Page 305 – Taxpayers Protection Alliance

TPA Joins Coalition Demanding Answers on Obamacare Exemption for Congress

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:June 29, 2015
Post category:Congress Obamacare

Last week the Supreme Court saved Obamacare once again in a disappointing ruling on the King v. Burwell case regarding the legality of Obamacare subsidies provided to the states by the federal government. Not withstanding that ruling, there are still unanswered questions regarding Obamacare, including how Congress was able to qualify for exemptions and taxpayer-subsidies. Recently, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) signed onto a coalition letter sent by American Commitment to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee asking that these records be subpoenaed in order to get to the bottom of how Congress received the exemption.

Wave of Recent Studies Highlights Growing Need for More Wireless Spectrum

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:June 26, 2015
Post category:Internet Michi Iljazi Taxpayers Protection Alliance Telecommunications

Earlier this month, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) highlighted a report from CTIA (The Wireless Association) that analyzed the direct and indirect value of wireless spectrum on the economy. The findings of the report made clear that wireless spectrum is becoming more valuable to the growing mobile economy. The need for government to release more of it into the private market is undeniable. On the heels of that report, more information has been published this week that builds upon the overall concern on the need for government to free up more spectrum. Two reports were released this week making the case to free up more spectrum.

TPA Reacts to Supreme Court Decision on King v. Burwell Obamacare Case

Post author:David Williams
Post published:June 25, 2015
Post category:Congress Michi Iljazi Obamacare Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

TPA Reaction to SCOTUS Obamacare Decision Taxpayer Group Slams Decision to Keep Subsidies, Urges Full Repeal Washington, D.C. - Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) slammed the United States Supreme Court after a disappointing ruling in King v. Burwell. This ruling on Obamacare is bad for taxpayers and the whole country. Obamacare has been a flawed and failed piece of legislation from the beginning. Today, the Supreme Court deepened the pain of working families as millions of Americans continue to pay for a program that has forced people onto lower quality plans, forced families to lose their preferred coverage, put the privacy of the public at risk, and will cost taxpayers over $1 trillion in just the next decade alone. Even with this disappointing ruling, TPA will continue to call for a full repeal in the House and Senate so that Washington can encourage incentive-based, private sector solutions to healthcare that will lower costs and provide greater access for all Americans who need quality health care in this country. Obamacare isn’t the answer, and after the continued failure of many key components of the law, bipartisan repeal of specific provisions of the bill, and record unpopularity there should be no doubt that this program needs to end.

United States Postal Service Doubling Down on Mismanagement by Planning Expanded Grocery Delivery Service

Post author:David Williams
Post published:June 23, 2015
Post category:Financial Services Spending Taxpayers Protection Alliance

On June 22, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced that they wanted to expand their grocery delivery service to New York City. This announcement comes on the heels of unanswered questions about previous attempts at grocery delivery service, a quarterly loss of $1.5 billion, and a plan to spend $6 billion on a new fleet of trucks. Instead of trying to compete with the private sector to deliver groceries and buy new trucks, the USPS needs to get their fiscal house in order and focus on their core mission: delivering mail. Last October, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance submitted comments to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) warning about expansion of grocery delivery without knowing the full fiscal impact of such a move. In those comments TPA noted, “Perhaps even more startling, the USPS is near a point of financial collapse losing millions of dollars a day and billions of dollars every year. Earlier this month, the agency once again defaulted on their $5.5 billion pre-payment for their employee healthcare benefits. The USPS needs to definitively show that the previous 60-day test of grocery delivery services was successful and that the USPS did not lose money on this project. They should not be moving into new and unknown markets before understanding the possible consequences.”

TPA Joins Coalition Urging End to Taxpayer Subsidized Activist Lobbying

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:June 22, 2015
Post category:Appropriations Congress House Michi Iljazi Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention HQ in Atlanta, GA The United States government continues to rack up massive debt on the backs of taxpayers. As of right now, the national debt stands at more than $18 trillion and counting; yet elected officials and federal agencies continue to find creative and unfortunate ways to waste taxpayer dollars. One area where the frivolous spending taxpayer dollars is apparent is in grants; particularly from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), being used for activist lobbying. This is something that taxpayers have no business paying for, period. Keeping that in mind, Taxpayers Protection Alliance joined a coalition effort led by American Commitment and signed this letter to the House Appropriations Committee urging them to protect taxpayers by making sure this type of abuse of the federal grant process would not continue. Click 'read more' below to read the full letter

