JOBS THROUGH GROWTH ACT FULL TEXT

JOBS THROUGH GROWTH ACT: The Republican Plan To Put Americans Back To Work.

SPENDING REFORM

 Require a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution - (S.J.Res.10, Sen. Hatch) Limit the ability of Washington to raise taxes to pay for runaway spending and would enshrine firm tax and spending limitations in our Constitution. Job creators will have certainty that Washington will not continue to grow unchecked and consume more and more resources that would otherwise be available to fuel job creation.

 Enact Enhanced Rescission Authority - (S.102, Sens. McCain & Carper) This bipartisan proposal would give the President the statutory line-item veto authority to reduce wasteful spending. This is an important tool to ensure that tax dollars are spent wisely and efficiently. Congress would vote up-or-down on proposed spending cuts.

TAX REFORM

 Reduce and Reform Individual, Small Business and Corporate Taxation

A simplified tax system will keep more money in the hands of consumers, small businesses and job-creators. Reduce individual income tax rates to a maximum of 25 percent with two marginal rates. Within 90 days, the Senate Finance Committee will report back on recommended changes in credits and deductions to make this revenue neutral.

Reduce the top corporate tax rate to no more than 25%. Within 90 days, the Senate Finance Committee will report changes in credits, deductions and subsidies, with priority given to eliminating all industry-specific provisions and revenue neutrality.

 Repatriation and Territorial Reform

Our current corporate tax code is outdated and is a major reason why there is up to $1.4 trillion in foreign earnings trapped overseas in countries where U.S.-based multinational companies do business. Under a reformed territorial system of corporate taxation, this plan would create a permanent incentive for companies repatriating foreign earnings to the U.S. economy.

 Withholding Tax Relief Act - (S. 164, Sens. Scott Brown, Olympia Snowe, David Vitter)

Removes the undue burden on businesses of all sizes by repealing the provision in the tax code requiring federal, state and local governmental entities to withhold 3% of payments due to private vendors who supply their goods and services.

REGULATION REFORM

 Repeal the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act - (S.192, Sen. DeMint)

Repealing and replacing Obamacare will remove over $550 billion in new taxes, over $300 billion in higher health care costs, and $2,100 in increased family insurance premiums from employers and workers. The job-destroying policies of Obamacare are estimated to cost the economy at least 800,000 jobs and hit small businesses especially hard. Studies have demonstrated Obamacare – not yet fully implemented – is a huge driver of unemployment. Economists have referred to the passage of Obamacare as a “structural break in job growth,” an economic term describing the correlation between a single event and resulting job-loss. Obamacare ruined our 2010 recovery slowing private sector hiring to one-tenth of its previous clip, down to just 6,500 jobs per month. In addition, nearly 80 percent of small businesses and 70 percent of all businesses may be forced to drop their current health care plans.

Medical Malpractice Reform – (S. 197 – The Medical Care Access Protection Act) Medical malpractice abuse in the US health care system is out of control. Junk lawsuits drive up the cost of health care and the system must be reformed. Reform Medical Malpractice law based on Texas "stacked caps" to improve patient access to health care and provide improved medical care by reducing the excessive burden the liability system places on the health care delivery system.

 Financial Takeover Repeal - (S.712, Sen. DeMint)

We need to lift the burdens the Dodd-Frank bill placed on community banks and the small businesses that depend on them for financing, from oppressive new regulations to the resulting uncertainty that prevents growth. Repealing Dodd-Frank will also significantly reduce financing costs for consumers and businesses, as well as reduce costs to manufacturers in hedging their risks in the financial markets. Research compiled by the Financial Services Roundtable indicates that the cumulative weight of new financial rules, from Dodd-Frank to similar efforts abroad, could cost the U.S. economy 4.6 million jobs by 2015.

Regulations from the Executive In Need of Scrutiny (REINS Act) - (S.299, Sen. Paul)

The REINS Act would require Congressional approval by joint resolution of any federal rule that would cost the economy $100 million or more.

 Regulation Moratorium and Jobs Preservation Act - (S.1438, Sen. Ron Johnson)

Prohibits any federal agency from issuing new regulations until the unemployment rate is equal to or less than 7.7 percent (the unemployment rate in January 2009).

 Freedom from Restrictive Excess Executive Demands and Onerous Mandates Act - (S.1030, Sens. Snowe and Coburn)

Streamlines and strengthens the Regulatory Flexibility Act by requiring regulators to include “indirect” economic impacts in small-business analyses, requiring periodic review and sunset of
existing rules, and expanding small business review panels as a requirement for all federal agencies, instead of just the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

 Unfunded Mandates Accountability Act - (S. 1189, Sen. Portman)

Requires agencies specifically to assess the potential effect of new regulations on job creation and to consider market-based and non-governmental alternatives to regulation; broadens the scope of Unfunded Mandate Reform Act to include rules issued by independent agencies and rules that impose direct or indirect economic costs of $100 million or more; requires agencies to adopt the least burdensome regulatory option that achieves the goal of the statute authorizing the rule; creates a meaningful right to judicial review of an agency’s compliance with the law.

 The Government Litigation Savings Act - (S.1061, Sen. Barrasso)

Reforms the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) by disallowing the reimbursement of attorney’s fees and costs to well-funded special interest groups who repeatedly sue the federal government. The bill retains federal reimbursements for individuals, small businesses, veterans and others who must fight in court against a wrongful government action. By eliminating taxpayer-funded reimbursement of attorney’s fees for wealthy special interest groups, the legislation helps eliminate repeated, procedural lawsuits that delay permitting, exploration and land management.

 Employment Protection Act of 2011 - (S.1292, Sen. Toomey)

Requires the EPA to analyze the impact on employment levels and economic activity before issuing any regulation, policy statement, guidance document, endangerment finding, or denying any permit. Each analysis is required to include a description of estimated job losses and decreased economic activity due to the denial of a permit, including any permit denied under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

 Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act - (S.1528, Sen. Johanns)

Prevents the EPA from regulating dust in rural America, while still maintaining protections to public health under the Clean Air Act. The EPA is currently considering a dust standard that would, by the agency’s own admission, double the number of counties that are in nonattainment status and put activities like tilling soil, harvesting crops and driving down unpaved roads under the purview of federal regulations. Under this bill, the EPA would still be allowed to regulate dust, but only after demonstrating scientific evidence of substantial adverse health effects of farm dust.

 National Labor Relations Board Reform - (H.R.2587, Rep. Tim Scott)

From back-door card-check, to threatening jobs in South Carolina, the out-of-control National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is paying back union officials at the expense of worker rights and jobs. To create more jobs, legislation prohibiting the NLRB from stopping new plants and legislation to prevent coercive, quick-snap union elections should be passed.

 Government Neutrality in Contracting Act - (S.119, Sen. Vitter)

Repeals the President’s order requiring government-funded construction projects to only use union labor. This would reduce costs of federal jobs projects by as much as 18 percent.

 Financial Regulatory Responsibility Act - (S. 1615, Sen. Shelby)

Requires financial regulators to conduct consistent economic analysis on every new rule they propose, provide clear justification for the rules, and determine the economic impacts of proposed rulemakings, including their effects on growth and net job creation.

 Regulatory Responsibility for our Economy Act - (S. 358, Sen. Roberts)

Codifies and strengthens President Obama's January 18th Executive Order that directs agencies within to review, modify, streamline, expand, or repeal those significant regulatory actions, that are duplicative, unnecessary, overly burdensome or would have significant economic impacts on Americans. It directs meaningful review and possible revocation of regulations counter to our nation's economic growth.

 Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act - (H.R. 872, Rep. Bob Gibbs)

Eliminates a new duplicate EPA regulation that will cost millions of dollars to implement without providing additional environmental protection. The current rules for pesticides, which have been in place for decades, will remain in force.

