July 19, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to provide zero dollars to the East-West Center:

“Senator Everett Dirksen famously said, ‘a million here, a million there, eventually it adds up to real money.’ With Senator Dirksen’s admonition in mind, Americans for Limited Government is releasing a series of spending cuts which could be made immediately and easily if Congress were serious about slowing the growth of our annual budget deficit.

“Today’s example of spending that should be eliminated are the federal funds appropriated for the East-West Center (EWC). The EWC is a think tank based in Hawaii which focuses on issues affecting the US, Asia, and the Pacific. A legacy of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, the EWC think tank has been receiving federal taxpayer dollars for almost six decades – more than $160 million over the past two decades alone.

“It is time for this Vietnam War era project to be set free from the shackles of federal support ($16.7 million projected this year) and fully enter the competitive world of private donor fundraising.  This would not be a death knell for this group as the East-West Center currently raises millions of dollars from private sources each year to achieve its Cold War mission.

“Taxpayers launched the East-West Center, but it is time for them to launch into adulthood before they become eligible for Medicare.”

Background:

With the national debt now over $22 billion, Congress simply must find places in the budget to cut. Some necessary cuts are tough; others are easy. Defunding the East-West Center (EWC), a think tank in Honolulu, Hawaii focused on relations between the US, Asia, and the Pacific, is an easy cut. Currently, the EWC receives $16.7 million a year from federal taxpayers.

The EWC is just another of Lyndon Johnson’s wasteful Big Government programs. During his tenure as Senate Majority Leader, Johnson sponsored legislation to establish the EWC; Congress passed the bill without even holding any hearings. Interestingly, the State Department opposed the EWC’s creation. For decades afterward, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) managed to keep federal support for the think tank in place. With Inouye gone, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) now fights to keep the federal tax dollars flowing to the EWC.

Three decades after the founding of the EWC, another powerful legislator, Rep. Dante Fascell (D-FL), procured funding for the North-South Center, which was a think tank in Miami, Florida focused on relations between North and South America and the Caribbean. After Fascell left Congress, financial support for the North-South Center dwindled until all federal support was removed. The think tank closed shortly thereafter. Of course, there has been no discernable difference in North-South relations as a result of the think tank’s closure.

Not only is the EWC a needless expense for taxpayers, but it also pushes the liberal agenda. Like so many left-wing organizations, the EWC is obsessed with global warming. There is no reason that taxpayers should be subsidizing climate alarmism, which often leads to proposals for higher taxes and costly regulations as well as expensive energy projects that drive up costs for consumers. If the EWC wants to continue to scaremonger over global warming, then climate alarmists, such as billionaires George Soros and Tom Steyer, should make the EWC a pet project.

Looking for fat in the budget to trim, the Trump Administration has proposed zeroing out funding for the think tank. Nor is this administration the first to suggest the EWC should receive fewer federal tax dollars. Even the Obama Administration proposed cutting the think tank’s budget by $9 million — even though Obama’s mother had once studied at the EWC. (Subsequently, the EWC hired President Obama’s half-sister.) While saving $16.7 million might not sound like much, the appropriations for the think tank do add up.  Since FY 1997, over $160 million has been appropriated for the EWC.

Taxpayers have funded the EWC for well over 50 years, and it is long past time to cut off the welfare checks. The EWC already generates significant non-federal revenues; in fact, the EWC brought in over $9 million in donations and non-federal grants and contracts last year according to its financial summary. There are dozens of foreign policy think tanks in this country, and it is doubtful that many people would notice if the EWC were unable to replace the federal funds and were forced to scale back its budget. Finally, the US had diplomatic and trade relations with Asia long before the EWC, and those relationships would continue even if the think tank were to close.

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

###

 

 

June 21, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Congress to adopt the MERIT Act by U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) and Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) to expedite the firing of bad federal employees:

“The MERIT Act is based upon language that has allowed the Veterans Affairs Secretary to fire non-performing and bad public employees on an expedited basis. Federal employees work for taxpayers and the heads of every department and agency should have the capacity to fire those who refuse or are unable to do their jobs through a fair but expedited process. Under current law, it can take years to remove a federal bureaucrat, and with the types of abuses we are witnessing every day by recalcitrant federal employees, the time has come for Congress to act to drain the swamp. Every member of Congress should cosponsor this legislation and send a clear message that the American people are the ones in charge of the government and not federal lifetime career bureaucrats.”

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

###

 

June 21, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging passage of H.R. 3392 and H.R. 3393 to defund National Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.):

“It is perfectly clear that both National Public Radio and the local public television channels could get on just fine without federal funding. While the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is entirely dependent on federal funds, individual stations are most certainly not. In 2017, NPR reported that member stations only relied on 8 percent of their funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That number goes up to 12 percent when other federal, state and local tax sources are included. As for public television stations, about 15 percent of their budgets come from federal funds. The vast majority of funding comes from individuals, corporations, foundations, colleges and universities and investments.

“President Trump’s budget has also included provision for phasing out federal funding and as far as individual stations are concerned, this will not make or break the stations. In fact, the loss of federal funding would have the effect of encouraging private donations and the formerly public television and radio stations would thrive in a private funding environment.”

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

###