Nov. 17, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the U.S. Senate to adopt an amendment expected to be introduced by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) that would deny funds to implement the rule “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD):

“Sen. Mike Lee deserves the thanks of the American people for again proposing an amendment to defund HUD’s attempts to rezone any municipality that accepts any part of the $3.5 billion a year in community development block grants from the federal government. The Obama administration is engaged in a utopian plan to create evenly distributed neighborhoods based on racial composition and income. It is social engineering at its worst, and a back-door attempt to gerrymander districts.

“It is also unconstitutional. Under principles of federalism, zoning is left up to states, counties and municipalities to determine for themselves. HUD has no place in drawing up neighborhoods based on racial preferences. In addition, the HUD rule will do nothing to stop individual cases of housing discrimination based on race that have been illegal since the 1960s.

“Americans for Limited Government strongly supports the Lee amendment to defund Obama’s racial zoning quotas, and urges it be included in any upcoming omnibus spending legislation for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2016. Companion legislation by Rep. Paul Gosar has already been included in the Transportation and HUD appropriations bill that passed the House of Representatives in 2014 and 2015. It’s time it be included in Senate appropriations as well.”

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. 17, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President today issued the following statement urging both chambers of Congress to take up legislation blocking the unionization of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.):

“Senator Cory Gardner and Representative Paul Gosar deserve the nation’s thanks for their efforts to keep the IRS free from undue public employee union influence.

“At a time when the IRS is engaged in open political warfare against the tea party and other conservative non-profits, Congress has the ability to depoliticize the agency in one small way — by blocking any unionization of this civil service agency. No political organizations, including unions, should have undue influence inside an agency as powerful as the IRS, and the Gosar-Gardner bill addresses that danger head on.

“We urge every member of Congress to cosponsor and help secure passage of this non-controversial, non-partisan stance against politics corrupting the IRS. Nobody liked it when Nixon used the IRS against his political enemies, and this should be no different.”

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. 11, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) for introducing the Preventing Unionization of Revenue Service Employees Act that would bar the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from unionizing:

“Senator Gardner’s approach goes to the heart of the Hatch Act civil service protections that ensure the bureaucracy is not subject to undue political influence. The rise of public employee unions as major contributors to the left has long been a threat to the political neutrality of the civil service system. The IRS’ unprecedented targeting of conservative organizations and donors makes it all the more important that Senator Gardner’s brilliant legislation become law.”

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. 10, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the Obama administration’s decision to appeal the 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling overturning the White House’s executive amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants with U.S.-born children:

“Obama’s decision to appeal the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling against executive amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants puts the Supreme Court once again in focus in the debate over Congress’ Article I powers.

“The 5th Circuit even quoted Obama’s Nov. 2014 admission that it was the failure of Congress to enact such a program that prompted him to ‘change the law’ in their ruling against him. Any plain reading of the Constitution shows the 5th Circuit is correct, that Congress sets the rules for immigration, not the President. Obama had no authority to issue his amnesty.

“However, the Supreme Court has failed repeatedly to use a plain reading of the Constitution as its standard. Let us hope that the Roberts court takes a reading comprehension class before hearing Obama’s appeal. If they do, Obama’s executive amnesty will be thrown on the trash heap of history.”

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. 5, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement against adoption of the Trans-Pacific Partnership:

“The Trans-Pacific Partnership, which regulates 40 percent of the global economy, will continue to outsource American jobs overseas, fail to do anything about currency manipulation, and once adopted, will create an international, unelected commission with broad authority to implement and interpret the agreement without any votes of Congress. These regulatory and judicial powers of the commission, in Article 27.2.2 of the agreement, will be akin to rogue agencies and activist courts in the U.S., that regularly issue edicts contrary to the law passed by elected representatives.

“While U.S. Trade Representative provided a chapter summary on its final provisions that it would take votes of Congress to amend the agreement and to allow other countries to dock into the agreement, the text of the agreement is not nearly so explicit, leaving significant concerns about how the trade agreement will function and whether U.S. representative democracy will be meaningful in its wake. Before any agreement is ratified, the language must be much stronger to make the need for Congress’ approval clear. A chapter summary is not the agreement itself. The danger of a runaway commission is too great for this to be ignored.

“But since Congress is forbidden from amending the agreement under terms of the fast track trade authority granted President Obama earlier this year, and the agreement will not be fixed later, the only recourse for members who share this concern is to simply vote no. Chile managed to get a provision into the agreement adhering to its Constitution explicitly into Article 27, but the U.S. could not? It’s not as if these concerns were not raised prior to the close of negotiations, making the lack of language explicitly safeguarding Article One and Two congressional prerogatives in the U.S. Constitution particularly inexcusable. This concern is exacerbated by President Obama’s on-going contempt for these prerogatives as demonstrated by his regulatory overreach and pen and phone approach to dictating policy.”

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. 5, 2015, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement condemning the House of Representatives for rejecting an amendment to H.R. 22 by U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) that would prohibit subsides from the U.S. Export-Import Bank to state sponsors of terrorism like Iran:

“The actions of 181 Democrats and 63 of their Republican cohorts to fail to close a loophole that allows the Ex-Im Bank to provide U.S. taxpayer guaranteed loans to state sponsors of terrorism like Iran, Syria and Sudan upon a presidential waiver to buy state of the art Boeing aircraft is beyond comprehension. By failing to close the loophole, Congress has given carte blanche to President Obama to allow Ex-Im subsidized loans to go to Iran — because Congress just said they will do nothing about it.

“The 63 Republicans who voted against the Royce amendment are recklessly enabling our enemies, failing in their first responsibility, which is to protect national security. It is one thing to support corporate cronyism, and quite another to use taxpayer backing for state sponsors of terrorism to be the beneficiaries.

“Unfortunately now, when President Obama allows Iran to buy sophisticated parts and equipment by waiving the prohibitions of the Foreign Assistance Act, he knows that 63 House Republicans will stand by his side. The world is a more dangerous place today than it was yesterday, and these renegade Republicans bear the responsibility.

“Americans for Limited Government extends its gratitude to Congressman Ed Royce and all those who stood against this travesty of American governance.”

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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