ALG President Rick Manning accepts Impact Award

Dec. 6, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today accepted an Impact Award from the non-profit United in Purpose, and issued the following statement:

“It is truly an honor to be recognized with this all-star cast in the conservative limited government movement. Slowly, but surely, the center of gravity is beginning to shift out from under the administrative state, and while every small victory comes with multiple bumps and bruises, because of the people honored today, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence that all are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, are starting to resonate again.  We have a long way to go, but each journey gets completed one step at a time.  I am proud to be working alongside many of these honorees as a small cog in the fight to restore liberty in America.”

For more information: http://impactawardsevent.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/UIP_Letterhead-120517.pdf and http://impactawardsevent.com

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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Who do Senate Dems think they’re kidding with ‘bipartisan’ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?

Dec. 5, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement mocking Senate Democrats demanding a “bipartisan” director be appointed by President Donald Trump at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

“Yesterday, some 40 senators sent a letter to President Trump calling on him to appoint independent, bipartisan CFPB Director.  Democrats said nothing when Richard Cordray used CFPB to play partisan politics and advance left-wing causes. What a joke. Who do these Senators think they are fooling?

“These Democrat Senators have suddenly found the desire for an independent, bipartisan Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director in the wake of President Trump’s putting current Office of Management & Budget Director Mick Mulvaney into the agency as its acting director.  Prior to President Trump’s election, Democrats in Congress opposed legislation reforming the CFPB by House Finance Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling which would have created an independent commission similar to the composition of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the National Labor Relations Board replacing the all-powerful director position created under law.  Where were these Democrats then?

“If Democrats are not willing to legislatively fix their own creation, then they should just accept the basic truth that President Obama was heard to tell his critics when he pushed to fundamentally change America, which is that ‘elections have consequences.’

“To put an exclamation point on all this, Acting CFPB Director Mulvaney should settle the lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of the CFPB itself and set a timeline for its being shut down.  Mulvaney should also order a suspension and administrative review of all rules that have been put in place by the Bureau in the past few years.  And finally, the Acting Director should order an audit of every settlement, contractor and major grantee to ensure that monies were only used for the purposes they were given and not for political or personal gain.

Attachments:

“Mulvaney should settle lawsuits challenging CFPB existence,” By Rick Manning, Dec. 2, 2017 at http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/12/02/by-settling-lawsuits-challenging-its-existence-cfpb-can-begin-to-quietly-turn-off-lights.html

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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Manning: Mueller should be fired, politically weaponized FBI and Justice Dept. is ‘un-American’

Dec. 5, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller and to end his investigation:

“Several extremely troubling revelations have become known in recent weeks about the orchestrated attempt to take down President Donald Trump before he ever took office.

Lee Smith at the Federalist alleges that Fusion GPS has been paying reporters to publish political attack pieces based on manufactured sources to delegitimize the Trump campaign and then the official transition after he won the election in late 2016. This sheds new light on the climate in the media prior to the publication of the original story that then-President Elect Donald Trump had been briefed by the FBI on the Fusion GPS-Christopher Steele dossier alleging Trump-Russia collusion, which then became the basis for reporting on it. Laura Jarret and Evan Perez CNN revealed that it was an FBI counterintelligence official, Peter Strzok, who edited an exoneration into what was supposed to be the final report on the Clinton email investigation well in advance of Hillary Clinton’s interview with the FBI that, as Fox News’ Catherine Herridge reports, he was leading. The Daily Caller’s Chuck Ross also reports that Strzok was the same agent who questioned Cheryl Mills on the private Clinton email server, who along with other Clinton aides was later granted immunity. Sara Carter at Hannity.com reports that Strzok was also the same agent who questioned former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn about his conversations with multiple ambassadors, a meeting which was set up by Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe under false pretenses as a routine discussion of security procedures at the White House. Couple all this with the fact that, as reported by the Washington Post’s Adam Entous, Devlin Barrett and Rosalind Heldermant, the DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign via law firm Perkins Coie paid for the Fusion GPS-Christopher Steele dossier that originated the unsubstantiated allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to hack the DNC and put the emails on Wikileaks, which then became one of the bases for the FBI witch hunt, including in obtaining FISA court warrants. The FBI under former Director James Comey even reportedly offered to pay Steele to continue this work.

