Which Virginia state legislators have ties to a powerful conservative group
A powerful group wants states to urge Congress to extend tax cuts. Who is this group and who are they associated with in Virginia?
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A powerful conservative group wants states to urge Congress to extend tax cuts. Who is this group and who are they associated with in Virginia?
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a powerful conservative group composed of legislators and corporate leaders from across the country. They work together to draft bills for state legislatures in an effort to try and advance their conservative agenda.
ALEC has a heavy influence in Republican-led state legislatures across the country. The group describes itself as the “largest nonpartisan, voluntary membership organization of state legislators dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism.”
They announced Thursday that they have approved a new model resolution to urge Congress to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that was signed into law in 2017 by Donald Trump.
ALEC is heavily funded by corporations and other Republican groups who work with the legislators involved to draft their model policy proposals in private. As a nonprofit, they do not have to directly identify the individuals who fund them.
They put the legislators front and center, however.
“State lawmakers, those closest to the people, know best how these historic tax cuts have benefited their hardworking constituents,” ALEC CEO Lisa Nelson said in a press release Thursday about the new model resolution. “It is critical that states send a clear message to Congress that federal tax rates must remain low in order for small businesses and families to succeed.”
ALEC has also been behind the stream of new laws across the country to try and block the boycott of oil companies. The Energy Discrimination Elimination Act has been introduced in several state legislatures and would put a prohibition on investment in financial companies that boycott certain energy companies.
“ALEC Exposed,” a website sponsored by watchdog group the Center for Media and Democracy, tracks the group’s movements. On their homepage, they write “through the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), global corporations and state politicians vote behind closed doors to try to rewrite state laws that govern your rights. These so-called ‘model bills’ reach into almost every area of American life and often directly benefit huge corporations.”
Source Watch has identified Virginia state legislators who have recent ties to ALEC: