Dec. 8, 2016, Fairfax, Va.–Americans for Limited Government senior editor Robert Romano today issued the following statement on House passage of H.R. 4919, that authorizes the Attorney General to approve human tracking devices for Alzheimer’s, autism and other patients in a $2 million grant program:

“Although slightly improved, Americans for Limited Government cannot embrace the House’s passage of the human tracking device bill. It is unnecessary government overreach, and attempts to involve the Justice Department in technology better left to the health care sector, doctors and patients. Indeed, non-invasive tracking devices like Angel Sense are already available in the private sector, without any need for legislation or Attorney General approvals. This needless legislation now heads back to the Senate, but it should just be left on the table. There is absolutely zero reason the Attorney General should be overseeing a federal human tracking device program.”

Attachments:

“Human tracking device bill vote in House today?” By Robert Romano, Dec. 7, 2016 at http://netrightdaily.com/2016/12/human-tracking-device-bill-vote-house-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.

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Dec. 7, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government senior editor Robert Romano today issued the following statement noting the proposed changes that have been made to H.R. 4919, legislation governing the Attorney General’s role in administering a human tracking device program:

“Americans for Limited Government was advised by the Judiciary Committee last week that language in the human tracking device bill was being altered to exclude the possibility of inserted tracking chips, markings or anything else deemed ‘invasive’ from being pursued as an option by the Attorney General under the $2 million grant program.

“Now, viewing the new language available on the House’s calendar page, the legislation has been altered from the Senate bill, meaning further action would still be required to get the bill to the President’s desk. The new language calls for ‘non-invasive and non-permanent types of tracking devices.’ But that is still not good enough. There shouldn’t be any bill, because there shouldn’t be a program no matter how well-intentioned overseen by the Attorney General electronically tracking people in this manner.

“The legislation still represents vast overreach by the federal government as none of this is necessary, when individuals, families and doctors can decide to use such non-invasive products on their own, like Angel Sense, under individual, limited circumstances when it is medically necessary to track patients who may become lost due to lack of mental capacity. You don’t need a bill from Congress or any approvals from the Attorney General to get that done. These types of non-invasive devices are already available in the health care sector, meaning the only action the government should take is to do nothing.”

Attachments:

“Human tracking device bill vote in House today?” By Robert Romano, Dec. 7, 2016 at http://netrightdaily.com/2016/12/human-tracking-device-bill-vote-house-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.

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Dec. 6, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government senior editor Robert Romano today issued the following statement urging the House to reject legislation, H.R. 4919, a bill that would allow the Attorney General to determine “which types of tracking devices can be used” on humans, which is now reported to be coming up under suspension of the rules:

“While the human tracking device law is well-intentioned to help locate those with Alzheimer’s or who are autistic who become lost, it creates a power for the Attorney General to determine what types of devices can be used to track humans, creating the possibility that surgically implanted chips could become authorized in the future on an involuntary basis. This is not only unnecessary, but affordable, non-invasive devices are already available via the private sector, like Angel Sense, which is fully developed and even works on your smart phone. This was done without any federal legislation or any need for the Attorney General to approve a darned thing, proving that this legislation, which has already passed the Senate is unnecessary overreach. The House postponed a hearing on this bill due to concerns, and now House leadership wants to push it through under suspension of the rules. What’s the rush to get this done during the lame duck session?”

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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Dec. 2, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government senior editor Robert Romano today issued the following statement in response to the latest jobs numbers:

“During the Christmas shopping season when seasonal hiring should be ramping up, it is troubling to see the labor participation rate actually dropped in November, which is one of the reasons the unemployment rate has dropped markedly today. More people left the labor force than found jobs in the household survey. The fact is, if the more than 8.5 million working age adults 16-64 who have left the labor since 1997 were included in the unemployment rate today, it would be well north of 9 percent. The incoming Trump administration has a lot of work to do to get the economy moving again and help Americans get back to work.”

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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Nov. 30, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today praised the selection by President-elect Donald Trump of billionaire investor Wilbur Ross to be the nation’s next Secretary of Commerce:

“Donald Trump hit another home run in his appointment of Wilbur Ross as Commerce Secretary.  Secretary-designate Ross is committed to paving the way back for robust, domestic economic growth through creating the environment where manufacturing and other industries can thrive. Once again, President-elect Trump has shown that he was serious when he stood up for American workers during this past election campaign as Mr. Ross has a lifetime of turning around seeming failing businesses, and now he will help tackle the challenge of a lifetime, the United States’ lagging economy.”

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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Nov. 29, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning and Americans for Limited Government Foundation President Nathan Mehrens today issued the following joint statement praising President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Elaine L. Chao as the next Secretary of Transportation:

“President-elect Trump has made a wise choice in nominating former Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao to be his Secretary of Transportation.  We both worked for Secretary Chao at the Labor Department and know her commitment to excellence that will serve this Administration well as it moves forward with plans to grow our nation’s economy and rebuild our infrastructure. The nation will be well-served by a rapid Senate confirmation of Elaine Chao as the next Transportation Secretary.”

