Dec. 14, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to add a provision to the omnibus spending bill that would expedite construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in light of a federal court ruling blocking it:

“In light of the 4th Circuit Court mistakenly blocking construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, it is now critical that Congress get involved and approve the construction, removing any regulatory barriers that stand in the way. This natural gas pipeline originates in West Virginia and would go through Virginia and into North Carolina. It has bipartisan support including Virginia Democrat Governor Ralph Northam. This is one area where to help build America’s capacity to distribute cheap and clean natural gas, Congress must get involved. This should be an easy lift for Congress in the omnibus. Let’s get this pipeline built. It does our nation no good to be the ‘Saudi Arabia’ of natural gas if we cannot effectively, efficiently and securely transport it from where it is brought out of the ground to where it is needed.”

Attachments:

“Building the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will make it cheaper to deliver natural gas in Va. and N.C.—and Congress should approve it,” by Robert Romano, Nov. 27, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/11/building-the-atlantic-coast-pipeline-will-make-it-cheaper-to-deliver-natural-gas-in-va-and-n-c-and-congress-should-approve-it/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 13, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government today issued the following joint statement with twelve conservative leaders including former Attorney General Ed Meese, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Representative Bob McEwen and Tea Party Patriots Action Honorary Chairman Jenny Beth Martin in favor of Congress passing the MERIT Act during the lame duck session:

“The December spending bill is the last chance for the 115^th Congress to do something to limit the size and scope of government. After disappointing decisions to significantly increase government spending levels over the past two years, it is imperative that Congress pass language which expedites the prompt and appropriate firing of federal employees who are either incompetent or don’t perform their assigned duties. The simple truth is that you cannot drain the swamp, unless you can fire the swamp. Currently, it takes years for a substandard federal employee to be removed from their position, a complex and timely process most supervisors do not wish to participate in at all. This leaves the federal government with a termination for cause rate of only .53 percent. The current system incentivizes federal managers to simply ignore poor performers costing taxpayers millions of dollars in salaries, creating a workplace which rewards federal employee wage theft, while penalizing those workers who are attempting to pick up the slack.

“Any appropriations legislation moving toward the president’s desk this month must include the House Oversight and Government Reform language of the MERIT Act as a policy rider. The language of the MERIT Act has already been implemented at the Department of Veterans Affairs and, as a result, increased terminations for cause at the agency by 26 percent. The eight departments affected by this appropriations legislation should see this change as well.

“Good civil servants deserve to work in constructive workplaces and bad civil servants deserve to be dismissed. As conservatives, we see the MERIT Act language as integral to reigning in the out of control federal bureaucracy and restoring accountability to federal civil service.”

The Honorable Edwin Meese III
Former Attorney General
President Ronald Reagan

The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell
Chairman
Constitutional Congress, Inc.

The Honorable Bob McEwen
U.S. House of Representatives
Former Member, Ohio

Jenny Beth Martin
Honorary Chairman
Tea Party Patriots Action

The Honorable George K. Rasley, Jr.
Managing Editor
ConservativeHQ.com

Tom Schatz
President 
Council for Citizens against Government Waste

Richard Manning
President
Americans for Limited Government

Maria Zack
President
Nations in Action Foundation

George Landrith
President
Frontiers of Freedom

Sandy Rios
Director of Governmental Affairs
American Family Association

Wesley Denton
Former communications director
Senator Jim DeMint

David Williams
President
Taxpayer Protection Alliance

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview.

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Dec. 12, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to work on funding the southern border wall in the December spending bill:

“Funding the wall is a national security priority that can no longer be ignored. It is quite frankly absurd that Republicans in Congress have punted this issue for almost two years always claiming that they would get to ‘tomorrow’. Now there is no tomorrow. Congress should appropriate the funds necessary to build the wall and secure the border using a lockbox to ensure that future Congresses cannot rescind that decision. The truth is that if Republicans in Congress had fought for and won wall funding during the past two years, the nation would not find itself with Nancy Pelosi ready to become House Speaker in 2019. Failed leadership on the nation’s priorities caused a failed campaign in November by Republicans. Now the GOP has one last chance to get it right and if the Democrats choose to shut down the government in protest, that decision is on their heads.

“To support building the wall, Americans for Limited Government has launched http://buildwallnow.org to urge activists to contact Congress now.”

Attachments:

“Don’t back down on the gov’t shutdown and the wall, Mr. President,” By Robert Romano, Dec. 12, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/12/dont-back-down-on-the-govt-shutdown-and-the-wall-mr-president/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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You can’t drain the swamp unless you fire the swamp

Dec. 11, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to attach the language of H.R. 559, the MERIT Act, to the December spending bill as a rider to expedite the firing of bad federal employees:

“Nancy Pelosi is poised to assume control of the House of Representatives in January, so this is the last chance to rein in the out of control federal bureaucracy. By attaching a rider to the December federal government spending bill, Congress could make it easier to fire bad federal employees while preserving due process. This rider would institute the same reforms that were implemented at the Veterans Administration to several other elements of the federal bureaucracy. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has passed revised language for the MERIT Act (H.R. 559) which accomplishes this swamp draining mission.