DOMESTIC ENERGY JOB PROMOTION

 The Domestic Jobs, Domestic Energy, and Deficit Reduction Act - (S.706, Sen. Vitter)

Will require the Interior Department to move forward with offshore energy exploration, and create a timeframe for environmental and judicial review.

 The Jobs and Energy Permitting Act - (S.1226, Sen. Murkowski)

Eliminates confusion and uncertainty surrounding the EPA’s decision-making process for air permits, which is delaying energy exploration in the Alaskan Outer-Continental Shelf (OCS). It will create over 50,000 jobs and produce one million barrels of oil a day.

 The American Energy and Western Jobs Act - (S.1027, Sen. Barrasso)

This bill streamlines the preleasing, leasing and developmental process for drilling on public land and requires this Administration to create goals for American oil and gas production.

 Mining Jobs Protection Act - (S.468, Sens. McConnell, Inhofe, Paul)

Requires the EPA to “use or lose” their 404 permitting review authority. Under this bill the EPA will have 60 days to voice concerns about a permit application, or the permit moves forward. Any concerns voiced by the EPA would need to be published in the Federal Register within 30 days.

 Energy Tax Prevention Act - (S.482, Sen. Inhofe)

Prohibits the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases. It is estimated that greenhouse gas regulation could result in a loss to the economy of as much as $75 billion and 1.4 million jobs by 2014.

 Repeal Restrictions on Government Use of Domestic Alternative Fuels

Repeal Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which prohibits federal agencies from contracting for alternative fuels, such as coal-to-liquid fuel. This provision stifles the coal industry and puts our national security at risk by limiting the Pentagon’s ability to get its fuels from domestic sources.

 Public Lands Job Creation Act - (Sen. Heller)

Eliminates a burdensome and unnecessary delay in approval of projects on federal lands by allowing the permitting process to move forward unless the Department of the Interior objects within 45 days. This will streamline the permitting process for domestic energy and mineral production on BLM lands without compromising environmental analysis.

EXPORT PROMOTION

 Renew Trade Promotion Authority - (S. Amdt. 626, Sen. McConnell)
Provide the President with fast-track authority to negotiate trade agreements that will eliminate foreign trade barriers and open new markets for American goods.

FULL TEXT in PDF FORMAT: JOBS THROUGH GROWTH ACT

Republican GOP Debate Hanover, New Hampshire 10/11/11 FULL VIDEO

Dartmouth College / /Washington Post/ Bloomberg Republican Presidential GOP Debate Oct. 11th, 2011

The candidates: Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

Charlie Rose moderator, Washington Post political correspondent Karen Tumulty and Bloomberg TV White House correspondent Julianna Goldman questioned the candidates.

TEXT CREDIT: Vote4Paul2012

Live Video Stream:Republican GOP Debate in Hanover, New Hampshire, October 11, 2011.

UPDATE: 10/12/11

Republican GOP Debate Hanover, New Hampshire 10/11/11 FULL VIDEO

Live Video Stream:Republican GOP Debate in Hanover, New Hampshire, October 11, 2011.

Newt Gingrich Speech at the Values Voter Summit FULL VIDEO and TEXT TRANSCRIPT

FRC Action Values Voter Summit 2011. Remarks by Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) Location: The Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C. Time: 5:02 p.m. EDT. Date: Friday, October 7, 2011. Transcript By Federal News Service Washington, D.C. NEWT GINGRICH: You know, you're here at a historic moment. I think this is the first time in American history that two Georgians running for president have been back to back talking to an audience. (Laughter, applause.) I was just -- I was just comparing notes with Herman offstage. I don't know if you've watched it, but the elite media said several weeks ago this was now a two-person race. And Herman and I have decided that may be right, but they have the wrong two people. (Cheers, laughter, applause.)

And it is kind of interesting that the two guys who have gotten the most money have lost the most votes, and the two guys who had the most ideas have gained the most votes. And that might -- I don't want to be too optimistic, but that might convince the elite media that maybe there is more to politics than fundraising and consultants, and maybe having a heart and a brain actually matters a lot. (Cheers, applause.)

Now, I think we are in a period of enormous challenge. I think that part of that challenge is Barack Obama, but frankly, I think it's much deeper. We have bureaucracies out of control. We have judges who don't understand the Constitution. We have teachers who don't believe in American history. We have an academic class that is in many ways alienated from the American people and an elite media which, frankly, I think, has no understanding of the origins of the
United States and the nature of American civilization.

So we have a lot of work to do. Recently I released -- and you can see it at newt.org -- a contract -- 21st century "Contract with America." And it outlines the scale of change. It outlines both a legislative program, and it outlines a first-day program of very specific executive orders.

Now, let me you give an example. Imagine about 3:30 or 3:45 on inauguration day, the inaugural address is over. We've said goodbye to folks. We take about an hour and a half, and we start signing between 50 and 200 specific orders moving the government away from Obama and back towards the American tradition. (Cheers, applause.)

Now I don't -- you can go to newt.org and you'll see a section -- and this is open to you -- we will release all the executive orders by October the 1st next year, so it will all be a part of the closing month of the campaign. And if the president says he's for one of them, we'll print it out, he can sign it. (Laughter.)

But -- but I can -- I don't know what all of them will be, but I can tell you what the first one will be. Around 3:45 or 4:00 on the afternoon of the inauguration, about the time that President Obama gets to Andrews Air Force Base to get on Air Force One to go back to Chicago -- (cheers, applauses) -- I will sign executive order number one, which will abolish as of that moment every White House czar. (Cheers, applause.)

Now, I wanted to come today to talk about a historic crisis that only indirectly relates to the president. You know, Abraham Lincoln said, if you debate somebody who does not agree that two plus two equals four, you probably can't win the argument because facts make no difference. And I want to start with that example. Newt Gingrich Speech at the Values Voter Summit FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

TEXT CREDIT: FRC Action The Cloakroom 801 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001 Toll-free: 1-877/372-2808

Values Voter Summit FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPTS

Former Sen. Rick Santorum Gov. Rick Perry Herman Cain Speaker Newt Gingrich Rep. Michele Bachmann Rep. Ron Paul Gov. Mitt Romney TEXT CREDIT: FRC Action The Cloakroom 801 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001 Toll-free: 1-877/372-2808 IMAGE CREDIT: 2011 Values Voter Summit:

Herman Cain Speech at the Values Voter Summit FULL VIDEO and TEXT TRANSCRIPT

Herman Cain Speech at the Values Voter Summit Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C. 10/07/11 FULL VIDEO and TEXT TRANSCRIPT.

Remarks by Herman Cain. Location: The Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C. Time: 4:31 p.m. EDT. Date: Friday, October 7, 2011.

(Cheers, applause.)

HERMAN CAIN: Thank you. Thank you very much. Now as I was backstage and I heard Ted finishing up his remarks, did I hear you all saying: Yes, we CAIN? (Laughter, cheers.) Was I hearing things?

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: (Off mic.)

MR. CAIN: I want to thank Tony Perkins and his organization for inviting me, but more importantly, I want to thank you for being here, because that means that you get it. You know how important this upcoming election in 2012 is, and you're not going to let the liberals take this country down. (Cheers, applause.)

One of my heroes, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, used to remind the young men of Morehouse when he said: "Let it be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goals. The tragedy lies in not having any goals to reach for. It's not a tragedy to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity to have no dreams." (Applause.)

The American dream is under attack. The American dream is under attack because we have become a nation of crises. And that shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan talked about has started to slide down to the side of the hill because of all of these crises.

