RTD: Obama targets tobacco – and Virginia jobs

Feb 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

As Governor, I promoted Virginia farmers and businesses throughout the world from Egypt and Europe to Mexico and Asia. We need to expand opportunities. Our government should not discriminate against Virginia farmers and businesses.

Obama targets tobacco – and Virginia jobs

By Barry DuVal

Richmond Times Dispatch

In today’s global economy, American producers face increasingly intense competition for access to major markets from other producers around the world. At a time of such economic turmoil, it is imperative that the Obama administration pursue every avenue to enhance America’s competitiveness and open opportunities for American products in the world’s leading markets. The administration’s consideration of a proposal to exclude tobacco exports from an important free-trade deal with Asian-Pacific countries is a step in the wrong direction and cause for serious concern.

On March 1, the Obama administration’s trade representatives will travel to Melbourne, Australia, to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), a multi-lateral free-trade agreement between Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States.

This trade agreement represents an enormous opportunity for the American economy to reach some of the fastest-growing markets in the world. The nine countries currently negotiating the agreement constitute 40 percent of global trade, and the United States’ negotiating partners account for 60 percent of all U.S. exports and 75 percent of our agricultural exports.

The Obama administration should be commended for taking the initiative to foster a more productive trading relationship with the critically important Asian-Pacific region. However, American companies and producers should be alarmed by certain provisions under consideration by the administration that would exclude all tobacco leaf and tobacco products from the agreement or from important protections being offered to other products.

These exclusions would have disastrous consequences for the thousands of farmers in Virginia’s tobacco-growing regions, not to mention the local economies that are built on the foundation of tobacco production. Depriving Virginia’s tobacco farmers of access to the most important markets in the global economy will destroy farming jobs all across Southside and Southwest Virginia and threaten the livelihood of these communities.

Read more: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/member-center/share-this/print/?content=ar1697757

 

Filed Under: Blog, George Allen, Issues

In defense of the aircraft carrier fleet

Jan 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I will fight the wasteful, costly political move of a Norfolk-based aircraft carrier to Mayport, Florida. My supporter, Admiral Groothousen provides an outstanding analysis of the vital importance of our aircraft carriers to move to theaters when needed to project our power. With fewer military bases and air strips, America will have an increased need for aircraft carriers.

In defense of the aircraft carrier fleet

By Michael R Groothousen, a retired rear admiral, lives in Virginia Beach.

A recent column ["Challenging the Navy's numbers," Walter Pincus, Jan. 4] advocated a course of action that, if followed, would have harmful consequences for American national security and damage our country’s standing in the world. The author advocates reducing the size of the bulwark of America’s global defense capability – our aircraft carrier fleet – without addressing the dire results of such an action.

Ninety percent of international trade moves safely and freely over the world’s oceans and seas, much to America’s – and the free world’s – benefit. A significant part of the reason is because American aircraft carriers provide us with the capability to defend our interests, neutralize our foes and deter would-be enemies in any corner of the globe more rapidly than other forces, without the permission of foreign powers.

But our ability to do all of this is entirely predicated on the current carrier force structure, which is barely sufficient to meet our combatant commanders’ needs, even though the Navy has already significantly increased the frequency and duration of deployment for our carrier sailors.

America is the strongest, most prosperous and most free country in the world. With our strength comes responsibilities that we can shirk only at our peril. The larger, wealthier and stronger we grow, the more we become a target for current and would-be rivals and opponents worldwide who seek to challenge us, if not to usurp our dominance for economic, strategic and/or ideological reasons.

For at least five centuries the global maritime commons has been guarded by a maritime “superpower.” As that mantle has passed among nations such as Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the U.S., so has each country’s era of greatness. Our decision now is whether, in the future, this will be our role or someone else’s.

To cite but one example, let’s consider the Asia-Pacific region. The Navy’s Pacific fleet protects America’s key allies, deters rivals and keeps open vital shipping lanes over more than 100 million square miles – more than half the surface of the planet. This region is also home to one of the greatest economic and military challengers to American supremacy, the People’s Republic of China. It is home to that country’s client state, North Korea. China already has nuclear missiles capable of targeting our country, and soon North Korea may, as well.

Our capacity to mount sufficient combat capability to deter these rivals – much less engage them successfully in the case of hostilities – while at the same time ensuring the security of Middle Eastern oil and worldwide seaborne commerce, in spite of an increasingly belligerent Iran, is clearly and unquestionably tethered to maintaining our carrier fleet.

