Conservative Action Project

October 17, 2017
Washington, DC
Signatures updated: 10/20/17

Over the last few decades, we have seen America lose its global status as a manufacturing powerhouse. Millions of jobs have moved to China, Mexico, India and elsewhere, turning too many American communities into ghost towns. Harmful regulatory policies, high corporate taxes, and trade cheating have all contributed to this harmful trend.

Not only have we ceded ground to much of the world on manufacturing, but harmful policies and an increased hostility to our nation’s Intellectual Property foundations have undermined American leadership in innovation and technology. According to U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s International IP Index this year, the US has dropped from 1st to 10th place (tied with Hungary) in the protection of “patents, related rights and limitations.” This is the first year that the US had not been in first place in this annual index.

Patent protection was enshrined in our Constitution and has set us apart from the rest of the world in protecting property of all kinds. It is the main reason that the U.S. has led the world in innovation. But in recent years, a combination of bad legislation, troubling Supreme Court decisions, anti-patent rhetoric at all levels of our government have weakened the U.S. patent system—once the crown jewel of our economy.  Many inventors and venture capitalists are now beginning to look at Germany, England—and even China—as better environments to protect their innovations.

We cannot afford to lose our role as the world’s innovator. This is particularly true because IP-intensive industries accounted for 38% of our GDP in 2014.

President Reagan faced similar challenges after taking office. Then, America’s global economic leadership was threatened by Japan, so Reagan set up a high-level commission and advanced policies to bolster our industrial competitiveness. A blue-ribbon commission appointed by President Reagan found that “inadequate protection of intellectual property rights” was “among the reasons for [a] decline in the U.S. comparative advantage in high technology.”

In response, the administration took steps to strengthen our IP and patent protections, among other important steps. Partnered with pro-growth tax cuts and paring back needless regulation, the Reagan administration reversed much of the decline, and the U.S. continued its economic leadership in the high-tech space.

America now finds itself in a similar situation, and must once again act quickly to reverse the decline.  While America then faced the challenge of Japan threatening our economic and innovation leadership, today we are being challenged by China and South Korea, among others.

The conservative movement stands resolute in calling for the implementation of an agenda to reverse our decline in industrial and innovative competitiveness. That agenda includes:

  • Tax cuts and reforms. The U.S. has one of the highest corporate taxes in the world and a tax system that is complex and burdensome. Cutting the corporate rate and simplifying the code will encourage more businesses to do business in the United States, allow the return of capital to the U.S., and spur economic growth.
  • Regulatory reform. Our economy has been burdened by over-regulation at every level, imposing costly mandates on businesses, consumers and entrepreneurs. The Trump administration has already begun to roll back many of these costly regulations, sending important signals to the markets and to entrepreneurs—and they must continue to do more. This is especially the case when it comes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Since its creation in 2010, the CFPB has used its far reaching and unchecked regulatory powers to levy billions of dollars in penalties against businesses. This has created further economic uncertainty as consumers have become saddled with higher costs and fewer choices when it comes to accessing financial products and services. Permanent regulatory rollback at the congressional level would bring even more certainty and confidence than executive orders (which can be reversed by future administrations).
  • Patent Protection. The administration, Congress, and the courts need to take steps to reverse the declining protection of patents and the anti-patent rhetoric that has infected government at all levels. The administration needs to staff key agencies with individuals who understand the important role of patents, and stop administrative action that make it easier to invalidate them. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), for instance, is an administrative tribunal created after previous congressional reform and has been labeled a “patent death squad” with the sole purpose of invalidating patents.  In addition, U.S. officials must stand strong against attempts by other nations to bolster their domestic companies by undermining the IP protection of U.S. companies. Congress needs to reject harmful legislation that would undermine patent rights and only push legislation that strengthens those rights. Finally, the courts must put an end to the hostile decisions that make it harder for innovators to protect their Constitutionally protected property rights.
  • Enforcing trade deals. While there are differing opinions on trade, we are united in the belief that the U.S. must stand up for the enforcement of existing trade agreements and ensure that we are not being taken advantage of. The administration must insist that our trading partners live up to the terms of our agreements and not undermine them through lack of due process, illegal subsidization, forced technology transfer, dumping, and other forms of cheating.

A pro-growth, pro-innovation, pro-enforcement and anti-regulatory agenda is critical to reversing many of the destructive policies of the last eight years (and in many cases longer). The leaders of our movement urge our elected and appointed officials follow the lead of President Reagan by taking strong action to combat the threats to our industrial and innovation competitiveness. We must remove any question that the United States of America can lead the world on innovation, manufacturing and economic growth.


