Archives for July 2013

ALG blasts Senate for paving way for new ATF director

July 31, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement reacting to the U.S. Senate invoking cloture on the nomination of Byron Todd Jones to be the next director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms:

“The Senate should not confirm any nominee that has an open investigation by the Office of Special Counsel complaint for whistleblower retaliation. If the allegations are true, Jones fits right in with the Obama Administration. This is the same administration that slow walks Freedom of Information Act requests, targets news reporters with sweeping search warrants and baseless charges of espionage, and throws the books at whistleblowers exposing the government for what it is. But that does not mean the U.S. Senate needs to be a party to it.

“Jones should have been made the poster child for the most opaque administration since Richard Nixon. Jones should have been delayed in committee until the whistleblower retaliation investigation was concluded. Senate Democrats think they can get anyone confirmed now ever since Senate Republicans took the filibuster off the table against executive nominees. Already we can see what a mistake that was. Republicans had the votes to defeat Jones and then Sen. Lisa Murkowski switched her vote at the last minute to honor the ‘no filibuster’ rule. Advice and consent is dead. Jones is only the beginning of the rubber stamp Senate.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (202) 744-4427 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Senate rubber stamps Obama nominees

July 30, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement reacting to the impending confirmation of two Obama nominees to the National Labor Relations Board:

“The rubber stamping of two nominees to the National Labor Relations Board without even a semblance of basic Senatorial vetting, signifies the damage done by Senator John McCain and his Republican followers who gave away the threat of filibustering nominees.

The Senate’s new “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” confirmation approach is a disgrace to the institution and a disservice to the people who elected Senators to perform their basic constitutional duties.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (202) 744-4427 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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House votes to uphold NSA domestic spying on every American

Search and seizure heroes and zeroes

July 25, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement on the defeat of the Amash amendment that would have defunded the NSA domestic spying program in the House of Representatives:

“The NSA domestic surveillance program on every American was very nearly defunded in a narrow vote in the House, with a mere seven vote swing deciding its fate. Despite the disappointing outcome, the narrow margin is very good news for the American people, for now they have a political problem that can be dealt with via elections.

“The 205 representatives of both parties that voted to stop the spying program voted to uphold the Fourth Amendment and the original intent of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which never authorized blanket, suspicionless surveillance of every single American.

“The 217 representatives who voted to defeat the Amash amendment have upheld the indiscriminate collection of phone and email records on everyone — just in case intelligence agencies might need that information later. This was a vote against the Fourth Amendment that protects against unreasonable searches and requires that warrants only issue but upon probable cause. To suggest the American people have no reasonable expectation of privacy in their phone and digital records against searches when no crime has been committed is to suggest that the Fourth Amendment no longer applies.

“The fact is, the government’s interpretation of Section 215 of the Patriot Act does something that has never been done before — which is assert that because you might commit a crime or engage in terrorism, you can be subjected to a search. Every case of searches of third party vendors’ phone and bank records were all relevant to investigations into specific persons regarding specific crimes. These are just general warrants searching everything and everyone. Every member who voted in favor of the surveillance state being built must now explain to their constituents what other freedoms they’re willing to sacrifice on this altar of false security.”

Attachments:

Yeas and Noes on Amash amendment by party, by state, The Associated Press, July 24, 2013 at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/24/amash-amendment-roll-call-vote_n_3648737.html

“Amash loses battle but could still win the war on domestic surveillance,” By ALG senior editor Robert Romano, July 25, 2013 at http://netrightdaily.com/2013/07/amash-loses-battle-but-could-still-win-the-war-on-domestic-surveillance/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (202) 744-4427 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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ALG urges House to adopt Amash amendment defunding domestic surveillance program

July 23, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging members of the House of Representatives to adopt an amendment offered by Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash to the 2014 Defense Appropriations Act that would defund FBI and NSA domestic surveillance to collect communications data “if such things do not pertain to a person who is the subject of an investigation”:

“The amendment offered by Amash will defund domestic surveillance under the Patriot Act. We urge its adoption by House members of both political parties. Nobody’s records should be collected unless there is specific investigation into that person taking place for crimes that have been committed and a lawful warrant has been issued by a judge upon probable cause.

“It is time that members of Congress weigh in on and reject this ubiquitous surveillance state that is being built. For more than ten years, this program has operated in secret without any explicit congressional authorization. After top secret court orders revealed that the FBI and NSA were collecting intelligence broadly on every single person in the country, many members of Congress claimed they had no idea just how pervasive the surveillance really was. This is information about everyone, not just those who are suspected of crimes. That is not what the Fourth Amendment says.

