June 15, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and President Donald Trump for delaying phase four legislation amid improving jobs numbers from May:

“President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are demonstrating tremendous wisdom in delaying consideration of an additional stimulus package until the employment situation becomes more clear in July.  With the economy opening up in most states in the beginning of June, it would be irresponsible to proceed as Speaker Pelosi has done, by moving forward with trillions of more dollars in spending without a clear plan on where any new money should be spent to bolster American jobs.

“The May jobs report showing the growth of 3 million private sector jobs was a window into the very beginning of the economic rebound from the effects of the China-originated virus response. The weekly unemployment insurance report shows that the growth of the number of people on unemployment has topped out, with the seasonally adjusted number of  unemployed at just under 21 million people with it diminishing every week by a quarter to half million people.  Letting the economy work for another month before deciding to create trillions of dollars of more debt that America cannot afford will allow legislators and the White House to more intelligently weigh the benefits of various stimulus choices versus the devastating impact of continuing to increase borrowing into a market that is already saturated.

“A national debate on the advantages of additional stimulus versus the negative impacts of our already too big national debt on private risk investments needs to be had, and if the June employment data shows that Americans are going back to work without additional federal government intervention the need to add on to our borrowing may be mitigated.  It is a credit to both the White House and the GOP Senate that they are resisting the siren song of more election year spending right now in order to more accurately gauge what the our economy needs to restore itself.”

Attachments:

“It looks like the labor market bottomed in April,” By Robert Romano, June 15, 2020 at http://dailytorch.com/2020/06/it-looks-like-the-labor-market-bottomed-in-april-heres-what-it-means-for-trumps-reelection-in-the-coming-months-as-america-reopens/

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

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June 11, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the Senate to confirm the nomination of Russ Vought to head the Office of Management and Budget:

“With a projected budget deficit of $3.7 trillion for 2020, Russ Vought is the right person to be heading up the Office of Management and Budget.  Russ’ focus on fiscal sanity and ensuring that all the extra hundreds of billions of dollars now being devoted to the pandemic response, including payroll protection, are being properly allocated is essential to protecting taxpayers’ interests.

“In addition to his commitment to protecting the Treasury from profligate spending, Russ Vought has played a crucial role in analyzing regulatory relief measures to ensure that they met the President’s and our nation’s needs. With President Trump seeking to further streamline government to ensure that our economy is jump started and recovers rapidly from the economic COVID catastrophe, our nation cannot afford to train someone in this crucial position. It is clear that at this time in history, America needs Russ Vought’s expertise and priorities in the lead at the OMB.

“Americans for Limited Government urges a yes vote on Russ Vought’s nomination for Director of the Office of Management and Budget.”

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

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May 15, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in opposition to the Zeroes Act by House Democrats:

“Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s latest spending binge should rightfully called the Zeroes Act, as it adds not one, not two, but three more trillion dollars to the national debt in a wayward attempt to permanently change the U.S. economy to her socialist vision.  The media has been awash in reports of employers whose workers have either refused or been upset that their jobs have been restored due to the federal government mistake of paying people more to be unemployed than employed.  Pelosi’s assault on America’s economy not only fails to fix this roadblock to reopening, but extends it in an obvious political ploy to maintain double digit unemployment through the November election.

“But while the Pelosi Zeroes Act is chock full of union pension bailouts and other fiscal absurdities, its real crime is that it borrows another $3 trillion from the Chinese and other financiers who seek to own America.  Pelosi’s bill will push the national debt above the $30 trillion mark at a time when the entire world economy is likely to shrink to just above $60 trillion.  This is not sustainable.

“During the Obama presidency a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff called our national debt the number one threat to our national security and many scoffed. Now, any thinking person has to agree with that assessment.   The Pelosi Zeroes Act is not only irresponsible, it is downright dangerous and should be rejected.”

