Dec. 1, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s guilty plea to lying to federal investigators about his conversations with the Russian Ambassador, Sergey Kislyak in Dec. 2016:

“It would have been irresponsible for then-incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn not to have spoken in Dec. 2016 with the Russian ambassador about sanctions and other urgent matters between the U.S. and Russia. At that point, both Russian and U.S. air forces were both patrolling the war zone in Syria, a potential flashpoint for conflict and war. In the campaign, Hillary Clinton had advocated in favor of enforcing a no-fly zone in Syria enforced by the U.S., risking open war with Russia.

“The Trump transition, after the election was won, had a duty to engage with Russia and to gauge their response to sanctions and more broadly the posture the U.S. was taking, and if the net result is there was no further escalation by Russia in response, they did everyone a favor and potentially averted a wider conflict or even a war.

“The incoming president after an election and his transition team have every right and it is expected that they make contact with foreign governments in preparation of putting the administration’s foreign policy into place. This leads to a smooth transition, protects national security and keeps the American people safe by sending clear signals to foreign powers about the intentions of the incoming president.

“The bottom line is Flynn should never have lied to the then-Vice President Elect and then to federal investigators about something that was well within the scope of his duties. Flynn had not only not done anything wrong by talking with the Russians, he may in fact have diffused a potential escalation and war between the world’s top nuclear powers. That was something to be proud of, not to hide.”

Attachments:

“Attorney General Jeff Sessions has responsibility to get to the bottom of the Michael Flynn unmasking leak,” By Robert Romano, Aug. 14, 2017 at http://netrightdaily.com/2017/08/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-has-responsibility-to-get-to-the-bottom-of-the-michael-flynn-unmasking-leak/

“Flynn first victim of Obama’s Russia witch hunt against Trump,” By Robert Romano, Feb. 15, 2017 at http://netrightdaily.com/2017/02/flynn-first-victim-obamas-russia-witch-hunt-trump/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 1, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the Senate to reject any attempts to add any tax increases to the Senate tax cut bill:

“Americans for Limited Government supports a tax cut bill, as reflected in our endorsement of the Senate bill yesterday. Should the latest iteration of the Senate bill wind up having anything resembling an automatic tax increase or sunset of tax cuts, we urge the Senate to vote no. If faux deficit hawks seek automatic tax increases on the American people rather than real spending cuts to lower the deficit, they completely miss the mark with their objections.

“A government spending bill will be considered between now and Christmas, and that is another opportunity to visit cutting spending in a meaningful way. I will be intrigued to see if Sens. Corker and Flake are as concerned about the deficit when it comes to cutting bloated government as opposed to using the deficit issue to sabotage the tax cut bill.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Nov. 30, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of the Senate tax cut plan provision preventing tax avoidance through reinsurance by foreign insurers:

“The Senate tax reform bill closes a loophole that allows foreign insurance companies to avoid paying certain U.S. taxes, that will finally bring tax equity between domestic and foreign insurers. Americans for Limited Government has joined a coalition in favor of the Senate tax plan provision that does away with this loophole and urges members to continue to support the provision. It is time this complex offshore scheme, called affiliate reinsurance, wherein profits are transferred to a tax haven, and then reinsurance is purchased from the affiliate, finally comes to an end.”

Attachments:

Letter to the Senate, Nov. 29, 2017 at http://capallies.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Congress-Must-Undo-Crony-Insurance-Tax-Loophole_Coalition-Letter.pdf

Conservative Coalition Supports Senate Effort to Close “Bermuda Tax Triangle” Loophole and Protect American Jobs Washington D.C.

On behalf of the following free-market groups and organizations, together representing Americans from coast to coast, we urge you to support the Senate’s Anti-Base Erosion Provision, which removes an unfair advantage favoring foreign insurers over U.S.-headquartered companies. Under current U.S. tax law, foreign based insurers are able to transfer profits to affiliates in offshore tax-havens tax free, but does not afford equal treatment to U.S. based insurers.

As a candidate for President, Donald Trump touched a nerve with voters by pointing out that our tax code is unfair to American companies and employees. One such unfair provision is the insurance tax-haven loophole, which has discriminated against the American insurance industry for over three decades. The proposed Senate tax bill removes the incentive that foreign companies currently exploit to shift thousands of American jobs overseas and avoid paying U.S. taxes. The federal government should never reward or encourage companies to make decisions at the expense of U.S. taxpayers and jobs.

The Senate tax bill includes strong anti-base erosion measures that will go a long way in stopping foreign companies from gaming the U.S. tax code. It is imperative that Congress resist any desperate attempts by foreign insurers to weaken the language thereby preserving their loophole.

