March 21, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today in a statement praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Sackett v. EPA:

“In an era when the EPA seems to believe the water in one’s tub is a ‘navigable water’ subject to Clean Water Act restrictions and onerous fines, it is good to know that the agency’s compliance order dictates are still subject to judicial review. The agency in this case was actually attempting to argue that the Clean Water Act precluded any oversight by federal courts into the legality or even constitutionality of its edicts. Fortunately, the Supreme Court, to its credit, unanimously struck down any such a pretense.

“While the case did not extend to whether the Sacketts’ property, north of Priest Lake and ‘separated by several lots containing permanent structures’ according to the ruling, is in fact a wetland, it opens the door for such an investigation. On that count, it appears the only way a boat could even navigate to the Sacketts’ property would be on a trailer. One hopes they will receive a favorable ruling on the merits of their case now that they will finally get their day in court.

“This is a small victory. Importantly, this settles as a matter of law that such cases are indeed reviewable, and serves notice on the EPA that it cannot regulate every drop of water in the country through compliance orders without judicial oversight. Hopefully, with courts watching, such regulatory overreach may soon be coming to an end.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

March 20, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement on the growth of the national debt to $16.65 trillion by the end of this calendar year:

“Obama has added more debt in a single term than any president in American history — indeed, any leader in world history. By the end of this calendar year, the Obama Administration, through its policies, will have added $4.925 trillion to the national debt. That includes $185 billion of 2009 ‘stimulus’ spending and when Obama’s first continuing resolution went into effect at the end of the 2009 fiscal year.

“By the time his fiscal year 2013 spending has fully gone into effect, Obama will have added a full $5.823 trillion to the debt.

“Obama cannot blame his predecessors. By his policies alone — which include a failure to rein in our unsustainable fiscal trajectory — Obama will have increased the national debt by 46.9 percent by the end of calendar year 2012, and 55.4 percent by the end of fiscal year 2013. That is unacceptable to taxpayers and future generations that are expected to foot the bill.

“Overall, since Obama took office, the debt has increased by a whopping $5.061 trillion, reflecting his failure to restore order to the nation’s fiscal house. The national debt is now larger than the entire economy for the first time since World War II, and is growing by about a 10 percent annual rate, far faster than the economy. No nation can long endure on such a basis, and time is running out to steer the Ship of State from the fiscal Abyss that Europe is presently sinking into.”

ALG Editor’s Note: The $4.925 trillion of additional debt does not include FY 2009 spending that was signed into law in 2008, when Obama was a Senator.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

March 19, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement on the second anniversary of the passage of Obamacare this month:

“It has been nearly two years since Obamacare was signed into law, and the costs keep climbing. Through 2022, taxpayers are on the hook for gross costs of $1.75 trillion, a 10-year figure that will only continue to rise as we near the law’s full implementation years. It has already resulted in more than 2,000 pages of new regulations — more than 2.13 million words — five times longer than the statute itself.

“In 2014, the individual mandate — barring a Supreme Court ruling this summer — is still set to go into effect. That is the point of no return. As millions of Americans change their professions, they will lose their current health care plans, and because of the mandate, be forced into government-run, taxpayer-subsidized insurance exchanges. As a result, they will be driven off privately run plans into a labyrinthine bureaucracy of red tape and rationing.

“Irrevocably, this law will interfere with life-and-death decisions best left to doctors and patients, and as the government runs out of money, will reduce benefits and increase costs. The American people were better off with a system with real choices that they fund themselves, instead of this government-run nightmare.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

March 15, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned a decision by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which the U.S. funds, to lend another $36.7 billion to bail out Greece and the banks that foolishly lent her the money:

“To date, the IMF has given Greece and European banks $26.8 billion in kick-the-can refinance loans. Now the IMF, which the U.S. funds, is bailing out the banks that bet poorly on her debt with another $36.7 billion. Our stake was already $13.5 billion of American taxpayer money being used propping up Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

“With this latest loan, the U.S. stake will rise to mpre than $20 billion spent on bailing out Europe. That does not count additional lending that is taking place by the Federal Reserve to prop up the European financial system. To put the $20 billion spent on Europe into perspective, in the 2010 all 50 states got a bailout from the Pelosi-Reid Congress of $26.1 billion. We’ve sunk 12.7 times more into Greece, Portugal and Ireland per capita than individual states received on average in their last bailout. This is positively outrageous.

“Making matters worse, the U.S. has a prominent seat at the IMF, which could have been used to prevent this bailout. There has been no word on how the U.S. representative voted yet.

