ALG praise Justice Dept. for dropping opposition to Texas voter ID law

Feb. 27, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising the U.S. Justice Department for dropping opposition to the Texas voter ID law, currently under litigation:

“Americans for Limited Government is thrilled that the Justice Department will no longer be actively engaged in legal actions designed to make it more difficult for states to ensure that only lawful voters are participating in our national elections.  Voter fraud is the greatest threat to representative democracy, as those who vote illegally dilute the impact of legitimate voters. The state of Texas’ voter identification law merely puts commonsense requirements for voters to present identification in order to vote.

“In this day and age of motor voter and balloting by mail, it becomes more and more difficult to ensure that the one person, one vote principle is enforced. Attorney General Sessions’ decision to drop the ill-conceived Obama Administration intervention in the Texas case, demonstrates that the rule of law is being restored in D.C., and most importantly the basic premise that every citizen should have an equal say in who represents them.  Those who vote multiple times or who are ineligible to vote but do so anyway, undermine the legitimacy of our nation’s elections. Attorney General Sessions’ actions today will provide all Americans more certitude that the U.S. government stands squarely on the side of free and fair elections.”

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.

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Rogue bureaucrats should inspire Trump civil service reform, 10 to 20 percent reduction of federal workforce

Feb. 24, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the Trump administration to pursue immediate civil service reform:

“By now it should be abundantly clear to the Trump administration that there are Obama administration holdovers in the 1.3 million non-defense, civilian federal workforce who have no other intention than to politically damage the White House. These rogue bureaucrats are not serving the American people, they are serving a political agenda, and frankly, they need not be tolerated. The whole reason the District of Columbia was created without voting rights or representation was so that those who work for the federal government would not wield political power. They are supposed to be neutral. Working for the government is a privilege, not a right, and it’s time that President Trump remind them by removing Obama administration hires, particularly if there is no other way to root out subversive employees.

“Part of the problem is former President Obama changed civil service rules to make it easier to hire federal employees. Trump has solved that by initiating his hiring freeze. But federal rules also make it extremely difficult to fire civil servants. It is a process that can take up to two years, even when there is cause. That said, problem employees who, say, don’t show up for work should be dealt with through this process immediately.

“But to do more requires Congress to step in, which can assist this process three-fold: 1) By incentivizing early retirement via the appropriations process with limited-time-only buy-outs; 2) cutting the personnel budgets of non-defense civilian departments and agencies, reducing the enacted full-time equivalent number for each department, agency and office by 10 to 20 percent in the workforce on a last-one-in, first-one-out basis; and 3) defunding existing preferences under federal rules being given to those laid off being later rehired on a first-in-line basis. That would eliminate politicized Obama administration holdovers, and prevent them from being rehired should it become necessary to fill in some gaps. Other ideas include eliminating automatic dues deduction for federal employees unions and getting rid of any full-time official time union personnel.

“Taken together, a comprehensive civil service reform can only possibly be accomplished in the context of the upcoming continuing resolution and budget process, by simply not appropriating monies for the same number of full-time equivalent employees as last year, and defunding preferences for rehiring previously laid off personnel. Not only can’t Trump do it alone, Congress should step up to the plate exercising their Article I powers and rein in this rogue administrative state.”

Attachments:

‘You’re fired’: How Trump can reduce the federal workforce and drain the swamp, By Robert Romano, Dec. 27, 2016 at http://netrightdaily.com/2016/12/youre-fired-trump-can-reduce-federal-workforce-drain-swamp/

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.

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ALG praises confirmation of OMB Director Mick Mulvaney

Feb. 16, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Senate confirmation of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney:

“The confirmation of Mick Mulvaney to head the Office of Management and Budget puts a critical piece of the Trump Administration in place.  The OMB is vital not only on budget related discussions like those involving Obamacare, but it also plays the pivotal role in pushing a President’s regulatory agenda.  Mulvaney will be at the center of rolling back President Obama’s crippling regulatory regime.  The unnecessary, politically driven delay in his confirmation was designed to impede this important process to end the billions of dollars of government imposed costs on building things here in America.”