We have an economic crisis. We have an entitlement spending crisis. We have an energy crisis. We have an illegal immigration crisis. We have a foggy foreign policy crisis. We have a moral crisis. (Cheers, applause.) And we have a severe deficiency of leadership crisis in this country. (Cheers, applause.)

You know, I may not have ever held a high political office, but I know what leaders do. Leaders make sure that they're working on the right problems, that they'll find the right priorities, that they surround themselves with the right people in order to put together the right plans, in order to fix stuff instead of to continue to talk about stuff. That's what leaders do. (Applause.)

And I happen to believe -- I happen to believe that even though the American dream is under attack, the Founding Fathers got it right. Those same principles, those same values that they had when they envisioned this great nation with the Declaration of Independence, when they envisioned our laws with the Constitution, they got it right when they said we are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

They said certain unalienable rights, that among these. I happen to believe they were talking about some others in addition to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. (Applause.) I kind to believe that they had in mind that one of these other unalienable rights was the right to protect yourself, protect your family and to protect you property. We call it the Second Amendment. (Cheers, applause.) Unalienable rights. (Cheers, applause.) Herman Cain Speech at the Values Voter Summit FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT in PDF FORMAT

TEXT CREDIT: FRC Action The Cloakroom 801 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001 Toll-free: 1-877/372-2808

VIDEO and IMAGE CREDIT: AntichristComes

Ron Paul placed first in the 2011 Values Voter Straw Poll

LAKE JACKSON, Texas–2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul placed first in the 2011 Values Voter Straw Poll today garnering an impressive 37 percent of the total number of votes cast.

In placing first, Dr. Paul placed ahead of Herman Cain, Rick Santorum and Rick Perry who placed second, third and fourth with a mere 23, 16 and 8 percent, respectively.

Held annually each year since 2007, the Values Voter Summit presidential straw poll is seen as a benchmark for how well Republican candidates will appeal to Christian conservative activists. Endorsement by this core activist community is likely to energize voters nationwide that identify with family-friendly issues such as parental decision-making concerning children’s education, less government interference in local communities, and the sanctity of human life.

“Dr. Paul’s standing among Christian conservative voters is growing as people become more familiar with the man as well as the message,”said Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.

“Dr. Paul is a humble man of faith, who has personally delivered more than 4,000 babies, so he’s well acquainted with the sanctity of life. And importantly, he never fails to connect the worthiness of the liberty message he champions with that system’s moral superiority over schemes that promote coercive government activism leading to the breakdown of the American family,”said Mr. Benton.

Speaking of Dr. Paul’s speech earlier today Doug Wead, a born again Christian and former adviser to two U.S. Presidents, said he was blown away by Dr. Paul’s command of the scripture. ”He offered a scriptural rationale to every position and moved from one passage to the next without hesitation. The man knows the Bible.”

Mr. Wead says that the rising numbers of born again Christians turning to Dr. Paul shows that, “For many of us, the best way to assure our own religious freedom is to get back to the Constitution and defend everybody else’s freedoms too.”

To view Dr. Paul’s statement of faith, click here. To view his positions on abortion and homeschooling click here and here, respectively.

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John Thune Weekly Republican Address TEXT VIDEO 10/08/11

In the Weekly Republican Address, Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairman John Thune explains how President Obama's economic and regulatory policies are making things worse.

Hello, I’m Senator John Thune of South Dakota. As you’ve probably noticed, we have an election coming up in a little over a week.

President Obama has been running around the country trying to reelect Democrat members of Congress.

But if the conversations I’ve had with voters are any indication, the president should spend less time campaigning to save the jobs of Democrats in Congress, and more time trying to create jobs for the American people.

All across South Dakota and the country, I've heard from people who aren’t fooled by President Obama's well-written speeches. They have serious concerns about our economy, and they are all too familiar with the Administration’s failed policies.

One of the Democrats' main responsibilities over the past two years was to improve the economy. Instead, they decided to try an experiment to grow government, raise taxes, and take over health care. After two years, the American people are left asking, ‘Why have the Democrats’ priorities been so different from ours?’

The Obama Experiment has failed. When the president and his Democrat allies in Congress pushed through their $814 billion stimulus bill, they promised it would create millions of jobs, and keep unemployment under eight percent. But their approach didn’t work, and they failed to deliver on their promises.

Unemployment has climbed to nearly 10 percent. Rather than create jobs, the Democrats expanded government, and now the American people are stuck with another bill for nearly a trillion dollars.

When the president was introducing his big government health care plan, he promised to reduce every family’s health insurance premiums by as much as $2,500. But premiums keep going up. Families in some states are seeing increases in the double digits. Here again, Democrats promised but didn’t deliver, and the American people are stuck with rising health care costs and another tab; this one for two-and-a-half trillion dollars.

The Democrats have controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress for nearly two years, and have proven that more government is not the answer. This year they were not even capable of passing a budget. Instead, they spent their time passing more and more burdensome regulations, like their so-called Financial Reform bill that failed to address the main cause of our economic mess.

Despite a dangerously high national debt that is closing in on $14 trillion, the president wants to spend even more money on these kinds of failed policies. And he appears intent on raising taxes to do it.

Giving Democrats more opportunities to manage the economy and spend taxpayer dollars will not give us the economic growth that we need. It will only lead to more growth of government bureaucracy, and to national bankruptcy.

There is a reason unemployment is stuck near ten percent. There is a reason jobs are not being created. There is a reason too many Americans who want a job can’t find one. There is a reason the dollar is weak and our economy is not growing as it should. The reason is that President Obama and Congressional Democrats have led this country in the wrong direction.

Government cannot be openly hostile to American businesses, and expect them to grow and create jobs. Government cannot raise taxes during tough economic times, and expect small businesses to grow and create jobs. A new direction is needed.

The president likes to say that when you want to drive forward you put your car in D, and when you want to go in reverse you put it in R. It’s a clever line, but when you’re speeding toward a cliff, you don’t want to keep the car in drive.

Republicans want to reverse the dangerous course the Democrats have us on. Republicans want to reverse Democrats’ plan to raise taxes on the 750,000 small businesses in this country that employ 25 percent of all workers. So employers have more money to create new jobs.

Republicans support policies that will grow the economy, not the government.

Republicans want to repeal the flawed health care law that has been rejected by the American public, and replace it with a new plan that actually reduces costs. We want to reverse the uncertainty in the marketplace so that small businesses have the confidence to grow and invest and create jobs and Republicans want to reverse this nonsense of government bailouts and takeovers of private businesses. Republicans have proposed real, concrete solutions to the challenges we face as a country.

We have learned the lessons not only of what hasn’t worked over the past two years, but what didn’t work the last time Republicans controlled Congress. Republicans are listening to the frustration being expressed by Americans all across this country, and we are determined to take this country in the right direction.

The choice could not be more clear. Democrats are driving more of the same failed policies they have pushed for the past two years. Republicans are proposing to take this country in a different direction.

So I would like to suggest a simple question people should ask themselves to help cut through all the talk, Are you better off today than you were two years ago? I’m Senator John Thune. Thank you for listening. ####

VIDEO and IMAGE CREDIT: gopweeklyaddress

Herman Cain 9-9-9: A Vision for Economic Growth VIDEO

Herman Cain talks about his 9-9-9 Economic Growth Plan in detail. To read the plan, go to 9-9-9: A Vision for Economic Growth In PDF FORMAT

VIDEO CREDIT: thehermancain

Joint Select Committee Members Urge President Obama to Consider Options for Government Spectrum Reallocation

Additional Spectrum Auctions Can Expand Broadband Access, Spur Job Creation, and Provide Greater Deficit Reduction.

