Washington – As if Don Young’s proposal to raises the gas tax last week wasn’t sufficiently hostile to taxpayers, today, the Alaskan voted for the absurdly named “Patriot Tax” in the war supplemental. The amendment is an unambiguous income tax increase, imposing a 0.5% surcharge on gross income on earnings over $500,000 a year or $1 million for a couple.
Without a doubt, this tax increase will prove harmful to the economy, stifling innovation, productivity, and job growth. To make matters worse, the tax will be especially harmful on small businesses whose owners often file their business income on their individual tax returns. In fact, the Tax Foundation reports that almost 83% of all income tax returns with over $1 million in income are business owners. A tax that is supposedly on the rich will in fact hurt everyone.
“Don Young’s disregard for taxpayers is truly stunning,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “This new tax penalizes hard work, will hurt productivity and job growth, and removes more money from the private sector during challenging economic times. Next time, Rep. Young claims to fight for taxpayers, ask him why he votes to fleece more of their money.”
“We commend President Bush for his planned veto of the war supplemental, and urge all members of Congress to think about the detrimental effect of this tax increase when it comes time to sustain the president’s veto.”
PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.
]]>Washington – With the passage of the Farm Bill today in the House of Representatives, 218 Democrats and 100 Republicans told the American people they care more about shoveling money at the special interests than saving taxpayers’ hard-earned money.
“Congress should be embarrassed when such a large majority votes to throw taxpayer dollars at millionaire farmers, increase subsidy payments at a time of record-high crop prices; and give special tax breaks to horse racers,” said Club for Growth President. “If members of Congress are trying to figure out why their approval ratings are in the gutter, they should open up the mammoth Farm Bill and start reading.”
Every member of Congress who voted for the Farm Bill voted to support such egregious measures as:
“The Republican Party should be especially embarrassed,” Mr. Toomey continued. “When more than half the party votes for the Farm Bill, it becomes awfully hard to convince the American people that Republicans care about fiscal responsibility.”
]]>Washington – In today’s Sacramento Bee, former Rep. Doug Ose is trying to hide his liberal voting record. When Ose represented California’s Third Congressional District in Congress, his liberal record consistently ranked him in the bottom half of the Republican Caucus (see NTU scores). Now that Ose is running in the conservative Fourth District, he is trying to spin a conservative image out of whole cloth.
Sorry Doug, the congressional record doesn’t lie.
Doug Ose consistently voted for wasteful projects, increased government spending, new regulations, bigger government, and even taxes on the Internet. These include:
“Doug Ose is spending millions of dollars trying to make over his liberal voting record and attacking his conservative challenger Tom McClintock,” said Club for Growth Executive Director David Keating. “There is just one problem with this plan—voters in California’s Fourth Congressional District know Doug Ose’s liberal record and have watched Tom McClintock fight for lower taxes and limited government for years. Sorry Doug, all the money in the world can’t cover up the truth.”
PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.
]]>Washington – As Congress prepares to vote on the bloated 2007 Farm Bill, it is appropriate for voters in California’s Fourth Congressional District to ask: What did Doug Ose do to stem the wasteful tide of taxpayer-funded subsidies when he was in Congress?
Good question. Unfortunately, the answer is nothing. In fact, not only did Doug Ose support the bloated Farm Bill in 2002 when he was in Congress, he actually pocketed $604,157 worth of farm subsidies himself between 1995 and 2002. These subsidies are all the more egregious given Ose’s seat on the Agriculture Committee and his multi-million dollar net worth. According to Roll Call, Doug Ose was the tenth richest member of Congress in 2004.
“After taking hundreds and thousands of taxpayer dollars for himself, Doug Ose has the audacity to ask voters in California’s Forth Congressional District to send him back to Congress so he can vote for more wasteful programs and projects,” said Club for Growth Executive Director David Keating. “Ose’s support for the 2002 Farm Bill and his past and current support for wasteful pork projects demonstrate that he cannot be counted on to fight for taxpayers. The only candidate who has a record of fighting to cut wasteful spending is Tom McClintock.”
PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.
