Firearms Industry Praises Westmoreland for Co-Sponsoring Legislation to Protect Traditional Ammunition

/PRNewswire/ -- Following continued attacks by anti-hunting groups to ban traditional ammunition (ammunition containing lead-core components) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976, Representative Lynn A. Westmoreland (R-Georgia-3) became an original co-sponsor of bipartisan legislation (H.R. 1558) to clarify the longstanding exemption of ammunition and ammunition components under the act. The Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Sports Protection Act is being championed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) – the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry. The act also calls for lead fishing tackle, similarly under attack from anti-hunting groups, to be exempt from the TSCA.

"We applaud and thank Rep. Westmoreland for co-sponsoring this common-sense measure," said NSSF President and CEO Stephen L. Sanetti. "This bill will continue to ensure that America's hunters and shooters can choose for themselves the best ammunition to use, instead of unnecessarily mandating the universal use of expensive alternatives."

Last fall the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considered a petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) – a leading anti-hunting organization – to ban all traditional ammunition under the TSCA. Though the EPA correctly rejected the petition, a decision that is now being challenged in court by the CBD, the attack demonstrated the need to preserve and protect the rights of all sportsmen to choose their own ammunition and fishing tackle, based on their own circumstances and budget. Traditional ammunition and fishing tackle are significantly less expensive than alternative ammunition and fishing tackle. This is of great importance to sportsmen in these difficult economic times.

A ban on traditional ammunition would have a negative impact on wildlife conservation. The federal excise tax that manufacturers pay on the sale of the ammunition (11 percent) is a primary source of wildlife conservation funding in the United States and the financial backbone of the North American Model of wildlife conservation. Since the firearms and ammunition excise tax began in 1937, more than $6.4 billion has been collected from firearms and ammunition manufacturers benefiting wildlife restoration and hunter education. Fewer hunters mean fewer dollars for wildlife.

"Wildlife management is the proper jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the 50 state wildlife agencies," said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. "But no one should be misled about what's truly at stake here. A ban on traditional ammunition will not only affect hunters and sportsmen, but law enforcement, military, self-defense and target shooters who may never go afield. This is precisely why all Americans, not just gun owners, have a vested interest in the passage of the Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Sports Protection Act."

The higher costs associated with alternative ammunition will price everyday consumers out of the market. This is evidenced by the low 1 percent market share of alternative ammunition. This would lead to fewer hunters taking to the field and shooting ranges across the United States being needlessly closed.

"The economic growth of America's firearms and ammunition industry continues to be a bright spot in our country's still ailing economy," continued Keane. "Passing this important legislation will help to ensure that our industry, which is responsible for more than 183,000 well-paying jobs and has an economic impact of more than $27.8 billion annually, continues to shine."

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U.S. Representatives Lynn Westmoreland and Tom Price Have Signed a Common Sense Pledge to Unite our Nation, Committing to 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortions'

/PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia's 3rd District and U.S. Rep. Tom Price of Georgia's 6th District have added their names to the list of candidates and office holders who have signed a pledge promising to support "no taxpayer funding of abortions."

The pledge is featured at www.DefundAbortion.org, a website launched by Common Sense Issues, Inc., a 501(c)(4) grassroots citizens organization dedicated to pro-Life, limited government principles.

The site features a simple pledge that every federal officeholder can sign promising no taxpayer funding of abortions – a position with which a super-majority of Americans agrees. If an elected official or candidate is willing to make this promise:

* They can be trusted to cut spending when it comes to truly tough choices if they are willing to make this easy choice;
* They understand that protecting and valuing life – every life – is foundational to who we are, how we treat one another, and our very freedom;
* They choose to address the skyrocketing government debt threatening America; and,
* They believe it is their duty to protect the right of Americans, whose faith and conscience condemns the taking of life, to oppose funding with their tax dollars the very act they abhor.


Citizens can download the www.DefundAbortion.org pledge and ask U.S. House and U.S. Senate Members and candidates everywhere to sign it. The pledge can also be easily signed electronically in a matter of seconds. The website has an easy-to-use map allowing citizens to click on a state and see what officials or candidates have signed the pledge. There is also a "blood money" tab where voters can see who has taken money from pro-abortion groups. Go to www.DefundAbortion.org to learn more.

