Sept. 17, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement regarding federal funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) as part of Americans for Limited Government’s program to identify wasteful federal spending:

“With its poor customer service and unreliability, the DC Metro is an embarrassment to the country. Metrorail has some of the highest fares in the country with the fewest service hours among large rail transit systems. On top of these high fares, federal taxpayers generously subsidize the agency. Yet it’s still not enough: Metro reported in 2016 that it had a maintenance backlog of over $17 billion, and it had an unfunded pension liability of $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2017. Due to its many problems, Metro’s ridership has fallen to the lowest level since the year 2000 – in spite of the fact that the local population has increased significantly since then. To start to address the transit system’s problems, Congress should predicate future funding on Metro beginning the process of contracting out the operation of all of its rail and bus lines. Having a contractor run the system should improve service and safety, and possibly even save taxpayers and riders money. Furthermore, to protect the interests of American taxpayers, Congress should demand that Metro allocate any additional compensation money it agrees to pay in future labor negotiations to cover any unfunded pension liabilities before increasing wages or benefits.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Sept. 18, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to eliminate funding for the EPA’s Environmental Education Program as part of Americans for Limited Government’s program to identify wasteful federal spending:

“The Environmental Protection Agency needs to get out of the education business, and Congress should see to it that it does by eliminating funding for the agency’s Environmental Education Program. Each year, the EPA wastes millions of taxpayer dollars providing training and curriculum support, as well as funding, to schools, local governments, and nonprofits. There is no need for this. State and local officials, with input from parents, should decide the content of public school curricula – and there are plenty of sources of educational materials. Finally, with over 1,300 sites sufficiently contaminated to be designated Superfund sites, the EPA’s time and resources would be better spent addressing these problems.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Sept. 19, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to slash the funding of the National Labor Relations Board as part of Americans for Limited Government’s program to identify wasteful federal spending:

“Although union membership and the National Labor Relations Board’s caseload have declined over the past three decades, the NLRB’s budget has grown. Fewer labor complaints are being filed, and fewer unionization elections are being requested. It’s time for Congress to right-size the NLRB and save taxpayers over $100 million a year. With any luck, trimming the payroll will dislodge some ‘Resisters’ from the Administration.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Sept. 13, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to end illegal immigrant remittance payment programs to Mexico via the Federal Reserve:

“The Department of Treasury should end the Federal Reserve program Directo a Mexico that aids illegal aliens in making remittance payments to Mexico reported on by Michelle Malkin and Judicial Watch. It is incumbent upon Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to conduct a thorough review of foreign remittances including this program and implement policies to deny the capacity of foreign nationals illegally in our country to send money home. Remittances are one of the primary funding mechanisms the human trafficking cartels and the greatest lure for illegal aliens and the federal government needs to take every action available under the law to deny traffickers this money source.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Sept. 12, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to retain the prohibition on the Department of Housing and Urban Development conditioning receipt of community development block grants on making changes to local zoning ordinances:

“The temptation is always strong at the federal government level to exert power over local governments, and one such area is zoning. This is why Americans for Limited Government and members of Congress most notably Senator Susan Collins of Maine and U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona who fought the Obama administration on the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation when HUD attempted to condition federal funds on changes to local zoning by enacting a Congressional prohibition against the regulation. Because this prohibition is based on the principle of federalism and not any animus toward one administration over another, it is important that it be retained in the appropriations process this month and that it be respected by the Trump administration HUD leadership.”

Attachments:

Is the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development about to double down on the 2015 federal takeover of local zoning regulations? By Robert Romano, Sept. 12, 2019 at http://dailytorch.com/2019/07/is-the-dept-of-housing-and-urban-development-about-to-double-down-on-the-2015-federal-takeover-of-local-zoning-regulations/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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Sept. 9, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the elimination of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s New Starts Transit Program as part of Americans for Limited Government’s program to identify wasteful federal spending:

“With more and more people abandoning poorly-run public transit systems, Congress should eliminate the New Starts Transit Program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation and subsidizes the expansion of subways, streetcars, and dedicated bus lanes. If a community wishes to build or expand a transit system, the community should pay for it – without federal subsidies paid for by out-of-state residents who may never visit the area. It’s simply harder to justify federal transit subsidies as transportation options, such as Uber, Lyft, and scooter rentals, increase; and ending this transit subsidy program would save $2.7 billion next fiscal year.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org.

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