Oct. 2, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who denounced an Obama Administration move to reimburse the legal fees of defense contractors that do not follow federal requirements to give 60 days notice to employees of layoffs.
The layoffs are set to occur for contractors expecting cuts in the sequester budget Congress adopted last year. The notices would have been issued just days before the Nov. 6 election, an outcome thought to be politically damaging to Obama.
“I will do everything in my power to make sure not one taxpayer dollar is spent reimbursing companies for failure to comply with WARN Act,” Graham said in an exclusive interview with The Hill. “That is so beyond the pale — I think it’s patently illegal.”
Already, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and other contractors have cancelled plans to notify employees of impending layoffs thanks to the Obama promise to reimburse legal fees derived from failure to follow the law.
Said Wilson, “Senator Graham deserves the thanks and praise of all right-thinking Americans. This is the correct course. Every U.S. senator regardless of party should follow Senator Graham’s lead. The Obama White House is openly violating the law and encouraging others to do the same. It is now fully a criminal enterprise.”
Wilson urged House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers to block any monies from reimbursing defense contractors for violating the WARN Act. “Chairman Rogers needs to declare that not one penny will be allowed to be spent on covering up the illegal activity,” Wilson said.
“If Obama wants to shut down the government just so he can pay off the trial lawyers and those convinced to break the law, that will be up to him but Republicans in Congress must not become accomplices after the fact,” Wilson concluded.
Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
###