The team at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance wants to wish everybody a Happy Fourth of July. The celebrations may not be the same, but the feeling is, we live in the greatest country in the world. The jobs numbers released yesterday were amazing. The economy added 4.8 million jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 11%. Great progress for an economy that was closed for three months. Let’s keep that momentum going and make sure states remain open in a safe manner. Getting people back to work will get this economy going again. There’s a lot of work to do, but this is a great start.
Profile in Courage – Sen. Ron Johnson
For a decade, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) has protected taxpayers and has been at the forefront of the fight for federal accountability and limited government. Sen. Johnson’s advocacy for smaller, more responsive bureaucracy began during the Obama administration when he led the fight for less red tape and tried to rein in runaway deficit spending. Now, as America faces an economic crisis that dwarfs even the last recession, Sen. Johnson is once again proving that sensible, good government proposals are possible even during times of chaos and calamity. Over the past couple of months, the lawmaker has been fighting the good fight to introduce some much-needed accountability to the beleaguered U.S. Postal Service (USPS). And for continuing to fight for taxpayers and consumers across the country, Sen. Ron Johnson is absolutely a Profile in Courage.
After his election to the U.S. Senate in 2010, Sen. Johnson was an early, key proponent of the “cut, cap, and balance” approach, which would’ve tethered federal expenditures to 18 percent of Gross Domestic Product and ensured balanced budgets for years to come. In addition to advocating for bold, comprehensive policy reforms, Sen. Johnson has also been proactive in investigating irregularities and transparency lapses across the federal government. Whenever contractors who benefited from “stimulus” funds cheated on their taxes, Sen. Johnson was there to help investigate and hold the responsible parties accountable. The lawmaker has also pushed agencies to be responsive to their inspector generals (IGs) and implement their cost saving recommendations. In response to a letter from Sen. Johnson and now Senate president pro tempore Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the Department of Transportation admitted in 2015 that it had more than 600 unresolved recommendations from their IG that, if addressed, would result in more than $1 billion in savings.
But the biggest test – and affirmation – of Sen. Johnson’s leadership came in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic put unprecedented strain on taxpayers and the federal government. In the fast-moving effort to respond to the outbreak, federal agencies and state governments have lodged massive requests for taxpayer dollars – even if these requests don’t correspond to their actual financial challenges. The USPS in particular wasted little time requesting an exorbitant sum of money from taxpayers. In April, then-Postmaster General Megan Brennan went to Congress to ask for an astounding $89 billion bailout. Sen. Johnson quickly realized the absurdity of this request, which was 25 percent greater than total USPS revenues for FY 2019. In a June letter to then-Postmaster General Brennan, Sen. Johnson along with Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) pointed out that, “USPS revenues were down initially, but they have since recovered dramatically due to an increase in package volume that is apparently rivaling volumes leading up to Christmas.” To better track the financial situation of the USPS, Sen. Johnson has called on America’s mail carrier to release weekly financial reports. These common-sense measures are key to transparency and will help hold agencies such as the USPS accountable to the American people.
And for continuing to look out for taxpayers after a decade in the Senate, Sen. Johnson is truly a Profile in Courage.
Graham & Hawley’s Folly – Regulating the Digital Domain
And, now we go from a Profile in Courage to members of Congress who don’t understand the government’s role in regulating the internet. Over the past two decades, the internet has transformed from a clunky and pixelated patchwork of sites to the digital domain we know and (mostly) love today. Unfortunately, a small, but vocal minority of lawmakers led by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) are trying to dismantle this progress. His proposed “Limiting Section 230 Immunity to Good Samaritans Act” would expose digital platforms to near-endless liability if deemed to have unfair content moderation policies. Other disheartening proposals have also cropped up, such as Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) “EARN IT Act.” Like Hawley’s bill, this piece of legislation would dangerously undermine liability protections that have created and fostered the internet. Americans deserve a vibrant digital marketplace filled with new ideas, not paranoid platforms hounded by overzealous government officials.
On Thursday during the markup of the EARN IT Act, Sen. Graham managed to jam plenty of damaging policies through the Senate Judiciary Committee. Under Graham’s proposed restrictions, digital platforms would have to constantly watch their backs for fear of user lawsuits if they fail to meet onerous government mandates on matters such as age verification and segmentation. While the Committee passed Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) amendment safeguarding encryption, age-related verifications and conditions in the bill would give bureaucrats broad latitude in denying liability protections to digital platforms.
For the most part, these companies operate like any private business and realize that restricting content with a heavy hand will invite backlash, bad optics, and less revenue. That’s why, for example, Twitter allows countless right-of-center voices to make their voices heard even if media executives find their content thoroughly distasteful. These platforms usually reserve the heavy hand for users using derogatory terms or advocating for violence against entire groups. Yet if the anti-Section 230 crowd succeeds, even these reasonable restrictions could trigger a slew of liability. And if the long-run result was a wholesale elimination of Section 230 protections for these companies, large platforms would respond with “content moderation” policies more erratic than ever before. In an environment where any platform could be sued for any libelous content posted by their users, large internet companies would respond by banning content carrying even an iota of legal risk.
Policymakers must oppose lawmakers’ misguided quest for faux fairness and find ways to unleash – rather than curtail – the digital domain.
Blogs:
Monday: TPA to Congress: Vote NO on H.R. 1425
Wednesday: Watchdog Praises Trump Administration for Postal Pricing Reforms
Thursday: Regulation in the Name of ‘Fairness’ Threatens Digital Domain
Friday: Profile in Courage – Sen. Ron Johnson
Media:
June 26, 2020: The Alton Daily News (Alton, Ill.) quoted TPA in their story, “Grants Announced for Broadband Expansion.”
June 29, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about dead people receiving relief checks.
June 29, 2020: The Center Square ran TPA’s op-ed, “For Georgia patients, end to surprise medical billing in sight.”
July 1, 2020: Real Clear Policy ran TPA’s op-ed, “Regulation in the Name of 'Fairness' Threatens Digital Domain.”
July 2, 2020: I appeared on 55KRC (Cincinnati, Ohio) to talk about drug pricing and the SCRIPTS Act.
July 2, 2020: I appeared on WBOB Radio (600 AM and 101 FM; Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about unemployment and any potential new stimulus bill.
July 2, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about potential budget cuts in Maryland.
July 2, 2020: The Killeen Daily Herald (Killeen, Texas) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Return to work’ bonus a tempting solution with significant pitfalls.”
July 2, 2020: Issues & Insights ran TPA’s op-ed, “Populist Right Starting To Sound A Lot Like Sen. Warren.”
July 3, 2020: The American Conservative ran TPA’s op-ed, “Lawmakers’ Military Earmarks Are Exploding Like Fireworks.”
Have a great weekend, stay safe, and as always, thanks for your continued support.
Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org