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

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May 11, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to reject emergency COVI9-19 spending:

“The solution to the economic devastation created by the government-mandate reaction to the Chinese-originated virus is to open up the economy, not additional trillions of borrowed dollars. Already, with all the spending to help prop up the economy during the shutdown, the national debt has jumped to more than $25 trillion while our economy is projected by Goldman-Sachs to shrink by 24 percent to around $16 Trillion.

“This means that the virus response has not only destroyed a quarter of our economy, but has pushed our national debt to GDP from 107 percent a few months ago to 160 percent with at least another trillion in debt projected in the next five months.  The lasting devastation of the health care emergency economic shutdown is not just registered in the tens of millions who find themselves suddenly unemployed, but also in our nation’s long-term dependency upon those who can afford to buy trillions upon trillions of new debt created on top of our already dire fiscal situation.

“To put what will likely be a $27 trillion national debt if additional ‘help’ comes from Washington into perspective, the entire world’s economy was $86 trillion before the world’s economy shut down.  If the entire world is similarly impacted as the U.S., the entire wealth of the world will drop to under $65 trillion.  It doesn’t take a mathematician to realize that U.S. debt nudging up to 40 percent of the entire wealth in the world puts our viability as a country at risk.

“While DC politicians in an election year are always willing to hand out dollars like candy, for once, they have to say no.  It is rumored that another spending bill totaling $3 trillion more is under consideration. Rather than throwing more gasoline on the debt fire, Congress should begin cutting back on some of the excess spending they have already authorized, including ending the excess payments of unemployment insurance benefits that make being unemployed more profitable than going to work for about half of all newly unemployed.

“America does not need more debt-fueled spending to recover, we need the economy re-opened, that is the only prescription which will heal our nation.”

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

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April 14, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging that if Congress does anything else to help small businesses, it be a clean bill:

“Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer should not be given a fourth bite of the Coronavirus Christmas tree apple. Any bill that passes needs to be clean, meaning it must not have any sidebar goodies like the federal takeover of elections, one-size fits all medical rate setting language or other non-germane bailouts of the U.S. Postal Service or private union pension plans. America is tired of having Pelosi hold small business’ survival hostage while she extorts money and favors for her friends.”

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

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April 10, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the Tennessee Valley Authority to be privatized once and for all:

“Last year, Jeff Lyash left his job in Canada to take over as president of the Tennessee Valley Authority. In his first year, he was paid over $8 million making him the highest-paid federal employee in the entire country. Utility customers pay for his compensation package. Prior to Lyash’s arrival, the TVA decided to close two coal-fired power plants — over President Trump’s objection. Unfortunately, the TVA’s decision-making does not seem to have improved during Lyash’s tenure: the TVA is currently trying to outsource hundreds of IT and engineering jobs to India. Now Trump is advocating for slashing the TVA president’s lavish salary, and there is bipartisan support for doing just that but there is a more comprehensive solution to this problem.

“The TVA is a Depression era agency designed to provide electricity to the Appalachians.  The Appalachians are electrified, mission accomplished.  Now it is time to privatize this agency and let shareholders determine compensation decisions.  One thing that seems particularly out of whack is for a utility based in the heart of coal country to play politically correct games by shutting down coal fired plants. Local decision making and private local control will end politically correct Green New Deal decision-making and ensure that the TVA mission continues on through private decision making.”

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

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March 25, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging the Senate to stop and fix a drafting error in the coronavirus relief bill that incentivizes unemployment over keeping your job by making it more profitable for workers to be laid off under the bill:

“The Senate must stop and fix the drafting error which inadvertently makes it more profitable for some to be on unemployment than to work.  It would be irresponsible to rely upon the Labor Department to issue a paper thin guidance or temporary regulation to try to fix the bill, when anything they do could be swept away in less than a year.  The law itself must be fixed, because regulations flow from laws, and the courts assume that the lawmakers meant what they passed into law.

