ALG Warns States of Mandatory Funding in $10 Billion Education Fund, Urges Them to Fight Provision

August 10, 2010

August 10th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today warned governors of the fifty states that the $10 billion in state education spending included in legislation signed into law “is for all intents and purposes mandatory under the federal statute.”

Wilson pointed to Section 101(8) of H.R. 1586 which states that if a governor fails to apply for funding within 30 days, “the Secretary shall provide for funds allocated to that State to be distributed to another entity or other entities in the State … for support of elementary and secondary education, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may establish.”

“This is completely unconstitutional, as it coerces states to accept the terms and conditions that come with the money. The federal government has no power to compel states to spend money on a mandatory basis, but that is exactly what this law does,” Wilson declared.

“The federal government is forcing states to keep funding through FY 2011, and through FY 2013 solely for the state of Texas, at pre-recession levels despite the obvious need for cuts at the state and local levels of government, and telling governors that if they do not apply for the funding, then the federal government will force them to accept it,” Wilson explained.

Wilson said Section 101(8) explained the statement issued by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s press secretary yesterday that “the Governor will apply for the education funding passed by the House today in order to ensure it is managed and distributed to local school districts by the State of New Jersey, and not the federal government.”

The statement continued, “Guaranteeing New Jersey is in control of these education dollars will ensure that these funds are used by all school districts to help restore some of the federal stimulus funds lost in this year’s difficult budget.”

Wilson said that Governor Christie’s position was “understandable since the federal government would otherwise come in and distribute the funds one way or another,” but added, “it forces New Jersey and other states to keep this level of pre-recession funding through FY 2011 when revenue will not likely recover next year.”

Governor Christie’s press secretary statement criticized the legislation for that exact reason, saying, “Governor Chris Christie believes that using this type of non-recurring funding for operating expenses is ill advised because it will disappear after one year”.

According to Katherine Cesinger, Deputy Press Secretary of Texas Governor Rick Perry, Texas has to provide the funding through FY 2013: “[H.R. 1586] mandates that the governor guarantee the Legislature will provide a certain level of state funding through 2013, a funding scheme prohibited by the Texas Constitution. It will be at least June 1, 2011, before the legislature passes and the Comptroller certifies the 2012-2013 budget.”

Yesterday, Governor Perry issued a statement saying, “We’ll continue to work with state leaders, including the attorney general, to fight this injustice.”

Wilson praised Perry’s vow to fight the bill: “Governor Perry deserves the thanks of all Texans for standing up to the federal government’s invasive meddling in state budgetary matters. Budget determinations are granted to the legislative and executive branches of Texas under its sovereign constitution, not to Barack Obama.”

According to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the terms of the bill force states to reallocate money away from other parts of the state budget directly to education: “The Bill as passed the Senate will force Mississippi to rewrite its current year (FY11) budget. Preliminary estimates of the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration show that we will now have to spend between $50-100 million of state funds — funds that must be taken away from public safety, human services, mental health and other state priorities and given to education — in order for an additional $98 million of federal funds to be granted to education.”

Governor Barbour continued, “There is no justification for the federal government hijacking state budgets, but that is exactly what Congress has done.”

Wilson urged states to fight the measure, concluding, “This bill gives the federal government the power to administer state budgets and force unsustainable levels of funding on the states, a flagrant violation of the Tenth Amendment and state sovereignty. If states fail to push back against this usurpation, it will just be the first of many new federal mandates imposed on states by the Obama regime.”

Attachments:

“ALG Condemns House for Approving $26.1 Billion States Bailout, Urges States to Reject Funds,” August 10th, 2010.

“States Should Reject $26.1 Billion Bailout,” by ALG Senior Editor Robert Romano, August 10th, 2010.

“House to End Recess Early to Bail Out Bankrupt States,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 5th, 2010.

“The Return of the States Bailout,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 2nd, 2010.

“The Reverse Smoot-Hawley Act,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 4th, 2010.

“Special Research Report from Americans for Limited Government on the Report, ‘Unfair Advantage,’” Americans for Limited Government, August 2010.

