Archives for May 2013

Brewer holds up religious freedom bill until Medicaid expansion is adopted

May 30, 2013

May 30, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement condemning Arizona Governor Jan Brewer for vetoing legislation protecting religious freedoms in lieu of the Arizona House voting to expand Medicaid under the new health care law:

“Governor Brewer’s complicity in implementing Obamacare will not be forgotten. She is holding back legislation that passed overwhelmingly protecting religious freedoms to get her way on expanding Medicaid. To hold First Amendment rights hostage unless Obamacare is implemented is a betrayal to Arizonans who have consistently voted against politicians that support the health care law going into effect. Religious liberty is not a bargaining chip; it is the very foundation of the First Amendment.

“Medicaid expansion in Arizona will cost taxpayers across the country $2.1 billion through 2019 and add more than 100,000 to government health care rolls. Brewer joins other Republican governors in Ohio, Florida, New Jersey, Virginia, and Michigan who have similarly opened the door to implementing Obamacare.

“If Republicans offer these types of ‘alternatives’ to voters — where both parties favor expanding government dependency — why should their base support them? Sadly, the Arizona Senate has failed in its duties to stop Obamacare, leaving it up to the Arizona House not to give in to this blackmail.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 103 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

IRS rules already clear on 501(c)(4) political activity

May 17, 2013

May 17, 2013, Fairfax, VA—In testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, outgoing Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Steven Miller suggested that the targeting of tea party and other groups was in part caused by Congress’ failure to provide “clear rules” on what constitutes political activity.

“With respect to political activity, it would be a wonderful thing to get better rules,” Miller said, stating the rules needed to be “more clear.”

But those rules are already clear, Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens noted.

“IRS rules already stipulate that political activity is electioneering, that is, express advocacy for or against a candidate standing for public office and direct contributions to candidates or candidate committees. And it is already clear based on IRS rules that 501(c)(4) organizations are allowed to engage in a limited amount of political activity provided it does not constitute a majority of its activity, plus an unlimited amount of lobbying and issues advocacy, that is, advocacy in favor or against legislation or regulations or court rulings, provided that it furthers its tax-exempt function,” Mehrens stated.

“Miller may not agree with those rules, but to suggest they are not clear is incorrect,” Mehrens explained.

Miller explained the targeting: “What happened here was someone saw some tea party cases come through. They were acknowledging that they were going to be engaged in politics. This was the timeframe in 2010 when Citizens United was out. There was a lot of discussion in the system about the use of [501](c)(4)s.”

Except, Citizens United clarified that organizations are allowed to engage in politics, Mehrens explained. “If anything, Citizens United made things more clear, not less. The Supreme Court simplified the rules and stated that organizations have a First Amendment right to engage in political activity, period.”

Miller continued in his testimony, explaining the process for centralizing these cases: “People in Cincinnati decided let’s start grouping these cases, let’s centralize these cases.” This meant quarantining the applications and sending them to Exempt Organizations (EO) Technical, based in Washington, D.C. for special scrutiny.

“The way they centralized it, troublesome. The concept of centralization, not,” Miller said, suggesting that targeting political activity of groups was permissible. Elsewhere in testimony, he agreed that the agency was targeting political activity: “the litmus test if anything was political activity.”

Mehrens blasted the practice, “The IRS processes thousands of tax-exempt applications a year that engage in issues advocacy, lobbying, and yes, political activity without any hassle or special scrutiny. They are allowed by law to engage in these activities. Yet, these tea party cases were selected for special scrutiny. This created inconsistency in the processing of applications, when the revenue procedures state that centralization is supposed to establish uniformity. Liberal groups doing the same thing as tea party groups were not centralized.”

But, even if liberal groups had been targeted too would not have helped, Mehrens added, “Targeting organizations for special scrutiny on the belief that they might exercise their First Amendment protected rights to engage in political activity in is an egregious violation of the freedom of speech. If it had been done consistently for groups of all stripes would not have made it better.”

Miller suggested the practice was “not illegal,” but Mehrens said, “Of course it was illegal. These actions violated the First Amendment to the Constitution which is the ‘supreme Law of the Land’.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 103 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With:

Obama fails to nominate IG watchdogs

May 15, 2013

May 15, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government Vice President for Public Policy and Communications Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting the White House for failing to nominate individuals to serve as six inspectors general for the Departments of Defense, Labor, State, Homeland Security, and Interior, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID):

“As today’s Treasury inspector general report on the IRS shows, having a Senate-confirmed inspector general is of critical importance to holding any administration accountable for malfeasance. Yet, the Obama Administration has chosen not to fill six critical positions that could protect the interests of the public against IRS-like intrusions.

“The only reason the IRS admitted targeting conservative groups with improper and intrusive scrutiny after 3 years is because they knew the inspector general report was due to be released. If not for the IG, this targeting would likely continue and be expanded without fear of exposure. Yet, Obama, who claims to run the most transparent administration in history, has deliberately shunned the responsibility of appointing these government watchdogs.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 103 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

Holder should appoint independent, special counsel on IRS scandal

May 14, 2013

May 14, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Attorney General Eric Holder says the Department of Justice has launched a criminal probe into whether tea party and other groups were improperly targeted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens earlier today in a letter urged Senate leaders to demand Holder appoint a special counsel to investigate the matter, noting that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus in Sept. 2010 had called for the IRS to investigate 501(c) non-profit political organizations.

“Just as the Senate majority cannot be trusted to investigate its own complicity in this affair, neither can the Obama Administration,” Mehrens wrote.

“The only role the scandal-plagued Justice Department should play in investigating the IRS abuse case is by Attorney General Holder appointing a special counsel to ensure that politics do not obscure the facts, and that investigators can follow those facts wherever they may lead,” ALG vice president of public policy and communications Rick Manning stated.

Under current law, only the Attorney General can appoint a special counsel.

Attachments:

“Senate Democrats ordered IRS in 2010 to investigate 501(c) groups, letter shows,” Americans for Limited Government, May 14, 2013 at http://getliberty.org/senate-democrats-ordered-irs-in-2010-to-investigate-501c-groups-letter-shows/

Americans for Limited Government letter to Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, May 14, 2013 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/IRSScandalLetter-5-14-13.pdf

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 103 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With:

Senate Democrats ordered IRS in 2010 to investigate 501(c) groups, letter shows

May 14, 2013

ALG calls for special counsel to be appointed to prosecute case

May 14, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) in a 2010 letter requested that then-Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Douglas Shulman deeply investigate 501(c) non-profit political organizations.

The letter called on Shulman to “survey major 501(c)(4), (c)(5) and (c)(6) organizations involved in political campaign activity to examine whether they are operated for the organization’s intended tax exempt purpose and to ensure that political campaign activity is not the organization’s primary activity” and to “to determine whether they are acting as conduits for major donors advancing their own private interests regarding legislation or political campaigns, or are providing major donors with excess benefits.”

In his own letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens noted, “Considering the invasive questions the IRS was asking the targeted organizations, it appears that Sen. Baucus got exactly what he asked for, which was a witch-hunt.”

Baucus’ letter also instructed Shulman that “Possible violation of tax laws should be identified as you conduct this study. Please report back to the Finance Committee as soon as possible with your findings and recommended actions regarding this matter.”

Baucus specifically referenced a Sept. 16, 2010 Time article, “The New GOP Money Stampede” reporting that “Democrats fear [what] could be a $300 million Republican spending blitz this year.” The story detailed allegations that local tea party groups were actually “shadow Republican groups formed by longtime party officials.” The article referenced the tea party, but also American Crossroads, American Action Network, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as forming a wider campaign front for the 2010 Republican election campaign effort, financed “in the form of secret undisclosed contributions.”

Baucus also referenced “a group transforming itself into a non-profit under 501(c)(4) of the tax code,” ensuring, as the Time article put it, that the group would “not have to publicly disclose any information about its donors.” That “group” Baucus referenced was actually Crossroads GPS.

“The Time article Baucus so prominently referenced was all about the financing of Republican election efforts and right of center political and advocacy organizations,” Mehrens noted in his letter, adding, “It did not scrutinize any left-wing groups. Nor did Baucus include in his letter to Shulman any footnotes to articles that detailed Democrat campaign activities or left of center groups. The implicit task was to investigate the political right from start to finish. And that’s exactly what the IRS did.”

