Big Coalition of Anti-Earmark Advocacy Groups Warn Congress Against Return to ‘Business-as-Usual’
A coalition of 18 conservative non-profit advocacy groups that oppose the return of earmarks to congressional spending issued a letter Feb. 22 to all 535 senators and representatives warning them that taxpayers “want an end to business-as-usual.”
The coalition’s warning refers to plans of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) to restore the practice under a new title of “Member-directed spending.”
Earmarks are obscure provisions in appropriations bills that allow individual congressmen to direct tax dollars, often anonymously, to family members, friends, and campaign donors.
Dear Member of Congress,
On behalf of millions of taxpayers across the country, we urge you to reject proposals to increase the federal minimum wage at a time of unprecedented economic calamity, including President Joe Biden’s push to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour, more than doubling the current minimum wage of $7.25/hour.
President Biden’s recent $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” calls on Congress to more than double the federal minimum wage to $15/hour and eliminate the “tipped” minimum wage for servers. The Biden proposal likely mirrors legislation passed by the House in 2019 and reintroduced in 2021, the Raise the Wage Act, which increases the minimum wage to $15 by 2025, indexes it to inflation, and repeals the tipped minimum wage for servers.
CFIF Urges Opposition to Food Delivery Price Controls in Kansas City
City Council, City of Kansas City
414 E. 12th Street
On behalf of the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) and over 300,000 supporters and activists across the state of Missouri and the rest of the nation, I write regarding an issue of great importance: Ordinance No. 210054, which would enact a price control of 15% on vital food delivery businesses.
Even during stable and growing economic times, among government’s most important responsibilities is ensuring a public policy climate that enables new and small businesses to succeed, particularly by keeping regulatory barriers low. That becomes even more critical amid difficult economic times such as these.
CFIF Urges Massachusetts Governor to Veto Price Controls on Vital Food Delivery Businesses
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
24 Beacon Street
On behalf of the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) and over 300,000 supporters and activists across Massachusetts and the rest of the nation, I write regarding an issue of utmost and immediate importance: House Bill 5250 Section 98(a), which would amount to price controls on increasingly vital food delivery businesses.
Even during stable and growing economic times, one of the most important things that government can do is ensure new and small businesses succeed by keeping regulatory barriers low. That becomes even more critical amid difficult economic times such as these. In that vein, while we appreciate your leadership in supporting Massachusetts restaurants throughout COVID-19, we encourage you to exercise your line-item veto authority with respect to a provision in HB 5250.