ALEC Coalition Letter
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Transcript of ALEC Coalition Letter
October 23, 2014 In recent weeks, pressure groups ranging from Common Cause to the Unitarian Universalist Church have demanded companies like yours end your engagement with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)—a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization focused on the issues of limited government, free markets and federalism. We the undersigned are writing today to urge you to reject their attempts to curtail your engagement with all sides of policy debates. ALEC plays a helpful role in the democratic process because it brings together legislators and business leaders to discuss policy and learn from one another. Contrary to the views of your critics, innovative, job-‐creating companies have the right and the fiduciary responsibility to respectfully offer opinions on policy that may impact your company’s ability to compete in the marketplace. ALEC is a forum where people come together to share ideas, and the pressure exerted on you is misleading and counterproductive. The American democratic process is grounded in policy discussion and relies on robust debate. But this question is bigger than just ALEC. Fundamentally, do successful job creators have the right to engage with the wide variety of policy perspectives in the main current of American thought (whether they agree or disagree) or shall companies be constrained to a narrow range of acceptable audiences for their policy dialogue? We the undersigned support ALEC because the organization carries out good and powerful work, creates a forum for dialogue and adds value to legislators and business leaders around the country. But we are not naïve enough to believe that this is about one or two particular issues or groups. It is about
the right of job creators to advocate on behalf of policies that support their ability to grow and prosper. We urge you to reject the calls for silence and disengagement. Sincerely, James L. Martin, Chairman 60 Plus Association Daniel Greenberg, President Advance Arkansas Institute Marty Connors, Chairman Alabama Center Right Coalition Coley Jackson, President Americans for Competitive Enterprise Grover Norquist, President Americans for Tax Reform Diana Waterman, Chairman Annapolis Center Right Coalition David Biddulph, Co-‐Founder Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force Justin Owen, President and CEO Beacon Center of Tennessee Terry Scanlon, President Capital Research Center John Stapleford, President Caesar Rodney Institute Steve Buckstein, Founder Cascade Policy Institute Mitch Perlstein, Founder and President Kim Crockett, EVP and COO Center for the American Experienment Dr. Richard Vedder, Director Center for College Affordability and Productivity Brian Garst, Director of Government Affairs Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Timothy H. Lee, Senior Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs Center for Individual Freedom Thomas A. Schatz, President Citizens Against Government Waste Chip Faulkner, Associate Director Citizens for Limited Taxation Mark Meckler, President Citizens for Self-‐Governance Chuck Muth, President Citizen Outreach Col. Francis X. De Luca, USMC (Ret.), President Civitas Institute Jerry Cantrell, President Common Sense Institute of New Jersey Lawson Bader, President Competitive Enterprise Institute Pete Hegseth, CEO Concerned Veterans for America Dick Patten, President Family Business Defense Council Richard Watson, Co-‐Chair Florida Center Right Coalition Tarren Bragdon, President and CEO Foundation for Government Accountability Tom McCabe, CEO Freedom Foundation Marc Short, President Freedom Partners
Louie Hunter, Director Georgia Center Right Coalition Kelly McCutchen, President Georgia Public Policy Foundation Joseph Bast, President and CEO Heartland Institute Michael A. Needham, CEO Heritage Action for America Mario H. Lopez, President Hispanic Leadership Fund Wayne Hoffman, President Idaho Freedom Foundation Tom Giovanetti, President Institute for Policy Innovation Andrew Langer, President Institute for Liberty Bob McClure, President and CEO The James Madison Institute Dave Trabert, President Kansas Policy Institute Daniel Garza, Executive Director The LIBRE Initiative Joseph Lehman, President Mackinac Center for Public Policy Forest Thigpen, President Mississippi Center for Public Policy Carl Graham, Board of Directors Montana Policy Institute Steve Woods, Senior Vice President National Federation of Independent Business Lew Uhler, President National Tax Limitation Committee
Pete Sepp, President National Taxpayers Union Jonathan Small, Executive Vice President Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs Kevin P. Kane, President Pelican Institute for Public Policy Don Racheter, COO Public Interest Institute Charlie Gerow, CEO Quantum Communications Eli Lehrer, President and Co-‐Founder R Street Mike Stenhouse, Founder and CEO Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity Paul J. Gessing, President Rio Grande Foundation Brenda Talent, CEO Show-‐Me Institute Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council Samuel Slom, President Smart Business Hawaii J. Scott Moody, CEO State Budget Solutions Derek Monson, Director of Policy Sutherland Institute Brooke Rollings, CEO Texas Public Policy Foundation Michael W. Thompson, President Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy Carl Bearden, Executive Director United for Missouri