“Under current civil service rules, it can take years just to complete a single firing, resulting in a pathetic 0.5 percent firing rate which lags far below that of the private sector. Under the VA reforms, firings rose 26 percent initially in the department, and real accountability has been restored. The same could be done for more of the federal workforce. If the MERIT Act passes now as a budget rider, the GOP will have at least created an opportunity to drain the swamp rather than wallowing in it for the eight additional Cabinet level agencies that would be covered.”

Attachments:

Letter to Congress in favor of MERIT Act, Dec. 11, 2018 at https://getliberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/MERITActLetter12-11-18.pdf

“Abuse and inefficiency rampant within U.S. civil service,” By Natalia Castro, Sept. 4, 2018 at http://algresearch.org/2018/09/abuse-and-inefficiency-rampant-within-u-s-civil-service/

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 7, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement on the latest jobs numbers:

“Despite economic headwinds, labor force conditions remain very strong in the U.S., with the number of unemployed having dropped by more than 600,000 in the past year while 2.8 million more people say they have jobs, outpacing population growth among those over the age of 16. Overall, 4.7 million more Americans have found work since President Donald Trump took office, similarly outpacing population growth. That is simply great news as it continues to drive up labor participation and the employment-population ratio.

“Labor participation among 16-64-year-old working age adults has risen from 72.76 percent in Jan. 2017 to 73.66 percent today, with 2.9 million more included in the working economy. What was a lost generation is now becoming a work-hard generation. There is still a ways to go to return to pre-recession labor participation levels, and while it is hard to say where we are in the cycle, these steps in the right direction show that amount of potential growth left in the economy is great. As the nation turns its sights on Christmas, the American people can feel confident that the President’s tax cuts, deregulation and pursuit of fair and reciprocal trade deals that put America first are having a definite impact.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 5, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement remembering the legacy of George H.W. Bush:

“George H.W. Bush dedicated his life to public service and as Vice President and then President oversaw the end of the Cold War. The strength of President Bush’s character and his love of country was beyond question. Bush reminded us that government does not and can never replace what individuals, churches and local voluntary service organizations can do to lift up communities, and that commitment to individual volunteerism is his enduring legacy. As a nation mourns President George H.W. Bush, it is this spirit of individual leadership that needs to be rekindled as the ultimate memoriam to his legacy.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Dec. 2, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising President Donald Trump for reaching a trade agreement with China that avoids additional tariffs, keeps existing tariffs but retains the possibility of implementing them if China does not follow through on its commitments:

“President Trump’s trade policy toward China has forced the Chinese to blink by agreeing to the beginning of a framework that would protect intellectual property and end forced technology transfers on U.S. companies seeking to enter the Chinese market.  The art of the deal is working. Additionally, the Chinese have agreed to an immediate resumption of Chinese agriculture purchases while lowering their pre-existing tariffs on other U.S. goods is a step in the right direction toward lowering the half a trillion dollar a year trade imbalance between the U.S. and China.  And once again, the naysayers on the President’s trade policy who sought to undercut the tariffs put on Chinese goods have been proven wrong.  The Chinese need the U.S. market much more than the U.S. needs the Chinese, and only President Trump had the strength and desire to transform the world’s economy to provide a level playing field for U.S. workers to force the Chinese to change.  If China fails to follow through they know that additional tariffs on their goods will be put into place, because President Donald Trump keeps his word.  Now, it is up to President Xi to keep his promises so the beginnings of an honest trade relationship can be established between our two nations.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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Nov. 30, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) for her work in defunding the use of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation to make changes to local zoning laws:

“Senator Susan Collins made certain that local zoning authority is not usurped by the federal government through her efforts to include language in the Housing and Urban Development funding which prohibits HUD from conditioning community development block grants on making changes to local zoning.  Her efforts protected local communities in Maine and around the country from being subjected to federal oversight over property zoning decisions that are so important to the local character of our counties, towns and cities.

“Once again, this year Senator Collins’ local zoning protection language is in the Senate version of the HUD appropriations package and the people of Maine owe her a debt of gratitude for fighting to keep D.C. bureaucrats from regulating local zoning decisions.  Americans for Limited Government is working hard to ensure that the Collins zoning protections remain in the HUD funding bill when it passes Congress, and expresses our gratitude to Senator Collins for her leadership on this important issue.”

Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1003 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.

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