February 7th, 2008
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul has signed on to a letter to the President asking that an amicus curiae brief filed by U.S Solicitor General Paul D. Clement on DC v. Heller, otherwise known as the DC Gun Ban Case, be withdrawn on the basis that the reasoning within, were it to be accepted by the Supreme Court, leaves open the door for more encroachments on individuals’ Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.
The brief in question argues that categorical bans of virtually all self-defense firearms may be upheld as constitutional if a court determines that these prohibitions are “reasonable” restrictions of constitutional rights. The reasonability standard is the lowest standard of constitutional review our courts utilize, a much lesser hurdle than the “strict scrutiny” review that courts use in many cases in which regulations threaten individual rights.
The letter in opposition to the Clement brief contends:
“If the Supreme Court finds that the D.C. gun ban is a “reasonable” limitation of Second Amendment rights, the Court could create a dangerous precedent for the nation in the future. Such a decision could open the door to further regulation on American citizens’ Second Amendment rights on a large scale.”
Congressman Paul, as a strict constitutionalist and in keeping with his strong record on gun rights, has signed on to another brief submitted by several members of Congress which asks the Supreme Court to uphold the lower courts decision and allow the precedent of applying a stricter standard of review for gun control cases to stand.
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February 6th, 2008
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul has signed on as a cosponsor of legislation that would prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from collecting certain debts owed to the United States by members of the Armed Forces and veterans who die as a result of an injury incurred or aggravated on active duty in a combat zone.
If a service member dies in combat and has received Montgomery GI benefits, his or her surviving family members are required to repay those loans.
So far the VA has attempted to recover over $56,000 from the families of 22 deceased service members, with the bulk of the money owed in the form of college loans.
“This practice is an outrage and adds insult to injury to our fallen war heroes. They have given their lives in service to their country and they deserve better than this,” stated Congressman Paul.
Three of the 22 cases of this occurred in the State of Texas, which is more than any other state.
Introduced by Representative Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) H.R. 5148, The Combat Veterans Debt Elimination Act would wipe the slate clean for these grieving families, giving them the peace of mind that the sacrifice their loved one made on behalf of a grateful nation is honored.
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January 23rd, 2008
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul is an original cosponsor on legislation proposed by Representative Harry Mitchell (AZ-5) to block Members of Congress from receiving the automatic pay adjustment scheduled to take effect in 2009.
“With all the waste going on in government, the dollar losing its purchasing power, the collapse of the housing bubble, the economy is really struggling. We Members of Congress should not be padding our pocketbooks when our constituents are tightening their belts,” stated Congressman Paul.
The bill was introduced yesterday and so far Congressman Paul is the only cosponsor. Congressman Paul famously returns a portion of his congressional office budget to the Treasury. He recently estimated he would be able to return $75,000 from last year’s office budget. He also refuses to participate in the lucrative pension program that Congress has awarded itself.
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January 11th, 2008
Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives reports that Congressman Ron Paul has once again run his Congressional office in a frugal manner, and he will likely return tens of thousands of dollars to the Treasury once again this year. Preliminary estimates forwarded to Paul’s office indicate he has about $75,000 left in his account.
“Since my first year in Congress representing the 14th district I have managed my office in a frugal manner, instructing staff to provide the greatest possible service to the people of the 14th district at the least possible cost to taxpayers,” said Paul.
Paul’s Chief of Staff, Tom Lizardo, said “It is customary that several thousand dollars of expenditures are not calculated until after this year ends, but I am confident that tens of thousands will remain to be given back once the books finally close on 2007, just as Congressman Paul always instructs us to do.”
Lizardo said that the purchase of new equipment, staff changes and postal rate increases made it especially difficult to restrain spending this year. “Considering Congressman Paul’s efforts helped to land nearly $50,000,000 in appropriations for crucial projects in this part of Texas last year, we are most pleased that we were able to once again get the job done under budget.”
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December 11th, 2007
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul is yet again chipping away at the back-breaking tax burden on middle-class Americans with his recently proposed legislation. The Property Tax Deduction for All Act would make taxes on property an “above the line” deduction, meaning that taxpayers could deduct their property taxes without having to itemize all their deductions.
This would make the deduction available to millions of homeowners who take the standard deduction.
“Americans who have lived within their means and perhaps don’t pay enough in mortgage interest to make it advantageous to itemize their deductions are missing out on this relief. We should be rewarding their wisdom, not punishing them with a higher tax burden. I urge my colleagues in the House to support this bill and allow taxpayers to treat property taxes as an above the line deduction,” stated Congressman Paul.
