Aug. 1, 2018, Fairfax, VA – Americans For Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement regarding the news that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has referred more potential failure to register as foreign lobbyist prosecutions to U.S. Attorneys in Manhattan:

“Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s latest actions prove President Trump is correct in calling the investigation a witch-hunt. Mueller continues to prove he is not needed by passing off prosecutions of crimes to U.S. Attorneys. This begs the question, if U.S. Attorneys can do the prosecution, then why is Robert Mueller’s hit squad needed?

“It becomes clear this is a politically motivated hit job when you look at the prosecution of Paul Manafort which has nothing to do with Russia hacking, collusion or even the 2016 election. Tony Podesta, brother of former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, and Paul Manafort worked together on the same issues in Ukraine. Both are accused of potentially failing to register as foreign lobbyist crimes, but only one of them is being prosecuted by Mueller’s team, while the other, rightfully so, has been handed off to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan. Why? Because Paul Manafort worked for Donald Trump.”

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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July 27, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the latest GDP numbers:

“Today’s announcement that the second quarter GDP grew by 4.1 percent annualized is further proof that the Trump economic policies of tax cuts, deregulation and better trade deals are beginning to take hold. While there is still work to be done to reach a 3 percent annual growth rate for 2018, the accelerating economy demonstrates the kind of strength needed to meet or beat President Trump’s 3 percent GDP growth promise. But these are not just numbers out of Washington, D.C. Since Trump became President, the number of working age adults aged 16-64 not in the labor force has dropped by 2.5 million even as the population increased by more than 938,000. This isn’t about statistics, this about people’s lives and people’s hopes and dreams coming true. That’s what truly matters.”

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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July 26, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising President Donald Trump’s trade agreement with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker:

“The U.S-European agreement to zero out tariff and non-tariff trade barriers on non-auto industrial equipment and to lower other barriers for other products is a huge win for the Trump Trade Doctrine and the entire world. It’s proves that the President’s tough approach on tariffs will bring trade partners to the table. Moreover, the President’s determination to get a better deal for the U.S. proves that the only sustainable way to get to free trade is through the ‘fair and reciprocal’ lowering of barriers where all parties act in concert. Whereas past presidents were just fine with the U.S. lowering its barriers while the rest of the world didn’t, finally we have a leader who is fully engaged on trade and will ensure the U.S. is no longer taken advantage of.

“Finally, Trump’s agreement with the EU to reform the World Trade Organization to stop the theft of intellectual property and forced technology transfer by China is another big win for manufacturers, particularly in the technology sector, who have been raided by Chinese companies in the past. This serves notice on China that the WTO will no longer be a vehicle to enable China’s unfair trade practices.

“Real reform at the WTO is imperative. If the WTO cannot hear trade cases when there are hundreds of billions of dollars on the line in a timely manner or address currency manipulation which is a subsidy on goods, then the U.S. will have no choice but to act. Trump’s agreement with the EU should precipitate urgently needed action to fix the WTO.  In the meantime, the U.S. could simply block Chinese imports that violate U.S. intellectual property laws or levy additional tariffs on those that utilize currency depreciation subsidies. China, which runs a huge surplus, has a lot more to lose in a trade battle than the U.S. President Trump has it exactly right to put the outmoded WTO rules on the table. It’s about time.”

Attachments:

“‘Very big day for free and fair trade’ President Trump declares as European trade concessions prove tough tariffs are working,” By Robert Romano, July 26, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/07/very-big-day-for-free-and-fair-trade-president-trump-declares-as-european-trade-concessions-prove-tough-tariffs-are-working/

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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July 19, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the statement by the Russian ambassador to Iran, Levan Dzhagaryan, that, “Sometimes conflicts do arise, and we are naturally concerned about the possibility of military confrontation between the Iranian and Israeli forces in Syria. We do everything possible to prevent it. To prevent the escalation of the conflict”:

“Iran’s designs to put troops on the Israeli border in Syria is the number one flashpoint in this very volatile region, and the President’s determination to not let other matters submarine the opportunity to engage with Russia to make sure it doesn’t happen, in the process actively deescalating tensions, vindicates the entire Helsinki summit.  The Russian ambassador to Iran’s statement that Russia will do everything possible to prevent military confrontation between Israel and Iran in Syria is a real indication that the Trump-Putin agreement to the security of Israel’s borders was very real. The Helsinki summit is already paying off.

“This is merely the first step but it is a positive step in the right direction to deescalating tensions in the region, which is in everyone’s interests. Israel had already requested Russia help keep Iran off of Israel’s borders, and with Trump’s support, now it looks like a real possibility. The President should keep the dialogue going and continue work to avert a wider war.

“Thanks to President Trump’s diplomacy, working with our Israeli allies, and approaching Russia, he is succeeding in deescalating tensions and preventing a regional war in the Middle East. All thanks to his urgent consultations with Putin at the Helsinki summit, where his critics would have had the President simply cancel for no real reason. The President is showing real leadership. He doesn’t have the luxury for Monday morning quarterbacking, he’s got to make the call. Here, he made the right call.”

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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July 19, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to get legislation by U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), H.R. 559, the MERIT Act, on the floor of the House for a vote before members go on summer vacation:

“House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has been a strong supporter of the MERIT Act. Now he needs to use his position as majority leader to get a vote on the floor of the House before the lower body goes on summer August recess. This should be an easy vote, whereby Congress will give the same powers that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has already been granted by Congress on a bipartisan basis to fire federal employees on an expedited basis who are either not performing or who engaged in misconduct. That is something that resonates with the American people who see unaccountable, rogue government bureaucrats and agents undermining the President on a daily basis, and is something members should be able to say they did when they go home to campaign.

“Most importantly, this is not just a show-vote, but instead the Senate Democrats have already voted in sufficient numbers to pass similar language just last year, so it is passable, common-sense legislation.  But if the Majority Leader fails to get it to the floor and passed before recess, the chances for Senate action diminishes as their calendar gets consumed by the Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination.  The MERIT Act matters, it has enjoyed bipartisan support, and now the House needs to do their job and get it through to the Senate before they hit the beach for August.”

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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July 18, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of an amendment by U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) to H.R. 6147 that would prohibit the use of funds by the government of Washington, D.C. to institute an individual mandate to purchase health insurance for D.C. residents:

“In June, the D.C. government instituted an individual mandate to purchase health insurance for D.C. residents in defiance of the new tax law that ended the individual mandate. Considering Congress explicitly ended this practice already, D.C. has absolutely no authority to compel individuals to purchase insurance, something the House can clarify today by passing U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer’s amendment. The D.C. government operates under Article I of the Constitution, and it is up to Congress to ensure that it is carrying out the laws of the United States. We support the Palmer amendment and so should every member of Congress.”

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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July 17, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for passing the MERIT Act, and urged the full House to act on the legislation immediately:

“Now is the time for House Republicans to come together on this common-sense reform, making it easier to fire federal employees, legislation that Congress has already passed for the Department of Veterans Affairs with significant bipartisan support. Right now, it can take years to fire federal workers who are either non-performing or engaged in misconduct, as only 0.5 percent of federal employees are fired with cause. The MERIT Act addresses this inefficiency and gives more power to the heads of departments and agencies to ensure that the government is doing its job on behalf of the American people.”

Attachments:

“Job Security: Federal civil service employees have a 99.5 percent chance of never being fired,” By Natalia Castro, May 14, 2018 at http://dailytorch.com/2018/05/job-security-federal-civil-service-employees-have-a-99-5-percent-chance-of-never-being-fired/

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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