“Either, we voted yes, putting the lie to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner who just in February said ‘it’s unlikely you’re going to see the major shareholders of the IMF be prepared to have the IMF play a larger response’ in Greece. Or, perhaps we voted no, in which case it proves the U.S. has surrendered fiscal sovereignty to the international central bank cartel.

“Now is the time to pass legislation proposed by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Sen. Jim DeMint that would rescind $108 billion additional funding to the IMF it received in 2009 when Democrats had a majority in both houses of Congress. American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the foolish lending practices of foreign banks. That money needs to be taken back, before it is flushed down the toilet of European socialism.”

Attachments:

“Rescinding $108 billion from IMF necessary, tough love,” ALG President Bill Wilson, March 12, 2012 athttp://news.investors.com/article/604097/201203121905/congress-should-take-back-bailout-of-european-union.htm.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

March 14, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today responded to a new Congressional Budget Office estimate showing the gross cost of Obamacare rising to $1.75 trillion from 2013-2022:

“As we begin to see what’s in it, as Nancy Pelosi suggested we do, the true costs of Obamacare are being revealed by the Congressional Budget Office. Now we know that through 2022, the price tag will rise to $1.75 trillion—and counting. This proves that the out-years always were always where the real expense was hidden by Obama.

“Within ten years, Obamacare will have a permanent, iron grip on the national economy, never letting go. Once fully implemented, starting in the middle of this decade, the ten year costs will jump to over $2 trillion, and then keep climbing, never to be reduced.

“Ultimately, Americans will be driven off of their private insurance and on to government-subsidized plans. It will get in the way of doctors and patients, regulate every aspect of medical decisions, and ultimately result in rationing. That is when the ultimate price will be paid by those who are denied care, when life or death is on the line.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

March 13, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today urged Senate Republicans blocking all judicial nominations and other Senate business until four controversial “recess” appointments that were made by the White House when Congress was not even in a recess are rescinded:

“When the Obama Administration saw fit to make four unconstitutional ‘recess’ appointments when Congress was not even in any recess, Senate Republicans spoke out in protest, but have failed to do anything about it so far. Now, sensing weakness, Harry Reid is attempting to ram through a cloture package of 17 judicial nominees.

“This is an opportunity for Republicans to stand strong. Not one of these nominees should be allowed to the floor for an up-or-down vote. Every single one of them should be filibustered — unless and until Obama rescinds his unconstitutional ‘recess’ appointments.

“The Senate as an institution has thus far proven itself to be incredibly timid at defending its own constitutional interests. Sadly, because of its weakness, the Senate is setting us on a very slippery slope where the executive arbitrarily acts as he pleases without any basis in the rule of law. Leaders there have not even so much as filed suit in federal court to overturn this egregious power grab.

“Since Senate Republicans have refused to defend the institution, Reid now thinks he can ram through 17 nominees all at once. It’s up to Senate Republicans to prove him wrong. Refuse to act on anything until these fake ‘recess’ appointments are out of office. It is time to stand up for the rule of law, before it is too late.”

Attachments:

“Is there not one senator who will defend the Senate?” ALG President Bill Wilson, Feb. 13, 2012 at http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2012/02/there-not-one-senator-who-will-defend-senate/257701

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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March 12, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ call urging the U.S. to vote against providing more assistance to Greece when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meets on March 15:

“In February, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Europe ‘has more work to do’ and that until they do it, ‘it’s unlikely you’re going to see the major shareholders of the IMF be prepared to have the IMF play a larger response’ in Greece. Now less than a month later,the IMF is meeting Thursday to approve another $37 billion for bailing out Greece and her creditors.

“It is time for the Obama Administration to stop putting our money where its mouth is, and start speaking straight. The U.S. should demand an open vote at the IMF Executive Board, and vote no for further taxpayer money to be sunk into Greece. That is, if it truly is opposed to additional resources being used to shore up European banks that bet poorly on sovereign debt. Billions have already been wasted by the IMF on Europe.

“Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is to be praised for taking a critical stand on this issue. She has offered legislation that if enacted will rescind the additional $108 billion the Pelosi-Reid Congress gave the IMF in 2009 — before it is wasted propping up socialist governments in Europe that refuse to cut spending. Now is the time for Congress to act.”

Attachments:

“Rescinding $108 billion from IMF necessary, tough love,” ALG President Bill Wilson, March 12, 2012 athttp://netrightdaily.com/2012/03/rescinding-108-billion-from-imf-necessary-tough-love/.

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

March 6, 2012, Fairfax, VA — Americans for Limited Government (ALG) today announced the launching of SaveTheBarredOwl.com, a website devoted to exposing the harm done by federal government regulations designed to “help” the environment.

The website is inspired by the case of the Barred Owl, which has been given the federal government death penalty due to its rudely sharing the habitat with the “sacred” Spotted Owl.

“The federal government has wiped out almost the entire timber industry in the northwestern United States in an effort to save the spotted owl only to discover that the endangered owl thrives in land where timbering occurs. Now, years later, the federal government is back trying to wipe out the Barred Owl so it won’t compete for food with the favored Spotted Owl,” said ALG President Bill Wilson.

Young and old alike will remember the Barred Owl, which was used as the model in the federal government’s beloved “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute” campaign. In homage to this government advertising effort, Americans for Limited Government has named its Barred Owl campaign, “Give a Hoot, Don’t Shoot!”

Ironically, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision to kill Barred Owls is a response to their own failed policy that destroyed the habitat that the endangered Spotted Owl actually thrives in.

Wilson summarized the campaign saying, “The case of the Spotted Owl is just one more example of the federal government acting at the behest of environmental extremists and the wake of destruction that they leave in their paths. The Barred Owl campaign will put a spotlight on these lowlights and hold those government agencies responsible and accountable for the consequences of their actions.”

The website launched by Americans for Limited Government will provide a place for Americans to voice their concerns about the government’s actions with a specific petition calling on Congress to defund all actions pertaining to the planned annihilation of the Barred Owl species.

Attachments:

“Whoooo’s No. 1? Government says Northern spotted owl,” ALG contributing editor Rebekah Rast, March 1, 2012 athttp://netrightdaily.com/2012/03/whoooos-no-1-government-says-northern-spotted-owl/ .

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

March 5, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today urged the U.S. director on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board, Meg Lundsager, to vote against providing more assistance to Greece when it meets on March 13:

“It requires a simple majority of the IMF Executive Board to approve lending to any nation, including Greece. With only 16.75 percent of the vote, the U.S. via Meg Lundsager can do nothing to stop more taxpayer-funded bailouts of socialist governments in Europe and their lenders. This is why the Pelosi-Reid led Democrat Congress in 2009 never should have approved an additional $108 billion of U.S. taxpayer money for the IMF to play with. But, the U.S. should nonetheless demand a public vote, and Lundsager should vote no.

“Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has recently said ‘it’s unlikely you’re going to see the major shareholders of the IMF be prepared to have the IMF play a larger response’ in Greece. Yet it is widely reported that the IMF will be providing between €18 billion and €21 billion of the new €130 billion loan for Greece when it meets on March 13. Geithner clearly does not have the pulse of a majority of the IMF.

“It’s time for the Obama Administration to put its money where its mouth is. If Obama does not support bailing out Greece, then the U.S. representative at the IMF should vote against it on the record. The IMF rarely holds votes. In this case, the lack of a public vote will be viewed as tacit approval of bailing out Greece.

“To date, the IMF, with U.S. approval, has already committed €30 billion to bailing out Greece and its creditors in previous lending arrangements. We’re already throwing good money after bad, and it’s time it stopped.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.

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March 5, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government filed a Freedom of Information Act request of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking for records related to former deputy assistant director of the Bureau of Competition Randall Long’s communications with Microsoft Corporation.

It was announced last week, that Microsoft has hired Long to be its director of regulatory affairs in Washington, D.C.

Bill Wilson, President of Americans for Limited Government filed the FOIA because, “Microsoft’s hiring of Long is suspicious, given Long’s long history of advocating within the FTC in favor of Microsoft’s interests. It is important to the integrity of the regulatory process that it be clearly established that there is not even a hint of a quid pro quo relationship.”

The FOIA specifically asks for:

1. All records of communications and the communications themselves between Randall Long and any official or personnel of the Microsoft Corporation, and;
2. All records of meetings between Mr. Long and any official or personnel of the Microsoft Corporation.

“Any time you see a regulator become known as a leading internal critic of a rival corporation who gets a revolving door hire to a competitor who benefited from his advocacy it is troubling, and this FOIA seeks to get to the bottom of whether there was any improper conduct between Microsoft and Mr. Long,” Wilson added.

The time period covered under the request is on or after Jan. 1, 2009.

Click here for a copy of the FOIA request at www.getliberty.org/files/03-05-12-FTC-FOIA.pdf .

Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.