“Radical Left-Wing Non-Profits Aligned with Sen. Levin Falsely Posture as Small Business Advocates,” by Kevin Mooney, August 3rd, 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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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Responds to New Unemployment Numbers

August 6, 2010

August 6th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement criticizing the new unemployment numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

“Judging by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest figures, showing steady 9.5 percent unemployment and 16.5 percent underemployment, plus the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ finding of only 2.4 percent estimated economic growth, America is in a weak recovery that is slowing down. We are risking a double-dip recession, and now is the time for pro-growth policies incentivizing private sector job creation, permanent tax relief, and a reduction of the burden posed by excessive government spending.

“Einstein said the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Unfortunately, on Tuesday, Nancy Pelosi will be having the House vote on another $26.1 billion bailout of bankrupt states like New York and California. Democrats call it jobs ‘stimulus,’ but the only thing they are stimulating is more debt and higher taxes, crowding out the prospects for a robust private sector recovery.

“Barack Obama needs to stop making excuses a year and a half into his Administration for the fragile economic recovery. Stop telling the American people he inherited a mess. Leaders are judged by how they address crises. The question is, has he made it better, or worse?

“With today’s latest figures, in the least it is clear that things are not getting any better, and that they will continue to get worse as government just keeps spending money we don’t have.”

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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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Condemns Senate for Clearing Way for $26.1 Billion States Bailout

August 4, 2010

Bill would also raise taxes on U.S. businesses that operate overseas, and helps public teachers unions raise another $40 million to donate to Democrats.

August 4th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today condemned the Senate for voting to proceed to “legislation that promises to spend $26.1 billion to balance bankrupt state budgets like New York and California, and eliminate the foreign income tax credit that helps U.S. businesses to compete abroad and bring capital back home.”

The bill included $16.1 billion for state Medicaid spending, and $10 billion for public teachers funding, which Wilson said will help fund political spending by public teachers unions with “a minimum $40 million.”

“Harry Reid’s Senate today voted to increase unemployment and reduce future capital investment into the U.S. to pay teachers union bosses in a few key states,” Wilson said, noting that the bill will limit the use of the Section 956 foreign income tax credits for profits generated overseas, “money which now will simply not be repatriated into the economy.”

The cloture vote on the legislation was 61 to 38, with Republican Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe joining all 59 Senate Democrats.

“The American people will be harangued over the next few weeks about what a wonderful thing the Senate has done when, in reality, we have drastically increased the burden on American workers, taxpayers, and businesses,” Wilson added.

“Out of the estimated 3.3 million public school teachers nationwide, teachers unions were expecting 160,000 layoffs this year — just 4.8 percent of all teachers. 38.1 percent of those layoffs are centered in just three states: 9,000 in New Jersey, 16,000 in New York and 36,000 in California,” Wilson noted.

“If you take those 160,000 teachers, and assumed only half are unionized — which is very conservative — with contributions to state and local unions averaging $300 per teacher, and another $162 per teacher to the National Education Association or $190 per teacher to the American Federation of Teachers, and the Senate just voted to give $40 million to the public teachers unions’ political coffers, which will be mobilized into campaign ads, direct mail, phone banks, you name it, all to elect Democrats,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:

“The Reverse Smoot-Hawley Act,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 4th, 2010.

“Special Research Report from Americans for Limited Government on the Report, ‘Unfair Advantage,’” Americans for Limited Government, August 2010.

“Radical Left-Wing Non-Profits Aligned with Sen. Levin Falsely Posture as Small Business Advocates,” by Kevin Mooney, August 3rd, 2010.

“The Return of the States Bailout,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 2nd, 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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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Blasts Phony Small Business Groups, Senator Levin’s Support of Foreign Income Tax Credit Limitation

August 3, 2010
Bill would raise taxes on U.S. businesses that operate overseas to pay for $10 billion bailout for state public teachers unions and $16.1 billion for state Medicaid funding.

