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Feet to the Fire at the Arizona Capitol – This Friday!

April 12, 2011 By 1 Comment

The Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity, along with allied Tea Party groups and policy organizations, is hosting a giant Feet to the Fire Tea Party from 6:00 to 9:00 pm on the evening of April 15, 2011. The event will take place on the House and Senate lawns at the Arizona Capitol, and will feature a meet-and-greet with elected officials on the lawns, beginning at 4:00 pm.

On Tax Day in 2009, we brought a crowd of over 7,000 people to the Arizona Capitol. Our goal was to let fed-up Tea Partiers know that the Arizona Legislature actually does have a core of solid fiscal conservatives. Thanks in large part to local Tea Party groups around the state, the Legislature now has even more conservatives. But we cannot simply trust them to do the right thing. On Tax Day in 2011, we must hold their Feet to the Fire.

Tentative FTF Program

4:00 – 6:00 pm Tea Party Meet & Greet on the Lawns with Elected Officials
6:00 – 6:15 pm Prayer, Pledge, and Introduction
6:15 – 6:45 pm Border Security
Sponsors: PAChyderm Coalition, AZ 2012 Project, Local Tea Parties
Speakers: Senator Russell Pearce, Sheriff Joe Arpaio
6:45 – 7:15 pm State Tax, Budget & Debt
Sponsors: AFP-Arizona, AZ Free Enterprise Club, NFIB-AZ, Local Tea Parties
Presentation of 2010 Jackelope Award to Rep. Judy Burges
Speakers: Sen. Andy Biggs, Rep. John Kavanagh
7:15 – 7:45 pm Defending Constitutional Freedom
Sponsors: AZ Citizens Defense League, Goldwater Institute, Local Tea Parties
Speakers: Goldwater Institute constitutional litigator Clint Bolick, gun rights activist Alan Korwin
7:45 – 8:15 pm Reforming Education & City Government
Sponsors: AFP-Arizona, Goldwater Institute, NFIB-AZ, Local Tea Parties
Speakers: Phoenix city councilman Sal DiCiccio, Senator Frank Antenori, school choice activist and former superintendent Jaime Molera, Arizona superintendent John Huppenthal
8:15 – 8:45 pm Federal Tax, Budget & Debt
Sponsors: AZ Free Enterprise Club, PAChyderm Coalition
Speakers: Congressman Jeff Flake (inv) & Congressman Trent Franks
8:45 – 9:00 pm FEET TO THE FIRE Send-Off
Music by Cartridge Family Band

Local Tea Party sponsors include: Arizona Tea Party Patriots Association, Casa Grande 912 Tea Party Patriots, Cave Creek Patriots Tea Party Posse, Crossroads with Van the Radio Man KXXT 1010 AM, Daisy Mountain Tea Party Patriots, Deer Valley Tea Party, East Valley Tea Party Patriots, Fountain Hills Tea Party, Glendale Tea Party Patriots, Greater Phoenix Tea Party Patriots, Original North Phoenix Tea Party, Patriot Action Network, Pink Slip Patriots, Red Mountain Tea Party, Smart Girl Politics, Surprise Tea Party, Tea Party Patriots of Scottsdale, Tea Party of Scottsdale AZ, Tempe Tea Party, We the Informed People, lots of local 912 groups, et al.

 

 

Filed Under: Elected Officials, Federal Budget, Federal Government, Freedom of Speech, Government, Government Reform, Press Release, Protests, Special Event, State Budget, State Government, Taxation Tagged With: ,

Representative Schweikert Announces Another Listening Tour

April 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 12, 2011
CONTACT: Rachel Semmel

Scottsdale, Ariz. – Congressman David Schweikert announced today that he will host a Listening Session this weekend. Please circulate and share the time and location for this Saturday’s event:

Constituents are invited to stop in and speak with the Congressman at the City of Scottsdale Arabian Library for a one-on-one pre-scheduled appointment as well as an open forum discussion.

Listening Session with David Schweikert

When: Saturday April 16, 2011
Time: 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. MT One-on-one sessions by appointment only
11:00 – 12:00 p.m. MT Open forum discussion
Where: City of Scottsdale, Arabian Library
Address: 10215 E. McDowell Mountain Ranch Rd. Scottsdale, 85255 (map)

For a one-on-one appointment please call the District Office at 480-946-2411. If you are having difficulties with a federal agency, casework assistance will also be available.

Members of the press planning to attend, please RSVP to Rachel.Semmel@mail.house.gov. For more information on these events, please contact Jesse Hernandez. He can be reached at Jesse.Hernandez@mail.house.gov.

