Democrats are not done trying to stamp out Iraq
war policy and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that two
more votes to be taken on the matter this week as the Senate attempts
to pass a controversial war spending bill.
Debate is scheduled to start on new legislation on Thursday. The first measure would call for troops to begin leaving Iraq
by Oct. 1 with a final deadline of April 1, 2008, except for only a
small fraction of current forces. The $120 billion bill would provide
money for both military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as domestic projects. That's nearly the same measure that Bush vetoed once already.
The second measure would cut off funding for combat after March 31, 2008.
Neither
measure is expected to pass, but the move comes as Republican support
for the war would appear to be cracking under pressure. Last week, 11
moderate House Republicans met with the president, telling him that
their support for the war can't hold out forever in the face of
dwindling public support for the war and upcoming elections.
Despite
one presidential veto on the books, the House last week passed another
version of the war spending bill: a two-part, $95 billion bill that
would disburse the money in installments and would require a second
vote for the second installment.
McNulty Out
Deputy
Attorney General Paul J. McNulty announced his resignation yesterday
after 18 months on the job, becoming the fourth senior Justice
Department official to quit amid the controversy surrounding the
dismissal of nine U.S.attorneys last year. In a one-page letter
to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, McNulty said he will leave his
post in late summer because of the "financial realities" brought on by
"college-age children and two decades of public service."
More Finance Rules
House
Democratic leaders, against stiff resistance in their caucus, have
decided to advance a measure to require federal lobbyists to disclose
the campaign contributions they collect and bundle for federal
political candidates. The Democratic leaders plan to outline the
proposal at a closed caucus meeting on today. The proposal, a version
of which has already passed the Senate, could have a major effect on
the business of politics in Washington, creating a new category of public disclosure that goes to the heart of how lobbyists ingratiate themselves with lawmakers.
Because
campaign finance laws cap individual contributions, candidates depend
heavily on people who act as surrogate fund-raisers by collecting and
bundling checks from friends, clients and associates. For incumbent
lawmakers, lobbyists are often eager to play such a role. Current
campaign laws require only the disclosure of individual contributions,
including those in bundles, not the role played by the bundler.
ABCGC Door Knock 2007 Report
The
year 2006 was an election year consequently resulting in an extreme
shift in political philosophy and motivations. The ABCGC Door
Knock has helped our organization gage political trends on Capitol Hill
and test the waters as to how those trends may affect our issues.
The ABCGC conducted its Annual Door Knock in Washington DC from April 22nd through April 26th
2007. The week of Door Knock came coincidently during a time when
many overseas Americans had just completed and filed their taxes for
the year 2006. The incredible increase enabled ABCGC Door
Knockers to see the actual impact the Tax Increase Prevention Reconciliation Act
(TIPRA) has made and gain insight into the implications and
consequences Americans and American companies are going to experience
as a result. In light of this crucial and vital information, the
ABCGC Door Knock delegation was armed with information to educate law
makers on the actual effect of TIPRA on the lives of Americans and
American companies overseas.
On April 18, 2007, Senator Jim DeMint filed S.1140, The Working American Competitiveness Act. If
enacted, this legislation will change the current US tax system from a
system of taxation based on citizenship to a system based on residency
or territorial based taxation. This change would permanently
exempt foreign earned income from taxation and homogenize our tax
system with the systems used by the rest of the world. In
anticipation of the DeMint legislation, the ABCGC ran a full page ad in
the Roll Call Newspaper on April 23, 2007. This advertisement showcased S.1140, and coupled with our efforts on and off Capitol Hill, reinforced our message.
The ABCGC Door Knock delegation participated in a roundtable breakfast discussion covering commercial opportunities in the Middle East
at the US Chamber of Commerce. This event was attended by
numerous Administration offices as well as Embassy staff from the
various GCC Nations. In addition, the ABCGC enjoyed their Annual
Washington, DC Door Knock Dinner in the Senate side of the Capitol Building.
Guest speakers at the dinner included Senator Jim DeMint and Grover
Norquist, both of whom applauded the efforts of the ABCGC. During
this dinner the organization was able to take time to recognize
outstanding members of the ABCGC. David Cantrell of the Eastern Province
was presented with the first Annual Bright Idea Award for helping to
secure the full page ad for the ABCGC in the Roll Call Newspaper.
Our Chairman, Neal Johnson, was given an award for excellence in
leadership by the ABCGC.
Door
Knockers focused on expressing the ABCGCs position on issues from free
trade to visa availability to the Foreign Military Sales Program.
However, S.1140, and the FEIE remained a key focus. Door
Knockers were repeatedly told that there is no current attempt to tax
foreign earned income and benefits at a higher rate. None of the
tax packages currently floating around the Hill even mention the FEIE.