Read more here: http://hamptonroads.com/2012/01/defense-aircraft-carrier-fleet

 

 

Filed Under: Blog, Cities, George Allen, Issues, Virginia Beach Tagged With:

ICYMI – George Allen Talks Repealing and Replacing Obamacare with The Score

Jan 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

In case you missed it – George Allen was on The Score on WLEE AM 990 in Richmond this weekend talking about the importance of repealing and replacing Obamacare.  Click here to listen to the interview: http://bearingdrift.com/2011/12/31/on-the-air-with-george-allen-shaun-kenney-and-rick-sincere/

Filed Under: Blog, Issues, Uncategorized Tagged With:

COMPACT WITH VETERANS

Nov 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

COMPACT WITH VETERANS
-Honoring the Men and Women Who Stand Strong for Freedom-

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by our nation.”
–George Washington

In keeping with the wise advice of our nation’s first General and Veteran, our first President and Commander-in-Chief, George Allen has a proven record of working on behalf of Veterans and their families to honor their service to our nation.  He recognizes that America enjoys its freedoms today because there are men and women willing to stand strong for freedom.

On their behalf, George Allen makes the following compact as Virginia’s next Senator:

A committed partner and advocate for Veterans in the United States Senate.  George Allen will listen to the voices of Virginia’s Veterans and their families and will use his office to work on their behalf with the Department of Defense; the Veterans Administration (VA); other members of Congress; state, local, and municipal leaders; major Veterans’ service organizations and private businesses to respond to the challenges and unique needs of our services, our military service members, our Veterans, and their families, whether it is navigating the claims process or ensuring that America keeps her promises to those who have served.  He will have a member of his staff whose assigned job will be dedicated to assisting Veterans and their families.

Keeping our promises to our Veterans and their families.  Our nation has built an unsurpassed, quality, all-volunteer military force by employing a carefully balanced package of incentives and earned benefits for recruitment and retention.  Our serving active, guard, and reserve forces, our Veterans, and our retirees should not have to be concerned about whether their service will be recognized nor worry about whether they and their families will be afforded the benefits they have earned through their sacrifice and been guaranteed to them by our government.  These promised benefits must be a priority, and George Allen will see that benefits are funded.  Whether it is health care, education, retirement, or quality of life benefits for the military, retirees, Veterans and their families, George Allen will insist that our nation keep its promises to those who have served and sacrificed and those who are currently serving in the cause of freedom.

Honoring service and sacrifice.  Honoring service extends beyond a warm homecoming or a moment of silence on Memorial and Veterans’ Day.  It is reflected in the cemeteries that honor the fallen and the memorials that remind future generations of the sacrifices of generations past; in the care provided the wounded and the opportunities extended to returning Veterans to make a successful transition back to civilian life.

 

  • Jobs for Veterans.  Unemployment among Veterans tends to be even higher than it is for their civilian counterparts, both nationwide and in Virginia, particularly among our younger troops .  As Virginia’s U.S. Senator, George Allen will work to help these brave men and women continue to contribute to the nation and provide for their families.  He supports efforts to help Veterans transition from the military and match their skills and experience with the needs of private-sector and public-sector employers as well as a comprehensive workforce development initiative for Veterans, with special emphasis on those with service disabilities and the scars of war. George Allen believes the federal government should lead by example in providing job opportunities for Veterans as intended by current Veterans’ preference hiring laws as well as the law requiring federal agencies to implement plans to increase business with small firms owned by service-disabled Veterans.  In the Senate, he will insist that agencies proactively apply and that the Office of Personnel Management aggressively enforce Veterans’ preferences for open government positions and demand that Congress be given full information on and exercise careful oversight of these laws.

 

  • Treating our Wounded Heroes.  Care for our wounded warriors is a moral obligation to those who have sacrificed so much defending our freedom.  George Allen believes the Veterans’ Administration must be resourced and staffed to promptly and appropriately address the needs of wounded and service-disabled Veterans and their families.  As he has in the past, George Allen will work to provide full concurrent receipt to all active duty and reserve component disabled retirees, regardless of disability rating or cause, and to support research and proper treatment and diagnosis of blast-related traumatic brain injuries.  He will work to eliminate the backlog of VA claims and to streamline the application and appeals process and take full advantage of technology to make the process  faster and easier and less stressful and frustrating for Veterans to navigate.  In this and other areas, he will work to ensure seamless operations between State and federal offices.