WASHINGTON, DC – Four members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction today sent a letter to President Obama requesting a review of how spectrum currently used by the federal government can be used more efficiently, with a goal to reallocate portions of existing government spectrum to expand the public’s access to broadband. The letter was sent by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), and Sen. Patrick Toomey (R-PA). The full text of the letter follows:

Dear Mr. President:

The Budget Control Act tasks the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction with developing recommendations to reduce the deficit by “at least $1.5 trillion” by FY 2021. One way to produce job growth is spectrum auctions. In February, you set a goal of making an additional 500 MHz of spectrum available for wireless broadband use. You identified voluntary incentive auctions of spectrum currently allocated, for example, to broadcast television as one potential source. We certainly support such voluntary incentive auctions. But we believe that those auctions will not produce all the spectrum we need to meet our country’s growing demand for broadband.

In an effort to produce more spectrum for wireless broadband than in the current proposal, we respectfully request that you direct the Office of Management and Budget to re-examine and consider expanding a proposal in your FY 2012 Budget and in your recommendations submitted to the Committee for consideration on September 19, 2011, specifically, to make more efficient use of federal government spectrum and reallocate some of it for commercial broadband use. In particular, we should put every effort into making available paired, internationally-harmonized spectrum below 3 GHz in sufficient block sizes to support mobile broadband services within the next 10 years.

These efforts enjoy bipartisan Congressional support. Spectrum auctions would generate tens of billions of dollars in auction proceeds, help the Select Committee meet its deficit reduction goals, stimulate billions in private-sector capital investment, provide a job-creating boost to the economy, and ensure that America continues to lead the world in wireless broadband innovation. The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 yielded spectrum now being used to deploy 4G wireless services and gave the United States an international edge in the growing wireless economy. Let’s build on that momentum.

In light of the time sensitive work of the Select Committee, we kindly request a response by October 14.

Sincerely,

The Honorable Fred Upton U.S. House of Representatives Member, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

The Honorable John F. Kerry U.S. Senate Member, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

The Honorable Xavier Becerra U.S. House of Representatives Member, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

The Honorable Patrick J. Toomey U.S. Senate Member, Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans:

Fred Upton Cliff Stearns Discover Treasury Department Believed DOE Violated Law in Restructuring Solyndra Loan

WASHINGTON, DC – Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-FL) have uncovered new information as part of their ongoing investigation into the $535 million loan guarantee to now-bankrupt Solyndra about the level of disagreement among federal agencies about how the loan guarantee was handled.

The committee has learned that the Treasury Department was concerned that the Department of Energy’s restructuring of the Solyndra Loan in early 2011 was in violation of the law. Despite the plain letter of the law, DOE allowed Solyndra’s investors to be moved to the front of the line for the first $75 million in the event of Solyndra’s bankruptcy. Upton and Stearns today sent a letter to the Treasury Department seeking information about the agency's involvement with the loan and its concerns. An excerpt from the letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner follows:

“In the course of our investigation, we have uncovered information that raises questions as to whether the Department of Energy satisfied the requirement to consult with the Department of the Treasury about the $535 million loan guarantee issued to Solyndra in September 2009 and the restructuring of that agreement in February 2011. On August 17, 2011, Department of the Treasury Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets Mary J. Miller sent an email to Jeffrey D. Zients, Deputy Director of OMB, in which she stated that ‘[s]ince July of 2010, Treasury has asked DOE for briefings on Solyndra’s financial condition and any restructuring of terms.

The only information we have received about this has been through OMB, as DOE has not responded to any requests for information about Solyndra.’ Further, Assistant Secretary Miller also questioned whether DOE’s decision to subordinate its interest in Solyndra to Solyndra’s investors was proper, stating ‘[o]ur legal counsel believes that the statute and the DOE regulations both require that the guaranteed loan should not be subordinate to any loan or other debt obligation. The DOE regulations also state that DOE shall consult with OMB and Treasury before any ‘deviation’ is granted from the financial terms of the Loan Guarantee Agreement. In February, we requested in writing that DOE seek the Department of Justice’s approval of any proposed restructuring. To our knowledge, that has never happened.’”

TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans:

Mitt Romney on September Jobs Report VIDEO

"What you're seeing now is the result of a failed economic policy by a president who has been in office three years and is looking for someone to blame." -- Mitt Romney

VIDEO IMAGE and TEXT CREDIT mittromney

Mitt Romney Ad Two Different Plans VIDEO

Two different plans on social security. Mitt Romney: reform and strengthen. Rick Perry: end federal program, send to the states. Rick Perry is irresponsible on Social Security. In Florida, 1 in 4 seniors could lose benefits under his plan.

VIDEO and TEXT CREDIT mittromney

New Rick Perry Ad, Romney & Obama: Carbon Copies VIDEO

New Rick Perry Ad, Romney & Obama: Carbon Copies VIDEO

Romney’s environmental policies and advisors now being used by President Obama

Mitt Romney and President Obama are carbon copies when it comes to environmental policies, as evident in the video “Romney and Obama: Carbon Copies”

VIDEO CREDIT: perrytruthteam

American Crossroads:"Don't" VIDEO

WASHINGTON – American Crossroads on Monday night released a new television ad in St. Louis to offer a counterpoint to President Obama’s visit to Missouri this week. The group also launched a new nationwide online ad targeted at viewers who watch Obama’s recent online interview with ABC News.

The new ad, "Don't" started Monday night and will run through Wednesday in St. Louis on local network TV stations, as well as cable networks CNN and Fox News, with a total buy of $50,000 over three days. The ad will serve to provide a counterpoint before, during and after the president's visit to St. Louis as he sells his tax increase plan and re-election.

The ad features former President Clinton deriding Obama's plan to raise taxes, saying it "won't solve the problem." Crossroads plans to use similar versions of the ad to bracket other Obama appearances over the next few months.

American Crossroads is also launching a new paid web video campaign on Yahoo that offers a counterpoint to President Obama's online Yahoo News/ABC online interview with George Stephanopoulos. Viewers clicking to watch the Yahoo interview over the next week will be greeted by an American Crossroads pre-roll spot that will serve as a counterpoint to the president's speech.

“Our goal is to keep Obama on defense, where he's unable to generate an unchallenged media hit to sell his tax increase or his re-election,” said American Crossroads president and CEO Steven Law. “Former President Bill Clinton and now even Warren Buffett don’t agree with Obama’s policies, which are adding uncertainty and instability to the economy and making it worse.”

American Crossroads is a non-profit 527 political organization dedicated to renewing America’s commitment to individual liberty, limited government, free enterprise and a strong national defense through informed and effective political action. American Crossroads seeks to educate voters and empower citizens to hold lawmakers and office-seekers accountable for where they stand. Paid for by American Crossroads. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. www.americancrossroads.org

For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Jonathan Collegio at jacollegio@americancrossroads.org or (202) 559-6424.

VIDEO CREDIT: AmericanCrossroads

American Crossroads: Democrats Anonymous VIDEO

American Crossroads: Democrats Anonymous Because the first step is admitting you have a problem.

VIDEO CREDIT: AmericanCrossroads

Chris Christie announces he will not be running for President 10/04/11 FULL VIDEO

Chris Christie announces he will not be running for President 10/04/11 FULL VIDEO

Governor Chris Christie takes questions during a press conference announcing he will not be running for President of the United States, while in the outer office of the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J. on Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011. (Governor's Office/Tim Larsen)

VIDEO CREDIT: governorchrischristie

IMAGE CREDIT: state.nj.us/governor/

Herman Cain "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour VIDEO 10/02/11

Herman Cain "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour VIDEO 10/02/11

"Some black people won't even listen to someone who appears to be a conservative or a Republican, I call that brainwashing."