]]>Washington – As the House of Representatives prepares to vote on the disastrous Farm Bill this week, all members of Congress should think long and hard before they cast their votes. If ever there was a bill worthy of being soundly defeated, it is the abomination officially known as the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007.
“With its subsidies to millionaire farmers; the elimination of key payment limits; dramatic spending increases; direct commodity payments regardless of record-high crop prices; and a new, permanent disaster aid program, the Farm Bill is a slap in the face to American taxpayers,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey.
A vote in favor of the Farm Bill will be a permanent stain on the lawmaker’s record and on the 110th Congress. The bill’s terrible features include:
“Congress has passed a lot of bad bills over the years, but the Farm Bill would really take the cake,” Mr. Toomey continued. “We commend President Bush for vowing to veto the bill and urge Minority Leader John Boehner and Minority Whip Roy Blunt to make sure all Republicans uphold the President’s veto should it be necessary. Lest lawmakers think the public isn’t paying attention to the arcane details of this complex bill, let us assure lawmakers that we will work very hard to make sure taxpayers know exactly how Congress is spending their money.”
]]>Washington – McCain’s cap-and-trade bill to limit CO2 emissions is badly flawed and would do great damage to the economy. Although McCain promotes the cap-and-trade plan as a market-based solution, it is just another heavy government regulation with tremendous costs to American businesses and economic growth.
The cap-and-trade system has a number of flaws. For starters, the proposal is no different than a tax on carbon emissions; it merely hides the cost increase through a trading mechanism in order to make the bill more politically palatable. Companies who can’t afford to lower their CO2 emissions will be forced to buy emission credits from other companies or the government, raising production costs. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis, the legislation would amount to a $1.21 trillion tax over ten years. These costs will then be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. According to a paper by the Heritage Foundation, energy prices could jump by 36 to 65 percent by 2015.
The proposal is also fraught with uncertainty since businesses won’t be able to predict the price of a credit. Uncertainty is itself a cost since it is difficult for companies to plan and make vital business decisions. The specific proposal introduced by John McCain (now called the Lieberman-Warner bill) is especially costly since it gives companies little time to adjust to the new rules. His plan would mandate emissions to decline to 1990 levels by 2020—a difficult task at a time of population growth and increasing energy demand.
Finally, the system is ripe for fraud. In Europe, where the system has been in existence for some time, a number of scams have recently come to light.
“When it comes to other issues, like the Farm Bill and free trade, Senator McCain has demonstrated a critical understanding of the harm government can do when it interferes in private enterprise and imposes cumbersome regulations on businesses,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “But today, Senator McCain has done a one-eighty, promoting a bill heavy on government regulation and mandates. The cap-and-trade bill contains all the problems Senator McCain accuses the Democrats of supporting on other policy issues. We encourage John McCain to apply the same free-market principles he so often supports to the debate over environmental policy.”
]]>Washington – After intense negotiations and conference meetings, the new Farm Bill revealed yesterday offers taxpayers little in the way of true reform. The Club for Growth commends President Bush for threatening to veto the legislation and urges all members of Congress to uphold the president’s veto when the time comes.
Supporters of the Farm Bill are touting its many reforms, but most of them are nothing more than window dressing. These same supporters also neglect to mention the large increases in subsidies and the further distortion of the agricultural market that will occur as a result. Some of the bill’s most egregious elements include:
“Today, Agriculture Secretary Ed Shafer said the president will veto the Farm Bill, and we commend that action,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “Congress should not be allowed to throw more and more taxpayer dollars at every special interest under the sun and call it ‘reform.’ There is nothing reform-minded about a bill that increases subsidies and tax breaks for special interests, further distorts the agricultural market, and hampers the country’s free trade agenda.”
The Club for Growth will be key-voting the vote on the Farm Bill conference report, urging all members to vote “No.” Key votes are included in our Congressional Scorecard for the 110th Congress. The scorecard provides a comprehensive rating of how well or how poorly each member of Congress supports pro-growth, free-market policies.
]]>Washington - Today, the Club for Growth released its 2007 annual scorecard, awarding the Defender of Economic Freedom award to six senators and forty-nine representatives who scored a 90 or above on the Club's scorecard (see here).