Yesterday, Baucus issued a statement suggesting “Targeting groups based on their political views is not only inappropriate but it is intolerable, promising a “full investigation into this matter by the Senate Finance Committee.”

But that is not possible, Mehrens said, considering Baucus’ letter to Shulman. “Senate Democrats were complicit in the IRS scandal targeting the tea party and other groups, per Baucus’ explicit letter to Shulman. The Senate majority must therefore recuse itself from any ensuing investigation in order to ensure that the public’s trust in the inquiry’s findings is not tainted.”

The only good option, Mehrens wrote, was for Senate leaders to call on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special counsel to prosecute the case. “Just as the Senate majority cannot be trusted to investigate its own complicity in this affair, neither can the Obama Administration.”

He concluded, “These targeted attacks by the IRS were not about restoring ‘transparency’ to our political process, they were a part of a brazen partisan assault using the instrumentalities of the state to harass political opponents and stifle dissent to achieve a partisan end. It is beyond Nixonian in its flagrant disregard for the rule of law. Only a special counsel can get to the bottom of this.”

Mehrens joined others, including the Republican Governors Association, who today also demanded a special prosecutor be appointed.

Attachments:

Americans for Limited Government letter to Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, May 14, 2013 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/IRSScandalLetter-5-14-13.pdf

Letter from Sen. Max Baucus to then-IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, Sept. 28, 2010 at http://www.politico.com/static/PPM176_100929_irs.html

“The New GOP Money Stampede,” by Michael Crowley, Time Magazine, Sept. 16, 2010 at http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2019611,00.html

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 103 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With: ,

ALG demands congressional investigation into IRS targeting of tea party

May 13, 2013

May 13, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging Congress to investigate the Internal Revenue Service’s admission that it was targeting groups for audits on the basis of their tea party affiliation:

“The use of the nation’s tax agency to target groups for audit and review on the basis of political leanings is an egregious abuse of power. This is beyond Nixonian in its flagrant disregard for the rule of law as it was intended to stifle dissent, and now there must be accountability. We know the Democrat-controlled Senate will not be bothered to inquire what happened, but the House of Representatives can and should use its power to subpoena witnesses to get to the bottom of this scandal. Our laws either apply equally to all citizens and citizen groups regardless of political leanings, or we have become nothing more than a banana republic.”

Attachments:

“IRS Admits to Targeting Conservative Groups Like the Richmond Tea Party,” By Willie Deutsch, May 11, 2013 at http://netrightdaily.com/2013/05/irs-admits-to-targeting-conservative-groups-like-the-richmond-tea-party/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 103 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

Nathan Mehrens announced as new Americans for Limited Government president

May 13, 2013

May 13, 2013, Fairfax,VA—Americans for Limited Government introduced Nathan Mehrens as the new president of the government watchdog group.

Mehrens who served as ALG’s General Counsel overseeing an extensive government oversight operation succeeds Bill Wilson who will maintain a strategic role in the organization as a member of the Board of Directors.

“Bill has left some big shoes to fill, and I look forward to meeting the challenges posed by an Obama Administration determined to expand the size and scope of government using regulation, executive orders, failing to defend existing law against legal attacks by the left, and legislative actions at all levels of government.

“Americans for Limited Government is needed more today than at any time in history.”

Mehrens has led the investigatory team that received international attention with the revelation that EPA Administrator nominee had approved the use of an automobile air conditioning coolant that has been called a “killer refrigerant” by Green Party leaders in Germany.

Additionally, the government accountability project that he has led broke the story that the Veteran’s Administration currently employs more than 250 full time employees who do not work for the government, instead spending all of their time working for various public employee unions.

Mehrens has previously served in management, legal, and policy positions with several advocacy organizations and the federal government.

Wilson enthusiastically endorsed Mehrens’ selection stating, “Nathan is an extraordinary individual who will take Americans for Limited Government to the next level as a leader in exposing the damage being done to our nation by the ever-expanding government monolith.”

The change takes effect today.

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 103 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

FDA opens door for caffeine age restrictions

May 10, 2013

May 10, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government General Counsel Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement in response to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcement that “the agency will investigate the safety of caffeine in food products, particularly its effects on children and adolescents”:

“The federal government has absolutely no role, none, in governing age restrictions on purchasing products. Everything from drinking ages, smoking ages, to voting ages and drivers’ licenses are all handled at the state level. Why suddenly investigate caffeine’s effects now after more than fifty years of inclusion in American food and beverage products? We suppose the agency has already made up its mind on this issue, so in the not so distant future, we should all be prepared to be carded at Starbucks.