The Honorable Edwin Meese III
Former Attorney General
President Ronald Reagan
The Honorable Becky Norton Dunlop
Chairman, Conservative Action Project
Former White House Advisor, President Ronald Reagan
The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell
Chairman
Constitutional Congress, Inc.
The Honorable Bob McEwen
U.S. House of Representatives
Former Member, Ohio
Adam Brandon
President
FreedomWorks
David Bozell
President
ForAmerica
The Honorable Colin A. Hanna
President
Let Freedom Ring
Cleta Mitchell, Esq.
Diana Banister
President and Partner
Shirley & Banister Public Affairs
William L. Walton
Chairman
CNP Action, Inc.
Lisa B. Nelson
CEO
American Legislative Exchange Council
Alfred S. Regnery
Chairman
Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund
The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.
Chief Assistant to President Reagan for Domestic Affairs
Rebecca Hagelin
Secretary, Council for National Policy
Board of Directors, FamilyTalk
Tom Giovanetti
President
Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI)
Rick Manning
President
Americans for Limited Government
The Honorable Ken Cuccinelli
President
Senate Conservatives Fund
The Honorable James C. Miller III
Budget Director for President Reagan, 1985-1988
President Reagan’s OMB
Mathew D. Staver, Esq.
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel
Alan P. Dye
Senior Partner
Webster, Chamberlain & Bean
The Honorable Morton C. Blackwell
Chairman
The Weyrich Lunch
Ron Robinson
President
Young America’s Foundation
Janice Shaw Crouse, Ph.D.
Chairman
The Institute on Religion and Democracy
Joseph A. Morris
Morris & De La Rosa
Lou Cordia
President, Cordia & Associates, and
Executive Director, President Reagan’s Alumni Association
Bob Adams
President
Revive America PAC
Col. Francis X. De Luca, USMCR (Ret.)
President
Civitas Institute
Lewis K. Uhler
President
National Tax Limitation Committee
Seton Motley
President
Less Government
Rod D. Martin
Founder & CEO
The Martin Organization, Inc.
Sherri R. Martin
Executive Vice President
The Martin Organization, Inc.
Haley E. Martin
President
The Martin Foundation
Evelio Silvera
Campaign for the American Future
Nicholas Stehle
Campaign for the American Future
Shawn A. Mitchell
Former National Chaplain, National Federation of Republican Assemblies
Jerry Melvin
Former Dean
Florida House of Representatives
Rick McCrary
Senior Partner
Insurance One
Samuel B. Casey
Managing Director & General Counsel
Jubilee Campaign
Tim G. Echols
Public Service Commissioner
State of Georgia
Ben Case
President
Case Consulting Services, Inc.
Jerome R. Corsi, Ph.D.
Washington Bureau Chief
Infowars.com
Mark Bloom
Owner
Ole Podner, LLC
Willes K. Lee
President, National Federation of
Republican Assemblies
Kevin D. Freeman
Founder
NSIC Institute
William Mills
President
WPM Exploration
Tricia Erickson
President
Angel Pictures & Publicity, Inc.
Charles J. Cooper
Former Assistant Attorney General
President Ronald Reagan
Richard D. Hayes
Attorney
Hayes, Berry, White & Vanzant, LLP
Charles Copeland
President
Intercollegiate Studies Institute
Christopher Malagisi
Editor in Chief
Conservative Book Club
Michael R. Long
State Chairman
NYS Conservative Party
Caroline Lewis
Owner
Percipio Communications
Martha Boneta
Executive Vice President
Citizens for the Republic
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Rick Scarborough
Founder
Vision America
Steven Thrasher
Founder
The App Attorney
The Honorable Diana Denman
President
The Reagan Legacy Forum
Mike Spence
Founding President
Conservative Republicans of California
Susan A. Carleson
Chairman/CEO
American Civil Rights Union
Roxanne Phillips
Member, Executive Committee
Council for National Policy
Melvin Adams
Former President
Renewanation
Lee Beaman
Owner
Beaman Automotive Group
Ann L. Drexel
Member, Board of Governors
Council for National Policy
Robert K. Fischer
Meeting Coordinator
Conservatives of Faith
Ralph A. Rebandt, II
Senior Pastor, Chaplain Oakland Hills Community Church/Michigan Assoication of Chiefs of Police
The Honorable Mike Hill
Former Member
Florida State House
Kay R. Daly
President
Coalition for a Fair Judiciary
James L. Martin
Founder & Chairman
60 Plus Association
Curt Levey
President
Committee for Justice
Rebekah Gantner
Executive Director
Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund
James Edwards
Executive Director
Conservatives for Property Rights
Gary L. Bauer
President
American Values
Dick Patten
President
American Business Defense Council
Matthew Kandrach
President
Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
William H. Shaker
CEO
Washington Marketing Group
Peter J. Thomas
Chairman
The Conservative Caucus
The Honorable Belden Bell
Board Emeritus
The Heritage Foundation
Robert Alt
President & CEO
The Buckeye Institute
Jenny Beth Martin
Chairman
Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund
Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment
George C. Landrith
President & CEO
Frontiers of Freedom
Daniel Schneider
Executive Director
American Conservative Union
Thomas A. Schatz
President
Citizens Against Government Waste
The Honorable Steve Buri
President
Discovery Institute
Allen Hebert
Chairman
American-Chinese Fellowship of Houston

All organizations listed for IDENTIFICATION purposes only.

 

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