August 3rd, 2010, Fairfax, VA—New research by Americans for Limited Government (ALG) has uncovered that Senator Carl Levin has teamed up four nonprofit groups that are posing as small business advocates “to deceive the public into believing that small businesses actually support double taxation on profits generated overseas,” said ALG President Bill Wilson.

Tomorrow, the Senate is expected to vote on legislation that would, in addition to spending $26.1 billion to balance state budgets, limit the use of the foreign income tax credit by U.S. companies that operate overseas.

Four groups, Business and Investors Against Tax Haven Abuse, American Sustainable Business Council, Business for Shared Prosperity, and Wealth for the Common Good, all support the legislation.  They published in July a 25-page report defending it, “Unfair Advantage: The Business Case Against Overseas Tax Havens”.

“[T]hose voices purporting to represent small business are in fact highly partisan, hyper-ideological partisans with a questionable agenda.  The extremist views these individuals have taken have no credible base of support among America’s job-generating small business community,” wrote ALG President Bill Wilson in his letter to the Senate.

According to the ALG report, the four groups are tied to the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), “a radical left-wing think tank. IPS was founded in the 1960s; and for the past five decades, IPS has reliably churned far-left propaganda”. This includes “broadly supporting most communist regimes and revolutionary groups around the world”; opposing NAFTA and other free trade agreements; and forging ties with the Middle East Research and Information Project, a group that praised the 1973 Munich Olympics terrorist attack against 11 Israeli athletes.

IPS is funded by left-wing activist George Soros.

Wilson in his letter called the four groups’ attempt to appear to represent small business a “class-warfare ploy” that may be “integral to this cynical move [and] may have value in the ivory towers or radical discussion groups.  But I assure you the American people, including the millions of unemployed, long ago saw through it and recognize it for what it is; a sad, hypocritical attempt to deceive the public.”

“Senator Levin’s proposal is to raise taxes on U.S. businesses that operate overseas, thus driving jobs and capital into other countries,” Wilson said, adding, “That’s not in the interests of the American people.  Senator Levin cannot fool them by putting a phony ‘small business’ label on what is an anti-business measure.”

“In reality, these groups simply want to use the tax code to punish businesses that profit overseas where the corporate income tax rates are less than here,” Wilson said.

The bill will limit the use of the Section 956 foreign income tax credits for profits generated overseas.

According to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce letter to Congress, Section 956 “allows companies to repatriate cash to the United States in a tax efficient manner.” This prevents companies from paying taxes overseas on profits, then repatriating those profits and having them taxed again by the federal government.  The Chamber says that the Section has been “particularly beneficial during the recent economic downturn and ensuing credit crunch when it was necessary for American worldwide companies to repatriate significant funds in order to meet the financial needs of their U.S. businesses.”

Wilson continued, “The so-called ‘Unfair Advantage’ proposal proceeds from the presumption that raising taxes on foreign profits will not result in further pushing companies and jobs overseas, when the solution is to slash domestic corporate tax rates to make the U.S. more competitive in the global marketplace.” The U.S. has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world, behind Japan.

“No other country does what is being proposed in the Senate, which effectively extends the U.S. corporate tax rate all over the world — but only applying it to U.S. companies,” Wilson explained, warning that companies would simply not repatriate profits earned overseas, and that some U.S. companies may even simply become foreign companies as a result.

“All to spend $10 billion for state public teachers unions and $16.1 billion for state Medicaid spending in a single year, the Senate is willing to put at risk the 22 million jobs employed by U.S. companies that operate overseas and the capital flows these companies generate by contributing nearly half of U.S. exports,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:

“Special Research Report from Americans for Limited Government on the Report, ‘Unfair Advantage,'” Americans for Limited Government, August 2010.

“Radical Left-Wing Non-Profits Aligned with Sen. Levin Falsely Posture as Small Business Advocates,” by Kevin Mooney, August 3rd, 2010.

“The Return of the States Bailout,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, August 2nd, 2010.

