Mike McCrone, Author at Advancing American Freedom

ICYMI: Vice President Mike Pence to WSJ: Raising Taxes Is Bad Policy and Bad Politics

WASHINGTON, DC – Vice President Mike Pence joined the Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel All Things podcast yesterday to discuss how the second Trump Administration compares to the first as it nears the end of its first hundred days. In a wide-ranging conversation with Kim Strassel, Vice President Pence speaks about what the Trump team is getting right, what it’s getting wrong, and more about his work as the founder of Advancing American Freedom.

LISTEN: Former Vice President Mike Pence Grades Trump 2.0

Vice President Pence warned Republicans about the bad politics of raising taxes, speaking to the pro-growth policies that were so effective in the Trump-Pence Administration and the risks of stepping away from those policies today:

“Republicans don’t raise taxes, Republicans cut taxes. There should be no higher priority for the Congress and this administration than to make the Trump tax cuts permanent.”

“What they will call a millionaire tax would be an enormous tax increase on small businesses in this country.”

“To talk about raising marginal rates, even at the top level, is bad policy and bad politics.”

Pence urged Republicans to say no to broad-based tariffs:

“I think what will remain is a 10 percent across-the-board tariff on all goods, not for negotiations, but as industrial policy. I believe that will be inflationary, harmful to American consumers, and harmful to American growth.”

“I said a month ago [broad-based tariffs] would amount to the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history.”

Pence also explained the mistake of not enforcing the TikTok ban:

“TikTok is digital fentanyl. …This administration is working to try and find a way to leave what is essentially a Chinese spyware active in the country.”

“You would never, at the height of the Soviet Union, have allowed the Soviet Union to run the Wall Street Journal. It’s inconceivable. But that’s what TikTok is.”

“The TikTok legislation forcing the sale or banning TikTok is the law of the land. And for the sake of the American people, it needs to be enforced.”

Advancing American Freedom has launched a $10 million nationwide grassroots education campaign calling for Congress to swiftly renew the historic Trump-Pence tax cuts and deliver on the promise of pro-growth tax reform that lowers taxes for everyone. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was a roaring success for the American people that led to lower taxes, more jobs, and a booming economy. AAF will continue to urge Congress to resist any attempts to raise taxes on Americans.

AAF has repeatedly urged an end to tariffs and last week launched a six-figure ad campaign urging Washington to say no to tariffs. AAF will continue to advocate against leaving broad-based tariffs in place that could counteract the pro-growth agenda that worked so well in President Trump’s first term.

Advancing American Freedom is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and advancing conservative policy solutions and principles that improve the lives of all Americans. For media requests, please reach out to press@advancingamericanfreedom.com.

Advancing American Freedom to State Dept: “Redesignate the Houthis as a Terrorist Organization”

Advancing American Freedom led a coalition letter with 42 co-signers calling on the Department of State to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organization after they have fired missiles at Israel and continually attacked American and other ships in the Red Sea, forcing the world’s largest shipping companies to reroute vessels, disrupting global trade and increasing oil prices.

“Removing the Houthis from the list of terrorist organizations was one of the first mistakes of this administration,” said AAF Executive Director Paul Teller. “As the Middle East grows more unstable after Hamas’ unprovoked attack in Israel, the Houthis have added to the chaos, and there is no diplomacy that will dissuade them. The United States must return to a posture of clear-headed realism and treat our enemies as they deserve to be treated.”

Read the full letter here.

AAF Files Amicus Brief in Case Considering Chevron Deference

November 27th, 2023

Advancing American Freedom today filed an amicus brief in Relentless v. Department of Commerce, which could be the case in which the Supreme Court overturns Chevron. Chevron requires courts to defer to administrative agencies’ “reasonable” interpretation of supposedly ambiguous statutes, even when that interpretation is clearly not the most reasonable interpretation of the statute.

“Chevron Deference is regularly used by the administrative state to expand the power granted to them by Congress,” said AAF General Counsel J. Marc Wheat. “Overturning Chevron is an important step toward reigning in the administrative state and realigning the Federal Government with the structure established by the Constitution. We look forward to hearing the Supreme Court’s decision in this case.”

You can read the brief here.

AAF Submits Comment to EPA Opposing Devastating EV Rule

Biden’s Campaign Against “Junk Fees” Is Junk Economics

Topline: Democrats’ crusade against so-called “junk fees” is junk economics and Republicans should go on offense to expose the real junk fees that the Biden administration is forcing on the country

Background

In an effort to distract from the $15,000 burden the administrative state imposes on every American household annually, President Biden has launched a campaign aimed at tackling so-called “junk fees.”
Nobody likes junk, so the Biden administration has rebranded business-as-usual as “junk” to justify more aggressive regulatory action.
The Biden administration has every kind of fee, surcharge, and add-on purchase in its crosshairs—that is, excluding new fees the administration itself is creating, such as mortgage fees on consumers with good credit and steeper royalties on oil and gas leases.
Biden has cited concerns with banks fining customers for late payments, rental units charging for cleaning expenses, airlines charging for seat selection, and ATMs’ entire funding model of charging a small service fee (usually reimbursed by the bank).