 

  • Guaranteeing the Right to Vote.  Nearly 12,500 military and overseas ballots requested from the Commonwealth were not sent out by Virginia election officials by the deadline in 2008, and more than 3,000 ballots that arrived after Election Day were not counted.   Ensuring that the men and women who serve in our armed forces can exercise their civic responsibility through voting is very important to George Allen, who has been a leader on the issue of military voting rights for our service members, their families and Veterans living overseas.  He will work to continue and expand reforms that guarantee those who are fighting to protect our fundamental freedoms the opportunity to cast their vote and have it counted.

 

  • Protecting Our Memorials, Remembering Our Heroes.  Those who have served the nation – particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice – should be afforded a dignified burial and a resting place that appropriately expresses the gratitude of the nation for their service and stands as a permanent tribute to their memory.  George Allen will ensure that issues of poor management and neglect at Arlington National Cemetery – from mislabeled remains to archaic record-keeping – are corrected and that proper steps are in place at Arlington and all 131 of our National Cemeteries to ensure appropriate care and respect for the remains of fallen heroes entrusted to their keeping.  He will insist that the United States government persevere to achieve the fullest possible accounting for all U.S. military personnel missing in action from our nation’s wars.

 

Keeping America Strong for Freedom.  The highest constitutional responsibility of the federal government is to provide for the national defense.  In the Senate, George Allen will support the entire military community in its mission to prepare for and fight our nation’s wars and protect our homeland from its enemies. He will work to provide our troops with the best training and most technologically advanced armaments and equipment our nation with all its resources can provide and will fight vigorously against policies that senselessly waste taxpayer dollars – such as the current in-sourcing drive and the proposed costly relocation of an aircraft carrier group to Florida.  While efficiency and budgetary stringency are essential to get our nation’s staggering deficit under control and our economy moving, George Allen recognizes that dangerous cuts to defense spending risk our troops’ safety as well as our nation’s security.

Virginia is home to over 340,000 Active duty, Guard, and Reserve military members and their families.   Additionally, over 823,000 Veterans and military retirees  reside in the Commonwealth.

Virginia’s and America’s Veterans can depend on George Allen to steadfastly advocate keeping America strong for freedom and oppose reactionary decisions that endanger our national security, put our citizens at risk, create a hollow military force, or violate the promises made to those who have served to keep us free.

Filed Under: Issues

It’s Time for Real “Energy Action” (Op-Ed from The Daily Caller)

Oct 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It’s Time for Real “Energy Action”

The Daily Caller

By George Allen

Thursday, October 27, 2011

 

Two months ago, President Obama announced his latest stimulus proposal, which is a continuation of the same failed policies we’ve seen over the last three years — higher taxes to fund more costly government spending programs.

Absent from the president’s rhetoric was any mention of unleashing America’s energy resources, a proven way to create more than a million new, good-paying jobs here in the USA.

Virginia and the nation deserve better. With 9.1 percent unemployment and more than 14 million Americans looking for work, it is time for this administration to start viewing America’s energy resources as a blessing, not a curse.

One of the major components of my comprehensive, pro-growth plan for jobs — “The Blueprint for America’s Comeback” — is the aggressive pursuit of energy freedom by opening up access to America’s plentiful energy resources and taking control of our own energy destiny.

Fortunately, an opportunity exists for the president to take real action right now to strengthen America’s energy security and create jobs.

Earlier this month, I joined Governor Bob McDonnell and leaders from across Virginia in urging the Obama administration to approve the construction of an advanced pipeline linking Canada and the United States.

The Keystone XL Project will bring more than 700,000 additional barrels of domestic and Canadian oil each day to refineries in Texas. Construction alone will mean jobs for as many as 20,000 Americans, and related economic activity is projected to bring around 100,000 additional hires. Property tax revenues in states through which the pipeline passes could exceed $5 billion, meaning more resources for schools, roads and public safety. And the energy flowing through the pipeline will be from our closest neighbor and ally, not from an unstable and unfriendly foreign regime.

With so much to gain, why is the White House delaying? The Obama administration has yet to approve the permit needed for construction to begin. Bureaucrats and politicians in Washington, D.C. are standing in the way of a project that would create thousands of new jobs, increase our long-term supply of affordable energy and generate revenues without raising taxes.

When it comes to energy, this is just the latest contradiction between the president’s words and his actions. Since 2008, President Obama has touted the job-creating promise of his energy agenda. Instead, we see misused taxpayer funds for unreliable, expensive energy schemes; higher fuel prices; blocked energy development of American coal, oil and natural gas resources; and continued high unemployment over 9 percent.

The good news is that America has the most plentiful energy resources of any country in the world. Our reserves and recoverable oil, natural gas and coal exceed the resources of such energy giants as Saudi Arabia, China and Russia.

