March 3, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following call for President Donald Trump to cut former presidents’ access to classified information, including former President Barack Obama’s:

“Given the New York Times report of Obama’s apparent operation to expand access to classified intelligence including innocuous contacts with Trump campaign officials and Russians, we can no longer trust that former President Barack Obama will treat classified intelligence information as anything but political fodder. Until the leak investigation is completed, all former presidents should be cut out of the loop of classified information under federal rules and by revising Executive Order 13526. They have no need to know.”

To view online: http://getliberty.org/2017/03/obama-former-presidents-should-be-cut-out-of-loop-of-classified-information/

Attachments:

32 CFR 1909.5 Requirements as to who may apply at https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/32/1909.5

(c) Former Presidents and Vice Presidents. Any former President or Vice President may submit a request for access to classified CIA information. Requests from former Presidents or Vice Presidents shall be in writing to the Coordinator and shall identify the records containing the classified information of interest. A former President or Vice President may also request approval for a research associate, but there is no entitlement to such enlargement of access and the decision in this regard shall be in the sole discretion of the Senior Agency Official.

32 CFR 1909.12 – Termination of access at https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/32/1909.12

The Coordinator shall cancel any authorization and deny any further access whenever the Director of Security cancels the security clearance of any person who has been granted access to classified CIA information under the part; or whenever the Senior Agency Official, or the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, determines that continued access would no longer be consistent with the requirements of this part; or at the conclusion of the authorized period of up to two years if there is no renewal under § 1909.11.

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.

###

March 2, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of H.R. 850 by U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), the Agency Accountability Act, legislation that would require that fees, fines and other revenues independently collected by agencies be deposited in the Treasury general fund:

“Representative Palmer’s Agency Accountability Act ends the practice of Agency’s compiling slush funds that allow them to operate independently from Congress’ funding oversight.  This legislation is a great step forward in restoring Congress’ Article One Constitutional authority and Americans for Limited Government urges its passage. From 2010 to 2015, $83 billion of fines, fees and other revenue were collected by agencies, money that Congress alone should have authority in appropriating.”

Attachments:

Restoring the Power of the Purse: Shining Light on Federal Agencies Billion Dollar Fines Collections, Nov. 30, 2016, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a Majority staff report at https://oversight.house.gov/report/oversight-report-reveals-83-billion-collected-agency-fines-penalties/

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.

###

Feb. 28, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to at least repeal as much of Obamacare as was repealed last year when it was vetoed by former President Barack Obama:

“There is no excuse for not repealing Obamacare by as much as it was last year. Any attempt to merely spray the health care law with perfume and declare it a victory betrays every promise the GOP Congress and President Trump made during their successful 2016 campaign. Obamacare does not need to be reformed, it needs to be repealed.”

Attachments:

“Time for Congress to do its job and repeal Obamacare,” By Peter Hong, Feb. 28, 2017 at http://netrightdaily.com/2017/02/time-congress-job-repeal-obamacare/

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.

###

Fiscal responsibility vital to national security.

Feb. 28, 2017, Fairfax, Va.–Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today in a statement responded to Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) complaint that President Trump’s proposed defense spending is not large enough, “With a world on fire, America cannot secure peace through strength with just 3 percent more than President Obama’s budget. We can and must do better”:

“President Donald Trump, in proposing a $54 billion increase in defense spending over the coming years, has done the fiscally responsible thing and found $50 billion of offsetting non-defense budget cuts to help pay for it. If McCain wants an additional hike of defense spending by another $37 billion this year, why doesn’t he identify $37 billion of cuts to make this year elsewhere in the budget? Perhaps look at the Pentagon itself. McCain has never seen a war that he didn’t want to put American soldiers into the midst of. The Department of Defense needs to conduct a complete audit and wring out the social engineering spending that Obama embedded in their budget including the inefficient and costly biofuel program. This refocusing will mean more planes, tanks and ships to protect American interests for the same dollar spent.

“While increasing defense spending is important for national security, it is equally important the Pentagon get more bang for its buck too. The fact is, the number one constraint on future defense spending will be the ballooning $20 trillion national debt. This year alone, it is projected by OMB that gross interest on the debt will be $511 billion, just $100 billion shy of the entire defense budget. It is this future expense budget that will consume all others, and make it impossible for the U.S. to meet its security commitments globally.

“We urge Sen. McCain to follow President Trump’s prudent example in proposing spending cuts to pay for his proposed increase in defense spending. As Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Sen. McCain is uniquely positioned to identify inefficient defense programs and unneeded armaments to meet the needs of a sound peace through strength doctrine.”

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.

###

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.

###

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.

###

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.

###

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.

###