“The FDA is the perfect example of an agency that is ever encroaching on the choices — the liberty — of consumers in the market place to determine what they wish to consume. It’s a mindset. When it’s not caffeine, it’s sugar, it’s sugar substitutes, it’s the size of beverages, it’s menthol in cigarettes, it’s harm reduction in cigarettes. It never ends with the nanny state.

“These unelected bureaucrats operate with no consent of the governed, yet they believe they can make us better. That if choices are restricted, better outcomes will be produced. It is a self-appointed mandate to ‘improve’ upon the human condition by restricting choices such that the only ones that remain available are highly confined, government-approved choices. In this ever-expanding mandate, agencies like the FDA will eventually come to regulate every aspect of life.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG General Counsel Nathan Mehrens, also a former Labor Department appointee.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG praises eight Senate Republicans for boycotting ‘exploding car’ McCarthy committee confirmation vote

May 9, 2013

Obama nominee approved the use of a dangerous, combustible refrigerant to “save” the environment.

May 9, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government General Counsel Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement praising eight Republican members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Senators David Vitter, James Inhofe, John Barrasso, Jeff Sessions, Mike Crapo, Roger Wicker, John Boozman, and Deb Fischer for boycotting a confirmation hearing on Obama nominee Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

“Gina McCarthy in her capacity at the EPA the Office of Air and Radiation approved the use of DuPont’s R1234yf air conditioning refrigerant in U.S. vehicles, ignoring a massive European recall by Daimler Benz when the product caught fire in testing scenarios.

“Supposedly, this new refrigerant would cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, but even if that were true, the cost should not be endangering the lives of American families. Serving a questionable, radical environmentalist agenda should never come before protecting the health and safety of American citizens, including our children.

“We urge these eight members not only to boycott committee confirmation votes on McCarthy, but to wage a full filibuster and ensure she is never confirmed. Further, given Obama’s State of the Union threat to continue to pursue unilateral executive actions in lieu of climate change legislation — including regulating carbon dioxide and water as pollutants under the Clean Air and Water Acts — no nominee to the EPA should be confirmed until this rogue agency is reined in.”

Attachments:

Video of R1234yf exploding in Daimler Benz test, AutoBild.TV at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-PvUouMrH4&feature=youtu.be

“EPA nominee to get tough questions about why she approved new car air-conditioning refrigerant that caused ENGINE FIRES in Mercedes-Benz tests,” UK Daily Mail, April 10, 2013 at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2307265/EPA-nominee-tough-questions-approved-new-car-air-conditioner-refrigerant-caused-ENGINE-FIRES-Mercedes-Benz-tests.html

“McCarthy EPA Administrator nomination rejection urged,” Americans for Limited Government, March 4, 2013 at http://getliberty.org/mccarthy-epa-administrator-nomination-rejection-urged/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG General Counsel Nathan Mehrens, also a former Labor Department appointee.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG urges McConnell filibuster to stop Obama Labor pick Perez

May 8, 2013

May 8, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government General Counsel Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to wage a filibuster against Obama’s choice to head the Labor Department, Thomas Perez:

“It is encouraging that Senator McConnell has weighed in so heavily in opposition to Mr. Perez’ nomination saying in a release today that Perez is a ‘committed ideologue who appears willing, quite frankly, to say or do anything to achieve his ideological ends. His willingness, time and again, to bend or ignore the law and to misstate the facts in order to advance his far-left ideology lead me and others to conclude that he’d continue to do so if he were confirmed to another, and much more consequential, position of public trust.’ We agree.

“There is simply no place in any Administration for a Cabinet official who has demonstrated total disregard for both the law and the Congress.  Americans for Limited Government thanks Senator McConnell for his strong statement and urges him to use all the powers of his office including the filibuster, if necessary, to lead the Senate in rejecting Thomas Perez as the next Secretary of Labor.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (703) 383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG General Counsel Nathan Mehrens, also a former Labor Department appointee.

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Filed Under: Press Releases
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