Despite this bounty, our dependence on foreign oil is greater today than it was in the days of President Jimmy Carter’s gas lines. Federal bureaucrats continue to hold America’s energy resources “off limits,” and promising ventures like the Keystone pipeline are stopped at the Canadian border.

  
Click here to read more

Filed Under: Blog, Energy, George Allen, Issues Tagged With: , , , ,

The Washington Times: State Dept. spends $70K on Obama books

Oct 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

While Washington Democrats like Tim Kaine and President Obama are telling Americans that the only way to get our spending under control is by raising taxes, here is just one outrageous example of Washington wasting our tax dollars on something we don’t need. This is the kind of failed Washington approach that has made annual record-setting trillion dollar deficits the norm, while unemployment remains stuck above 9%. 

 

State Dept. spends $70K on Obama books 

The Washington Times
 
By Jim McElhatton
 
October 25, 2011
 
 

The State Department has bought more than $70,000 worth of books authored by President Obama, sending out copies as Christmas gratuities and stocking “key libraries” around the world with “Dreams From My Father” more than a decade after its release.

The U.S. Embassy in Egypt, for instance, spent $28,636 in August 2009 for copies of Mr. Obama’s best-selling 1995 memoir. Six weeks earlier, the embassy had placed another order for the same book for more than $9,000, federal purchasing records show.

About the same time, halfway around the world, the U.S. Embassy in South Korea had the same idea and spent more than $6,000 for copies of “Dreams From My Father.”

One month later, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, spent more than $3,800 for hardcover copies of the Indonesian version of Mr. Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope,” records show.

A review of the expenditures in a federal database did not reveal any examples of State Department purchases of books by former Presidents George W. Bush or Bill Clinton. The purchases of Mr. Obama’s literary work mostly, but not always, took place in the months after Mr. Obama captured the White House.

Leslie Paige, a spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste, a watchdog group, said if the federal government is looking to cut costs, eliminating purchases of Mr. Obama’s books is a good place to start.

“It’s inappropriate for U.S. taxpayer dollars to be spent on this,” she said. “This sounds like propaganda.”

But State Department spokesman Noel Clay said the book purchases followed regular government procurement rules. He said diplomats have long used books as a way to help broker talks on important foreign-policy matters.

“The structure and the presidency of the United States is an integral component of representing the United States overseas,” Mr. Clay said. “We often use books to engage key audiences in discussions of foreign policy.”

He also said books are purchased to stock the State Department’s “information resource centers,” which he said are located around the world and provide books about U.S. coverage of issues such as culture, history and values.

Click here to read more

Filed Under: Blog, George Allen, Issues, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

A-Team: Ask George Allen – Balanced Budget – October 22, 2011

Oct 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A-Team: Thank you for all the great questions this week for “Ask George Allen.”  If you would like to ask a question for the next “Ask George Allen” email, remember to submit it here.  This week Michael asked whether George Allen would support zero-based budgeting in the U.S. Senate. To hear George Allen’s answer click on the video below. 

 

Click Here to View Video

Filed Under: Blog, George Allen, Issues Tagged With: , ,

Listen to Virginians, Mr. President (Op-Ed from The Washington Times)

Oct 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Listen to Virginians, Mr. President

The Washington Times

By George Allen

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

 

President Obama just witnessed the defeat of his flawed stimulus bill that called for tax hikes to pay for more of the same failed policies that we have seen come out Washington. Even some Senate Democrats expressed the same concerns I have heard from Virginians – the bill is “terrible,” “invested far too little in actual job creation” and they can’t “support raising taxes so Washington can spend more.”

Such a setback should make apparent to the president what Virginia families know: Higher taxes and more government spending do not create jobs. Instead of working to reinvigorate the entrepreneurial spirit of America with the right economic, energy and education policies, the president has chosen to go on a taxpayer-funded bus tour to try to convince Virginians a second stimulus and higher taxes are a solution to our country’s problems.

As Mr. Obama makes a few stops in the Commonwealth on his bus tour, I hope he takes time away from his campaign events to listen to Virginians. The people of Virginia are anxious and worried about their families losing their jobs, looming tax increases, high fuel and electricity costs hurting their budgets and the rising health care costs and job impediments due to Obamacare. Here’s some advice:

1. Really listen: The president is visiting Virginia at a crucial time in the course of our history. America has had 32 consecutive months of unemployment above 8 percent, 1.5 million people have lost their jobs since the failed $825 billion stimulus and our confidence in the future is down. Incomes have dropped to levels not seen in 15 years. For the first time in the nation’s history, our credit rating is down – a further strain on the economy as well as our belief in the American Dream.