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November 19th, 2007
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul has signed on as co-sponsor to a long overdue piece of legislation that would increase the capital gains exemption amount for real estate transactions. Paul said, “The investment in a home is often the largest investment average Americans will ever make. They rely on appreciation and equity in that home for financial security throughout their lives. It is morally wrong and economically unwise to take massive amounts of that investment out of the economy in capital gains taxes.”
HR 4132 is necessary because housing prices are up 104% since the $250,000 per single/$500,000 per couple exemption was established in 1997, and this would be the first adjustment. The new exemption amount would be $500,000 in gains for a single tax return filer, $1,000,000 for joint filers.
“With rising inflation and the sub-prime mortgage fallout softening the real estate market throughout the country, it’s time for Congress to adjust tax policy and give American homeowners some good news,” stated Congressman Paul.
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November 5th, 2007
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul, has signed on to co-sponsor legislation that will give immediate estate tax relief so Americans will not lose the family farm, home, or small business when they experience a death in the family.
Currently, the estate tax is in year 6 of a slow 9 year phase out culminating in 2010 when the estate tax will be completely repealed. If no action is taken, in 2011 the estate tax will reset to pre-tax cut levels, which will mean estates worth more than $1 million (or close to that amount) will again be taxed at a rate of 55%.
Major provisions of The Family Farm, Small Business, and Home Tax Relief Act:
- Increase the estate tax exemption amount from $2 million (2007 levels) to $3.5 (indexed for inflation) million and holds the tax rate at 45%, thus implementing immediately the forthcoming 2009 estate tax levels.
- Exempt a small business or family farm up to $8 million (indexed for inflation) from calculation of estate tax value.
- Exempt one principle residence up to $2 million (indexed for inflation) from calculation of estate tax value.
- Repeals the generation skipping tax (GST) immediately. The GST is scheduled for repeal in 2010.
“It is patently un-American to tax workers all their lives on the fruits of their labor, and then still take sizeable chunks of what’s left at the end that rightfully belongs to their families. It is an insult to what this country stands for. When a family has just lost someone, it is not right that the government puts them out of their home, farm or business as well,” stated Congressman Paul.
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October 31st, 2007
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy (DIMP), and a nationally recognized expert on monetary policy, issued the following statement regarding the Federal Reserve’s decision to again lower interest rates:
“America’s economic difficulties, especially the problems in the housing market, are the direct result of the Federal Reserve’s inflationary policies. In the past year, we have seen MZM grow by 12%, yet the Fed continues to inflate the money supply. While prices for gold, oil, and staple commodities continue to rise, the purchasing power of the dollar for all Americans continues to fall. Inflationary monetary policies created the problems in the economy we are seeing, and these problems will be made worse, not better, by more inflation. Today’s action by the Fed is very bad news for American workers and retirees who are about to get hit with yet another jump in prices.
Make no mistake, the problems faced by the American people are not caused by unscrupulous mortgage brokers or the rising price of oil. These are symptoms of an economic disease caused by a spendthrift Congress enabled by loose monetary policy. Too many pundits praise the weak dollar as benefiting exporters, but they fail to see the harm done to thrifty, hard-working Americans. Rather than continuing to pursue a policy of easy credit and increasing debt, we need to return to a sound monetary system.”
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October 29th, 2007
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul has signed on to a letter directed to the leadership of the House Ways and Means Committee asking them to continue allowing sales taxes to be deductible on Federal Income Tax returns. This deduction is set to expire at the end of this year.
State income taxes are deductible on federal income tax returns, however Texas and six other states do not have a state income tax, relying instead on sales taxes for revenue. This puts residents of these states on unequal footing if the sales tax deduction is allowed to expire.
“While my long term goal is to make the sales tax deduction permanent, even an extension would be a victory for taxpayers in Texas ,” stated the Congressman.
Congressman Ron Paul is fighting for this deduction to be renewed either long-term or permanently for tax fairness in Texas . In addition to signing on to this letter, he has cosponsored HR 60, which calls for the sales tax deduction to be made permanent, and HR 3680 which extends it for another year.
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October 17th, 2007
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul voted this week to extend the moratorium on internet taxation for another four years. The Internet Tax Freedom Act passed decisively 405-2 to continue to ban state and local governments from levying taxes on the internet and electronic commerce.
If the bill gains passage in the Senate and is signed by the President, this will mark the third extension of the original moratorium enacted in 1998.
Congressman Paul stated, “I believe strongly that government should refrain from any and all unconstitutional intervention in the internet and e-commerce. The internet is a dynamic and growing medium of communication that needs freedom from burdensome government restraints to grow and develop to its fullest extent.”
Congressman Paul, in addition to supporting the extension of the moratorium, has also cosponsored legislation that would make the ban on internet taxation permanent, as a mandate of the commerce clause which calls for Congress to regulate interstate commerce so that states do not impose duties on each other.
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