"These top-scoring members of Congress are staunch defenders of American taxpayers," said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. "Their votes are critical to lowering taxes, cutting wasteful spending, and promoting economic growth for all Americans. The Club for Growth scorecard allows taxpayers to see how their senators and representatives are performing in Congress and find out who is truly fighting for pro-growth, limited-government policies. We hope that support for pro-growth principles will continue to grow, allowing more members to earn this award and more Americans to benefit."
The ratings are based on a comprehensive examination of votes in the House and Senate pertaining to key economic issues, including taxes, wasteful spending, entitlement reform, free trade, and regulation. Each lawmaker is given an economic growth score ranging from 0 to 100, with a score of 100 indicating the highest support for pro-growth policies. The Club is also introducing a searchable database that allows you to search past and current scorecards by party, state, house, and member.
]]>Washington - Anyone who's watched Don Young waste billions of dollars on outrageous pork projects knows the Alaska representative has long disregarded the interests of American taxpayers. Now, Rep. Young is taking his disregard to the next level, proposing a dollar-per-gallon gasoline tax as Americans across the country are being hit with record-high prices at the pump.
Americans are already overtaxed and certainly don't need a new tax on gasoline, especially when commodity prices are rising through the roof. This proposal is all the more egregious when it is all but certain Young will attempt to spend the new tax dollars on wasteful pork projects.
Over his thirty-plus years in Congress, Don Young has accumulated a vast array of pork projects on the backs of American taxpayers. Last year, when Rep. Scott Garrett sought to eliminate money for one of Young's pork projects, Young defended the project, yelling: "You want my money, my money!" Young was also partially responsible for earmarking $223 million for the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" in Alaska. It is clear that Don Young thinks taxpayer dollars are his to do with as he pleases-the more wasteful the better.
"Don Young's disrespect for taxpayers is all the more insulting when it produces economically harmful policies," said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. "This is true whether we are talking about Young's insatiable appetite for wasteful pork projects or his desire to impose higher taxes on American taxpayers. In both cases, Young is taking money out of the private sector that would be used to help the economy grow. Taxpayers and the economy would be much better off if Young took a hands-off approach."
PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.
]]>Washington - Today, the Club for Growth PAC released a television ad in California's Fourth Congressional District. The ad buy will run on broadcast television in the Sacramento market and cable systems throughout the Fourth District.
Entitled "Puzzle," the ad seeks to educate voters about Doug Ose's liberal record when he served in Congress. Ose is currently running millions of dollars in ads but he is leaving out the most important pieces of the puzzle, including his votes to waste billions of tax dollars on wasteful pork projects. These projects include The Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Texas, peanut competitiveness, and an indoor rainforest in Iowa. Ose also voted for a Democrat budget and huge new entitlement spending-votes he conveniently neglects to mention in his own ads.
"Apparently, Doug Ose thinks taxpayers should be paying for a Cowgirl Hall of Fame and an indoor rainforest-he just doesn't want taxpayers to know about it," said Club for Growth Executive Director David Keating. "But taxpayers deserve to know about the crucial differences between big-spending Doug Ose and conservative stalwart Tom McClintock. If elected, Doug Ose will continue to waste taxpayer dollars just like he did when he served in Congress initially. Tom McClintock will fight against the wasteful spenders just like he has done throughout his time in the California Legislature."
PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.
]]>]]>Club for Growth PAC-Endorsed Candidate Steve Scalise Wins in Louisiana
Washington – Tonight, Club for Growth PAC-endorsed candidate Steve Scalise won his special general election in Louisiana’s First Congressional District with over 70 percent of the vote.
State Senator Steve Scalise is a true economic conservatives. Over more than a decade in the State Legislature, Scalise helped lead the fight against tax increases and wasteful spending, even when they came from his own party.
“Tonight, taxpayers in Louisiana can be happy to know they are sending a conservative stalwart to Congress,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “We are confident Steve Scalise will work tirelessly to fight for lower taxes, an end to wasteful spending, and limited government. Taxpayers could certainly use a conservative like Steve Scalise down in Washington.”
PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.
Washington – The Club for Growth commended John McCain for vowing to veto the Farm Bill if elected president.
When asked about the Farm Bill today at a campaign event in Iowa, Senator McCain was unambiguous: “I do not support it. I would veto it. I would do that because I believe the subsidies are unnecessary and I do not believe we should have tariffs against imported products.”
Without any real reform, the current Farm Bill deal merely perpetuates the old system of rewarding special interests on the backs of American taxpayers. In an era of record-high farm incomes, there is no reason why Congress should be throwing taxpayer dollars at wealthy farmers and horse racers.
“In an election year where farm states like Iowa might prove crucial, McCain’s promise to veto the Farm Bill in favor of stronger economic growth is an act of political courage rarely seen in politics,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “The current Farm Bill is a travesty that throws billions of taxpayer dollars at a smorgasbord of special interests. American taxpayers would be better off if more politicians would echo McCain’s threat on this issue. We encourage Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to follow his lead.”
PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.
]]>Washington – Hillary Clinton talks about changing Washington, but it is clear the New York Senator has no intention of making good on her word. When it comes to keeping the congressional pork factory churning, Senator Clinton is one of Washington’s biggest culprits.
The proof is in the pork: News reports reveal that Hillary Clinton has requested a whopping $2.3 billion in earmarks for the Fiscal Year 2009. This staggering number is nearly triple the largest amount of pork projects received by any Senator this year.
“Although Hillary Clinton joined Barack Obama and John McCain in voting for a one-year earmark moratorium this year, it is clear the move was nothing more than political showmanship,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “Senator Clinton was happy to support earmark reform when she knew the bill would not pass, but when it comes to being a leader on the issue Senator Clinton is nowhere to be found.”
“Hillary Clinton defends these projects as critical to New York, but she doesn’t explain why taxpayers across the country should be forced to fund her pork projects without so much as a vote or why she thinks she knows how to spend their money better than they do. After the United States Senate rejected her request for $1 million for a hippie museum last year, one would think Senator Clinton would have learned her lesson.”
PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.
]]>Washington – The Club for Growth condemned the Farm Bill deal as a disaster for taxpayers and urged all members of Congress to vote against the bill.
Last week, the House and Senate conferees released the details of a Farm Bill deal and it doesn’t look promising. The bill perpetuates much of the waste and misuse of taxpayer dollars contained in the previous farm bills. Despite promises of reform, the Farm Bill deal contains no meaningful reform of wasteful farm subsidies and piles on additional spending. These include:
“This current Farm Bill deal is an insult to taxpayers across America,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey, “including many farmers who see their tax dollars going to the wealthiest farmers. The expiration of the 2002 Farm Bill presented Congress with the perfect opportunity to institute real reforms. Instead, Congress has decided to pile on the waste and special-interest giveaways. The White House has rightly threatened to veto the Farm Bill in its current form and we urge President Bush to follow through on his threat. If ever there was a bill worthy of being vetoed, it is the taxpayer-funded monstrosity known as the Farm Bill.”
]]>Washington - Today, the Club for Growth PAC released a radio ad (MP3 file) on Sacramento radio in California's Fourth Congressional District.
The ad seeks to set the record straight about Doug Ose's liberal voting record in Congress. Doug Ose is running ads claiming to be a conservative, but when he served in Congress, Doug Ose voted for billions of dollars in wasteful pork spending, including the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, peanut competitiveness, and an indoor rainforest in Iowa. Ose also voted for a Democratic budget and against Republican budgets. He even voted to make it easier to tax the Internet. That's a liberal record, no matter what his ads say.
"Doug Ose is trying to pull the wool over voters' eyes, but he can't hide his liberal, big-spending record," said Executive Director David Keating. "Voters in California's Fourth Congressional District deserve to know the truth about how Doug Ose voted when he was in Congress. If voters are looking for a conservative candidate who will fight to protect their tax dollars-that person is not Doug Ose; it's Tom McClintock."
PAID FOR BY CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE'S COMMITTEE. 202-955-5500.
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