“Now members have an opportunity to rein this in before it is too late. They can no longer hide behind the veil of secrecy. This is an up or down vote on whether Congress will allow the FBI and NSA to operate an omniscient secret police or not. The American people cannot afford for members to get this one wrong. No less than the liberty of every single American is at stake.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (202) 744-4427 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Detroit bankruptcy wakeup call for all Americans

July 22, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement responding to the bankruptcy of Detroit, Mich.:

“Detroit’s bankruptcy should serve as a wakeup call for all Americans.  The motor city’s failure is conclusive evidence that our nation cannot continue to take for granted that we will remain the wealthiest nation in the world.  The Obama Administration plus many state and local governments continue to assume that they can engage in a full-fledged assault on our nation’s job and real energy producers using both the tax code and environmental regulations, meanwhile creating an almost $3 trillion unfunded pension liability. It is nothing more than a pathway to disaster.

“Hopefully, Detroit’s example will cause Americans to reject the pervasive attitude in the Obama Administration and at the state and local level that the free enterprise goose that has laid the American golden egg cannot be killed no matter how many lead weights are put around its neck.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at (202) 744-4427 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Study: A Third Way on Sugar Policy

SugarPolicy

July 18, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government Foundation released “The Case for a Zero for Zero Sugar Policy in the United States” by Dr. Mark Hartley of the College of Charleston examining the much debated and highly controversial United States sugar policy.

Dr. Hartley, a Professor of Business and Carolina/Virginia Chair in Supply Management School of Business, finds common ground in the arguments of both proponents and opponents of current policy around free market arguments writing, “Both sides have publicly embraced the concept of a free market.  A true free market could eliminate U.S. protectionist policies, thus helping consumers, and ensure a strong domestic supply for years to come.  Both sides believe that subsidies are detrimental to the sugar trade market.  And certainly both sides agree that domestic production is important to ensuring food safety and high quality standards.”

Richard Manning, Vice President of Public Policy and Communications for Americans for Limited Government Foundation, notes, “the contentious debate has always centered on how to achieve a true free market ideal, and Dr. Hartley threads that needle in this just released paper.” Hartley identifies the “zero for zero” sugar policy model as the “true free market approach.”

Championed by U.S. Congressman Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), under zero for zero U.S. officials would push for zero subsidies abroad while using the promise of zero subsidies at home as incentive.  The proposal would lift restrictions and tariffs uniformly between all nations that produce sugar in the global market.

Hartley concludes that, “As proposed, a zero for zero sugar policy would lift restrictions and tariffs on trade between all players in the global sugar market and would target market-distorting policies, including direct and indirect subsidies.”

However, the zero for zero solution is not easily accomplished, with more than 100 sugar producing countries worldwide with 100 different sugar policies.

Anticipating this dilemma, Hartley points to the World Trade Organization as the only place where the world’s varying trade/subsidy sugar policies can be brought to heel.

With Brazil now controlling more than half of the world’s sugar export market, Hartley notes Brazilian dominance in the market is through, “essentially complete government subsidization, any worldwide free market approach to sugar policy must include their participation.”

In fact, Brazil’s latest federal budget includes higher subsidies for their sugar industry than last year.

Hartley recognizes this reality concluding that, “The WTO is unquestionably the only entity that can deal with all sugar subsidies in all countries at the same time.  And if Brazil or other top producers refuse to participate via WTO pressure, the existing tariffs on foreign subsidized sugar imported to the U.S. market should remain in place, although this option is clearly not the preferred approach.”

Dr. Mark Hartley has published over 100 articles covering a wide variety of topics focusing on business operations in refereed academic journals, conference proceedings and professional trade publications, and is a frequent speaker and contributor to groups such as the Institute for Supply Management and the Decision Sciences Institute. He is a Member of the South Carolina Procurement Review Panel, served on the Governor’s Commission on Management, Accountability, and Performance (MAP Commission), and later as Chairman of Charleston County’s MAP Commission.

Interviews with Dr. Hartley or an Americans for Limited Government expert on the subject can be arranged through the Americans for Limited Government press office.

Attachments:

“The Case for a Zero for Zero Sugar Policy in the United States,” Dr. Mark Hartley, Americans for Limited Government Foundation, July 2013 at http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Zero-for-Zero-Sugar-Policy-718.pdf

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government press office at (202) 744-4427 or at media@algnews.org to arrange an interview with Dr. Hartley or an Americans for Limited Government expert on the subject.