“It is anti-American to have a politically weaponized FBI and Justice Department. The evidence now available indicates that higher-ups at the FBI would pursue any measure in their attempts not only to prop up Hillary Clinton, but to take down President Trump at any cost. Since the entire Mueller investigation is the fruit of this poisonous tree, the only course Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein can pursue must be to fire Mueller and end this political coup in order to restore the rule of law.”

Attachments:

“Hillary Clinton and the DNC funded the fake Trump-Russia collusion dossier, turned it into an FBI inquisition, surveillance and then attempted coup,” By Robert Romano, Oct. 26, 2017 http://netrightdaily.com/2017/10/hillary-clinton-dnc-funded-fake-trump-russia-collusion-dossier-turned-fbi-inquisition-surveillance-attempted-coup/

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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Trump’s constitutional authority must not be undermined by deep state

Dec. 4, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement echoing Trump attorney John Dowd’s statement that the “President cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution’s Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case”:

“The President is the chief officer of the Executive Branch, whose duty under Article II of the Constitution is to implement and enforce the law. He is only officer in the Constitution that has this job. Not the Attorney General. Not the FBI. Not the Justice Department. The President can lead investigations, order investigations and stop investigations, just like any prosecutor with discretion. To deny that, is to deny the very nature of executive power.

“Given that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI about lawful activities and nothing else, it is reasonable for the President to have said that Flynn really didn’t do anything wrong. Robert Mueller himself exercised the same discretion when he accepted Flynn’s plea deal. James Comey himself exercised far broader prosecutorial discretion when he whitewashed Hillary Clinton’s email server scandal by declaring it not to be a crime.

“I find it incredible that those who conferred on former President Obama nearly unlimited executive powers seek to undermine the exercising of even the most basic constitutional authority by President Trump. This partisan approach to constitutional governance and the powers delineated therein is dangerous.

“The greatest danger to representative government is an unaccountable administrative state operating outside of presidential and Congressional purview. It is time to rein in this witch hunt, which calls into question the amount of discretion that has been put into the hands of unelected officials.”

Attachments:

“No obstruction of justice by Trump in Comey testimony,” By Robert Romano, June 8, 2017 at http://netrightdaily.com/2017/06/no-obstruction-justice-trump-comey-testimony/

“Flynn had no reason to lie about speaking to the Russian ambassador,” Statement by Rick Manning, Dec. 1, 2017 at https://getliberty.org/2017/12/flynn-had-no-reason-to-lie-about-speaking-to-the-russian-ambassador/

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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Flynn had no reason to lie about speaking to the Russian ambassador

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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Say no to any tax increase in tax cut bill

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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ALG joins coalition in favor closing foreign insurance company tax loophole

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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ALG supports Senate tax cut plan

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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ALG urges confirmation of Kyle Duncan for 5th Circuit through Senate Judiciary Committee

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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Trump wins against CFPB administrative state coup

Nov. 28, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today praised a federal court ruling by Judge Timothy Kelly to uphold President Donald Trump’s constitutional and legal authority to appoint Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney to be the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

“Judge Kelly got it 100 percent correct when he affirmed that President Trump’s authority under federal law to appoint Mick Mulvaney to be the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would likely prevail in a full court hearing. Former agency director Richard Cordray’s political power grab would effectively set the precedent that appointed bureaucrats could choose their successors without any input from elected officials. Cordray clearly was more interested in creating a media crisis to benefit his anticipated run for the Democratic nomination to be governor of Ohio than he was in upholding the rule of law. At this point, newly appointed deputy director Leandra English should cease and desist all efforts to undermine the President’s constitutional and legal authority. If she is unwilling to, she should submit her resignation.”

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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