VIDEO and IMAGE CREDIT: "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour

Morgan Griffith Weekly Republican Address TEXT PODCAST VIDEO 10/01/11

Morgan Griffith Weekly Republican Address TEXT PODCAST VIDEO 10/01/11 Podcast of the address: Download MP3 for PODCAST |||| FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT BELOW. || Download Video MPEG Video || MP4 Video

Weekly Republican Address: Rep. Griffith on Addressing Excessive Regulations to Protect Jobs

Washington (Sep 30)

Delivering the Weekly Republican Address, Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) calls on President Obama and the Democratic-led Senate to support bipartisan House proposals that would protect jobs from excessive federal regulations. Listening to America’s job creators, House Republicans are acting on a series of jobs bills aimed at cutting red tape and addressing excessive regulations that hamper job creation.

The bills that the House will consider next week deal with new cement and boiler rules that put thousands of Americans jobs at risk. “President Obama, who has said he’s willing to consider stopping excessive regulations, should call on the Democrat-led Senate to follow the House in passing these jobs bills,” Rep. Griffith says. A member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Griffith is in his first term representing the Ninth Congressional District of Virginia. The full text of the address and MP3 for PODCAST follows. Once the embargo is lifted at 6 am 10/01/11, the address will be available here for viewing and for downloading.

“Hello, I’m Morgan Griffith, and I represent the people of Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District. It’s an honor to address you on their behalf.

“For years, excessive regulations have been a source of frustration for businesses trying to stay afloat. Now, with our economy struggling and red tape still piling up, these nuisances have become full-blown government barriers to job creation. According to a recent national survey, nearly seven in ten Americans believe new regulations will result in job losses or higher prices on goods and services. They’re right, on both counts.

“That’s why the Republican majority in the House is focused on lifting the burden of excessive regulations.

“Of course, we all recognize the need for reasonable regulations to protect the public. There are good regulations, for instance, that ensure public safety and protect our environment. But there are also unnecessary and unreasonable regulations that hurt jobs in some of our nation’s most critical industries. Here are just two examples:

“The government recently finalized rules that would impose costly burdens on the producers of cement, which is the backbone of just about every construction project. If these rules were to take effect, roughly 20 percent of the country’s cement plants would shut down. Thousands of jobs would be sent overseas permanently, just like that. In Ragland, Alabama, a small town where nearly one in five are considered poor, these new rules led to the suspension of a $350 million cement project. It was on track to create more than 1,500 construction jobs.

“Washington is also trying to hand down rules that would affect boilers used by thousands of major employers, including hospitals, factories, and even colleges. These regulations would impose billions of dollars in new costs, make many goods and services more expensive, and put more than 200,000 jobs at risk. I was startled to learn that because of these rules, Celanese, a Dallas-based chemical company, may significantly scale back or close a plant that employs hundreds of people in my district.

“Understand that the investments required by these rules are irreversible. For those businesses that cannot make these investments, and decide to stop producing their product at a particular location, the job losses are also irreversible. The good news here is, excessive regulations are reversible and fixable.

“Todd Elliott testified on behalf of Celanese at a recent hearing on Capitol Hill. ‘It is very important for the Congress to understand that we compete in a global marketplace,’ Todd said. ‘If our costs become too high, we lose competitiveness and jobs. We encourage you to pursue cost-effective regulations and help create … the jobs our nation so badly needs.’

“Republicans are listening to the American job creators. The House is working on a series of bills this fall aimed at cutting red tape and stopping the excessive regulations that hamper job creation. Next week, we’ll take up bipartisan bills that address the concerns employers have about both the cement and boiler rules.

Morgan Griffith

“The bill I’ve sponsored, H.R. 2250, recognizes the need for reasonable boiler regulations and doesn’t try to haphazardly cancel these rules. Instead, we are saying the government should go back to the drawing board and come up with a more reasonable approach that protects the public without imposing unnecessary costs on employers and workers. “These bills would save thousands of American jobs, and they are bipartisan. Members of both parties support these ideas right now. President Obama, who has said he’s willing to consider stopping excessive regulations, should call on the Democrat-led Senate to follow the House in passing these jobs bills. Let’s take this opportunity to widen our common ground and do whatever we can to get government out of the way so our economy can return to creating jobs. “Thank you so much for listening.”

TEXT CREDIT: Speaker of the House John Boehner Contact H-232 The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 P (202) 225-0600 F (202) 225-5117

AUDIO / VIDEO FILES CREDIT: The House Republican Conference - Digital Communications visual.media@mail.house.gov 202-225-5439

With less than a week before Election Day, conservative candidate Bill Maloney released the ad titled “Pitt.” VIDEO

With less than a week before Election Day, conservative candidate Bill Maloney released the ad titled “Pitt.” VIDEO

NEW MALONEY AD RELEASED: ”PITT”

MORGANTOWN — With less than a week before Election Day, conservative candidate Bill Maloney released the ad titled “Pitt.” The spot runs statewide starting today, September 28, 2011.

The ad highlights Bill’s background and reminds West Virginians why he’s running for governor.

TEXT CREDIT: MALONEY FOR WEST VIRGINIA For immediate release: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 Contact: Michelle Yi, 304-906-3071 michelle@maloneyforwv.com

VIDEO and IMAGE CREDIT: MaloneyforWV

Newt Gingrich Why We Need A 21st Century Contract with America VIDEO

Newt Gingrich Why We Need A 21st Century Contract with America VIDEO

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

-President Abraham Lincoln, Message to Congress, December, 1862

This quote from Abraham Lincoln is appropriate because the crisis we face is deeper and broader than any crisis since the 1860s.

The 2012 election is not a political election in any normal sense of ambitious people competing for power within an accepted framework of values and principles.

It is an historic election in which the outcome will potentially change the nature of America for generations to come.

No simple set of slogans or “jobs programs” or poll driven gimmicks will meet the needs of America in 2012.

Consider the realities of our time.

America is dramatically and frighteningly on the wrong track:

deep and persistent unemployment;
a deeper drop in housing prices than in the Great Depression;

an anti-American energy policy that kills jobs, endangers our national security and sends $400 billion plus overseas every year thus weakening the dollar and the economy;

a tax, regulatory, and litigation system that is killing American manufacturing and putting our national security at risk as we rely more and more on foreign countries for manufactured goods;
enormous government deficits on a scale unimagined and unsustainable;

Washington bureaucracies that dictate destructive policies and treat us as subjects rather than citizens;

a regulatory-litigation bureaucratic system which makes it virtually impossible for our government to be effective or agile or even just competent;

schools that no longer teach American history and generally fail to prepare young Americans for either citizenship or work (leading to a Nation at Risk, as the Reagan Administration described the effect of our schools 28 years ago and it is worse now);

increasingly radical judges who impose anti-American values on the American people in a repetition of the British tyrannical judges who were the second most frequently cited complaint
of the American colonists;

a radical elite which has contempt for the American people, sympathy for America’s enemies, and overt hostility to American values and which dominates the universities, the news rooms, and increasingly the bureaucracies and the courts.

Three large facts come from these ten specific challenges to the survival of America as the freest, most prosperous, and safest country in the world:

No single, narrow solution can meet our challenges. These problems are so pervasive and so widespread that only a comprehensive strategy can break through and force the changes needed for America’s survival as a free, prosperous, safe country based on the principles of the Founding Fathers.

The combined forces of the elites—in the news media, the government employee unions, the bureaucracies, the courts, the academic world, and in public office—will fight bitterly and ruthlessly to protect their world from being changed by the American people.

Therefore any election victory in 2012 will be the beginning and not the end of the struggle. It will take eight years or more of relentless, determined, intelligent effort to uproot and change the system of the elites—laws, bureaucracies, courts, schools-- and replace it with laws and systems based on historic American values and policies.

