Archives for April 2014

April 24, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement responding to a Washington Post report that the acting Inspector General at the Department of Homeland security delayed and withheld information damaging to the Obama administration:

“Today’s revelation in the Washington Post that the acting Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security delayed and withheld information that was damaging to the Obama administration confirms our worst fears that the President’s failure to fill IG positions damages the integrity of this important public watchdog function.  The Inspector General of a Department is charged with protecting the public from government corruption, misspending and malfeasance independently of the political appointees who run the Department or Agency that they oversee.

“The fact that Obama Administration officials even dared to try to pressure an acting IG to skew his report shows a contempt for the watchdog process that is unparalleled.  Congress needs to immediately eliminate the salary and pension for the acting IG who violated his public trust, and learn who in the Administration pressured this supposedly independent corruption investigator to violate his public trust.  Whoever is involved in this manipulation of three separate IG reports should be immediately called to testify to learn if they were directed to do so by other political appointees.

“This report goes to the heart of the public’s right to have an independent watchdog protecting them from abuse, and is why Americans for Limited Government has repeatedly called for the appointment of permanent IGs across the Administration.  Currently, there are eight Inspectors General’s offices that are being led by acting officials who, as was the case in the Department of Homeland Security, are subject to the additional pressure of seeking to please those they are overseeing as they seek appointment to the permanent position.  Here is the list:  http://www.ignet.gov/igs/homepage1.html ”

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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April 17, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement again urging Kansas Republican Governor Sam Brownback to sign the health care compact to protect Kansan seniors:

“Under the current Obamacare law, seniors across the nation will feel the brunt of an upcoming $700 billion cut in Medicare.  Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has the opportunity to sign the Health Care Compact that is on his desk that will enable Kansas to determine how best to spend the allotted Medicare funds.  Scare tactics by AARP fronting for its marketing partner United HealthCare notwithstanding, failure to enact the law by the Governor will consign Kansas’ seniors to the catastrophic impact of the Obamacare cuts to senior health care.

“Americans for Limited Government strongly urges Governor Brownback to sign the Kansas Health Care Compact legislation that is on his desk. It is the only way to help protect seniors from the devastating impact of Washington, D.C.-directed cuts by giving local control back to the people of Kansas via their elected state representatives.”

Attachments:

House Bill 2553 at http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2553_00_0000.pdf

H.J. Res 110, Feb. 11, 2014 at http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th/house-joint-resolution/110/text?q={%22search%22:[%22h%20j%20res%20110%22]}

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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April 16, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging Kansas Republican Governor Sam Brownback to sign legislation joining an interstate compact to allow states to regulate health care on their own without federal interference:

“Should the people of Kansas wish to opt out of federal administration of health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and the insurance exchanges, they should be allowed to. The health care compact will restore control over health care to the states that choose to adopt the compact.

“Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger’s erroneous statement that the bill offers no clear plan for how the compact might be administered ignores what the bill actually does, which is allow states to administer federal health programs the way they see fit. By opting into the compact, once adopted by Congress, it will empower Kansas to administer federal funds for health programs. It’s really as simple as that. It would be up to the state legislature to work out the details.

 “Governor Brownback should sign this bill immediately. To veto it would be to cede to federal control over health care, and to accept that Obamacare is here to stay.”

Attachments:

House Bill 2553 at http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2553_00_0000.pdf

H.J. Res 110, Feb. 11, 2014 at http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th/house-joint-resolution/110/text?q={%22search%22:[%22h%20j%20res%20110%22]}

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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April 10, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement commenting on the resignation Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius:

“Secretary Sebelius’ resignation is far overdue.  She has failed to play it straight with the American public or Congress wasting untold sums of money on a website that will probably never work failing her most basic managerial responsibilities.  Under her tenure millions of hard-working Americans have lost their health insurance coverage, in many cases due to regulations promulgated at her direction, and she has stonewalled attempts by Congress to provide adequate oversight over her Department.

“As the failures of Obamacare have become more and more evident, this is but the first step that needs to occur. Next, Obamacare must be fully repealed.”

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

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April 2, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement praising a Supreme Court decision to strike down aggregate donation limits that in 2012 disallowed more than $117,000 in donations to candidates and party committees every two years:

“While the court’s ruling did not strike down the base donation limits, it is a step in the right direction to removing restrictions on campaign donations that strike at the heart of First Amendment protections of political speech. The maximum gift total has in the past denied late blooming candidates from access to the finances necessary to maximize their chances of victory because donors were already maxed out. But more importantly, aggregate limits most certainly restrict how much speech occurs in federal election campaigns by and thus cannot squared with First Amendment protections.”

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

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April 1, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President and Missouri native Nathan Mehrens today in the following statement urged passage of right to work bill HB 1770:

“Legislators must not be intimidated by those who would see right to work defeated. Now is the time to stand firm for worker choice. Nobody should be forced to join a union just to make a living in the profession of their choice.

“The Missouri House should pass HB 1770 that will give workers the choice of whether or not they want to pay union dues. This all boils down to individual choice, and whether the state of Missouri is going to respect the right of the freedom of association.

“Missouri should be joining states like Indiana and Michigan in taking the lead to push back against union excesses, and restore the freedom of choice to its citizens to decide for themselves who they associate with.”

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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