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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Praises House Republicans for “Forcing House Democrats to Take First Step at Repealing ObamaCare”

July 30, 2010

July 30th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today praised House Republican Leader John Boehner and Representative David Camp for forcing House Democrats “to remove just one of the countless flaws in the ObamaCare abomination that would have forced businesses to file 1099 forms for every expenditure that exceeds $600.”

“House Republican Leader John Boehner, Representative David Camp, and the entire House Republican Conference led by Chairman Mike Pence deserve the thanks of the American people for forcing House Democrats to take the first step at repealing ObamaCare,” Wilson said.

House Republicans yesterday filed a Motion-to-Recommit (MTR) on HR 5893. The MTR would have eliminated this small business reporting requirement that is set to start in 2012.

Imposed by ObamaCare, the requirement which effectively forces small businesses to file a 1099 form with the IRS for every expenditure for goods or services of $600 or more. Corporations would also have to file information returns when they receive $600 or more in exchange for services or other determinable gains.

House Democrats responded by pulling HR 5893 from the floor, and submitting it as HR 5982 with the Republican provision included. The provision specifically repeals section 9006 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The provision was expected to raise $16 billion in revenue to pay for ObamaCare, but according to the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) National Taxpayer Advocate, it would have cost small businesses more than the Treasury would have gained as a result.

“Nancy Pelosi and her caucus are admitting they never read ObamaCare. They are admitting they had no idea or did not care how bad it would be for small business despite being warned. And ultimately they are admitting there is no way to pay for ObamaCare even with the multiple tax hikes they plan,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:

“A New ObamaCare horror story,” By Rick Manning, April 29th, 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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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Demands Rangel Resign or Be Expelled

July 28, 2010

July 28th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement in response to reports of ongoing plea bargain negotiations by the professional staff of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct with Representative Charlie Rangel’s lawyer:

“It is not sufficient for Representative Rangel to simply plead guilty to very serious charges, but be allowed to keep his seat. Any deal that does not result in him resigning will forever be tainted with the appearance of a ‘good ol’ boy’ cover-up. Charlie Rangel is a career politician who since the ethics probe began has contributed money to the campaigns of at least 119 members of Congress, including members of the ethics committee.

“Whether or not members give Rangel’s donations back, they will be stained if he is allowed to keep his seat. Charlie Rangel should resign or be expelled.”

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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Calls on Minnick to Oppose Pelosi as Speaker

July 27, 2010

Says to “Make Good” on Call for Rangel to Resign by “Holding Accountable the House Speaker that Protected Him”

July 27th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today called on Idaho Representative Walter Minnick to oppose the re-election of Nancy Pelosi to the top post of House Speaker for what Wilson called “Pelosi’s continued cover up of Charlie Rangel’s repeated violations of the law.”

“It is Nancy Pelosi who put Rangel in his position. It is Pelosi who has defended him for more than a year. It is Pelosi who has imposed the radical agenda on the American people. If Representative Minnick is being honest he would pledge to vote for someone other than the person who has caused all this mess,” Wilson said.

“It is up to Representative Minnick to make good on his politically opportune call for Rangel to resign by holding accountable the House Speaker that has protected him,” Wilson added.

Representative Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has been charged by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct after it concluded its months-long investigation, according to the Hill. The Committee is expected to release its full findings on Thursday.

Previously, Pelosi has defended Rangel, saying that “he did not knowingly violate the rules,” as reported by the New York Times.

The imminent trial against Rangel has resulted in Congressman Minnick in calling for Rangel to resign, as reported by the IdahoReporter.com. Wilson said “the timing of Minnick’s call so close to the trial rings hollow. Pelosi has been slowing down the resolution of the Rangel scandals for months, and anyone truly committed to seeing justice in this case ought to find that reprehensible.”

Wilson cited several transgressions that he said “Nancy Pelosi has been protecting Rangel from”:

1) failure to report over $1 million in outside income and $3 million in business transactions as required by the House,

2) failure to disclose at least $650,000 in assets he had previously failed to list on his House financial disclosure forms,

3) failure to disclose to the IRS or on his financial disclosure forms $75,000 in rental income for a beach villa in the Dominican Republic,

4) violation of state laws by claiming three primary residences and broke municipal laws by maintaining four rent-controlled apartments,

5) violation of House rules by using congressional letterhead to solicit donations for an education center bearing his name at City College of New York, and

6) delinquency in paying his property taxes on two New Jersey parcels and failure to report the sale of a $1.3 million brownstone.