The scale of the challenge and the intensity of the opposition require that we approach a 21st Century Contract with America with a much more profound and serious strategy than the original 1994 Contract with America.

The 21st Century Contract with America will therefore be much larger than the original, and will consist of four parts.

A set of legislative proposals to shift America back to job creation, prosperity, freedom, and safety;

A “First Day” project of Executive Orders to be signed on inauguration day to immediately transform the way the executive branch works;

A training program for the transition teams and the appointees who will lead the shift back to Constitutional, limited government;

A system of citizen involvement to help us sustain grassroots support for change and help implement the change through 2021;

The center of activity for these four components exists at www.newt.org/contract.

The first test of the 21st Contract has to be its effectiveness. Assuming its implementation as outlined, does the Contract include everything that is required to put America back on the right track.

The second test of the 21st Century Contract has to be its potential for popular support.

Putting America back on the right track will be an enormous, protracted struggle with entrenched elites. The American people have to decide that the struggle is legitimate and necessary and that they are determined that the elites will be defeated and their laws and systems will be replaced.

We have had seven decisive changes in American history (Founding Fathers, the Federalists, the Jeffersonians, the Jacksonians, the Lincoln Republicans, the Progressives, and the New Deal). Each has involved a deep intense struggle. In each case it took the will of the American people expressed at the ballot box to impose change on a hostile, entrenched, reactionary elite. In each case the struggle lasted for years and required flexibility and innovation from the reforming side.

The primary purpose of the 21st Century Contract with America is to lay out the scale of change that is necessary and give the American people profound reasons to believe that with courageous, systematic effort we can get America back on the right track.

The secondary purpose of the 21st Century Contract with America is to create a general management guidance so that everyone who wants to know where we are going and what we are trying to achieve will have a clear sense of purpose and definition.

HOW THIS CONTRACT IS DIFFERENT FROM 1994

There are three primary differences between the 21st Century Contract with America and the original 1994 Contract with America:

Since the problems today are much bigger and the institutions have grown even more elitist, the Contract has to be much bigger and more fundamental in the changes it proposes;

The 1994 Contract grew out of Reagan’s philosophy and could be presented as a completed document but the 21st Century Contract is based on Lincoln’s principle that “As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.” Therefore the new contract has to be a work in progress which will be developed over the next year and finally unveiled in a completed form on September 27, 2012. The other reason for a more participatory, developmental approach is that after the secretly drafted stimulus and the secretly drafted Obamacare the American people are tired of imposed solutions they don’t understand and haven’t helped develop;

Because the 21st Century Contract calls for dramatically broader and deeper change, it requires much more emphasis on implementation and so three of the four areas of the Contract (Executive Orders on the First Day, training for appointees, a citizen based movement to insist on implementation and to help monitor implementation for eight years).

HOW THIS CONTRACT IS SIMILAR TO 1994

There are three primary similarities between the 21st Century Contract with America and the original 1994 Contract with America:

Both contracts are premised on the belief that a successful turnaround in the direction of our country is possible. When I was sworn in as the first Republican Speaker of the House in forty years in January 1995, the Congressional Budget Office projected that over the next decade the cumulative federal budget deficits would total $2.7 trillion. Shortly after I left office in January 1999, CBO projected that over the next decade that federal surpluses would total over $2.2 trillion– a four-year turnaround in the fiscal outlook of the United States of nearly $5 trillion. A comparable four-year improvement in the U.S fiscal outlook today would total over $8 trillion (as % of GDP).

Both contracts are premised on the belief that a successful national turnaround begins with profound policy turnaround. The 1994 Contract focused on balanced budgets, welfare reform, and controlled spending. The result was 11 million new jobs, four balanced budgets, welfare reform, and paying down of over $400 billion in national debt.

Both contracts are premised on the belief that a policy turnaround is only possible when the American people are presented during a political campaign with a clear set of choices -- and persuasive reasons why the country should move in a particular direction -- which they then endorse on Election Day.

WITH ME AND NOT FOR ME

It is because of the very scale, seriousness, and intensity of the historic mission before the American people that I never ask people to be for me.

When people are for a candidate they vote and then go home expecting the candidate to get the job done.

The American Constitution does not give any leader the ability to impose this much change.

This kind of change only occurs when the American people are fully mobilized and focused on insisting that their elected officials follow through and get the job done.

Furthermore, the American people will have to monitor implementation and help us identify when things aren’t working right. They will also have to help come up with better solutions when the first set sometimes fail to get the job done.

No one person can achieve change on this scale but millions of mobilized citizens can.

Finally, as we enforce the Tenth Amendment and shrink the Washington bureaucracy and return power to the states, citizens will have to rise and fill the gap left by the decline of bureaucracies.

For all these reasons I ask people to be with me for the next eight year in implementing the 21st Century Contract with America. Please join me at www.newt.org/contract.


TEXT CREDIT: Newt Gingrich 2012 Presidential Election Candidate Headquarters Phone: (678) 973-2306

VIDEO CREDIT: ngingrich

Chris Christie Keynote Address Ronald Reagan Library 09/27/11 FULL VIDEO and TEXT TRANSCRIPT

Chris Christie Keynote Address Ronald Reagan Library 09/27/11 FULL VIDEO and TEXT TRANSCRIPT

Full Text of Governor Chris Christie's Speech at the Ronald Reagan Library: Simi Valley, CA September 27, 2011

Mrs. Reagan, distinguished guests. It is an honor for me to be here at the Reagan Library to speak to you today. I want to thank Mrs. Reagan for her gracious invitation. I am thrilled to be here.

Ronald Reagan believed in this country. He embodied the strength, perseverance and faith that has propelled immigrants for centuries to embark on dangerous journeys to come here, to give up all that was familiar for all that was possible.

He judged that as good as things were and had been for many Americans, they could and would be better for more Americans in the future.

It is this vision for our country that guided his administration over the course of eight years. His commitment to making America stronger, better and more resilient is what allowed him the freedom to challenge conventional wisdom, reach across party lines and dare to put results ahead of political opportunism.

Everybody in this room and in countless other rooms across this great country has his or her favorite Reagan story. For me, that story happened thirty years ago, in August 1981. The air traffic controllers, in violation of their contracts, went on strike. President Reagan ordered them back to work, making clear that those who refused would be fired. In the end, thousands refused, and thousands were fired.

I cite this incident not as a parable of labor relations but as a parable of principle. Ronald Reagan was a man who said what he meant and meant what he said. Those who thought he was bluffing were sadly mistaken. Reagan’s demand was not an empty political play; it was leadership, pure and simple.

Reagan said it best himself, “I think it convinced people who might have thought otherwise that I meant what I said. Incidentally, I would have been just as forceful if I thought management had been wrong in the dispute.”

I recall this pivotal moment for another reason as well. Most Americans at the time and since no doubt viewed Reagan’s firm handling of the PATCO strike as a domestic matter, a confrontation between the president and a public sector union. But this misses a critical point.

To quote a phrase from another American moment, the whole world was watching. Thanks to newspapers and television – and increasingly the Internet and social media – what happens here doesn’t stay here.

Another way of saying what I have just described is that Americans do not have the luxury of thinking that what we have long viewed as purely domestic matters have no consequences beyond our borders. To the contrary. What we say and what we do here at home affects how others see us and in turn affects what it is they say and do.

America’s role and significance in the world is defined, first and foremost, by who we are at home. It is defined by how we conduct ourselves with each other. It is defined by how we deal with our own problems. It is determined in large measure by how we set an example for the world.

We tend to still understand foreign policy as something designed by officials in the State Department and carried out by ambassadors and others overseas. And to some extent it is. But one of the most powerful forms of foreign policy is the example we set.