Impact

While Biden claims that banning certain fees will increase “transparency,” it will only make businesses less competitive, more vulnerable to bank failures, and increase the odds of future government bailouts of the corporate sector.
If Biden’s regulators had their way, we would get less from these services, and fees would simply be shifted to the customer elsewhere in the receipt.
Affected industry associations have countered Biden’s false statements with example after example about how these government mandates will hurt both the poor and the businesses that serve them.
Under Biden’s regulatory strangulation, the economy has been weak and wages have dropped even while prices have gone up.

The solution to affordability isn’t more regulations and restrictions on free enterprise. The solution is more free enterprise. You can read more on AAF’s pro-American, free-market policies here: American Opportunity

Resources

Advancing American Opportunity (Advancing American Freedom)
An Annual Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State (Competitive Enterprise Institute)
Biden’s FHFA Rule Punishes Good Credit Scores (USA Today)
Biden increases oil royalty rate, scales back lease sales (Associated Press)

Reach out to John Shelton (jshelton@advancingamericanfreedom.com) with any questions.

AAF Founder Mike Pence on Biden Administration’s Plan to Eliminate Gas Vehicles

Advancing American Freedom founder Vice President Mike Pence issued the following statement on the Biden administration’s plan to nearly eliminate all gas vehicles produced by 2032.

“President Biden and his progressive allies on Capitol Hill have been intent on crippling the U.S. energy industry for the sake of a radical green agenda. This latest announcement only further underscores the Left’s prioritization of its policies over the prosperity of the American people.

“The government has no right to tell Americans what kind of car they can drive any more than they can tell vehicle manufacturers what to produce. President Biden’s far-left climate agenda reduces options for consumers and increases our reliance on China and its electric vehicle battery production.

“Conservatives should reject Biden’s radical climate overreach and advance pro-American policies that restore a booming economy, unleash our energy producers, and protect the freedom to choose the car they drive.”

AAF Calls Out Biden’s Expensive “Green Tax Credits”

Advancing American Freedom issued the following statement after economic forecasters reveal Biden’s green tax credits are going to increase costs for U.S. taxpayers.

“The Biden administration’s ‘green tax credit’ was always a myth, and now economic forecasters are spelling out the drastic cost to American taxpayers,” said AAF Executive Director Paul Teller. “Now that these green tax credits have proven to be more expensive than what was originally predicted, Congress should be doing everything possible to roll back the tax credits and get us back on to a path of energy independence.”

AAF Rallies House GOP to Continue the Anti-ESG Fight

Today, Advancing American Freedom (AAF) sent a letter to House leadership applauding their efforts to repeal the Biden administration’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rule and calling for Congress to continue efforts to codify the anti-ESG legislation. This most recent letter features signatures from twice as many state treasurers as the first iteration, an encouraging sign that the coalition continues to grow with additional states taking up the mantle against ESG. (PENCE: U.S. States Show How to Fight ‘Woke’ Wolves of Wall Street)

“We are grateful for the House’s effort and leadership to repeal the woke ESG 401(k) rule and will continue to rally behind the conference in their efforts to eliminate this hurtful overreach once and for all,” said AAF Executive Director Paul Teller. “Americans are looking to Congress to protect their hard-earned savings from being funneled into Biden’s woke agenda. We look forward to continuing our work with leadership to include this crucial legislation in upcoming legislative packages and deliver a win for the American worker.”

Background:

Advancing American Freedom has led the support for the woke 401(k) rule overturn resolution, with efforts that target key audiences in D.C. and nationwide. In February, AAF sent a coalition letter to Congress signed by over 100 conservative leaders and organizations calling for a vote on the Braun-Barr resolution. To amplify these efforts, AAF also ran ad campaigns in Arizona and Montana calling for constituents to contact Senator Tester (MT) and Senator Sinema (AZ) in support of the resolution, resulting in Senator Tester voting yes on the resolution.

In April of 2022, Vice President Pence delivered remarks at Rice University, calling out those who sought to weaponize the U.S. financial system to “destroy energy producers from within.”

Vice President Pence also has written two nationally-syndicated pieces in RealClearMarkets and the Wall Street Journal calling for conservatives to take up the mantle against the Radical Left’s ESG agenda.

AAF Steps Up Fight for Parents’ Rights

Advancing American Freedom, joined by 20 additional conservative organizations, filed an amicus brief in parental rights case Foote v. Ludlow in Massachusetts. The case follows the same argument as the brief Advancing American Freedom (AAF) filed in the Linn Mar Community School District case in Iowa.

“Families are the foundation of our society, and woke school policies that seek to disrupt the family unit and hide life-altering choices about the child from the parents need to be resisted,” said J Marc Wheat, General Counsel for AAF. “Advancing American Freedom will continue to stand beside parents and their children to push back against the Far-Left Agenda.”

Background

AAF filed the amicus brief for the Linn Mar school district and launched a parents’ rights campaign in February.

In March, AAF filed its second amicus brief in Massachusetts.

Advancing American Freedom and Heritage’s Oversight Project File Joint Lawsuit Against Department of Justice

Advancing American Freedom and The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project filed a joint lawsuit against the Department of Justice for their failure to produce documents related to the recent attacks and violence against pro-life centers after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“It is clear that President Biden’s politicized Department of Justice is fearful of igniting the wrath of the Far Left and abortion extremists,” J. Marc Wheat, general counsel for AAF. “The American people have a right to know why those who burned and vandalized pregnancy centers have not been held accountable for their violence against traditional conservatives and pro-life groups.”