Page 375 – Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The REINS Act is a Common Sense Step Forward in Regulation Reform

Post author:David Williams
Post published:December 5, 2011
Post category:Congress House Regulation Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Regulations are crippling American businesses and burdening taxpayers with a bloated bureaucracy to enforce the regulations. While some regulations are important, it is also critical to make sure that there is a system of checks and balances in the system. The Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act would be that safeguard. The REINS Act may not be as sexy as Bridge to Nowhere or the Solyndra loan scandal, but it is an important piece of legislation that is needed to put the brakes on unnecessary and burdensome regulations. Before any regulation is imposed on the American people, the REINS Act would require Congress to take an up-or-down vote to approve regulations that have an economic impact of $100 million or more. The birth of the REINS Act actually goes back to 2009 when Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Ky.) offered the legislation after talking to a constituent about excessive regulations. This week, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on the measure and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is urging every member of the House to vote for the legislation (read the TPAPB here). And, TPA urges everybody to call their member of Congress to tell them to vote for the legislation. You can find your member here or call the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121.

TPA Scores a Major Spending Victory! The Joint Strike Fighter Alternate Engine is Dead

Post author:David Williams
Post published:December 2, 2011
Post category:Appropriations David Williams Defense Earmarks Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) (and taxpayers) have scored a major spending victory with General Electric (GE)/Rolls Royce announcing that they are giving up their efforts to build an alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter. According to a December 2, 2011 article in Aviation Week, “The move comes after an Oct. 31 meeting between GE Aviation leadership and Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in which ‘it became clear that the [Defense Department] would not support the FET self-funding effort,’ says GE.” TPA highlighted the wasteful alternate engine in an October 3, 2011 briefing on Capitol Hill and numerous press releases and blog postings.

Happy Anniversary Fiscal Commission: Another Exercise in Fiscal Futility

Post author:David Williams
Post published:December 1, 2011
Post category:Appropriations Congress Congressional Budget Office Debt Defense Obamacare Taxpayers Protection Alliance

One year ago on December 1, 2010, President Obama released the findings of The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform which was led by former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and former Republican Senate Whip Alan Simpson (R-Wy.). The Commission released a report on potential spending cuts that would eclipse $2 trillion from 2012 to 2020. Recommendations include: selling excess federal real property; repealing The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act which was created in Obamacare; and reducing net spending on mandatory agriculture programs. The report was very candid when it stated that, “Our country has tough choices to make. We need to be willing to tell Americans the truth: We cannot afford to continue spending more than we take in, and we cannot continue to make promises we know full well we cannot keep.” Instead of being used to cut spending, the report has been more useful as a virtual paperweight (I am not even sure of any copies were actually printed up).

FCC Report Exposes Questionable 9-1-1 Expenditures

Post author:David Williams
Post published:November 29, 2011
Post category:David Williams State Issues Taxpayers Protection Alliance Telecommunications

Besides the occasional goofball complaining about a non-delivered pizza or somebody asking how to work his iPhone, most of the time when somebody calls 9-1-1 they are experiencing a dire emergency and need the system to work quickly and efficiently. While some telecommunications taxes and fees may be controversial, mobile (and landline) customers understand the need for an efficient 9-1-1 system and are willing to pay for that system. The number of 9-1-1 calls and the amount collected is staggering. According to CTIA-The Wireless Association®, “Every day, 396,000 9-1-1 calls are made on wireless devices. With almost 30 percent of wireless-only Americans, mobile consumers pay more than $2 billion a year for their states’ 9-1-1 funds to ensure our nation’s first responders are properly equipped to handle wireless distress calls.” A report earlier this month by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) shows that not all money being collected from the fund is being used for the proper purposes.

The First Cut is the Lamest

Post author:David Williams
Post published:November 25, 2011
Post category:David Williams Debt Deficit Spending Taxpayers Protection Alliance

On November 9, 2011, the Obama Administration issued a press release bragging about its efforts to rein in spending on items such as cell phones, smart phones, laptops and swag including, “plaques, clothing, and other unnecessary promotional items.” The White House estimates that these savings could amount to billions of dollars. While taxpayers should applaud these efforts as every dollar counts when it comes to saving money, it will take much more than cutting out free Department of Energy t-shirts to get the debt and deficit under control. And, let’s be honest, how many people do you see walking around with a federal government branded t-shirt or coffee mug? And, if you did, would that really make you feel better about the government?