Said Wilson, “Representative Minnick cannot have it both ways. If he believes Rangel should resign in light of the overwhelming evidence that is being presented by the ethics committee, then he should oppose Nancy Pelosi for House Speaker who has protected him this whole time.”

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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Filed Under: Press Releases

ALG Praises Senate Republicans For Blocking “Obama’s Political Speech Gag Order”

July 27, 2010

July 27th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today praised Senate Republicans for blocking the DISCLOSE Act that Wilson said “is nothing more than Barack Obama’s political speech gag order to silence dissent in an election year.”

“The so-called DISCLOSE Act imposes arduous regulations on corporations and non-profits and is explicitly designed to intimidate dissent, all in violation of the First Amendment. Senate Republicans deserve the praise of all freedom-loving Americans who believe that free, unrestricted political speech is a basic and fundamental right under the Constitution,” said Wilson.

“This is intended to intimidate certain groups and individuals from saying anything at all and into giving up their First Amendment rights. It’s a cynical gag order,” Wilson said.

The final vote in the Senate was 57 to 41.

The Act’s disclosure requirements includes any expenditures in excess of $10,000 of express advocacy for or against a candidate up to 20 days before an election and in excess of $1,000 within 20 days before an election, which must be reported to the FEC within 24 hours. The disclosure requirements extend to 120 days prior to the first presidential primary or caucus, and 90 days before the first Congressional primary or caucus, and extend through general election day.

Anyone who invests or donates in excess of the specified minimums to a company or organization that engages in express advocacy of a candidate, except for media organizations and other exempt entities, would have their names submitted to the FEC.

“These disclosure requirements have a chilling effect on speech, which is why they previously have been found to be unconstitutional,” Wilson said. “If these sorts of requirements were in place during the ratification of the Constitution, there wouldn’t have been Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, which were published under pseudonyms.”

“There is no question that individuals’ speech is stifled by excessive disclosure requirements on independent expenditures,” Wilson said, pointing to Supreme Court precedent protecting anonymous donations made to groups that solely make independent expenditures in NAACP v. Alabama (1958). Then Justice John Marshall Harlan’s majority opinion stated, applying the First Amendment via the Fourteenth to Alabama, “We hold that the immunity from state scrutiny of membership lists which the Association claims on behalf of its members is here so related to the right of the members to pursue their lawful private interests privately and to associate freely with others in so doing as to come within the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

“The sole intent of authors of this legislation is to shame and intimidate certain corporations, groups, and individuals from saying anything about elections, and there is no question that it was unconstitutional,” Wilson concluded.

Attachments:

“ALG Urges Senate to Reject First Amendment Restrictions; Highlights NRA, Media Carve-Outs,” July 26th, 2010.

“Disclosure is Overrated”, by ALG News Senior Editor Robert Romano, 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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Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With:

ALG Urges Senate to Reject First Amendment Restrictions; Highlights NRA, Media Carve-Outs

July 26, 2010

July 26th, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today urged the Senate to reject the DISCLOSE Act that Wilson said “imposes tortuous regulations on corporations and non-profits while exempting media organizations, the NRA, AARP, the Sierra Club, unions and others.”

“Senator Chuck Schumer cares less about disclosure and more about creating an unlevel playing field as it relates to campaign speech. The Senate has done nothing to remove the special carve-outs for certain organizations, despite the controversy over the House passage of this legislation. Congress still believes it has the power to hand out privileged speech licenses to the highest bidders,” Wilson said.

“The Senate version of the bill still includes the blanket exemption for media organizations, which can say whatever they want about candidates, for or against, without any regulation or disclosure at all,” Wilson said.

