November 24th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today asked White House Counsel Robert Bauer if he granted an exception to the Center for American Progress in its recent use of the Seal of the President of the United States in a policy publication.

The use of the seal is restricted under law (TITLE 18, PART I,CHAPTER 33, § 713 of the U.S. Code), which prohibits reproduction of the seal for “the purpose of conveying, or in a manner reasonably calculated to convey, a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States”.

Exceptions have been outlined via executive order for educational and historical uses as well as limited uses by news media. Under Executive Order 11649, further exceptions can also be granted by the White House Counsel.

In his letter, Wilson wrote, “As you are well aware, the rationale for restricting the use of the Seal is to prevent any suggestion of presidential support or endorsement of third-party messages. However, as exceptions are provided for pursuant to Executive Order 11649, we would like to know if such an exception has been granted in this case.”

The Center for American Progress prominently used the seal on the cover of its November 2010 publication, “The Power of the President: Recommendations to Advance Progressive Change” at http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/issues/2010/11/pdf/executive_orders.pdf .

The paper advocated the use of executive orders by the Obama Administration to advance its agenda after Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives in the November elections.

Wilson explained in a statement, saying, “The Center for American Progress use of the seal appears to indicate presidential endorsement of its agenda. The question is whether the White House granted an exception in this case or not. If it did, that would appear to be a stretch beyond the intent of the law and the order, in which exceptions are supposed to be provided for educational, historical, and news purposes. If it did not, then it would appear to be a violation of the law by the Center for American Progress.”

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November 18th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today urged members of the House to vote in favor of a Republican motion to recommit on HR 1722, a motion which would eliminate federal funding for National Public Radio.

“National Public Radio is the first to claim that it receives less than 2 percent of its money from the federal government. So, by its own admission, NPR doesn’t need the money, so let’s cut it. The government has a $1.3 trillion budget deficit, and members of Congress have to find every bit of funding that can be cut,” Wilson said.

NPR requested $136 million for FY 2013.

In an exclusive interview with Americans for Limited Government, Representative Doug Lamborn, who authored the bill to defund NPR, blasted it over the firing of Juan Williams: “We see now with the Juan Williams fiasco that they’re not a neutral news organization. They have a left-leaning bias.”

Lamborn continued, “It could be out there in the private marketplace, and compete along with everyone else. Why should government be in the broadcasting business at all?”

Wilson agreed, saying, “NPR can finance itself via donations, or move toward a profit model if they choose, but taxpayers should not be obligated to pay for programming which does not treat all sides fairly.”

ALG launched a national petition drive recently to defund public broadcasting in the wake of National Public Radio’s firing of Juan Williams. The petition is at: www.defundpublicbroadcasting.org.

Background:

“Defund Public Broadcasting Once and For All,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, October 25th, 2010.

ALG Praises Boehner’s Call to Defund Public Broadcasting, October 22nd, 2010

“Where to cut, you ask?” Video by Frank McCaffrey on Doug Lamborn’s legislation, October 19th, 2010.

“The Bare Minimum,” by Rick Manning, ALG Communications Director, October 20th, 2010.

“Time to Stop Funding Luxuries, Like Public Broadcasting,” by Rebekah Rast, ALG News Contributing Editor, June 14th, 2010.

“Is Public Broadcasting Hurting the Arts?” by Robert Romano, ALG News Senior Editor, June 15th, 2010.

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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November 17th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) is encouraging Republicans in the Senate to filibuster the nomination of judicial nominees Goodwin Liu and Robert Chatigny, for the federal bench. The full Senate is expected to vote on these judicial nominees tomorrow.

“Senate Republicans are under no obligation to support nominees or provide political cover for the other side of the aisle,” explained Bill Wilson, president of Americans for Limited Government (ALG).

“Goodwin Liu is an extra-constitutional thinker who believes that the eligibility requirements for ObamaCare and other ‘welfare rights’ are perfectly within the scope of courts to interpret,” Wilson noted. “With him on the bench, a single-payer system could be just one court decision away. The American people cannot take that chance.”

“Liu also has an expansive view of the Commerce Clause, and does not even hold as an ‘absolute requirement’ that an activity even be economic in order for it to be regulated. Guess what? That encapsulates all activity,” Wilson explained.

“Robert Chatigny told the American people everything they needed to know when he did all in his power to prevent the execution of a convicted serial killer and rapist. He even overturned Connecticut’s sex offender registry law, only to later have his own decision reversed,” Wilson explained.

Americans for Limited Government has run ads urging Senate Judiciary Committee members to oppose Chatigny.

Wilson concluded, “These radical judicial picks, re-nominated by Obama, remind the American people of why judges matter. It is up to the Senate Republicans to put the brakes on nominees whose extralegal views warp and distort the Constitution and thus undermine the rule of law. America does not need more ideologues on the bench.”

Attachments:
Senate to Reconsider Judicial Nominees Goodwin Liu and Robert Chatigny, Bill Wilson, September 22nd, 2010.

Goodwin Liu, Americans for Limited Government Nominee Alert, March 2010.

“Wonderland: The World According to Goodwin Liu,” Bill Wilson, March 24th, 2010.

“Why Goodwin Liu is Important,” ALG News Editorial, April 12th, 2010.

“Liu Guilty by Omission,” Robert Romano, April 8th, 2010.

ALG Nominee Alert, Robert Chatigny, March 2010.

Video: Oppose Confirmation of Serial Killer Apologist for Court of Appeals, June 22nd, 2010.

ALG Letter to U.S. Senate Against Judge Chatigny, June 21st, 2010.

“Editorial: Democrat Senate to Promote Rapist, Serial Killer Apologist to 2nd Circuit Court,” ALG News, June 21st, 2010.

