Justin Sykes
ATR
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by Justin:
Happy Birthday Dodd-Frank…Hope It’s Your Last!
Today marks exactly seven years since President Obama signed into law the costly and burdensome Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. While the goal of Dodd-Frank Act was to protect financial consumers and “reign in Wall Street” following the 2008 financial crisis, the last seven years have proven that goal has not come to fruition and instead financial consumers, small… → Read More
Congress should protect taxpayers from predatory PACE loans
OPINION | The loans for “energy efficient improvements” are a predatory lending scheme expanded under Obama. → Read More
ATR Releases Coalition Letter Opposing the Postal Service Reform Act (H.R. 5714)
Americans for Tax Reform, joined by 21 free market organizations, today sent an open letter to Congress urging lawmakers to oppose H.R. → Read More
Postal Reform Bill Raises Concerns Ahead of Committee Markup
Today the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will markup the Postal Service Reform Act of 2016, proposed by Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and the committee's Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.). While the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is in dire need of reform, given that it has posted consecutive billion dollar losses annually since 2007 and is facing $125 billion in… → Read More
Obama Appointed Judge Strikes Down Federal Fracking Rule
This week a federal judge appointed by President Obama struck down the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) 2015 rule for hydraulic fracturing on federal lands. Wyoming District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl, appointed by Obama in 2011, ruled that “Congress has not delegated to the Department of Interior the authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing” and that the rule exceeds the authority of the… → Read More
Rep. Sanford Looks to Make Flight-Sharing a Reality
Representative Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) this year has been working to make “flight-sharing” in the U.S. a reality. The concept of flight-sharing would allow pilots to share their travel plans so that passengers looking to fly to the same destination would be able to split the costs of the flight. This free-market, pro-consumer concept would add a new layer of travel accessibility to the already… → Read More
Financial Services Appropriations Bill Reins in Obama Government Agencies
Later this week, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 5485, the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Act, introduced by Congressman Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.). This legislation allocates 2017 federal funding for numerous agencies including the Treasury Department, the IRS, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the FCC. H.R. → Read More
Speaker Ryan’s Regulatory Reform Agenda is Pro Consumer and Pro Energy
This week Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) released his regulatory reform agenda, which is the third installment of his “A Better Way” plan. The regulatory reform agenda released outlines a number of policy proposals aimed at reigning in a regulatory burden that has grown exponentially under Obama. → Read More
Overwhelming Majority in the House Votes to Oppose a Carbon Tax
Last week the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to oppose a national carbon tax. Lawmakers in the House voted 237-163 to a pass a resolution offered by House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), that expressed the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be “detrimental to American families and businesses, and is not in the best interest of the United States.” The vote by the… → Read More
ATR Supports Sen. Blunt's Resolution Opposing a Carbon Tax
Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist sent the following letter to Congress this week, urging support for Senator Roy Blunt's (R-Mo.) resolution opposing a carbon tax. → Read More
ATR Urges Lawmakers to Act on TSCA Reform
Americans for Tax Reform today sent the following letter to Congress urging lawmakers to act quickly to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Since enactment of TSCA in 1976, industry innovations and product development have outpaced the Act's provisions leaving it outdated and untouched by lawmakers for almost 40 years. Reforming TSCA will provide a more cohesive national chemical… → Read More
Trump Takes a Stand Against a Carbon Tax
Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump today took to twitter to make it clear that under no circumstances would he support a carbon tax. Trump’s move to disavow a carbon tax comes as some clueless state and federal lawmakers and far left energy advocates have made the case for a carbon tax this year. .@thehill Your story about me & the carbon tax is absolutely incorrect—it is just the opposite. I… → Read More
ATR Supports The Ozone Standards Implemnetation Act of 2016
Americans for Tax Reform today expressed support for the Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2016 (H.R. 4775, S. 2882), which would allow states to pursue cost-effective and practical implementation of EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The origins of EPA ozone regulations can be traced back to the original standards for criteria pollutants in 1971, which included… → Read More
Obama's Paris Agreement: All Cost and No Benefit for the U.S.
Today the Obama Administration will sign the Paris climate agreement at a ceremony in New York, a move that is projected to severely impact the U.S. economy with ironically negligible impacts for the environment. The agreement will not only set the stage for increased regulation, but will crush U.S. economic output, reduce household income for millions, and likely lead to hundreds of thousands… → Read More
ATR Supports Rep. Roe's and Sen. Isakson's Resolutions Blocking DOL’s Fiduciary Rule
This week Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), joined by Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), introduced a resolution under the Congressional Review Act to block the Department of Labor’s (DOL) recently released “fiduciary” rule. A similar resolution was also introduced this week in the Senate by Sen. Johnny Isakson, (R-Ga.). The DOL’s fiduciary rule, finalized April 6th of this year,… → Read More
Senate FAA Bill Leaves Much to Be Desired on Reforms
The Senate this week will consider legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through 2017. While lawmakers were correct to leave renewable energy extenders out of the Senate version of the FAA bill, the two-year reauthorization still leaves much to be desired in the way of reform. The FAA bill currently before the Senate maintains taxes on airline passengers as well as… → Read More
Clinton Vows to Put Coal Miners “Out of Business”
At a recent Town Hall in Ohio, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton proudly stated that she was the only candidate with a policy to bring renewable energy “into coal country, because we’re going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” Such a statement not only evidences Clinton’s reckless indifference to the plight of thousands of hard-working Americans, but… → Read More
ATR Urges Opposition to Renewables Extension in FAA Reauthorization
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) urges lawmakers to oppose efforts by some in the Senate to try and attach extensions for expiring renewable energy provisions to legislation that would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). → Read More
Hillary Was for Fracking Before She Was Against It
During the Sunday, March 6th Democratic debate in Michigan, Hillary Clinton led a verbal assault on the energy extraction method known as “hydraulic fracturing.” In doing so Clinton was not only lying through her teeth in criticizing an extraction method she was all too happy to promote while Secretary of State, but was also ignoring the economic benefits of “fracking,” of which she knows all… → Read More
ATR Supports Rep. Johnson's Legislation (H.R. 4557) to Block EPA Regulatory Interference
This week the U.S. House of Representative is expected to consider legislation to ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not allowed to pre-emptively subject another American industry to costly and burdensome regulations until legal challenges have been resolved. ATR supports this legislation and urges all members to vote YES on the bill. H.R. 4557, the “Blocking Regulatory… → Read More