Oct. 18, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of the Educational Opportunities Act (S. 5), which was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.):

“All across the country, children from lower-income families are stuck in failing government-run schools. Too often, government-run schools have little competition — and therefore little incentive to improve. Fortunately, Senator Rubio has introduced the Educational Opportunities Act, which would start to address these problems. While current federal law only provides tax deductions to those who contribute to scholarship funds, Senator Rubio’s bill would provide tax credits to taxpayers who contribute to scholarship funds for children from lower-income families. While this might seem like a small difference, it is actually quite meaningful: tax deductions merely reduce the amount of income being taxed; tax credits reduce the amount of taxes owed dollar-for-dollar. Contributions to the scholarship funds covered by this legislation would help lower-income families send their children to the private K-12 school of their choice. Congress should pass this commonsense educational reform legislation without delay.”

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

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Oct. 17, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of the No Funding for Sanctuary Campuses Act (H.R. 768), which was introduced by U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Cal.):

“The No Funding for Sanctuary Campuses Act should be a no-brainer for Congress. Over the years, Congress has passed a number of immigration laws, and each year it appropriates taxpayer funds to enforce those laws. Unfortunately, some federally-funded colleges and universities willfully aid and abet individuals who are violating immigration laws; such institutions are unworthy of federal support. It just doesn’t make sense for Congress to fund both law enforcement and those that are working to hamper law enforcement. This legislation would address that problem and should be passed expeditiously.”

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

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Oct. 10, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of the Higher Education Transparency Act of 2019 (H.R. 2244), which is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.):

“In recent years, China has been spreading dirty money around the world trying to buy support — or at least silence opposition. As the saying goes, the best disinfectant is sunlight; and that’s why Congress should pass Rep. Gosar’s Higher Education Transparency Act without delay.  The bill would require colleges and universities to make public the agreements that they have with foreign sources who provide language or cultural education to their students. College students, parents, and taxpayers deserve no less.”

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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Oct. 4, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of the Understanding the True Cost of College Act (S. 888) being offered by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa):

“College financial aid award letters are unnecessarily confusing — especially for first-generation college students. For example, colleges use various terms to describe the same things, frequently omit the cost of attending their school from the letters, and sometimes even avoid using the word ‘loan’ when describing a loan. Parents and students deserve better than this. To address this problem, Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced the Understanding the True Cost of College Act. This bill would require colleges to use standard terms on a uniform financial aid offer form that would include information on total costs, financial aid, and loans, among other things. With better information, students and parents should be able to make better decisions, which should reduce the number of borrowers defaulting on college loan debt — and possibly help rein in out-of-control college costs.”

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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Oct. 3, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement regarding Sen. Josh Hawley’s Skin in the Game Act (S. 2124):

“Alarmingly, nearly one-fourth of federal Direct Loan borrowers were delinquent or in default at the end of last year — in spite of the very low unemployment rate. When federal student loans aren’t repaid, the balances just add to the national debt. Fortunately, taxpayers have someone looking out for their interests; this past summer, Sen. Josh Hawley introduced the Skin in the Game Act. This very simple bill would require colleges that participate in the federal Direct Loan Program to pay half of the remaining loan balances when alums default on their student loans. Colleges have done virtually nothing to rein in out-of-control costs, often do too little to ensure students graduate on time, and offer far too many junk degrees that are not worth the cost — all of which contribute to delinquency and defaults. Perhaps this legislation would encourage colleges to finally begin to take the student debt crisis seriously.”

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

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Oct. 3, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to support a Trump administration proposal to end the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, saving $18 billion, as part of Americans for Limited Government’s program to identify wasteful federal spending:

“Having worked in government, I know first-hand that government employees are well-compensated. Health, sickness, and vacation benefits are typically generous for federal, state, and local government employees; many government employees are eligible for pensions, which are now rare in the private sector; and the job security enjoyed by government employees is something most private sector workers can only dream of. Thanks to George W. Bush, government employees (and some nonprofit employees) are also eligible for student loan forgiveness if they meet certain conditions. This unnecessary program is called the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, and the Trump Administration is absolutely correct to propose eliminating it, which would save taxpayers $18 billion.”

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

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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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