On Crony Capitalism, Graham Breaks From GOP White House Rivals By Supporting It

Post author:David Williams
Post published:June 19, 2015
Post category:Congress Ex-Im Bank Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This aritcle orignally apeared in The Daily Caller on June 15, 2015 The vast majority of fiscal conservatives, including nearly every declared and potential GOP presidential candidate, oppose reauthorizing the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the United States. So it is extremely disappointing for South Carolinians (and fiscal conservatives everywhere else) to see Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) cave to corporate welfare and support big government cronyism by strongly backing this misguided government agency. The bank, created in the 1930s, in order to help American exporters compete abroad, was intended to provide financing and loan guarantees to small businesses that would not otherwise qualify for loans. It has, however, failed to effectively meet its goal. Instead, the three largest recipients of Ex-Im largesse – Boeing, General Electric and Caterpillar – represent three of the United States’ largest corporations, not struggling small employers without hope of obtaining financing. Boeing is by far the largest recipient of bank funding, receiving $8.3 billion in loan subsidies last year alone. These subsidies allow foreign governments, often times unfriendly ones, to purchase their wide-bodied aircraft at a subsidized rate costing our domestic carriers jobs.

Stop Corporate Welfare in Wireless Spectrum Sales

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:June 17, 2015
Post category:Drew Johnson Taxpayers Protection Alliance Telecommunications

This article appaeared in The Washington Times on June 1, 2015 Drew Johnson is a senior fellow at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to limited, responsible government. Verizon’s $4.4 billion purchase of AOL, which will do nothing to expand Verizon’s wireline or wireless services, certainly confirmed one thing: Content and video are king, especially when it comes to mobile communications. If Americans want to benefit from the potential of this wireless world, though, consumers better hope Uncle Sam can get its act together. Whether Americans realize it or not, ongoing policy fights in Washington regarding the allocation and selling of electromagnetic spectrum held by the government and private companies hold great ramifications for the future of an information economy increasingly reliant on wireless communications. As I wrote in April, the issue may seem arcane, but determining who owns the spectrum that allows people to use wireless devices is integral to this nation’s growth. With mobile technology expanding to connect daily appliances to the Internet, this scarce resource remains critical to keeping pace globally and continuing our positive enhancements in life. One way the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and to a certain extent Congress, can protect the Internet is to end the troubling trend of allowing corporate welfare to determine who owns the spectrum.

TPA Joins Coalition Opposing Latest Congressional Efforts on Online Sales Tax Legislation

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:June 16, 2015
Post category:Congress Internet Michi Iljazi Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

In what amounts to a new spin on a bad idea from Washington, yesterday saw the introduction of an online sales tax bill, the “Remote Transactions Parity Act” (RTPA), sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). The Senate passed the loathsome Marketplace Fairness Act (MFA) in 2013, which fortunately, never saw the light of day in the House of Representatives. Rep. Chaffetz's legislation is bad news for taxpayers because it would hit total sales, no matter the amount of sales in online business transactions. This new attempt by Rep. Chafftez should be rejected by House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), and opposed by all members. Rep. Chaffetez's bill would target small businesses and harm the internet economy by discouraging innovation and investment. With that in mind, TPA joined a coalition effort led by the R Street Institute who sent this letter to Congress outlining the problems with the Chaffetz RTPA legislation and urging members to oppose the bill. Click 'read more' below to see the full letter

Internet Access Tax Ban Passes in House and Now Senate Must Do the Same

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:June 15, 2015
Post category:Congress House Internet Michi Iljazi Senate Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Last week the House of Representatives (on a voice vote) passed H.R. 235, the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA), which would forever ban internet access taxes. This is an important piece of legislation for several reasons and taxpayers should be encouraged that the House has once again moved in a bipartisan way to protect internet users from needless taxes that would be imposed simply for going online. The bill was sponsored by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.); and he, along with cosponsors Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Tom Marino (R-Pa.), Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), and Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.).

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Speaker of the House John Boehner before delivering the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 25, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

Free Trade Agreements Will Encourage Stronger Intellectual Property Rights

Post author:Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Post published:June 12, 2015
Post category:Congress Copyright Intellectual Property Taxpayers Protection Alliance

This article originally appeared in The Daily Caller on June 5, 2015 Alexander Hendrie is a Federal Affairs Associate at Americans for Tax Reform and its affiliate, Property Rights Alliance (PRA). The U.S. House of Representatives will soon vote on Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), legislation that outlines congressional objectives and prerogatives the president must follow when negotiating trade agreements. While TPA encompasses a diverse and comprehensive range of guidelines and objectives, perhaps most importantly it is an opportunity to strengthen global protections of intellectual property (IP). TPA includes almost 150 objectives related to agriculture, investment, labor, state-owned enterprises, currency manipulation, and more. In addition, TPA contains strong oversight provisions that give Congress the final say so that any agreement is in the best interest of the American people. In regards to intellectual property, TPA will ensure that American companies receive fair and equitable market opportunities when operating overseas. The legislation requires any trade agreement to “promote adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights” and encourages trade partners to adopt many of the strong IP protections that are found in U.S. law.