“Taxpayers should not have to live in fear for demanding accountability and fiscal responsibility from the public sector, the expansion of which has drowned states like Wisconsin in a sea of red ink. Making threats complete with deadlines against businesses and individuals who believe that the public sector must be scaled back to avert a fiscal catastrophe likens these unions’ tactics to what one would expect from gangsters or terrorists.”

Attachments:

Letter from Wisconsin Public Sector Unions to Wisconsin Businesses, March 10th, 2011 at http://radioviceonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/union-wisconsin-letter.pdf.

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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March 15th, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement urging Senate Republicans to filibuster the nomination of Susan Carney for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals:

“Serious questions have been raised about Susan Carney’s lack of integrity during her tenure at Yale University as Deputy General Counsel. When it was revealed that a Dongguk University professor, Shin Jeong-ah, had not received a doctorate degree from Yale, Carney allegedly engaged in a cover-up to prevent information from surfacing showing that Yale had confirmed to Dongguk that Shin was indeed a Yale graduate, as revealed by court documents filed by Dongguk.

“Carney said the confirmation fax sent by Yale was ‘not authentic,’ even though it was. She didn’t even competently investigate Dongguk’s claim until the U.S. Justice Department issued a subpoena, and failed to even attempt to verify the authenticity of the fax, according to the plaintiffs. Then Yale drug its feet before Carney finally admitted what she learned from the investigation, saying that she had ‘inadvertently provided one piece of incorrect information.’

“Dongguk has sued Yale for $50 million in damages caused by the scandal, which they say would have been mitigated if Yale had simply admitted its error up front. While Carney was publicly denying Dongguk’s factual assertions in the scandal, her internal memorandum indicates that she advised that the assertions may be true.

“Carney’s dishonorable willful disregard for the truth and promotion of a falsehood disqualifies her from consideration to a lifetime appointment to the second highest court in the land. Someone in her position of responsibility should not have acted so irresponsibly. She flatly denied the authenticity of a document while privately confirming that it may be authentic, and later being forced to admit the error. For anyone else, Carney’s reckless actions would have warranted being fired.

“Senate Republicans should do all in their power not to allow the Carney nomination to go through unchallenged. We urge all Senators to block Carney, including placing legislative holds on her nomination, which would require she receive 60 votes in order for her nomination to move forward. The Senate is under no obligation to support Carney, whose ethical lapses and incompetence in this scandal cannot be overlooked.”

Attachments:

Susan Carney Nominee Alert, Americans for Limited Government Research Foundation, March 2011 atwww.getliberty.org/files/SusanCarneyNomineeAlert.pdf.

Dongguk v. Yale, Plaintiff’s Docket Complaint, March 24th, 2008 at http://washingtonalert.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DonggukvYaleDocketcomplaint1.pdf.

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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