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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November 16th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in response to the guilty verdict issued by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of Representative Charlie Rangel:

“The House ethics panel has issued a decisive verdict against Charlie Rangel, but it’s not over yet. It’s now up to the panel to recommend a punishment. If Rangel refuses to resign, the only proper punishment is expulsion.

“Charlie Rangel must go.

“Rangel used a rent-stabilized apartment for campaign activities, failed to pay taxes on rental property in the Dominican Republic, and improperly used congressional letterhead to raise funds for a City University center to be built in his name. These were not small infractions.

“The House ethics panel must err on the side of reestablishing public trust in Congress after this notorious corruption scandal by recommending Rangel’s expulsion from the House forever. Anything less than expulsion will be viewed as simply a slap on the wrist and an affirmation of the ‘good ol’ boy’ network. If Congress should have learned anything from the 2010 elections, it’s that the American people want members of the House to be held accountable for their actions. Rangel is as good a place as any to start.”

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November 15th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for his support of a moratorium on congressional earmarks:

“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s sincere support of a moratorium on congressional earmarks is a welcome change in the posture of Senate Republicans on the critical issue of reducing government waste. It’s time to listen to the American people, who are demanding that Congress restrain itself when the nation has a $13.7 trillion national debt and trillion-dollar deficits projected every year for the next ten years.

“Americans for Limited Government thanks and strongly praises Senate Minority Leader McConnell. We now urge Senate Republicans to unanimously adopt the earmark moratorium to show a united a front in confronting government waste. Spending reform first and foremost must begin with individual members of Congress agreeing to do their parts by beginning to make sacrifices. Although earmarks are a small part of the budget, having a moratorium will free up members’ efforts to focus on critical budgetary reforms that must be enacted to protect the very solvency of the U.S. government.”

Attachments:

Speech by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), November 15th, 2010.

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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November 12th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement urging Senate Republicans to support a moratorium on congressional earmarks:

“Now is the time for Senate Republicans to lead by example in pursuing fiscal responsibility by enacting a moratorium on congressional earmarks. With a $13.7 trillion national debt and projected trillion-dollar deficits every year for the next ten years, now is the time for Senate Republicans to send a clear message to taxpayers that they care more about balancing the budget than delivering pork to their home states.

“Americans for Limited Government is urging Senate Republicans to carefully consider the express will of the American people who support a moratorium on congressional earmarks. The American people voted for change in November, and now they want to know if Senate Republicans have changed their ways.

“A moratorium on earmarks is needed so that Congress can focus on and dispense with critical budgetary reforms that must be enacted to protect the very solvency of the republic. Senate Republicans should support the earmark moratorium as a first step to balancing the budget. It will tell taxpayers that the new Congress is committed to changing the way it does business, starting with eliminating unnecessary pork. Earmarks weaken our political process by undermining public trust in our institutions. Earmarks are the grease that tempt members of Congress to vote for trillion-dollar budget busting bills and government takeovers.

“The American people want Congress to work on the big issues surrounding reining in Washington’s unsustainable spending. A moratorium on earmarks by Senate Republicans will send a signal that they are setting aside their own political self-interests in favor of the broader interests of all Americans, who want the budget balanced. It’s time for lawmakers to begin to make sacrifices.”

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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November 11th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson sent a letter to each newly elected Republican Member of the House urging them to oppose Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) as Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

In his letter to the new Members, Wilson highlights Rep. Upton’s voting record as conflicting with the new Republican agenda. “Fred Upton’s voting record on key issues demonstrates his destructive support for the bailouts, the stimulus, and job-crippling green legislation that sends American jobs overseas. This combined with his opposition to repealing ObamaCare make him particularly unsuitable to Chair the one committee with primary jurisdiction over many of the most important issues facing our nation,” Wilson wrote.

In his letter, Wilson reminded the Members about the importance of electing committee chairs who represent the values of limited government, the platform that got them elected to the majority Nov. 2.

“As a newly elected member of Congress, you have a unique opportunity to let Republican leadership know that you want an Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman who agrees with the basic limited government ideas that brought about the greatest Republican victory in the House of Representatives since 1894,” wrote Wilson.

He finished his letter with this, “The entire direction of the next two years is being set during these organizing meetings, and Americans for Limited Government strongly encourages you to not allow this historic opportunity to get lost before you are even sworn in.”

Background:

Wilson’s Letter to New Members

Fred Upton’s Voting Record

GOP Must Choose Leaders Wisely

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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November 11th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson issued the following statement on the preliminary recommendations of the Obama deficit commission:

“The deficit commission does not contemplate a balanced budget until 2040. It never contemplates reducing the overall $13.7 trillion debt, which will continue to grow year-on-end. The American people want to pay down and retire the national debt, not continue to grow it. We don’t have 30 years to balance the budget.

“If Congress does not act to balance the budget and begin reducing the debt immediately, next year the Federal Reserve will become the number one holder of U.S. debt. Failure to act now will mean the debt will soar past 100 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in just a few short years. By 2018, if not sooner, our Triple-A credit rating will be downgraded. In fact, China has already taken the step of downgrading us.  The commission’s recommendations, if enacted today, would not prevent one of these things from happening, meaning higher costs to paying the debt in the future, and a weaker dollar. Ultimately, the dollar will lose its special status as the world’s reserve currency.

“By failing to outline the consequences of doing nothing, the commission starts out in exactly the wrong place. Because it does not contemplate the real problems posed by the unsustainable debt, it offers the wrong solutions. The commission focuses on gradually reducing the deficit, which is the wrong premise, when Congress needs to focus on reducing and eventually paying off the $13.7 trillion national debt. Before it has even presented its final findings, Obama’s commission has failed.”

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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November 11th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson issued the following statement on the preliminary recommendations of the Obama deficit commission: