February 4, 2010
Thursday Press Clips
February 2, 2010
Not by chance but by choice…
- It is not by chance but by choice that Governor O’Malley pushed through the largest tax increase in Maryland’s history.
- It is not by chance but by choice that by 2012 Maryland will have lost an estimated 8,334 jobs from the sales tax increase alone.
- It is not by chance but by choice that Governor O’Malley has furloughed State Employees three times while still maintaining his taxpayer-funded chef at his taxpayer-funded residence.
- It is not by chance but by choice that Governor O’Malley is seeking the repeal of the Maryland-mined Coal Tax Credit – jeopardizing more than 1,000 Maryland jobs in coal, trucking, and other related industries.
- It is not by chance but by choice that Governor O’Malley refused to implement sex offender laws putting our communities and our children at greater risk.
- It is not by chance but by choice that Governor O’Malley extended unemployment benefits to part-time employees at the same time unemployment rates were nearing historic highs. This decimated the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund – now employers are facing a tripling of their insurance premiums at a time when they are already reducing their workforce to stay afloat.
- It is not by chance but by choice that the O’Malley administration’s stormwater management regulations go so far beyond the legislative intent that they will eliminate any growth in new construction jobs.
- It is not by chance but by choice that Governor O’Malley has increased total spending by $3 billion over the last four year – the same amount as our projected deficit.
- It is not by chance but by choice that Governor O’Malley used the regulatory billy club of the Public Service Commission to threaten the potential building of Calvert Cliffs III – jeopardizing 4,000 long term construction jobs and hundreds of high paying permanent jobs.
- It is not by chance but by choice that Governor O’Malley accepted billions of stimulus dollars committing Maryland to obligations it can’t afford and leaving the bill for our children to pay.
February 1, 2010
Monday Press Clips
State bond cost could outstrip revenue
Lawmakers scramble for compromise as businesses reject O’Malley’s unemployment fund plan
Democrats ask for Republican ideas to solve budget crisis
Democrats seek an expansion of gambling to include table games
Chesapeake Bay blowup: How to trap pollutant-filled rain
New stimulus jobs numbers for Maryland, fresh ammo for campaign attacks
January 27, 2010
Wednesday Press Clips
January 26, 2010
Tuesday Press Clips
January 20, 2010
Martin O’Malley’s Spending Plan Kicks Can to the End of the Road
The Maryland House Republican Caucus today responded to Governor Martin O’Malley’s Fiscal Year 2011 spending plan by characterizing it as a template for Governor O’Malley’s mismanagement of the state of Maryland. The spending plan includes increases in state spending, the cleaning out of the state’s paltry special fund balances, place markers for more federal bailout money and leaves a $1.5 billion deficit for next year, which grows to more than $2 billion the year after. It also increases the governor’s staff budget, provides more environmental giveaways and continues the ongoing bloat at the University System of Maryland. The House Minority Caucus released the following statement:
“This spending plan by Governor Martin O’Malley shows his abject refusal to get Maryland on a fiscally responsible path,” House Minority Leader Tony O’Donnell said. “It leaves us with a $400 million hole this year, $1.5 billion next year and at least another $2 billion hole the year after that. He says he’s reducing spending but that’s not the reality. The fact is that he is spending more Maryland tax dollars this year while hoping for another bailout from Congress and the White House. Maryland has no more road for Martin to kick the fiscal can down. We are broke because of this governor and his allies in the General Assembly.”
Minority Whip Chris Shank added, “Our special funds are bankrupted. Our transportation funds are long gone. The remaining businesses Maryland has are set to go broke because of the policies of this administration and the majority in the General Assembly. Honest talk from this governor would require him to tell Maryland’s taxpayers that he’s going to raise their taxes again next year. That’s not likely to happen.”
O’Donnell concluded, “Enough is enough! It is time that this governor and the majority in the General Assembly start listening to the citizens of Maryland and get our fiscal house in order. Stop the election year buyoffs and start managing the people’s money for a better future today.”
January 20, 2010
Can Massachusetts happen in Maryland?
The people of Massachusetts have spoken and the Democrats are uncomfortable with the message that was sent by the people. The people are tired of the arrogant one-party rule that takes their constituents for granted. There should be no feeling of entitlement for holding public office.
Elected representatives are supposed to represent the people. It sounds simple, but many elected officials in Washington and Annapolis seem to forget that. Many of them seem to embrace an elitist view where they believe that they know what is good for everyone and that sometimes the people are not smart enough to know what is actually good for them.
The Democrats in Annapolis have a reason to be concerned about Scott Brown’s epic upset victory. Massachusetts is a stronger Democratic state than Maryland. In the Massachusetts General Court (which is their state legislature), Republicans comprise 10% of the House of Representatives (16 out of 160 seats) and 12.5% of the Senate (5 out of 40 seats). Contrast that to the Maryland General Assembly were Republicans comprise 26% of the House of Delegates (37 out of 141 seats) and 30% of the Senate (14 out of 47 seats). Additionally, Democrats have a 3-1 voter registration advantage over Republicans in Massachusetts. The ratio is slimmer in Maryland, where Democrats only have a 2-1 voter registration advantage over Republicans. Scott Brown’s victory has shown that even Democrats in strong Democratic states are not safe.
Maryland Republican Party Chairman Audrey Scott praised the Brown campaign: “Scott [Brown] ran a brilliant campaign that focused on the issues and resonated with voters. This goes to show the American people do want change but they do not like the government-run solutions coming from Washington.”