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Westmoreland: Opponents of Government Takeover Will Have Voices Heard

Today, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats unveiled their final 2,000-page health care plan (HR 3962) after weeks of Democrat-only, closed-door negotiations.

“Apparently, because this is health care legislation, the House Democrats thought doctor-patient confidentiality rules should apply to their secret negotiations,” U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland said. “The voices of those opposed to a government takeover of health care have been shut out of this debate. We got a taste of how strongly people feel on this issue during the August town halls, and I think those voices that Pelosi ignored will be heard loudly in the coming days.”

Westmoreland took issue with House Majority Leader’s Steny Hoyer’s assertion that the legislation meets an “urgent” need.

“Republicans and Democrats agree that we have too many uninsured Americans and too many family tragedies related to health care costs,” Westmoreland said. “But let’s be clear: This legislation won’t meet those needs urgently. In fact, benefits don’t take affect for three more years. The only thing that the Democrats think is ‘urgent’ enough to enact immediately are the tax hikes and mandates that will kill off even more jobs in this ailing economy.”

Westmoreland cites several tenets of the bill as problematic:

· $500 billion in cuts to Medicare, which Westmoreland sees as either ‘phantom cuts’ that will never take place or catastrophic for seniors’ health care coverage.

· Bill contains the word “shall” 3,425 times – that’s a lot of government mandates.

· Expanding eligibility for Medicaid, which will hike costs for budget-strapped state governments.

· Tax hikes on small business owners, whom we’re relying on to create new jobs in this economy.

· Mandates on business to provide coverage to all employees or face penalties, creating a “tax on jobs” that will lead to fewer jobs.

· A government-run ‘public option’ that will eventually crowd out private plans, causing many Americans to lose their current coverage.

· The legislation’s financing will cost much more than advertised, placing yet another burden on our national debt. The legislation comes in below $1 trillion over 10 years only because 1) Democrats moved the cost of paying Medicare fees to doctors (more than $200 billion) into another bill and 2) they count 10 years of revenues but only seven years of expenses.

Westmoreland points out that, contrary to Democratic claims that the Republicans are simply the “Party of No,” the GOP has offered an alternative called the Empowering Patients First Act. This legislation, HR 3400, would 1) make access to coverage affordable for all Americans; 2) make coverage truly owned and controlled by the patient; 3) improve the healthcare delivery structure; and 4) rein in out-of-control costs, including through robust liability reform.
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Westmoreland: Bill to tax AIG bonuses a cynical ploy

U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland today voted against congressional Democrats cynical tax plan for AIG bonuses.

“House and Senate Democrats messed up big time and now they want to tinker with the tax code as part of a public relations stunt,” Westmoreland said after the vote. “I know Americans want to punish executives who are getting taxpayer dollars as bonuses – I know it because I’m just as outraged. But honest members of Congress have a duty to stand up against these shenanigans and explain to Americans that Democrats messed up and now they’re trying to sweep it under the rug.”

The legislation imposes a retroactive 90 percent tax for bonuses received since Jan. 1 by an employee of any company that has received more than $5 billion from federal bailouts. Language protecting these bonuses in the so-called stimulus package was written entirely by Democrats and signed by President Obama.

“I voted against the stimulus that allowed these bonuses and I voted against the TARP legislation that funded these bonuses,” Westmoreland said. “As I’ve said on the floor of the House, we don’t know what would have happened if Congress hadn’t passed TARP, but we do know that AIG’s employees wouldn’t be getting bonuses because they wouldn’t have jobs.

“I didn’t vote ‘no’ today because I support bonuses for AIG employees. I voted no because I can’t support using the tax code retroactively to punish a particular group or to score political points. I don’t want American taxpayers to get back 90 percent of the bonuses; I want them to get back 100 percent of the hundreds of billions they have doled out to corporations whose bad decisions have blown a gaping hole into the global economy.”

Watch Rep. Westmoreland’s video on the AIG vote: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbrk37ofKHM
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