TPA Reacts to Super Committee Failure: Congress Fails Taxpayers with Collapse of Super Committee

Post author:David Williams
Post published:November 21, 2011
Post category:Congress Debt Taxpayers Protection Alliance

With the failure of the Super Committee to meet their deadline and find $1.2 trillion in budget savings over the next decade, Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) president David Williams released the following statement. "Congress has once again failed the American taxpayer with the collapse of the Super Committee. It is time that our representatives in Washington do what we elected them to do-serve the American people and help get our economy up and running again. Instead, they continue to play political games while taxpayers are left holding the bill for our government's out-of-control spending problem. This failure to reach a compromise on an issue of such importance is just another reason why Congressional pay should be cut by at least ten percent. With a country that is $15 trillion in debt, Congress must come together and find a way to cut spending now.” To read TPA’s Congressional Compensation Report and learn why taxpayers aren’t getting their money’s worth when it comes to Congressional salaries, click here.

The Pentagon Chooses Politics Over Jobs and Fiscal Common Sense

Post author:David Williams
Post published:November 21, 2011
Post category:Defense Taxpayers Protection Alliance

On Friday November 18, 2011, the Obama Administration and the Pentagon made a decision to ship jobs overseas and put a critical defense project at risk, all funded by American tax dollars with zero benefit to American workers or the economy. The disqualification of aircraft manufacturer Hawker Beechcraft from the Light Air Support and Light Attack and Armed Reconnaissance (LAS/LAAR) aircraft for the United States Air Force leaves only Brazil’s Embraer to fulfill the order. With Embraer under investigation for corruption, it appears that politics is more important to this Administration than protecting the country and job creation The Taxpayers Protection Alliance has voiced its support for Hawker Beechcraft over Embraer to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in two separate letters (here and here) because of its ability to protect taxpayers and the country.

MEADS – The Missile to Nowhere

Post author:David Williams
Post published:November 17, 2011
Post category:David Williams Defense Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Today, November 17, 2011, the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) will be tested. Now, before you get too excited, this test will be nothing more than a dog and pony show to keep its funding alive and try to silence the critics. As one of the harshest critics of the program (see previous blog posts here and here), the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) sent a series of e-mails mails to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medium Extended Air Defense System Management Agency (NAMEADSMA), the Army, and MEADS International on November 8, 2011. The only response was from NAMEADSMA. While we appreciated the response, the answers were less than satisfactory and raised even more questions.

Taxpayers Need to Watch Out for the Mini Bus Getting Ready to Run Them Over

Post author:David Williams
Post published:November 16, 2011
Post category:Appropriations David Williams Earmarks House Omnibus appropriations Spending Taxpayers Protection Alliance

On Thursday November 17, 2011, the House of Representatives is expected to vote (FINALLY!) on a triad of fiscal year 2012 appropriations bills rolled up into one. The three bills, Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science (CJS), and Transportation/Housing and Urban Development (THUD), are included in one bill (H.R. 2112) and is affectionately known as a “mini bus” spending bill. While the bill is relatively free of earmarks, members of the House of Representatives should vote against the legislation. There has been very little time for debate and a provision to allow the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to increase its eligible loan limit to $729,750 is plenty reason enough to vote “NAY.” According to Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), “Tucked inside the 401-page bill was language to increase the limits for which the Federal Housing Administration can insure mortgage loans up to $729,750, effectively allowing the agency to back McMansions with taxpayer dollars. Adding further insult to hard-working taxpayers an independent audit revealed, just hours later, that there is a “close to 50 percent” chance the agency would run out of money and need a taxpayer bailout.” Another reason to vote against the mini bus is that the spending levels are above the House-passed budget offered by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) earlier in the year.

TPA to Congress: Go Big or Go Home

Post author:David Williams
Post published:November 14, 2011
Post category:Congress David Williams Debt Debt Ceiling Taxes Taxpayers Protection Alliance

During the next two weeks taxpayers will see some of the elements of the of the August debt ceiling agreement come together with a vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) and the report from the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka the Super Committee). In typical Washington fashion, there are two potential outcomes for both the BBA and the Super Committee. A weak BBA and a discordant Super Committee could foreshadow a future filled with fake spending cuts and tax increases.