Brown’s campaign showed that people want health care reform, but they do not want the monstrosity that is in Congress being forced upon them against their will. Brown’s campaign also highlighted the people’s desire to reduce deficits. Maryland faces a budget deficit of $2 billion. Governor O’Malley is counting on receiving federal funding from a federal program that has not yet been created to help close the budget deficit. House Minority Whip Chris Shank likens this to building a “fiscal house of cards.” No fiscally responsible family would create a budget the same way the government of Maryland creates its budget.
Transparency is also a major issue. President Obama promised a transparent debate on health care. President Obama promised on multiple occasions during his campaign that C-SPAN would televise the health care negotiations; his failure to fulfill this campaign promise has led C-SPAN to recently demand more transparency and openness with the health care negotiations. Somehow the word “transparent” does not come to mind when one looks at the many closed-door Democrat-only health care bill sessions that Congress has held. The Democrats in Annapolis have also been unenthusiastic about providing transparency in government.
House Minority Leader Tony O’Donnell and House Minority Whip Chris Shank have proposed on behalf of the House Republican Caucus three rule changes to improve transparency: 1) to post all committee votes online in an expeditious manner, 2) to publicly stream the video of committee meetings, and 3) to make all committee meetings open to the public, including all committee voting sessions. The Minority Parliamentarian, Delegate Michael Smigiel, has proposed two other rule changes: 1) that all committee votes shall be a yea or nay vote on approving the bill (this would eliminate the confusion caused by voting to disapprove a bill, where a yea vote would be a vote to kill the bill), and 2) that every committee shall vote on every bill and resolution referred to it. Delegates O’Donnell and Shank have also supported making up-to-the-minute session updates available to the public without having to pay a fee.
As Maryland faces a high unemployment rate during this economic crisis, the Democrats have not put forth any substantive plan to address unemployment. Republicans know that businesses thrive and jobs are created when government lowers taxes and does not heavy-handedly over-regulate businesses.
The people of Massachusetts have spoken and the Democrats in Maryland have every right to be worried when Marylanders get their chance in November. People demand responsibility, accountability, honesty, and transparency in government.
January 18, 2010
Monday Press Clips
September 14, 2009
Letter to Attorney General Gansler, Baltimore State’s Attorney Jessamy, and US Attorney Rosenstein
September 11, 2009
Dear Mr. Rosenstein:
As you may be aware, a video was released yesterday appearing to show employees of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in Baltimore, Maryland instructing a purported prostitute and pimp in techniques and methods by which the two can engage in apparent criminal activity while maintaining a false front of legality. This activity appears to be centered on obtaining housing for what appears to be significant criminal activity, possibly including tax evasion, prostitution, and trafficking in the human sex trade with minors from abroad. A second video, similar in nature apparently from the Washington, D.C. office of ACORN emerged on national media today. There may be emerging a disturbing pattern of conduct in these housing assistance arms of ACORN’s regional offices. If true, these activities are very concerning considering the fact that a subsidiary of ACORN, ACORN Housing Corporation, is even listed as a housing foreclosure counseling resource on the official State of Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s consumer protection program web site. ACORN Housing Corporation is also listed as a housing foreclosure counseling resource on one of Governor Martin O’Malley’s official state funded web sites at www.mdhope.org.
It is imperative that a formal investigation be launched immediately by your office into the activities apparently undertaken by ACORN and its employees in this case, and to determine if laws have been broken and if there are other such cases as yet undiscovered. The video alone appears to provide evidence that ACORN’s employees seem to have engaged in acts of potential criminal conspiracy, by freely aiding two persons apparently believed by the employees to be planning the establishment of a brothel, specializing in the trafficking and abusive manipulation of minor girls illegally brought to the US. These persons appeared to have asked for, and appeared to have received, advice on how to engage in racketeering, fraud, and the systematic sexual abuse of children. The actions of these particular employees seem to be clearly captured on video which was subsequently released to the public. As a result of the justifiable public outcry, newspaper accounts report that these specific employees were terminated from employment with ACORN. However, neither ACORN representative in the video appeared to show any compunction about offering the advice and aid, even after they were made aware of the nature of the proposed “business”. Therefore, it seems reasonable to infer that there may be other instances of similar advice having been provided to genuine aspiring criminals.
As if the above activities weren’t enough on their own, ACORN has been the recipient in the past of multiple grants of public funds. Therefore, further investigation is required to determine what, if any, taxpayer funds have been distributed to ACORN that may have been misused. Taxpayer dollars meant to directly support community development and leadership programs may have been, instead, used to indirectly support the commercial sexual exploitation of children through apparently illicit enterprises. The manner in which ACORN receives its public funds is circuitous and confusing at best and a veritable Gordian knot at worst. There is little if any transparency with respect to taxpayer funds, either federal or state or local, provided to ACORN or its affiliate organizations. Without a directed effort and investigation, it may be impossible to determine the nature and source of the funding that supported the activities described above.
The law-abiding citizens of Maryland have a vested interest in ensuring that not only are so-called altruistic organizations not conspiring in criminal activity, but moreover, that their tax dollars are not being distributed in such a manner as to support it. Additionally, we should fully expect and be confident that tax exempt non-profit organizations are not suborning criminal activities in our state. These video releases, if accurate, give us serious concern that this is not so. We consider these video releases to be of a very serious nature deserving a full and thorough formal investigation and report to the citizens of Maryland. As the representatives of those citizens, we call upon you to put in place the full measure of your authority to determine the nature and extent of the activities engaged in by ACORN and its employees, and to act accordingly with the full force of law.
Sincerely,
Anthony J. O’Donnell Christopher B. Shank
House Minority Leader House Minority Whip
