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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