Families in Virginia know we are not better off due to the policies of Mr. Obama and former Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine during the past nearly three years. As a result, more and more people are becoming pessimistic about the future, concerned that the opportunities to succeed that they had in life won’t be around for their children and grandchildren. The president should take a break from his campaign events to really hear this message.

2. Do what works: Rather than recycle failed policies, Mr. Obama and Mr. Kaine, who was also chairman of the Democratic National Committee, need to focus on how to turn our economy around. It is time for America’s comeback. It starts with a pro-growth agenda based on our foundational principles of freedom, opportunity for all and personal responsibility rather than mandates, dictates, redistribution and dependency on government.
Click here to read more

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The George Allen Record – Abolition of Parole – October 13, 1994

Oct 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

On October 13, 1994, George Allen fulfilled a major campaign promise by signing into law the Abolition of Parole.  The measure, overwhelmingly adopted in a Special Session of the Virginia General Assembly, fundamentally transformed the Commonwealth’s criminal justice system and made Virginia a safer place for law-abiding citizens.

“With my signature on this legislation, we are sending an unmistakable message to criminals or those thinking of committing criminal activity: Do not commit crime in Virginia. We will no longer tolerate it. And we will no longer excuse it. We’re going to hold criminals responsible and accountable for their violent acts. And it is high time that these principles are restored to our justice system here in Virginia,” stated Governor Allen. “By taking violent predators off the street and keeping them off, we will begin to reclaim our communities from crime. In doing this we will create an environment where hope can be restored, where businesses and jobs can return, where schools can again be places of learning, and where neighborhoods can be places for families rather than felons.”

The sweeping anti-crime package specifically abolished parole for offenses committed on or after January 1, 1995; established truth-in-sentencing – where criminals will serve a minimum of 85% of their sentences; and increased the time served in prison by 125% for first-time murderers and rapists and by 300%-500% for repeat violent criminals.  

George Allen’s Abolition of Parole marked a major victory for all law-abiding citizens.  With violent criminals serving longer prison sentences, Virginia reached its lowest crime rate level in more than a decade by the end of Allen’s service as Governor.  Fifteen years after Allen abolished parole, Virginia’s violent crime rate is down by more than 36 percent, and a recent Pew study attributes Virginia’s much-lower-than-average recidivism rate (28.3 percent compared to 43.3 percent nationally) to abolition of parole.

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Advancing a new freedom-to-work agenda for America (From The Washington Examiner)

Oct 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Advancing a new freedom-to-work agenda for America

The Washington Examiner

By George Allen

Thursday, October 6, 2011
Our Right-to-Work law is one of Virginia’s foundational strengths and competitive advantages.  The laws that protect workplace Freedom have made Virginia one of the best places to start or grow a business, but not everyone sees things as we do.

This is especially true in Washington.  Rather than recognizing the fact that Right-to-Work laws are good for everyone, President Obama’s administration and his allies seem bent on destroying them. 

As I travel around Virginia, I am constantly reminded of the importance of our freedom to work.  Virginians remind me about the companies that have relocated to or expanded in Virginia since we declared that “Virginia is Open for Business!” in 1994.

Others recall those 50,000 Virginians who have left the welfare rolls to find gainful employment.  I often wonder how successful our economic development and ground-breaking welfare reform efforts would have been in a less job-friendly state.

These are not abstract concepts.  These are real jobs created because Virginia respects and protects our Right to Work.

Through executive fiat and the intrusive action of the National Labor Relation Board (NLRB), the Obama administration and their congressional and big labor allies are waging war on private employers under the guise of protecting workers.

They believe that more regulation and government control will protect jobs, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.  Businesses create jobs when entrepreneurs believe that their anticipated return on investment outweighs the risks.

Over-regulation creates uncertainty and additional risk, which in turn stifles investment and diminishes job opportunities.

The threat to Virginia’s jobs from Washington is real, and it must be checked.  From the President’s job-killing monstrous health-care dictates to his gigantic $1.5 trillion tax increase proposal and Executive Orders, bureaucracy and lawsuits trying to tell Boeing where it can build a business, the opponents of our freedom to work are seriously threatening.

That is why I have created a three-part Freedom to Work agenda that will 1) help America’s businesses create jobs; 2) save taxpayers money; and 3) protect the liberty of working men and women.

Click here to continue reading

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