Posts Tagged → Press Releases
Alabama’s Republican Congressmen Support the Audit the Fed Bill
(Birmingham, AL) The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 (HR 1207) was introduced by Texas Congressman and former Republican Liberty Caucus Honorary Chairman Dr. Ron Paul on February 26, 2009. The bill currently enjoys 200 cosponsors. It “directs the Comptroller General to complete, before the end of 2010, an audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the federal reserve banks, followed by a detailed report to Congress.”
This morning, the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus, working in concert with other online activists, used Twitter to promote a campaign to call Representative Jo Bonner to urge his support of HR 1207. A couple of hours after the campaign was launched, we received word that Bonnor was now cosponsoring the bill.
“We’d like to thank Jo Bonnor for adding his name to the list,” said ALRLC Secretary and Alabama Republican Assembly President Shana Kluck. “Currently, all of Alabama’s Republican representatives have put their names on the bill. Unfortunately, it seems that Alabama’s Democratic delegation to Congress isn’t as interested in transparency and open government.”
Activists have been trying to contact Alabama Democrats to urge their support of the legislation. By our count, fifty Democrats currently cosponsor the bill, but none from Alabama. One activist received a written response from Representative Bobby Bright.
“Currently, H.R. 1207 is before the House Committee on Financial Services.” responded Bright. “Please be assured I will monitor this legislation and keep your views in mind if it comes to the House floor for a vote.”
Noting that Bright had failed to directly answer the request, “Will you, or will you not, cosponsor HR1207?” was the response on the ALRLC’s blog.
The Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009 (S 604) is the Senate companion legislation and it has been referred to the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, where Alabama Senator Richard Shelby serves as the ranking member. Shelby has already supported an amendment which provides limited oversight of the Federal Reserve regarding Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) spending.
“Federal Reserve policy impacts every citizen of the United States on a daily basis,” said ALRLC Media Director Stephen Gordon. “Unfortunately, the Fed doesn’t receive the level of scrutiny we expect and deserve. It’s imperative that we learn more about how the Federal Reserve operates. Hopefully, the rest of Alabama’s congressional delegation will side with us regarding openness and transparency.”
The Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus is committed to advancing the cause of liberty by advancing pro-freedom legislation and electing pro-freedom candidates to public office. Additional information about the ALRLC may be found at www.ALRLC.org.
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ALRLC encourages Alabama’s congressional delegation to support Federal Reserve Transparency Act
(Birmingham, AL) On Tuesday night, the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus unanimously adopted a resolution encouraging Alabama’s congressional delegation to support H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009. Wikipedia describes H.R. 1207 as follows:
According to its short title, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 amends Title 31 of the United States Code “to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported”. It strikes exceptions to the audit protocol in 31 U.S.C. § 714 for the Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United States, and replaces an indefinite deadline with a deadline of December 2010.
“All Americans should support this important legislation regardless of their political views,” said Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus Chair Scott Boykin. “Transparency in public institutions is a fundamental value in a free society.”
The bill currently has 179 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, including Congressmen Robert Aderholt, Mike Rogers and Spencer Bachus from Alabama.
“We like to thank the three members of our congressional delegation who have signed onto the bill,” said ALRLC Media Director Stephen Gordon. “This should be an incredibly easy bill for any Republican to support and we’ve already got 35 cosponsors from the Democratic side of the aisle. We’d like to encourage Joe Bonner, Artur Davis, Bobby Bright and Parker Griffith to jump on board before the train leaves the station.”
The Alabama Republican Liberty caucus is committed to advancing the cause of liberty by advancing pro-freedom legislation and electing pro-freedom candidates to public office.
PRESS RELEASE: Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus Forms
The Small-Government Wing of the Republican Party Starts Chapter in Alabama
The photo includes (front group, left to right) Tom Byers, Ted Pearson, Shana Kluck, George Oldroyd, (back group, left to right) Ken Varley, Dr. Jimmy Blake, Rick Needham, George Barry, and Scott Boykin.
(Birmingham, AL – April 5, 2009) The national Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) has officially recognized the Alabama Republican Liberty as their newest state chapter. The RLC’s organizational mission “is to recruit and endorse candidates who support the RLC’s agenda, elect limited government Republicans to political office, and change the direction of the Republican Party to reflect our vision of peace and prosperity.”
Some current officeholders endorsed by the RLC include congressmen Jeff Flake, John Shadegg, Tom McClintock, Dana Rohrabacher, Ed Royce, Mike Pence, Roscoe Bartlett, Jim Jordan, Adrian Smith, Jimmy Duncan and Ron Paul. This list also includes Nevada Senator John Ensign and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. As the Alabama RLC begins operations, two founding members are Madison City Councilman Tim Cowles and former Birmingham City Councilman Jimmy Blake.
The Alabama Chapter of the RLC is chaired by Birmingham attorney Scott Boykin. Boykin is a member of the Jefferson County Republican Party Executive Committee. He received his B.A. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and his Ph.D. in Political Science from Tulane University. He taught political science for the Department of Government at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has published scholarly papers in the fields of political philosophy and law. He earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Alabama School of Law. Following law school, he served as a Judicial Clerk to The Honorable Patrick E. Higginbotham, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Today, Boykin has a litigation practice in Birmingham. He resides with his family in Birmingham and serves on the Vestry of Christ Anglican Church there.
“We are here to return the Republican party to the principles of limited government that made our country great,” said Chair Boykin. “We’ve established a great team which is deeply committed to the restoration of our founding constitutional principles. We’ve hit the ground running and Alabama will see a lot from us in the future.”
Other key players in the Alabama RLC are Secretary Shana Kluck and Media Director Stephen Gordon. Not only is Kluck a homeschooling mother of four, but she’s the President of the Alabama Republican Assembly, served as National Homeschooling Coordinator and Alabama Field Coordinator for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign, and works from her home as a Web 2.0 consultant. Kluck resides in Vance and serves both on the Tuscaloosa County and state Republican Party executive committees.
Gordon is a veteran of many political activities in both the Republican and Libertarian Parties. He’s worked as national Communications Director and Political Director for the LP. A short list of the candidates for whom he’s worked includes Oliver North, Bob Barr, Joel Montgomery and Ron Paul. Gordon lives in Hartselle and works a political consultant.
Founding and initial members of the Alabama RLC include attorney and RLC treasurer Leon Story, attorney Ted Pearson, political consultant George Oldroyd, physician Ken Varley, business consultant Tom Byars, noted organist Charles Kennedy, attorney Carolynn Moore, private investigator Rick Needham, Madison councilman Tim Cowles, physician Deborah Gordon, businessman George Barry and physician Jimmy Blake.
Members of the organization are actively promoting several pieces of legislation facing the Alabama Legislature this year, including two eminent domain reform bills, REAL-ID reform, and a State Sovereignty Resolution. Quite a few RLC members are active in the planning of “Tea Party” rallies to be held across Alabama (and the nation) on April 15th.
“As the legislative season winds down and election season kicks in, we’ll be focusing more of our efforts on candidates,” said Media Director Stephen Gordon. ”We’ve already had some candidates contact us and we are in the process of contacting others. Additionally, we’ll be distributing our Liberty Pledge to each Republican state legislator and other elected officials across the state.”
Additional information about the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus may be found at www.ALRLC.org.
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