According to 2 USC 431 (9) (B) (i), the 1971 Federal Election Campaign Act: “The term ‘expenditure’ does not include any news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical publication”. This media exemption to campaign regulation is reinforced in the DISCLOSE Act’s language on page 24.

“No bribery crisis of elected officials has ever emerged over editorial endorsements by newspapers or any other media outlet, and yet they have long been exempted from disclosure. Meanwhile, we assume that such a crisis exists with all other speech,” Wilson has previously stated.

After criticism from both sides of the aisle, the NRA carve-out was broadened to exempt organizations meeting the following criteria: at least 500,000 dues paying members (down from 1 million), members in all 50 states, receives no more than 15 percent of total funding from corporations or labor organizations, and doesn’t use corporate or union money to pay for campaign-related expenses.

Labor unions too received an exemption since only aggregate contributions of over $600 would be disclosed — most union dues are less than that.

The previous House vote passing the legislation was 219 in favor, and 206 opposed.

The Act’s disclosure requirements include any expenditures in excess of $10,000 of express advocacy for or against a candidate up to 20 days before an election and in excess of $1,000 within 20 days before an election, which must be reported to the FEC within 24 hours. The disclosure requirements extend to 120 days prior to the first presidential primary or caucus, and 90 days before the first Congressional primary or caucus, and extend through general election day. Anyone who invests or donates in excess of the specified minimums to a company or organization that engages in express advocacy of a candidate, except for media organizations and other exempt entities, would have to have their names submitted to the FEC.

Wilson said the Senate was not consistently applying First Amendment protections. “The way news media is given a blanket protection is the standard that should apply to everyone, especially when it comes to independent expenditures. The First Amendment protects political speech from restriction, even if the backers of ads do not wish to have their pictures featured in ads.”

Wilson pointed to Supreme Court precedent protecting anonymous donations made to groups that solely make independent expenditures in NAACP v. Alabama (1958). Then Justice John Marshall Harlan’s majority opinion stated, applying the First Amendment via the Fourteenth to Alabama, “We hold that the immunity from state scrutiny of membership lists which the Association claims on behalf of its members is here so related to the right of the members to pursue their lawful private interests privately and to associate freely with others in so doing as to come within the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

Wilson concluded, “The Senate has an opportunity to reject the special favors that are being extended by the DISCLOSE Act, which is more about who is exempted and the advantage they will gain than who is regulated and restricted. These special carve-outs are precisely what have the American people in a complete uproar over Washington politics. Instead, it is time simply apply the First Amendment across the board and, with it, unregulated, unrestricted political speech for everyone.”

Attachments:

Disclosure is Overrated, by ALG News Senior Editor Robert Romano, 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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Filed Under: Press Releases Tagged With:

ALG Praises Senate for Defeating $10 Billion States Bailout in War Supplemental, Calls for House to Pass Clean Bill

July 23, 2010

July 23rd, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement praising the Senate for defeating a House-passed version of the war supplemental that included $10 billion state education funding:

“The Senate has acted responsibly to defeat the House-passed version of the war supplemental that included a $10 billion political slush fund to bail out bankrupt states like New York and California. These states simply refuse to make the necessary cuts to balance their budgets. The $10 billion was set to go directly to the state teachers unions as a handout.

“The onus is now on the House to pass a clean war supplemental prior to the August recess, when the Department of Defense will be forced to cut combat pay. Defense Secretary Bob Gates has told Congress that failure to do so could result in a failure to pay active-duty military, and General Petraeus has called the supplemental ‘essential for the conduct of this mission.’

“Nancy Pelosi needs to stop playing politics with funding American troops in harm’s way. The nation’s troops are not chips on a table for political horse-trading, and now is the time to stop holding them hostage to public sector union politics. To do otherwise is tantamount to extortion.”

Attachments:

Troops’ Funding Held Hostage by Public Sector Union Politics, by ALG President Bill Wilson, June 28th, 2010.

“Driving Right Off the Cliff,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, June 16th, 2010.

ALG Letter to Congress Against States Bailout, May 27th, 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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Filed Under: Press Releases
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