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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Nov. 29, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging opposition to H.R. 4919, a bill that would allow the Attorney General to determine “which types of tracking devices can be used” on humans:

“It is almost too absurd to believe that it is true, but the House Judiciary Committee is considering H.R. 4919 that would allow for the Attorney General to authorize tracking chips to be inserted involuntarily into people who are incapacitated with Alzheimer’s and other fatal dementias. That is not the least restrictive means of tracking patients, of course, when a simple GPS tracking bracelet for example might do the trick, if a doctor thought one would be helpful for a specific patient.

“In this case, Congress would be granting the Attorney General the power to regulate when human chips are used. But if this is about patient needs, why is this under the Department of Justice and not under the Department Health and Human Services? That alone makes the program suspicious. But the real question is why the government would have any role whatsoever in regulating the circumstances under which tracking devices are to be used on a mandatory basis, when such a system could be established by the private sector, and only ever used after private consultations between doctors, patients and patients’ families, when it is appropriate.

“If Congress has learned nothing else from Obama’s pen and phone rule over the past administration, they should have learned not to pass legislation giving the executive branch open-ended authority in such an area. This Congress needs to pass a short term continuing resolution and fade gracefully into the night, doing nothing else. It’s time to let the Obama administration end, not grant a few more Orwellian powers on the way out the door.”

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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Nov. 18, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.)  as Attorney General:

“President-elect Donald Trump has made a strong statement that our Justice Department will return to following the rule of law through his appointment of Senator Jeff Sessions to serve as the Attorney General.  While soft-spoken, Senator Sessions has the steel-willed determination to restore DOJ from its current corrupted partisanship by putting the blindfold back on Lady Justice as he enforces the law.  Sessions will also help remove the stain of an Obama Justice Department that views itself more as political activists than neutral arbiters as has been witnessed by their legal war on local police and their failure to enforce immigration laws.  The only potential down-side of Senator Jeff Sessions’ appointment is that when confirmed, the Senate will lose one of its great leaders who has met every challenge with integrity and quiet strength.”

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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Stephen Bannon and Breitbart News owed apology.

Nov. 17, 2016, Fairfax, Va.–Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement condemning the Anti-Defamation League for finally revealing that “we are not aware of any anti-Semitic statements made by [Stephen] Bannon” four days after smearing Bannon as “a man who presided over the premier website of the Alt Right, a loose-knit group of white nationalists and unabashed anti-Semites and racists”:

“The Anti-Defamation League has engaged in the most partisan libelous smear campaign imaginable against Stephen Bannon based on their own political prejudices and bias. One would expect ADL to actually look at the record prior to defaming someone who has proven to not only not be an anti-Semite, but to be a true friend of Israel. After four days of obscene character assassination of Bannon and Breitbart News, ADL has been forced to admit that there is no evidence that Bannon has ever made any anti-Semitic comments. This should provide a cautionary tale for the media that all too often engages in ready, fire, aim narratives unsupported by facts when talking about people they disagree with.

“Everyone in the media who reported this without first checking and ADL in particular owe Stephen Bannon and Breitbart News a front-page apology for their reckless political smear job.

“It is absolutely fair to have a public policy discussion based upon real statements and positions taken by public figures. But this discourse is destroyed by the left’s continued insistence that anyone who disagrees with them is by definition a racist, bigot, anti-Semitic, white supremacist. At a time when the entire media needs to engage in thorough self-examination to determine how they got so far off course, these false attacks on Bannon serve as the prosecution’s Exhibit A in exposing that the left is composed of nothing more than hacks undeserving of the moniker news.”

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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Nov. 16, 2016, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government Foundation President  Nathan Mehrens today issued the following statement praising the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas for placing a permanent injunction against the Labor Department’s “persuader” regulation:

“Today, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas held unlawful the U.S. Department of Labor’s ‘Persuader’ regulation. The court issued a permanent, nationwide injunction preventing the regulation’s enforcement.

“This regulation would have resulted in the public disclosure of many types of advice and services provided by attorneys and other consultants to employers in the context of dealing with employee relations. A side effect of the regulation would have been an increased difficulty for employers to obtain advice on these matters. It would also have made employer communications with their employees more difficult.

“Since labor law is complex, many employers need advice in order to successfully navigate the labyrinth of laws, regulations, and policies that a variety of federal agencies apply to them. Limiting the availability of advice is bad policy.

“Today’s injunction validates what we have said from the beginning, that the regulation is unlawful, unnecessary, and would make it harder for employers to obtain advice.”

Attachments:

Permanent injunction on “persuader” regulation, Nov. 16, 2016 at https://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Persuader-Rule-Perm-Injunction-11.16.16.pdf

Preliminary injunction on “persuader” regulation, June 27, 2016 at https://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/NFIBvPerezPreliminaryInjunction_June272016.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 including ALG President Rick Manning.

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