It was noted repeatedly that the outcry from the overseas
community turned out to be loud and forceful when TIPRA hiked our taxes
last year. Vigilance, volume and persistence all help the cause.
However,
the ABCGC urges all groups representing overseas Americans to keep the
lobbying campaign in full gear. Another looming problem was
uncovered during the Door Knock. Congress enacted the
pay-as-you-go provision last January. This rule requires that any
spending increase or tax decrease must be proposed with a revenue
neutral offset. This means that if any Member of Congress
proposes a new spending program they must match the cost up with the
elimination of other spending or an increase of taxation on some group
or tax bracket. We know that there are some in Congress who
believe that the FEIE is a tax giveaway to the rich. Hence, there
may always exist an attempt to chip away at our exemption. Now is
not a good time to be silent.
The ABCGC Door Knock resulted in:
More than 30 potential co-sponsors in the House and Senate for the DeMint legislationMore
co-sponsors are needed so the ABCGC requests that other groups of
Americans residing abroad collect additional co-sponsors and coordinate
to avoid duplicitous activity.
Educational meetings on both Capitol Hill and off Capitol HillThe
ABCGC delegates, helping to educate law and policy makers on our cause,
handed out copies of the FEIE study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers
on CD, supportive articles from the Washington Post and Wall Street
Journal, a graduate thesis on the benefits of the FEIE, export data
separated by state, the ABCGC issue briefing, and an executive summary
of the PwC report. Each of these meetings resulting in follow-up
meetings, where CCG will continue to educate and build upon
relationships which will prove to be valuable in the future.
A more effective messageThe
ABCGC used this years Door Knock to sharpen our message. Three
major tactics helped to influence decision makers:
1.Regressive Taxation of Americans hurts trade and will slow U.S. exports.
American companies are forced to compensate American workers abroad at
a significantly higher rate than comparably qualified non-Americans
(e.g. Australia) to make up for the increased U.S. tax burden. Australia,
for example, does not tax foreign source income earned by
Australians. Americans working abroad are also taxed on
non-salary quality of life benefits that often consume their entire
current foreign earned income exclusion as well as the stacking
provision which puts overseas Americans automatically in higher tax
brackets. This gives foreign nationals competing for jobs abroad
a large and unfair advantage over Americans seeking employment either
with U.S.
firms or foreign firms because it drastically raises the overall costs
associated with hiring Americans. One of our ABCGC delegates, Jan
Van Loan, arranged numerous meetings with targeted members of Congress
who have factories in their districts that create jobs and export goods
from their states. This proved to be a valuable tactic to Door
Knock, one which we will use in future Door Knocks. When brought
together they prove America
will benefit in a change in our tax system in accordance with
S-1140. Americans would be able to stay competitive with citizens
from other nations and America would increase its total exports and create jobs at home.
2.Americans living abroad are good for the image of the United States overseas.
The companies and American employees represented by the ABCGC are truly
ambassadors of the American economy, American culture and the American
way of life. The ABCGC fully understands that as trade rises
among diverse peoples, standards of living at home and abroad rise,
relationships are born, and the largest obstacle to peace and mutual
prosperity misunderstanding is reduced.
3.Door Knock attendees personalized the overseas community. Most of the ABCGC delegation consisted of small business people and employees of medium sized U.S.
firms in the GCC. Therefore, our delegates were able to
personally testify as to how the retroactive changes to the FEIE hit
them. These testimonials go a long way in refuting the fat cat,
jet-setting, elite label that has been placed on our community by
opponents of the FEIE. The argument was made by opponents of the
FEIE that overseas Americans get an unfair tax break when compared to
Americans who live and work in the United States.
However, we were able to point out that Americans who live and work
abroad should be compared to their competitors from other countries,
which are not saddled with the extra taxation. The ABCGC
delegation pointed out that a great deal of money made abroad by
overseas Americans is spent in the United States, adding a multiplier effect to our economy.
CONCLUSION:
The ABCGC Door Knock was the first conducted by an organization
representing Americans and American firms abroad this year. We
hope that this report will enable other like-minded groups to build on
our work in this new Congress. Legislation that would satisfy
everyone abroad has been filed as the Working American Competitiveness Act (S.1140).
This legislation serves as an excellent tool to educate policy makers in Washington, DC.
While it is unlikely the Bill will pass as stand-alone legislation, a
good strategy may be to attach the Bill to larger legislation as a
rider or amendment.
At
the very least, the Bill can serve as an educational tool to thwart any
further damage to our tax position. We hope that other groups
will echo our message as the year progresses. Pay as you go may
cause the FEIE to come under fire as new spending and tax priorities
arise. Constant, vocal and visible efforts can only help spread
the message:
