Archives for June 2014

June 10, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement praising House passage of the Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) rider to the Transportation and HUD appropriations bill that will defund implementation of the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” regulation:

“Americans for Limited Government commends the House of Representatives and particularly, Representative Paul Gosar, for the vote to defund HUD’s attempt to federalize local zoning decisions using community development grants as the cudgel to create evenly distributed neighborhoods on the basis of race and income.

“Gosar’s courage in standing firm against this latest example of Obama Administration social engineering serves as a model for his colleagues seeking to limit the size and scope of government.

“Housing discrimination has rightfully been illegal under federal law for two generations.  The Obama Administration’s regulation is not about discrimination; instead it is about nationalizing local zoning decisions to achieve a utopian agenda.  These decisions are among the most difficult that local governments face, as they impact every aspect of a community.  Consideration of zoning ordinances and master plans are debated by neighbors and serve as the epitome of citizen involvement in their government. We don’t need unconstitutional racial housing quotas imposed by Washington, D.C. over matters best left to local communities.

“The House of Representatives’ decision to defund this Obama regulation will stop the big foot of the federal government from treading all over local governments’ prerogatives and the fundamental right of citizen input in the process. Americans for Limited Government urges the U.S. Senate to join the House in defunding this ill-conceived federal government intrusion into local government zoning prerogatives.”

Attachments:

Video clip of Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) proposing his amendment on the floor on June 9:
http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4500388/gosar-amendment-floor-debate (C-Span video clip)

Gosar amendment to Transportation and HUD appropriations bill:
http://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/GOSAR_133_xml.pdf

HUD rulemaking, “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing”:
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/07/19/2013-16751/affirmatively-furthering-fair-housing#h-19

Will House defund Obama’s racial housing quotas? By Americans for Limited Government senior editor Robert Romano, June 9, 2014:
http://netrightdaily.com/2014/06/will-house-defund-obamas-racial-housing-quotas/

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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June 6, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement in favor of an amendment to the Transportation and HUD appropriations bill Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) plans to offer defunding implementation of the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” rule, which in October will empower the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to condition eligibility for community development block grants on redrawing zoning maps to achieve racial and income integration:

“We call on every member of the House to support Rep. Gosar’s amendment to defund HUD’s scheme to redraw zoning maps in any locality that accepts any part of the $3.5 billion a year in community development block grants from the federal government. The utopian goal of creating evenly distributed neighborhoods based on racial composition and income is bad policy, and it is unconstitutional.

“HUD has no place in local zoning decisions. Under federalism, that is left up to states, counties and municipalities to determine for themselves. At a time when the Supreme Court is roundly rejecting racial quotas as unconstitutional, there is no place for wasting taxpayer dollars on social engineering that will never withstand judicial scrutiny.

“Housing discrimination based on race has been illegal since the 1960s, and people should be allowed to choose for themselves where they live without D.C. bureaucrats nationalizing zoning decisions for political reasons.

“Rep. Gosar deserves the thanks of all Americans for his courage in taking on this backdoor attempt to federalize our most basic living decisions. Americans for Limited Government strongly supports the Gosar amendment to defund racial quotas in local zoning decisions.”

Attachments:

“Racial quotas for local zoning decisions?” By Robert Romano, June 6, 2014 at http://netrightdaily.com/2014/06/racial-quotas-local-zoning-decisions/

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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June 6, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement on the latest jobs numbers:

“Today’s jobs report remains out of sync with the overall economic situation.  While the reported numbers would indicate lackluster economic growth, even this level of job growth is incongruent with the 1 percent drop in the GDP our economy experienced in the first quarter.”

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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June 5, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement urging the House of Representatives to defund implementation of the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” rule that will empower the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to condition eligibility for community development block grants on redrawing zoning maps to achieve racial and income integration:

“Starting in October, HUD is empowering itself to redraw zoning maps in any locality that accepts any portion of the $3.5 billion a year in community development block grants from the federal government in an attempt to create evenly distributed neighborhoods based on racial composition and income. This is a utopian pipe dream, and social engineering at its worst.

“Neighborhoods are constituted not based on racial quotas, but on economics. Housing discrimination based on race has been illegal for decades. There is no discrimination in people choosing for themselves where they want to live, and yet that is exactly what HUD is seeking to regulate.

“HUD has no place in local zoning decisions, and it is up to the House of Representatives to defund this dangerous rulemaking through a rider to the Transportation and HUD appropriations bill coming up next week before the regulation’s projected October implementation.”

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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June 2, 2014, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement objecting to new EPA power plant regulations:

“Last week’s announcement that the economy had cratered in the first quarter of 2014 with a 1 percent decline in the Gross Domestic Product should have forced President Obama to reconsider his devastating new anti-electricity generation regulations.

“This past month’s jobs report that showed that nearly one in six men ages 25-54 are not working in America, should have forced President Obama to reconsider.

“The past seventeen years where there has been zero global warming recorded, should have forced the President to reconsider.

“Now that the President has chosen to ignore science, workers and our nation’s overall economic health, it is reasonable to assume that he never cared about any of these things.  Instead, President Obama is looking for a legacy funded by billionaire environmentalist dilettantes who can erect a statue in his name in spite of a presidency that has driven a spike through the hope of a better future for the middle class.

“Barack Obama’s 645 page assault on the ability of our nation to generate enough electricity to keep the lights on in our cities in the future, is nothing less than an economic suicide pact that must be stopped by Congress using any means necessary.”

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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