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Rogue Republican Senators cave on filibuster of Cordray, McCarthy, Perez and future NLRB nominees

July 16, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement in response to a limited number of Senate Republicans agreeing to invoke cloture on Obama nominee for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Richard Cordray, Gina McCarthy for the Environmental Protection Agency, Thomas Perez for the Labor Department and not to block future Obama nominees to the National Labor Relations Board:

“These rogue Republican senators have supposedly ‘saved’ the filibuster — by apparently promising never to use it again on executive nominees.

“They even apparently agreed not to block nominees to the National Labor Relations Board who have not even been nominated yet nor faced a single committee hearing. They have handed President Obama absolute discretion over his next nominees to the National Labor Relations Board. This appears to be carte blanche for Obama to nominate the most radical members he can find.

“The filibuster on executive nominees has been eliminated in all but name only. That is, until Democrats again find themselves in the minority. Then suddenly it will be a legitimate vehicle to block ‘radical’ nominees. This is the type of compromise only Washington, D.C. could produce, where Democrats threaten to eliminate the filibuster on executive nominees unless Republicans promise not to use it.

“What exactly were these Republicans ‘saving’? They might as well have just changed the rules if they never intend to invoke them to block radical nominees.”

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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ALG urges passage of ‘Defund Obamacare Act’

July 11, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today urged passage of legislation by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the “Defund Obamacare Act,” and urged the House of Representatives to adopt similar language and attach it to a must-pass continuing resolution:

“The Cruz bill can be distinguished from other proposed ‘defunding’ efforts that merely target agency budgets but leave untouched insurance subsidies under the state exchanges, Medicaid expansion and other ‘mandatory’ entitlement spending required under the law. It acknowledges that changes to the law are necessary outside the appropriations process in order to actually defund it. Senator Cruz is to be applauded for this effort.

“The House of Representatives should adopt similar language and attach it to the must-pass continuing resolution this September to force a showdown on the issue. If the Obama Administration believes it can arbitrarily delay the employer mandate for a year, then the House should force an immediate debate on whether the rest of the bill should be funded as well. If Republicans are committed to stopping Obamacare before it takes effect in 2014, this may be their last chance.”

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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Senate Republicans should not be intimidated from filibustering nominees

July 9, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) not to be intimidated by Senate Democrat threats to repeal the filibuster from Senate Rule XXII:

“Senate Republicans must not be intimidated from asserting their rights as the minority party in the Senate. Rule XXII is very clear that it takes 67 votes to amend Senate rules. Any change to rules by a simple majority would clearly violate standing rules and break almost a century of precedent. Senate Democrats should also be warned that if they do repeal the filibuster in this manner, it will be for all time. When, not if, Democrats again find themselves in the minority, this will be used against them.

“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell should not be fearful of using the filibuster against nominees like Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Thomas Perez to head the Labor Department, or Obama’s nominees for the National Labor Relations Board. This is nothing more than an idle threat by the Senate majority to bully Republicans into allowing the Senate to become little more than a rubber stamp for nominees.”

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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Private sector adds 202,000 jobs even as sequester reduces government jobs

July 5, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement responding to the latest job numbers:

“Today’s unemployment report is clear proof that doomsayers who predicted that the federal government spending cuts contained in the sequester would harm economic growth were spectacularly wrong.

“The report shows that the private sector gained 202,000 jobs, and taxpayer funded employment continues to fall.  This is great news, and an affirmation that the size and scope of government has been a drag on economic growth.

“Even with this good news, it is clear that business hiring is still in a wait and see mode as employment increases largely centered on temporary workforce hiring.

“Private sector hiring is clearly still in a wait and see mode with Obamacare implementation and a promised regulatory explosion slowing job opportunity creation.

“It cannot be lost that the damage done by Obama’s $14 trillion four year spending spree is not easily fixed.  It is unacceptable that after all the promises, deficit spending, and massive Federal Reserve money printing, the unemployment rate remains at 7.6 percent, with 16.9 million Americans either unemployed or underemployed.

“These 16.9 million who have been left on the sidelines of economic recovery need Congress to act aggressively in defunding those agencies that are killing jobs through Obama’s misguided regulatory agenda.

“This is a battle worth fighting, because every American deserves a shot at the American dream, and no one should be robbed of hope by the job destroying Obama regulatory state.”

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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