This is where it is instructive to harken back to Ronald Reagan and the PATCO affair. President Reagan’s willingness to articulate a determined stand and then carry it out at home sent the signal that the occupant of the Oval Office was someone who could be predicted to stand by his friends and stand up to his adversaries.

If President Reagan would do that at home, leaders around the world realized that he would do it abroad as well. Principle would not stop at the water’s edge. The Reagan who challenged Soviet aggression, or who attacked a Libya that supported terror was the same Reagan who stood up years before to PATCO at home for what he believed was right.

All this should and does have meaning for us today. The image of the United States around the world is not what it was, it is not what it can be and it is not what it needs to be. This country pays a price whenever our economy fails to deliver rising living standards to our citizens--which is exactly what has been the case for years now.

We pay a price when our political system cannot come together and agree on the difficult but necessary steps to rein in entitlement spending or reform our tax system.

We pay a price when special interests win out over the collective national interest. We are seeing just this in the partisan divide that has so far made it impossible to reduce our staggering deficits and to create an environment in which there is more job creation than job destruction.

This is where the contrast between what has happened in New Jersey and what is happening in Washington, DC is the most clear.

In New Jersey over the last 20 months, you have actually seen divided government that is working. To be clear, it does not mean that we have no argument or acrimony. There are serious disagreements, sometimes expressed loudly—Jersey style.

Here is what we did. We identified the problems. We proposed specific means to fix them. We educated the public on the dire consequences of inaction. And we compromised, on a bi-partisan basis, to get results. We took action.

How so you ask? Leadership and compromise.

Leadership and compromise is the only way you can balance two budgets with over $13 billion in deficits without raising taxes while protecting core services.

Leadership and compromise is the only way you reform New Jersey’s pension and health benefits system that was collectively $121 billion underfunded.

Leadership and compromise is the only way you cap the highest property taxes in the nation and cap the interest arbitration awards of some of the most powerful public sector unions in the nation at no greater than a 2% increase.

In New Jersey we have done this, and more, because the Executive Branch has not sat by and waited for others to go first to suggest solutions to our state’s most difficult problems.

Being a mayor, being a governor, being a president means leading by taking risk on the most important issues of the day. It has happened in Trenton.

In New Jersey we have done this with a legislative branch, held by the opposite party, because it is led by two people who have more often put the interests of our state above the partisan politics of their caucuses.

Our bi-partisan accomplishments in New Jersey have helped to set a tone that has taken hold across many other states. It is a simple but powerful message--lead on the tough issues by telling your citizens the truth about the depth of our challenges. Tell them the truth about the difficulty of the solutions. This is the only effective way to lead in America during these times.

In Washington, on the other hand, we have watched as we drift from conflict to conflict, with little or no resolution.

We watch a president who once talked about the courage of his convictions, but still has yet to find the courage to lead.

We watch a Congress at war with itself because they are unwilling to leave campaign style politics at the Capitol’s door. The result is a debt ceiling limitation debate that made our democracy appear as if we could no longer effectively govern ourselves.

And still we continue to wait and hope that our president will finally stop being a bystander in the Oval Office. We hope that he will shake off the paralysis that has made it impossible for him to take on the really big things that are obvious to all Americans and to a watching and anxious world community.

Yes, we hope. Because each and every time the president lets a moment to act pass him by, his failure is our failure too. The failure to stand up for the bipartisan debt solutions of the Simpson Bowles Commission, a report the president asked for himself...the failure to act on the country's crushing unemployment...the failure to act on ever expanding and rapidly eroding entitlement programs...the failure to discern pork barrel spending from real infrastructure investment.

The rule for effective governance is simple. It is one Ronald Reagan knew by heart. And one that he successfully employed with Social Security and the Cold War. When there is a problem, you fix it. That is the job you have been sent to do and you cannot wait for someone else to do it for you.

Chris Christie Keynote Address Ronald Reagan Library 09/27/11 FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT in PDF FORMAT

VIDEO CREDIT: GrandCentralPolitics

Paul Ryan Kevin McCarthy Facebook townhall LIVE STREAMING VIDEO VIDEO 09/26/11 5 PM ET

Kevin McCarthy @GOPWhip and Paul Ryan @GOPLeader a Facebook townhall. Watch LIVE STREAMING VIDEO VIDEO 09/26/11 5 PM ET.

Kevin McCarthy released this statement following House passage of (H.R. 2401) Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act

Washington D.C. – Congressman Kevin McCarthy released the following statement following House passage of the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act (H.R. 2401): "The TRAIN Act is part of the House Republican regulatory reform agenda targeting unnecessary regulations currently on the books and preventing costly proposed regulations from being enacted. The Obama Administration's current and pending regulatory policies are increasing costs and adding to the economic uncertainty facing job creators.

Federal regulations cost the private sector $1.75 trillion every year – just more than $10,000 per employee. Today, there are more than 4,000 pending regulations from the Obama Administration for which the costs and burdens we don't yet fully know. Our economy surely cannot grow with such uncertainty hanging over the heads of our entrepreneurs and small businesses.

"The TRAIN Act delays two regulations that could drive up energy and electricity costs for working families and businesses, until a full analysis on their economic impact can be conducted. Regulations have consequences on all Americans, and Washington should not make doing business more costly and more difficult, especially in this challenging economic climate. I'll continue to fight for legislation that makes it easier for Americans to get back to work and get our economy back on track."

TEXT CREDIT: Congressman Kevin McCarthy Washington, D.C. Office • 326 Cannon House Office Building • Washington, DC 20515 • (202) 225-2915 Washington DC

IMAGE CREDIT: This United States Congress image is in the public domain. This may be because it is an official Congressional portrait, because it was taken by an official employee of the Congress, or because it has been released into the public domain and posted on the official websites of a member of Congress. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain.

Eric Cantor Calls On Senator Reid To Stop Playing Politics With FEMA Disaster Relief

Eric Cantor Calls On Senator Reid To Stop Playing Politics With FEMA Disaster Relief

“There are people who are suffering in a big way right now, and they need to know that FEMA and the disaster relief monies will be there for them. We are told that FEMA will run dry and the Disaster Relief Fund will have no money by next week. That is why the House acted. The President made his request for the Disaster Relief Fund, we doubled that request and did it in a responsible manner and sent it over to the Senate. Harry Reid now says he won't take that bill up. Harry Reid is arguing with himself. This is why people don't like Washington.

"We have the money in the bill, it's there in a responsible manner, let's get the money to the people that need it. Harry Reid is now talking about perhaps bringing up a clean CR without disaster relief funding. If that happens, FEMA will run out of money and it will be on Harry Reid's shoulders because he won't act. The bill is there in front of him. The Senate should take the bill up and get the people the disaster relief they need. You're also going to hear from two of our freshmen from Pennsylvania whose districts are most hard hit as far as people really suffering and who need the money.

Q & A:

“The intention for us is to complete the TRAIN Act and to finish business of the day. The point is this: there is no brinksmanship, Harry Reid is holding a bill up with no reason but for politics. Again, this is why the people just don't have the respect for this institution and this town anymore. You heard the stories, people need the money. The money is in the bill, the emergency disaster request from the President is funded and then some, times two, and so there's no reason that Harry Reid is holding this up other than politics. Let’s get on with it and get the people their money.”

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) Remarks at GOP Stakeout September 23, 2011

TEXT CREDIT: Eric Cantor Majority Leader Office of the Majority Leader H-329, The Capitol House of Representatives P: 202.225.4000

VIDEO and IMAGE CREDIT: EricCantor

Susan Collins Weekly Republican Address TEXT VIDEO 09/24/11

Susan Collins Weekly Republican Address TEXT VIDEO 09/24/11

In the Weekly Republican Address, Maine Sen. Susan Collins discusses the burdens excessive regulations place on businesses and how they hurt job creation.