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.

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ALG praises bipartisan Senate moving forward nomination of EPA administrator Scott Pruitt

Feb. 16, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising the U.S. Senate for moving forward the nomination EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt:

“The war on coal is over. With the confirmation of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, a fresh clean air will be blowing through the agency washes away the moldy remains of the Obama’s environmental attack on America’s free enterprise system. Any bureaucrat in the agency who does not support Pruitt’s leadership should resign immediately and get out of the way of making America work again.

“And those politicians who voted against the Pruitt nomination told the workers in their states they prefer San Francisco radical environmentalist campaign cash over the votes and livelihoods of their constituents.

“The EPA’s shutting down the coal industry was designed to destroy U.S. manufacturing jobs by threatening our electric grid, through massive numbers of coal power plant closures. Manufacturing cannot exist without reliable electricity, and Pruitt will make certain that infrastructure is not needlessly dismantled by environmental extremists posing as regulators.”

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.

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The GOP Senate owed Andrew Puzder a hearing

Feb. 15, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response CKE Restaurants CEO Andrew Puzder withdrawing himself from consideration to be the Secretary of Labor:

“Donald Trump’s Department of Labor needs a strong leader who can enact his agenda in a hostile environment, who understands the nuances of labor issues and who has served as an employer making the tough choices that make the difference between making payroll and laying off employees. Trump had this exact person type of business leader and labor expert in Andrew Puzder.

“Unfortunately, as many as a dozen unnamed Senate GOP cowards opposed Puzder’s nomination before he even had a chance to appear in committee. Puzder was repeatedly slandered in the media with no way to publicly respond to Big Labor attack dogs and their henchmen.

“Andrew Puzder deserved at least the ability to face his accusers in a hearing. Let’s hope the Republican Senate grows a spine because if they’re bailing out in February of 2017, it does not bode well for them holding firm in the future.”

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.

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U.S. Rep. Brian Babin bill blocks any Federal Reserve bailout of state and local pension plans

Feb. 15, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising legislation by U.S. Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) that would block any Federal Reserve bailout of state and local government pension plans:

“U.S. Rep. Babin’s planned legislation blocking any Federal Reserve bailout of state and local government pension plans is an important protection against the disastrous temptation to monetize bad political decisions that have put many large state and local pension funds in jeopardy. Fiscally irresponsible states and cities should never have access to a printing press to pay their bills, and Babin’s bill will close a loophole in federal law that lets the central bank purchase muni bonds that back pension plans. If states and cities cannot meet their pension obligations particularly in defined benefit plans, they need to renegotiate the commitments that have been made so they can be sustained over the long term, not turn to the Fed for bailouts. This is a critical fix that will incentivize states and cities to get their fiscal houses in order and warrants immediate consideration and passage in the House.”

Attachments:

“State and Local Pensions Accountability and Security Act,” U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, Feb. 15, 2017 at https://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/State-and-Local-Pension-Accountability-and-Security-Act.pdf

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.

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Was Mike Flynn the first victim of a bureaucratic coup by the deep state?

Feb. 14, 2017, Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement reacting to the resignation of former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn:

“It is absurd that in today’s world, Gen. Flynn having an honest conversation with one of his foreign counterparts in preparation of the incoming administration in December was ever a firestorm in the first place. What is particularly disturbing and unacceptable is that the Obama administration engaged in surveillance of Flynn, who did nothing wrong or illegal by having the conversation, and then had it leaked to the press on Jan. 13, a week before President Trump took office, all with the purpose of actively undermining Trump and his proposed policies. And then after Trump was sworn in, the deep state bureaucratic establishment, our permanent government, decided it was necessary to leak the contents of the conversation to inflict more damage.

“These are police state tactics. Flynn, being an honorable man of unimpeachable character, took the political fall. But this must not stand.

“Every single person responsible for illegally surveilling the Trump campaign and then the transition and now the administration if it’s still going on should be prosecuted and/or fired. Every single person responsible for illegally leaking said surveillance to the press should be prosecuted and/or fired. This witch hunt turned bureaucratic coup that cost Flynn his job cannot be allowed to stand, because it is only the latest instance of apparent sabotage by career government employees. They will not stop.

“This should be immediate cause for Congress to address real civil service reform that will give the president discretion to remove government employees in every department and agency that actively undermine an administration. No career employees in the executive branch are entitled to their jobs, and it is time they learned that it is the president who makes policy, not them.”

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.

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Trump should rescind parts of executive order to protect U.S. sovereignty

Feb. 9, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging President Donald Trump to rescind the parts of his executive order that have been enjoined by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and not to continue the appeals process:

“It is obscene that unelected judges from the most liberal Appeals Court in the land are dictating the security of the nation and overriding the president’s constitutional and legal authority, with no legal justification. No one in their right minds would attempt to confer constitutional, Fifth Amendment due process rights to foreigners who do not reside in the U.S., including refugees who have no right to travel here, yet here we are.

“The net effect of the 9th Circuit’s rigged decision is the effective elimination of the federal government’s capacity to control the borders. Under this insane standard, if sustained, any limit of immigration quotas now violates due process because it denies rights to some that have been granted to others.

“With a guaranteed delay of the temporary travel restrictions imposed by President Trump in his executive order, it no longer serves its intended purpose to protect the people of the U.S. from terrorists who wish to infiltrate and do us harm. President Trump should strategically withdraw the parts of the executive order currently enjoined by the courts, and suspend the current appeals process, rendering the cases moot, and simply focus on rapidly reforming and tightening the vetting policy to enhance security, applying to all visa and refugee applicants consistently.

“In the meantime, I humbly pray that the irresponsible actions by liberal jurists from the left coast don’t result in the deaths of Americans at the hands of terrorists who have been given a free pass into our country under false pretenses.”

Attachments:

“9th Circuit may be about to legislate a constitutional right to immigrate to the U.S. Here’s how Trump could stop it.” By Robert Romano, Senior Editor, Americans for Limited Government, Feb. 7, 2017 at http://netrightdaily.com/2017/02/9th-circuit-may-legislate-constitutional-right-immigrate-u-s-heres-trump-stop/

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 Rick Manning.

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Airline meeting at White House should renew scrutiny of Ex-Im Bank subsidizing foreign competitors

Feb. 9, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress and the President to renew scrutiny of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which offers low-cost financing to foreign airlines to purchase Boeing planes, in light of the meeting of airline executives with President Donald Trump:

“U.S. airline industry executives meeting with President Trump today would be remiss not to remind the President that the U.S. government subsidizes foreign air carriers purchase of airliners from Boeing Corporation through the Export-Import Bank, putting domestic carriers at a competitive disadvantage.

“Foreign air carriers pay lower interest rates due to Ex-Im Bank guarantees of payment for Boeing aircraft than domestic carriers. One thing that fiscal conservatives can agree on is that Export-Import Bank reeks of the exact kind of crony capitalism that the President was elected to uproot.

“Today’s meeting at the White House should re-open scrutiny of the Ex-Im Bank and Congress should take action to end the Ex-Im Bank as part of their efforts to drain the D.C. swamp.”

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 Rick Manning.

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Jeff Sessions will restore rule of law as Attorney General

Feb. 8, 2017, Fairfax, Va.–Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Senate confirmation of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as Attorney General later on today:

“Jeff Sessions will restore the rule of law as our nation’s next Attorney General. Whether it is enforcing our nation’s immigration laws as written or ending the war on police, Sessions will usher in a new climate that respects the law and law enforcement as vital pillars of the civil society. Nobody is above the law, including government officials, and under Sessions’ watch and with his impeccable character, we can be assured of its consistent application. Besides naming Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, this is the most important appointment President Trump has made, and we urge Sessions’ confirmation today.”

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 Rick Manning.

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