Archives for October 2013

Oct. 10, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement calling attention to a Moody’s report that the U.S. will not in fact default if the debt ceiling is reached, which states, “We believe the government would continue to pay interest and principal on its debt even in the event that the debt limit is not raised, leaving its creditworthiness intact”:

“This bombshell from Moody’s suggests that the Obama administration is bluffing about a default on the $16.7 trillion national debt should the borrowing limit be reached. Jack Lew has testified the opposite to a Senate committee that debt payments cannot be guaranteed and a default is likely if the debt ceiling is reached. Is he bluffing? The single question that Lew should be forced to answer is why the Treasury has not reformed its bill payment system that the Inspector General revealed in 2012 is on a first in, first out basis rather than prioritizing default-stopping interest payments on the debt in the event the borrowing limit is reached.

“After the 2011 debt ceiling confrontation, the fact this has not been fixed is beyond belief. It is gross mismanagement at best or a deliberate attempt to put the default gun to the head of the U.S. economy to prevent spending cuts.”

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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Oct. 9, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement in response to a Wall Street Journal oped by House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan urging entitlement reforms in exchange for increasing the $16.699 trillion debt ceiling:

“The House majority needs to stay focused on defunding Obamacare via the continuing resolution. The problem with attempting to use the debt ceiling to achieve anything is Obama’s threat to default if Congress does not increase it that makes negotiating on it next to impossible. Everyone has a wish list they’d like to see implemented, but to get a deal done, the first thing to do is to take Obama’s loaded gun off the table.

“To counter the default threat, House Republicans might consider talking about why a default is unnecessary when we take in $250 billion of revenue a month, more than enough to pay $35 billion of interest owed to creditors and the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. How existing debt could be refinanced up to the limit. They might consider attaching a version of their legislation, the ‘Full Faith and Credit Act’ to a debt ceiling increase to guarantee no future president ever again has the ability to threaten default to prevent Congress from exercising its constitutional power over the purse.

“In the meantime, Obama’s intransigent threat to default when there’s enough revenue to make debt service payments in order to avoid negotiating with the House majority is unreasonable and ignores the will of the American people that reelected House Republicans in 2012. Voters chose the House to serve as a check against the administration. And the power of the purse through the continuing resolution and debt ceiling are the only meaningful checks they can use. The House is not a rubber stamp.”

Attachments:

“Why is Obama threatening an unnecessary default?” By ALG senior editor Robert Romano, Oct. 9, 2013 at http://netrightdaily.com/2013/10/deadbeat-president/

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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Oct. 8, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement noting the irony of Barack Obama calling delinquent mortgage borrowers “deadbeats,” comparing them to Congress questioning whether the nation can continue increasing the national debt by more than $1 trillion a year via the debt ceiling:

“The Obama Administration throughout its entire tenure in office has pushed for mortgage principal reduction policies, cramdowns, and refinancing — all for delinquent mortgage borrowers. Borrowers who he now openly labels as ‘deadbeats.’ Obama’s comments reflect his lack of understanding of how household budgeting works, which looking at this annual budget, makes sense, since he never proposes that budget be balanced ever again.

“So of course he wants to call Congress ‘deadbeats’ for questioning whether or not the nation can afford to increase the national debt $1 trillion a year and rising. He has no idea why folks might find themselves in dire straits and may be foreclosed upon because of economic hardship. He must believe the U.S. too is somehow impervious to financial distress, so why would he be worried about borrowing too much money? Anyone who questions the fiscal trajectory we are on must just be a ‘deadbeat,’ in Obama’s mind.

“Obama’s reckless fiscal policy that we can borrow as much as we want for perpetuity is reminiscent of how mortgage borrowers and lenders got themselves into trouble in the housing bubble, only now it is the fate of the entire economy that hangs in the balance.”

 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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Oct. 2, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement blasting 17 House Republicans who say they would support a so-called “clean” continuing resolution that would allow funding for Obamacare:

“Supporting a continuing resolution that allows funding for Obamacare is the same as supporting Obamacare. These 17 House Republicans are undermining the negotiating position of House leadership in the middle of a major confrontation over what to do about the implementation of the health care law. It is unhelpful and they have attached themselves to the Reid-Pelosi wing of the Democratic Party by supporting Obamacare.”

Attachments:

“Here’s A Tally Of Which House Republicans Are Ready To Fund The Government, No Strings Attached,” By Jennifer Bendery, Oct. 2, 2013, at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/01/house-republicans-clean-cr_n_4024755.html

Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.): “At this point, I believe it’s time for the House to vote for a clean, short-term funding bill to bring the Senate to the table and negotiate a responsible compromise.” [Press Release, 10/1/13]

Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.): “Time for a clean [continuing resolution].” [Official Twitter, 10/1/13]

Rep. Jon Runyan (R-N.J.): “Enough is enough. Put a clean [continuing resolution] on the floor and let’s get on with the business we were sent to do.” [Burlington County Times, 10/1/13]

Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.): A Fitzpatrick aide tells the Philadelphia Inquirer the congressman would support a clean funding bill if it came up for a vote. [Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/1/13]

Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.): Barletta said he would “absolutely” vote for a clean bill in order to avert a shut down of the government. [Bethlehem Morning Call, 10/1/13]

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.): King thinks House Republicans would prefer to avoid a shutdown and said he will only vote for a clean continuing resolution to fund the government, according to the National Review Online. [NRO, 9/30/13]

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.): The California Republican told The Huffington Post he would ultimately support a clean continuing resolution. [Tweet by The Huffington Post’s Sabrina Siddiqui, 9/30/13]

Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.): “I’m prepared to vote for a clean [continuing resolution].” [The Huffington Post, 9/29/13]

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.): A Wolf aide told The Hill that he agrees with fellow Virginia Rep. Scott Rigell (R) that it’s time for a clean continuing resolution. [The Hill, 10/1/13]

Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.): A Grimm aide told The Huffington Post that the congressman supports a clean continuing resolution. [10/1/13].

Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.): A local news anchor in Minnesota tweeted that Paulsen told him he would vote for a clean resolution if given the chance. [Blake McCoy Tweet, 10/1/13]

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.): A constituent of Wittman’s sent The Huffington Post an email she got from the congressman indicating he would vote for a clean funding bill but hasn’t had “an opportunity to do so at this point.” [10/1/13]

Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.): LoBiondo told The Press of Atlantic City he’ll support “whatever gets a successful conclusion” to the shutdown and a clean funding bill “is one of those options.” [The Press of Atlantic City, 10/1/13]

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.): Forbes told The Virginian-Pilot that he supports the six-week clean funding bill that passed in the Senate. [The Virginian-Pilot, 10/2/13]
EDITOR’S NOTE: Below is a note we just received from Rep. Forbes’s Communications Director Dean Petrone clarifying Forbes’s position.
“Hey Guys- Saw your press release listing Randy as a supporter of a clean CR – Below is a press release we just sent out which better outlines Randy’s current position in regards to the CR fight. The Virginian Pilot article that cites Randy’s position is misleading at best and we have aggressively argued this point with their editors. The plan outlined below falls in line with what the Congressman has said all along – that fighting Obamacare is best done by stripping the funding appropriated for the IRS’s implementation of the ACA – this idea was met with enormous praise by both Lou Dobbs and Gov. Mike Huckabee earlier this week. In short, Forbes is offering a new, more effective strategy to undermine Obamacare, NOT stopping the Obamacare effort. Please share this release as you see fit.”

Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.): The congressman issued a statement saying he would “vote in favor of a so-called clean budget bill.” [Office of Rep. Jim Gerlach, 10/2/13].

Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.): Lance’s chief of staff confirmed to The Huffington Post that he told a constituent on Wednesday that Lance has voted for clean government funding bills in the past “and would not oppose doing so again should one be brought to the floor.” [10/2/13]

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho): Simpson told a Roll Call reporter Tuesday night, “I’d vote for a clean CR because I don’t think this is a strategy that works.” [Daniel Newhauser Tweet, 10/1/13]

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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Oct. 1, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement blasting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for rejecting legislation that would fund the Department of Veterans Affairs and the national parks:

“Harry Reid has demonstrated contempt for America’s veterans and those who are visiting our national parks, and it is inexcusable. If the regular appropriations process had been followed by Congress, the government would have already been funded in a piecemeal fashion, an approach Reid now condemns. Apparently, the regular appropriations process is now a brand new ‘wacky idea from the Tea Party-driven Republicans.’

“Reid’s choice to opt for television visuals of people being ejected from our national parks, and his determination to hold veterans hostage by refusing to fund the basic promises that have been made to those who have risked it all to protect our nation’s freedom is abhorrent, and should be rejected by Americans of all political stripes.

“Reid’s refusal to even negotiate a pathway to opening the government shows that he lost touch not only with the American people, but any sense of his responsibility he has as the Senate Majority Leader. The people should demand that Senate Democrats force Harry Reid to fund the national parks and the Department of Veterans Affairs or else they will wear the same stain of shame and the permanent contempt of all those who have served our great nation.

“It is a disgrace that the Washington, D.C.-focused Reid would rather punish school children wanting to visit Yosemite and our nation’s heroic veterans in order to keep his political leverage. Senate Democrats need to get Reid under control.”

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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Oct. 1, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging the House of Representatives to pass another continuing resolution that funds the government except for Obamacare and to take its previous offers off the table:

“The House has passed three continuing resolutions now, each subsequent one weaker than its predecessor. The final one that passed, that House Speaker John Boehner has attempted to send to conference, actually represents a complete collapse of the Republican defund Obamacare position. The final proposal merely delays the individual mandate for a year and rolls back congressional benefits. All the subsidies under the exchanges and the Medicaid expansion will still go into effect. That is unacceptable.

“The only upside right now is Harry Reid has granted Boehner a reprieve by refusing to go to conference. The House should reset this discussion by returning to the easily understood, original position of defunding the law in full.  Right now, the House is negotiating against itself. If that continues, all Reid needs to do is wait, and the House will eventually deliver a so-called ‘clean’ continuing resolution, and even that might not be enough for Reid, who now smells blood in the water.

“The House needs to negotiate from a position of strength. Boehner will be unable to do that if his opening bid in conference is to fund Obamacare. The sad fact is that Harry Reid doesn’t care that the government is shut down. And he will only be brought to the table when he starts feeling political pain. Hopefully, John Boehner has finally learned his lesson.”

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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Oct. 1, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging Congress to adopt legislation by Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) that would fund the Department of Veterans Affairs, and to pass similar legislation to fund the National Parks Service at levels required by sequestration:

“With the government partially shut down while congressional leaders figure out what to do about the Obamacare train wreck, Congress should immediately adopt legislation that will fund our nation’s veterans and national parks. These are two functions that need not be caught in the crossfire over whether or not to implement the health care law.”

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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Sept. 30, 2013, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement in response to the Senate voting down a continuing resolution that would fund the government and delay the individual mandate under Obamacare:

“When Obamacare was enacted, it was without a single Republican supporting it. Now, Harry Reid has decided that rather than let the Republican-controlled House of Representatives have any say at all in the implementation of Obamacare, he would prefer to just shut down the government. To Reid and Obama, the House is nothing more than a rubber stamp for their edicts.

“Now the House must stand firm and remind the Senate and White House that Congress still has the power of the purse, and that this is not one-party rule. The House is not a rubber stamp.”

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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