Archives for September 2014

September 15, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement demanding the resignation or firing of White House General Counsel Lamar Baker, Associate White House Counsel Kathleen Harnett, and Deputy Solicitor of Labor Deborah Greenfield for conspiring to conceal documents legitimately requested under the Freedom of Information Act:

“It is appalling that a simple request for the schedule of then-Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was elevated to the highest levels of the White House in an attempt to conceal her activities. White House General Counsel Lamar Baker even went so far as to demand our identity clearly to determine whether or not to release the information under the Freedom of Information Act.

“FOIA was never supposed to be give information to your friends and withhold it from your critics. In fact, it is intended just for the opposite purpose. The cavalier abuse of this fundamental government transparency tool should result in the resignations or firing of White House General Counsel Lamar Baker, Associate White House Counsel Kathleen Harnett, and Deputy Solicitor of Labor Deborah Greenfield.”

Documents show that ALG’s FOIA appeal was delayed by over two years:

Sept. 1, 2010:  In response to a Jan. 14, 2010 FOIA request from ALG, DOL withheld a calendar entry showing that Solis met with Cecilia Munoz from White House on April 7, 2009.

Oct. 26, 2010:  ALG files FOIA appeal, challenging redactions.

Approx. March 2012: Solis makes a fundraising call to a DOL employee during business hours in order to aid the President’s reelection campaign.

Apr. 8, 2013 to May 6, 2013:  DOL finally consults with White House Counsel’s Office about releasing the calendar entry; White House agrees to release.

May 20, 2013: DOL issues final response to ALG which includes the production of the calendar with the calendar entry.

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Sept. 12, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging both chambers of Congress to take up legislation on the White House’s proposed war against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria:

“If the war against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is important enough for the U.S. to fight, then it is important enough for Congress to vote on. Obama cannot go to war unilaterally without Congress, yet that is precisely what his administration seeks to do in order to spare congressional Democrats a tough vote on the eve of the midterm elections. Last time we checked, constitutional provisions such as Congress’ war-making powers can neither be suspended by presidential fiat nor for cynical, political calculations.

“This is a subversion of the Constitution of the highest order, and Congress must act immediately to preserve the separation of powers. There should be votes on Obama’s war, whether it would pass or not. The people’s representatives must have their say on when the nation goes to war, or else members of Congress of both parties will be complicit in this abdication of power.”

Attachments:

“Obama still needs Congress to go to war into Syria,” By Robert Romano, senior editor, Americans for Limited Government, Sept. 12, 2014 at http://netrightdaily.com/2014/09/obama-still-needs-congress-go-war-syria/

“Obama’s betrayal of the Constitution,” By Bruce Ackerman, Yale Law School professor, Sept. 12, 2014 at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/12/opinion/obamas-betrayal-of-the-constitution.html

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Sept. 9, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging both chambers of Congress to reject any continuing resolution that extends into the lame duck period before the new Congress is sworn in, and to reject any temporary reauthorization of the $27 billion a year Export Import Bank:

“Senate Democrats have lost their right to have any say at all on next year’s spending. They want to push the spending bill until after the November elections, and before the holidays when nobody’s looking. Why would the House let them do that? That’s not representation, it’s deception to prevent voters from knowing before November where members stand on the critical fiscal issues facing the nation.

“Congress should reject any continuing resolution that extends into the lame duck period before the new Congress is sworn in. The American people deserve better than this. The U.S. Senate has not brought a single appropriations bill to the floor all year long. In the meantime, the House has passed 7 spending bills, including 215 spending amendments. The only continuing resolution that should be considered is one that extends into February or March.

“As for the Export Import Bank, House leaders had promised they were prepared to allow the bank’s reauthorization to lapse later this month. After all, the bank has almost no impact on the nation’s $2 trillion a year export industry. Yet, at the behest of the very few special interests that benefit from the bank, now leaders say they are prepared to pass a supposed ‘temporary’ Ex-Im reauthorization. The plan is to push the issue until after the elections, so that members can come back later and do a full five year deal on Ex-Im when voters can’t do a thing about it. What a cynical joke. The authorization should just be allowed to lapse.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Nathan Mehrens.

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Sept. 8, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement in opposition to S.J. Res. 19 offered by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) that would repeal and replace the First Amendment, currently up for debate in the U.S. Senate:

“Senate Democrats are taking up legislation that would abolish the freedom of speech under the First Amendment, and in the process empower Congress and the states to regulate the amount of money that may be spent in elections. If passed, the net result will simply be less speech against incumbent politicians, hardly a free and democratic outcome. Why would Congress want to restrict access to information about opposition candidates during election time? This is fascism, pure and simple.

“In the meantime, Democrats seek to carve out an exception for mainstream media outlets including broadcasting stations, newspapers, magazines, and other periodical publications by saying nothing in the amendment will be construed to abridge the freedom of the press. The trouble here is that the freedom of the press is not an institutional right retained by some amorphous press corps, but a right of individuals to print what they like.

“This bastardization of the First Amendment must not be allowed to pass. Every single Senator should block cloture, and defend every American’s right to the freedom of speech and of the press. It’s hard enough to oust incumbent, entrenched, establishment politicians. They do not need the force of law to squelch opposition, and it is sickening they would even try.”

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

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 Sept. 5, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement on the latest jobs numbers:

“In the midst of what Obama continues to claim is an improving economy, in August only 80,000 fewer people were unemployed than in the previous month.  Of those, 64,000 gave up on trying to get a job entirely and are no longer counted, with only 16,000 actually getting a job.  Incredibly the unemployment rate went down in spite of this disastrously bad employment report because all together 268,000 fewer Americans were counted as being in the labor force at all.  If our nation’s economy continues along this path we will reach full employment because no one is actually being counted as being in the labor force.”

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

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