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Filed Under: Elected Officials, Press Release, Special Event Tagged With: ,

Representative Schweikert on President Obama’s ‘New Budget’

April 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 12, 2011
CONTACT: Rachel Semmel

Washington, D.C. – Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ), Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises appeared on Fox News’ Cavuto to discuss the president’s budget speech Wednesday. Here is the video and excerpts from the interview:

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SCHWEIKERT ON TAX INCREASES TO BE PROPOSED IN OBAMA’S ‘NEW’ BUDGET

“Well, horrible idea. Particularly if you are trying to trade jobs and economic growth. But isn’t this stunning? Think of this, a month after the president sent us his budget, is he about to repudiate what he gave us and say ‘Oh, I want to join the gang that’s now going to start working on entitlements?’ It’s an amazing turn of events if you think about it.”

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“We know from his 2012 budget proposal there were 43 new taxes or increased hikes in taxes. And none of them have not been dynamically scored so they claim they’re going to get another trillion and a half dollars over ten years in revenues. Without it being dynamically scored, I’d love to find out how many jobs, how many small businesses, how much economic growth he’s going to destroy by once again engaging in this class warfare.”

SCHWEIKERT ON CBO SCORING OF THE BUDGET

“One of the things that surprised me most in my now 100 some days in Congress, is when you get numbers from the Congressional Budget Office, they don’t put them through dynamic scoring model. Everything you and I know about the velocity of money and creating that multiplier effect doesn’t exist in the numbers we get from our own budget folks.”

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“Think about what is in the Ryan proposal, lowering marginal rates, but broadening it out. We already know from the president’s own debt commission, the discussion of doing those things that are necessary to create economic growth.”

SCHWEIKERT ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ‘NEW’ BUDGET

“A part of me puts my cynicism hat on. What I often see with a lot of the politicians, what they care most about is re-election. Does he believe he now has to stand up, look like he’s a budget cutter, that he cares about saving the entitlement systems by rebuilding them? How much of this is theater and how much of this is also the messages we’re getting from the markets saying, ‘you know the markets aren’t going to tolerate us continuing to grow the debt in this fashion.’”

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Filed Under: Elected Officials, Federal Budget, Federal Government, Press Release, Spending, Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

An outstanding week of success for school choice

April 12, 2011 By 8 Comments

by Clint Bolick
Goldwater Institute

Last week may have been the school-choice movement’s best effort in a long time, with Arizona leading the way for systemic education reform and expanded opportunities.

Monday the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the latest challenge to Arizona’s tuition scholarship tax-credit program, which provides dollar-for-dollar tax credits for contributions to private school scholarships. Following the reasoning of the Arizona Supreme Court, the high court ruled that because tax credits leave money in the hands of taxpayers, they never become public funds. As a result, under federal law, taxpayers do not have standing to challenge the program.

Later in the week, the Arizona Legislature increased the amount of the tax credit for the scholarship program from $1,000 to $1,500 per couple.

Then on Thursday, the Arizona Legislature became the first in the country to approve education savings accounts, an idea born at the Goldwater Institute. When eligible students leave public schools, the state will fund an account with a portion of the dollars that would have been spent on their public education. Money in an ESA can be used for many educational purposes, from distance learning to private school tuition, curriculum software, or tutoring. Any money left over can be used for college after a student graduates from high school. ESAs reduce taxpayer costs while increasing schooling options.

The initial pilot is limited to children with disabilities, who lost their voucher program in 2009 when the Arizona Supreme Court struck it down under the state constitution. This program is designed to comply with the Court’s ruling in that case.

ESAs have the potential to create a truly 21st century system of public education, in which every child is empowered to pursue the best possible schooling without stifling and costly bureaucracy and special-interest pressures. The bill creating the pilot program now awaits action from Governor Jan Brewer.

Finally, amidst the contentious federal budget deal just before midnight D.C.-time, Congress reauthorized the District of Columbia school voucher program, whose expansion congressional Democrats had previously halted. Now the Obamas will no longer be the only people in D.C. who live in public housing who get to send their kids to private school.

The Goldwater Institute will continue to pioneer such student-centered education reforms, while celebrating unprecedented success.

Clint Bolick is director of the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation.

Learn More:

Goldwater Institute: Education Savings Accounts: Giving Parents Control of Their Children’s Education

Goldwater Institute: New Harvard report on tuition tax credit debunks myths

Washington Post: Budget deal includes D.C. abortion rider, money for school vouchers

Arizona Legislature: Senate Bill 1553 authorizing education savings accounts

Filed Under: Education, Legislation, State Government