FREEDOM WORKS MORNING UPDATE 07/08/2014

1. Empower.org Mini-Documentary
Black urban communities, such as Chicago, are plagued with high unemployment, failing public schools, and crime. Since liberal policies have failed to help the black community, some blacks are questioning the political establishment and are seeking fresh alternatives to reverse the downward social and economic spiral.

Recognizing the growing dissatisfaction with politics as usual Empower.org, a FreedomWorks outreach program dedicated to help black Americans achieve their personal potential through education, financial literacy, and developing marketable skills, planned an event in Chicago. Watch here...


2. Capitol Hill Update, July 7, 2014
House & Senate/Schedule: Both chambers are back in town this week, and will remain in session for the next four weeks.
House/Spending: On Wednesday, the House will take up the Energy & Water Appropriations bill, H.R. 4923. This bill would spend $34.1 billion, most of which goes to fund the Department of Energy.
House/Taxes: The House will vote Friday on a bill, H.R. 4718, that would revive and make permanent a tax break that allows businesses to write off more than half of the costs of certain capital goods. Read more here...
3. Chris McDaniel, True the Vote Challenge Mississippi Primary Vote

FreedomWorks for America, one of the tea party aligned groups that supported Mr. McDaniel, also on Tuesday called on federal officials, including the Department of Justice, to investigate whether election law had been broken in the race.
Russ Walker, the national political director for FreedomWorks for America, said that federal officials “have a responsibility to look into these allegations and prosecute the guilty to the fullest extent of the law.” Read more here...

4. Tea Party Holds Rally at State Capital
We are a couple of days away from the Republican Senate Runoff race certification, and some tea party members and McDaniel supporters gathered at the state capitol to rally against what they call a stolen election.
"The results we feel were in fact tainted, why would a republican candidate appeal to democrats to help them beat a fellow republican," said Rev. C.L. Bryant, Senior Fellow, Freedom Works Washington D.C. Read more here...
5. The IRS Has Unleashed a Massive New Regulation
As Americans prepare to celebrate Independence Day, the Internal Revenue Service has unleashed a massive new regulation under the guise of reducing tax evasion. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act - FATCA - took effect July 1, imposing substantial new compliance requirements and paperwork burdens on foreign financial institutions, which must now track the financial activity of U.S. citizens and report that information to the IRS. While there is scant evidence that this regulation will add significantly to federal revenues, there is more than a sinking feeling that the new law infringes upon the civil liberties of American citizens.
Like many of the edicts emanating from Washington recently, FATCA came into being with little public debate or analysis of its impact. Instead, this mammoth expansion of IRS power was tucked into a 2010 jobs bill, the HIRE Act, and passed without fanfare. And like something that NSA might concoct, the new regulations require information-gathering on American citizens on a global scale. Read more here...
6. There's No Place Like Foam
Washington, DC, being the seat of the U.S. Government, has a higher than average tendency to exert legislative control over its citizens. For some reason, the issue of food storage seems to be a particularly high priority, as evidenced by the city's abhorrent 5 cent tax on plastic grocery bags.
In the latest effort to choke off just a little more freedom from DC residents, the government has announced a ban on single-serving styrofoam containers - the kind used for take out food or to hold inexpensive beverages. In a town where busy workers rely heavily on food trucks and where home cooking is a time-consuming luxury few can afford, this is going to be a major blow to the city’s hungry. Read more here...
7. Real Talk with Julie Borowski: The Hobby Lobby Debate
The Supreme Court's ruling on Hobby Lobby has been controversial with passionate people on both sides on the issue. Watch Julie argue with herself about whether the decision was the right call or not. Watch here...

In Liberty,
Jackie Bodnar
Director of Communications, FreedomWorks