Archives for October 2014

Oct. 27, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government president Nathan Mehrens reacted today to a news report that House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy hopes to pass a long-term funding bill for the federal government during the lame duck session.

“While we appreciate Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s intent to avoid a funding fight in early 2015, allowing the Democratic-controlled Senate to dictate government funding terms even after they have likely been defeated is a mistake.

“President Obama has made it clear that he will continue to push the boundaries of constitutional lawlessness through regulations and executive orders, and the power of the purse is one of the only powers Congress has to rein in a rogue Executive.  Throwing away this power to stop the most misguided of Obama’s initiatives through the defunding process, cedes the only realistic tool this Congress has to check the President’s excesses, and would negate the mandate of the people to halt the lawlessness of this Administration.

“Over the past four years, major advances toward fiscal sanity have been made through the government funding process and giving away the only legislative tool that the President respects is to declare defeat before the new Congress is even seated.

“It is our hope that Majority Leader McCarthy will consider this trial balloon popped and instruct appropriators to work with the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and other authorizing committees to identify the most egregious excesses and put a plan in place to defund those activities.  Americans for Limited Government has been active in identifying these abuses and dangerous policies, and will be continuing to inform Congress about them.

“Over the past four years, the only major advances toward fiscal sanity have been made through the government funding process and to throw away the only legislative tool that the President respects is to declare defeat before the new Congress is even seated.”

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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Oct. 20, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a suit against a franchise restaurant operator alleging under-payment of employee wages issuing a release announcing the prosecution on October 16, which included a statement from union organizing activist Kendall Fells of the organization Fast Food Forward.   Americans for Limited Government filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request with the state Attorney Generals’ office on October 20, 2014, seeking communications between the Office and Fells who was quoted in the political campaign style release. Nathan Mehrens, president of Americans for Limited Government, announced the FOIL request stating:

“The New York State Attorney General’s inclusion of union organizing activist Kendall Fells of the organization Fast Food Forward in a press release announcing a lawsuit for alleged under-payment of employee wages raises the question of whether the action is advocacy or law enforcement.

“If Fells was part of the AG’s investigative team and privy to legal actions before they became public, this taints the investigation with the stench of labor union organizing politics.

“To discover whether the relationship between Fells and the New York AG’s office tarnishes the activities of that office, Americans for Limited Government has filed a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request asking for all records of communication between any officer or employee in the Office of the Attorney General and Kendall Fells regarding the Attorney General’s suit specific to the prosecution encompassed by the New York state AG’s press release, as well as their communications regarding any other subject.

“The people of New York have the right to assume that the law is being prosecuted evenly, and that undue political influences are not tarnishing its prosecution.

“Unfortunately, the press release issued by the state’s Attorney General announcing a lawsuit and including an advocacy group’s comment lead a reasonable person to believe that there was collusion which may not have been lawful or ethical. It is our hope that the FOIL request will erase any questions in this matter.”

Attachments:

“A.G. Schneiderman Sues Papa John’s Franchisee For Underpaying More Than 400 Delivery Workers; Seeking More Than $2 Million,” Oct. 16, 2014 at http://www.ag.ny.gov/press-release/ag-schneiderman-sues-papa-johns-franchisee-underpaying-more-400-delivery-workers

Freedom of Information Law Request to NYS Attorney General’s Office, Americans for Limited Government, Oct. 20, 2014 at http://algfoiafiles.com/images/9/9e/NY_FOIL_Request_Atty_Gen_Kendall_Fells_10.20.14.pdf

Information page on FOIL request, Oct. 20, 2014 at http://algfoiafiles.com/index.php?title=Communications_with_Fast_Food_Forward

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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October 7, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement calling attention to Office of Personnel Management data that shows the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) utilized more union representation than any other agency:

“Federal government labor union employees at the NLRB apparently need the most protection by taxpayer funded union stewards of any other Agency.  As the Office of Personnel Management revealed late last week, in 2012, the National Labor Relations Board’s employees utilized more union representation than any other Agency and it wasn’t even close.

“It is truly sad that the board which purports to protect employee rights, has such little regard for their own staff that employees need to have four times as many hours spent on union representatives than the average federal agency.  A cynic might believe that perhaps these are old-fashioned featherbed jobs, where little work is actually required.

“As a result, Americans for Limited Government intends to issue a formal complaint to the Office of the Inspector General to determine whether there is an abusive labor situation at the NLRB, or are these brother-in-law jobs where no work is required?

“One other question that anyone concerned with good government should ask is, “why is this report just being issued now, almost two years after the 2012 fiscal year ended?  OPM’s failure to issue these reports that go to the heart of how this Administration is allocating its personnel spending is egregious in this age of computerized data tracking.”

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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Oct. 3, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Vice President of Public Policy and Communications Rick Manning today issued the following statement on the latest jobs numbers:

“The almost predictable Obama Administration pre-election unemployment report did not fail to deliver as the top-line unemployment rate sunk below 6 percent.  Unfortunately, this drop in the rate is, once again, largely due to another 315,000 people, or the equivalent of half of the total population of the District of Columbia, dropping out of the workforce.  From a limited government point of view, it might seem like a good idea if half of Washington, D.C., no longer was employed or even in the employment market, but unfortunately, these employment market drop outs are not former federal government employees, but instead are folks located across the nation.  The very people who D.C. depends upon to pay taxes and produce goods and services to make our economy run.

“The current labor participation rate has gotten so bad, that our nation has not had a smaller percentage of people in the labor force since February, 1978, when Jimmy Carter was President, the Bee Gees song Stayin Alive topped the charts, and the Roger Staubach-led Cowboys defeated the Broncos in Super Bowl X11.

“As Paul Harvey used to say, ‘And now you know the rest of the story.’”

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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October 2, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement praising the Republican unity document, “Principles for American Renewal”:

“Americans for Limited Government welcomes RNC Chairman Reince Preibus’ significant move away from the Party’s disastrous 2013 attempt to re-brand itself.  His embracing core conservative principles confirms that voters want a government that protects our national security and promotes peace through strength, a Constitutional government that ends the culture of lies, lawlessness and corruption that permeates Barack Obama’s Washington, D.C., and treats everyone fairly and equally by rejecting amnesty rather than allowing illegal aliens to take cuts to the head of the immigration line in order to assuage a loud constituency that values power over the rule of law.

“Americans for Limited Government will continue our work to promote reducing the size and scope of government, and this GOP policy document clearly demonstrates that this upcoming election is about more than who delivered taxpayer funds back home, and instead is about reining in a federal government that has grown too large, too powerful, and as a result, too corrupt.  This upcoming election is too important for anyone who cares about the course of the nation to sit on the sidelines, and it is incumbent on every citizen to exercise their duty to vote for the candidate that best reflects their values and beliefs if we are to have any hope in creating real, positive change for our children and their children.”

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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