ALG Calls on House to Reject Senate Changes to National Service Bill

ALG President Bill Wilson today strongly urged members of the House of Representatives to vote against amendments adopted by the Senate today that “will allow radical front groups to steal $5.7 billion under the guise of President Obama's national 'service' program.”

“The Senate has voted to gut taxpayer protections in the GIVE Act that would have prohibited lobbyists, political organizations, for-profits and labor groups from taking money under the program,” Wilson warned. “And now only the House can put a stop to it by voting to reject the Senate's amendments.”

The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 79-19. This followed a close vote that would have put language back into the bill prohibiting the groups from participating in the program.

“The House version of the GIVE Act was amended overwhelmingly to explicitly prohibit these groups from receiving tax dollars under the program,” Wilson reminded House members in his statement.

“Now under the Senate version of the bill, the groups can receive the money, they just have to promise not to use it for the prohibited activities,” Wilson explained.

As ALG News previously reported, the House version of the bill, HR 1388, was amended in a motion to recommit by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC). It was her amendment that had inserted the prohibitions, now in danger of being completely removed. The legislation, with Foxx's amendment included, passed the House 321-105.

Wilson warned that it will be easy for the groups prohibited under the House version to “get around toothless limits of the Senate version.”

“Because the money is fungible, or can be substituted by the organizations using accounting tricks, tax dollars will most certainly wind up being used for politics and lobbying,” Wilson explained.

“Even worse is it will be nearly impossible to enforce any prohibitions once the money starts moving. This was a bad deal for taxpayers,” Wilson said.

Wilson noted that there will not be any conference committee even though the House and Senate versions of the legislation are different.

“Because the Senate simply amended the House version of the bill, all the House now needs to do is vote to accept the Senate amendments,” said Wilson.

Wilson urged there to be a roll call on the bill. “Constituents in every single district across the nation have a right to know how their representatives vote on the Senate amendments.”

Wilson cautioned House members against overreaching. “If the House now votes to force American taxpayers to furnish money for speech with which they might not agree, we promise to remind their constituents often,” he concluded.

Daily Grind Editorial: Senate Should Affirm the Foxx Amendment

Last week, the House passed the “Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act” 325-105, a bill that establishes as a goal expanding national service organizations like AmeriCorps dramatically from 75,000 to 250,000. Gaining attention is an amendment to the bill inserted by Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) that prohibits participating not-for-profit entities from using taxpayer money for lobbying, political organizing, or other political purposes.

As the legislation proceeds through the Senate, it remains to be seen if these taxpayer protections will not ultimately be stripped out. Removing the provisions would allow taxpayer-funded not-for-profit organizations participating in the national service program to, among other things, lobby Congress for yet more tax dollars.

In essence, a vote to remove the Foxx amendment is a vote to hand yet more money over to radical groups like ACORN without any consideration as to the propriety of lobbying organizations participating in a national service program. Without Congresswoman Foxx's amendment, the legislation will, without a doubt, move billions of dollars into hundreds, if not thousands, of left-leaning organizations and special interest groups.

Ultimately, the GIVE Act is a bad bill as it seeks to achieve an unnecessary purpose. Expanding national “service” via funding of non-profit entities, that just turn around to lobby government for more money, and also give millions in campaign contributions, is simply pay-to-play corruption. The organizations that give the most, get the most. This system has perpetuated for decades.

And now Mrs. Foxx may bring an end to it all.

That is why an amendment to an otherwise bad piece of legislation prohibiting individuals and organizations that participate in national service programs would at from engaging in lobbying, and also prevented from co-locating upon the same premises as organizations that lobby must be preserved. It is the least Congress can do, if the bill must pass, to protect American taxpayers who grow weary of the constant deluge of waste, fraud, and abuses by government.

However, as the bill moves through the Senate the danger exists that members will strip out the Foxx amendment, either in the Senate or in conference. The message they must hear from their constituents is that a vote against the Foxx amendment is a vote in favor of national 'service' organizations engaging in lobbying on the taxpayer's dime. It is a vote funnel tax dollars to radical organizations.

Americans for Limited Government promises to release information on campaign contributions from organizations participating in national service programs to members of Congress that vote to remove the Foxx amendment from the bill. They should consider this notice.

Members must understand that they are being watched closely, and ALG News urges news outlets to hold representatives and senators accountable for where they wind up standing on this issue. A vote to remove the Foxx amendment can only be viewed for what it is: a vote in favor of lobbying with tax dollars and against taxpayers.

ALG CTA: Please encourage your Senator not to strip the Foxx amendment out of the 'GIVE Act'. Non-profits should not use tax payer money to lobby, politically organize or support lunatic liberal causes! Your member of Congress may be reached through the Capitol Operator at 202-224-3121.

http://alg31blog.timberlakepublishing.com/default.asp?Display=1069

Bill Wilson; The Daily Grind; NetRight Nation
(Great info, highly encourage you to sign up for their updates)

Tell Chuck Schumer you care

By Michelle Malkin • February 11, 2009 10:05 AM
Yesterday, I posted video of snarky Sen. Chuck Schumer telling his colleagues on the floor before the Generational Theft Act vote that Americans don’t care about the teeny, tiny pork amendments bloating up the bill.
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/02/11/tell-chuck-schumer-you-care/