Foreign insurance companies are using misleading talking points to prevent a level playing field for U.S. companies. While their inaccurate claims alleging reduced capital and increased prices confuse the public discussion, the bottom-line is they want to avoid paying U.S. taxes and continue gaming the system. The Senate bill would merely require foreign companies to pay U.S. taxes on their U.S. generated insurance business instead of allowing them to use offshore affiliates to strip earnings.

Preserving a loophole for foreign insurers undermines the very foundation of the tax reform effort being considered on Capitol Hill.

At a time when companies are inverting, and the American people are demanding action against corporate tax avoidance, it is long overdue that Congress close the loophole. We urge Congress to support the provision in the Senate bill.

Andrew Langer
Institute for Liberty

Judson Phillips
Tea Party Nation

Ed Martin|
Phyllis Schlafly Eagles

George Landrith
Frontiers of Freedom

John Fredericks
American Jobs Alliance

Rick Manning
Americans for Limited Government

Jerry Rogers
Capitol Allies

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Nov. 30, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of the Senate tax cut plan:

“Americans for Limited Government supports the Senate tax cut plan. The inclusion of the individual mandate repeal, giving 6.6 million Americans relief from paying $3 billion a year in tax penalties is extremely important, and the small business and corporate tax relief will help generate millions of new jobs and investment over the coming years, ending the economy-killing tax rates that have prevailed for decades. In addition, the vast majority of Americans who pay taxes will receive a tax cut through the plan. The Senate bill will also close a loophole that allowed foreign insurance companies to avoid U.S. taxes.

“Passage of the Senate bill will set up an opportunity for the House-Senate conference committee to potentially improve the bill, by adding the full skinny Obamacare repeal, cutting additional hundreds of billions of spending to reduce the deficit and provide larger individual tax rate cuts and incentivizing repatriation earlier in the cycle to give an immediate infusion of trillions of dollars to the economy. Americans owe Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch a debt of gratitude for their efforts to move a tax cut bill through the perilous U.S. Senate.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Nov. 29, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the Senate Judiciary Committee President Donald Trump’s nominee for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Kyle Duncan, to be put to the Senate floor for speedy confirmation:

“There is absolutely no reason why Kyle Duncan, a strongly qualified Trump nominee to sit on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, should be held up in the Senate Judiciary Committee. According to the Attorney General of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, Duncan is the Neil Gorsuch of Louisiana, and he deserves confirmation. Duncan should be a unanimous pick for every Senate Republican who says they want judges who follow the Constitution and the rule of law.”

Attachments:

“Trump court pick Kyle Duncan is the Neil Gorsuch of Louisiana,” By Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, Nov. 29, 2017 at http://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/362276-trump-circuit-court-pick-kyle-duncan-is-the-neil-gorsuch-of-louisiana

“Why is the Senate refusing to do their job and confirm judicial and executive branch nominees?” By Natalia Castro, Nov. 29, 2017 at http://netrightdaily.com/2017/11/senate-refusing-job-confirm-judicial-executive-branch-nominees/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Nov. 27, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today praised TiVo and Rovi’s victory over Comcast at the International Trade Commission for use of its patents:

“The International Trade Commission has scored a huge win for the protection of intellectual property by finding that Comcast could not ignore TiVo and Rovi’s licenses for use of their DVR services. Incredibly, Comcast simply stopped paying for those licensing fees for a critical component to their cable system’s competitiveness, daring TiVo to do something about it. Showing that intellectual property is foundational and will continue to enjoy rights protections like all other property, the International Trade Commission slammed Comcast’s money grab.

“It is important for the development of new technologies that intellectual property be respected and upheld by the federal government, and those who choose to engage in licenses to use that property meet the terms and obligations under those licenses. Comcast attempted to pull a fast one to line their pockets at the expense of those who developed a critical consumer convenience within their system and now they will have to pay the price for this botched burglary of intellectual property.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Nov. 21, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Sen. Ted Cruz’ letter letter Cruz sent to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds stating, “the real beneficiaries of unsustainably high RIN prices, however, are not corn farmer or reinvestment in RFS infrastructure, but rather market speculators”:

“In an era of extreme bipartisanship, it is great to see Senator Ted Cruz take the lead on an issue that includes Governor John Carney of Delaware, former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, and the United Steel Workers President Leo Gerard. The unlikely coalition has come together to protect blue-collar refinery jobs across the nation. The Senator recognizes the danger Renewable Identification Numbers of the Renewable Fuel Standard pose to good-paying blue-collar jobs. Too big to fail Wall Street banks have invaded the Renewable Identification Numbers arena and are driving up the price for a product the EPA created out of thin air.

“Already, some refineries have to pay as much for RINs as total employee salaries. Soon the plants will start to shut down and kill those jobs while simultaneously driving up the price of gasoline. Ted Cruz recognizes this and is leading the charge to save jobs and consumers pocketbooks. It is time for the EPA to get out of the RINs business and let the market decide.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 100 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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