I'm Senator Susan Collins from the Great State of Maine.

Last month, our nation produced no net new jobs. More than 14 million Americans could not find work.

I’ve asked employers what would it take to help them add more jobs. No matter the size of their business or the size of their workforce, they tell me that Washington must stop imposing crushing new regulations.

Some regulations are just plain silly. Last year, the federal government issued a warning to a company that sells packaged walnuts. Washington claimed that the walnuts were being marketed as a drug, so the government ordered the company to stop telling consumers about the health benefits of nuts.

Other regulations have far more serious consequences. The EPA has proposed a new rule on emissions from boilers that it admits would cost the private sector billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.

No wonder employers dread what is coming next out of Washington.

Over-regulation is hurting our economy; unfortunately, the problem is only....
...growing worse. Right now, federal agencies are at work on more than 4,200 new rules, 845 of which affects small businesses, the engine of job creation. More than 100 have an economic impact of more than $100 million each.

No business owner I know questions the legitimate role of limited government in protecting our health and safety. Too often, however, our small businesses are buried under a mountain of paperwork.

Business owners are reluctant to create jobs today if they're going to need to pay more tomorrow to comply with onerous new regulations. That's why employers say that uncertainty generated by Washington is a big wet blanket on our economy.

We Republicans say, enough is enough. America needs a ‘time out’ from the regulations that discourage job creation and hurt our economy.

Republicans have many good ideas about how to tame the regulatory behemoth. We want to prevent agencies from imposing new regulations without first thoroughly considering their costs and benefits. In addition, many of us have called for a one-year moratorium on certain costly new rules.

If a rule would have an adverse impact on jobs, the economy, or America's international competitiveness, it should not go into effect.

That EPA rule on boilers is a good example of why we need a regulatory time out. If it went into effect as written, a recent study estimates that this rule, along with other pending regulations, could cause 36 pulp and paper mills across the country to close. That would put more than 20,000 Americans out of work -- 18 percent of that industry's workforce.

And that is just for starters. Once these mills close, their suppliers would also be forced to lay off workers. Estimates are that nearly 90,000 Americans would lose their jobs. Even that is not the end of the story. People and businesses would still need paper. Where do you think we would get it? We'd be strengthening the economies of other countries like China, India and Brazil, while America's economy grows weaker.

American businesses need pro-growth policies that will end the uncertainty and kick-start hiring and investment.

American workers need policies that will get them off the sidelines and back on the job.

The American economy needs a time out from excessive and costly regulations.

In sports, a ‘time out’ gives athletes a chance to catch their breaths and make better decisions.

American workers and businesses are the athletes in a global competition that we must win. We need a time out from excessive regulations so that America can get back to work. ####

Republican Presidential Debate Orlando Florida Fox News, Google 9/22/11 (Full Length Streaming VIDEO)

Republican Presidential Debate Orlando Florida Fox News, Google 9/22/11 (Full Length Streaming VIDEO)

You asked the questions. The Republican candidates answered in the Fox News/Google Debate on September 22, 2012.

The nine candidates Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, businessman Herman Cain, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson.

Republican presidential debate Thursday September 22, Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center, hosted by Fox News and Google in conjunction with the Republican Party of Florida. Fox News' Bret Baier moderated Fox News anchors Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace were panelists.

Republican presidential debate Fox News, Google Orlando Florida 9/22/11 LIVE STREAMING VIDEO

UPDATE: 09/23/11 Republican Presidential Debate Orlando Florida Fox News, Google 9/22/11 (Full Length Streaming VIDEO)

Republican presidential debate Fox News, Google Orlando Florida 9/22/11 LIVE STREAMING VIDEO

Republican presidential debate Thursday September 22, from 9 to 11 p.m. ET in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center, hosted by Fox News and Google in conjunction with the Republican Party of Florida. Fox News' Bret Baier will moderate Fox News anchors Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace are panelists.

Republican Presidential Candidates’ Debate from the Reagan Library

The nine candidates are Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, businessman Herman Cain, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson.

Michele Bachmann Calls on President Obama to Stop Ahmadinejad from Coming to the UN

Bachmann: “The President must not continue to lead from behind on key issues of national and international security”

Urbandale, Iowa – Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann issued the following statement in response to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York City:

“By his own words, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has shown himself to be an enemy not only of Israel, but also of the United States. In his repeated statements wishing to see another sovereign nation ‘wiped off the map,’ he has proven that he is in violation of the United Nations charter, and of international law. He is, in the most literal sense, an outlaw and he should not be allowed in the United States.

“I call upon President Obama to stop Ahmadinejad from coming to the UN. This administration tried and failed to do ‘outreach’ to Iran, reminding us once again that appeasement of deadly dictators is never a wise or effective strategy. The President must not continue to lead from behind on key issues of national and international security. When madmen in positions of power make wild and genocidal threats – we should listen to them, and take the necessary counter-measures to stop them and their evil intents. Such threats are an affront to Israel, the United States, and all of the peace-loving peoples of the world. That’s why I am committed to doing whatever is necessary to prevent the emergence of a nuclear Iran.”

TEXT CREDIT: Bachmann for President P.O. Box 96891 | Washington, D.C. 20090-6891 855-624-7737 | 855-MB4-PRES info@michelebachmann.com

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Rick Perry, Obama “President Zero” VIDEO

Rick Perry; Obama “President Zero” VIDEO. Video: Proven Leadership to Get America Working Again

“We don’t need a president who apologizes for America, I believe in America. I believe in her purpose and her promise. I believe her best days have not yet been lived.”

VIDEO CREDIT: RPerry2012

Jon Huntsman's Statement on President Obama's Deficit Speech

Jon Huntsman issued the following statement on President Obama's deficit speech:

“President Obama continues to demonstrate that he has no new ideas on how to create American jobs. For two and a half years he's been peddling a version of the Buffett Tax Hike as a key pillar of his failed attempt to tax and spend and regulate this country to prosperity. That simply hasn't worked and it won't work now. President Obama’s veto threats and partisan demands are a poor attempt to camouflage a $1.5 trillion tax hike that is deeply misguided and the latest example of his ineffective leadership on the economy.

"The most important thing Congress and the super-committee can do is deal with the structural problems that are causing our debt and impeding job creation. Meaningful entitlement reform and revenue-neutral tax reform should be priority #1; tax increases should not make the list.

"I recently presented a jobs plan to the American people that dramatically reforms our country’s tax and regulatory system –that’s what we need as a country to create jobs and it's exactly why the Wall Street Journal endorsed my plan. I urge Congress to resoundingly reject the President's $1.5 trillion tax increase and work together on the structural reforms to entitlements and taxes that we so desperately need.”

TEXT CREDIT: Jon Huntsman for President 255 S. Orange Avenue, Suite 600 Orlando, FL 32801 (407) 674-2727

IMAGE CREDIT: Jon 2012

Newt Gingrich Statement on President Obama's Deficit Cutting Plan

Newt: Obama Fails the Test of Leadership

Council Bluffs, IA - Newt Gingrich released the following statement today reacting to President Obama's plan to reduce the deficit:

"Once again, President Obama fails the test of leadership. In the midst of the worst economy since the Great Depression, job creation must be job one for our political leaders. Instead, the president has chosen a path of political gamesmanship and class warfare with a plan that would kill jobs with higher taxes on small businesses and private capital. America only works when Americans are working, and President Obama's latest proposal just doesn't work."

TEXT CREDIT: Newt Gingrich 2012 Presidential Election Candidate Headquarters Phone: (678) 973-2306

IMAGE CREDIT: ngingrich