“Senators Tim Scott, Ben Sasse, Rick Scott and Lindsey Graham have earned our sincere thanks for spotting the error and having the courage to slow down the process and demand that it be corrected.  Now the Senate needs to fix it, pass it, and send it to the House of Representatives.”

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

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March 22, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the failed vote in the Senate to provide relief to the U.S. economy including 30 million small businesses in the unprecedented economic shutdown response to the Chinese coronavirus outbreak:

“It is abhorrent that Senate Democrats are attempting to hold our nation’s economy and 30 million small businesses hostage in their neverending quest to turn crisis into political opportunity.

“The magnitude of the health emergency and the proposed Senate response emphasize how serious Senate Republicans are taking this crisis. No Republican was elected to spend trillions of dollars to revive an economy deliberately shut down to save a million American lives, and yet they have stood up and done what they believe is necessary to ensure Americans can get by while they wait in their homes for the virus to pass. We continue to believe that all spending should targeted to the specific needs created by the emergency, and any attempt to make permanent spending increases should be rejected.

“What’s more, any attempts to fundamentally change our nation’s health care system including the creation of any one size fits all medical billing system that lays the groundwork for socialized medicine should be rejected. These rate setting proposals fundamentally change the ability for the very heroes in the health provider community to be paid a fair price for their labor and it would be a punch in their guts to enact legislation now that punishes them while they are working tirelessly to save American lives.

“While Americans for Limited Government is uncomfortable with the amount of spending authorized, and the changes to the unemployment laws that dramatically expand the program having the likely unintended impact of encouraging businesses to lay off employees, rather than fight through the crisis, it remains important Congress come together. Democrats must stop their putting politics ahead of the lives and livelihoods of the American people.

“America is the greatest country in the history of mankind. We will survive this national challenge, and by passing legislation providing a safety net to allow the small business foundation of our economy to hit the ground running once we’re past this crisis, we will come back rapidly and stronger than ever.”

Attachments:

“Trump virus response calls for covering payroll for every small business in America with $300 billion,” By Robert Romano, March 20, 2020 at http://dailytorch.com/2020/03/trump-virus-response-calls-for-covering-payroll-for-every-small-business-in-america-with-300-billion/

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

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March 17, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement on Senate consideration of the coronavirus spending bill:

“It is a good thing that the U.S. Senate is taking some time to review the House coronavirus spending proposal. It is important that Congress get this right so that necessary resources can be put in place in the event of a worst case scenario, and that when this is all over, everyone gets back to work rapidly. It is also important that House and Senate appropriators significantly adjust secular and mandatory spending plans for the 2021 fiscal year. It is likely that the government costs of the coronavirus outbreak will exceed $1 trillion new spending, which additional hundreds of billions of dollars in lost tax revenue. It would irresponsible in the months ahead for Congress to ignore this obvious reality by not taking similar drastic action to mitigate against this disastrous fiscal situation.

“The coronavirus spending is a necessary and temporary preparation and hopefully much of it will not be needed, and the price tag decreases. But we should make certain not to forget the long-term fiscal straits that our nation faces due to an overly bloated federal government.”

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

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Jumpstarting the economy after the emergency is over is job one.

March 16, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following featured statement urging Congress to consider only measures that are targeted and designed to jumpstarting the economy when coronavirus passes:

“All federal measures in response to coronavirus must be temporary, targeted and geared to providing a basic safety net and jumpstarting the economy immediately upon the national emergency ending. The legislation encourages businesses to lay off employees in order to avert the virus and slow it down. That is why we need a rehiring tax credit for businesses to ensure that when the economy normalizes, it gets an immediate jumpstart as employers are encouraged to hire.

“This temporary but necessary economic freeze should also allow all public sector leaders to make a real determination about which employees are essential and which are not, as well as shifting cost burdens away from brick and mortar and toward telework based on the experiences. These changes should modernize and make more efficient our government workforce and save taxpayer dollars.”

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

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