American Commitment is a right-of-center advocacy organization that supports free markets, economic growth, limited government, property rights, and individual freedom. American Commitment uses direct advocacy, policy analysis, and grassroots mobilization to influence public policy that affects the size and intrusiveness of government. 1
American Commitment’s charitable sister organization is American Commitment Foundation.
Activities
American Commitment opposes the Biden administration’s COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates. 2 In 2022, American Commitment published analysis concluding that masks and mask mandates failed to keep students in school during the COVID-19 pandemic. American Commitment’s analysis claims that school districts that adopted mask mandates had higher rates of COVID infection and higher rates of disruption of learning, including school closures. 3
In 2021, American Commitment opposed the Biden administration nomination of Gigi Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). American Commitment claimed that Sohn’s left-wing views, opposition to basic copyright and intellectual property protections, and criticism of conservatives makes her unfit to serve on the FCC. American Commitment called on Senate Republicans, along with moderate Democrats, to oppose her nomination. 4
American Commitment advocates for tax reforms that would create a simple system that would tax income only once, instead of current code, which it claims double- and-triple taxes individuals based on savings and investments. American Commitment is especially focused on repealing the death tax, which it claims the Biden administration’s 2021 proposed budget would effectively double by taxing the appreciated value of assets of the deceased in addition to the estate tax. American Commitment points to a study produced for the Committee to Unleash Prosperity that concluded that this double death tax would produce devastating economic consequences. 5
Funding
American Commitment is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While American Commitment does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from Freedom Partners ($6.26 million in 2011), 6 Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ($505,000 in 2019), 7 and the Americans for Responsible Leadership ($300,000 in 2012). 8
Board of Directors
Phil Kerpen is the president of American Commitment and the American Commitment Foundation. Kerpen is the former principal policy and legislative strategist at Americans for Prosperity and formerly worked at the Free Enterprise Fund, the Club for Growth, and the Cato Institute. 9
Mary Beth Weiss sits on the boards of the Network of enlightened Women, American Transparency, 10 and FreedomWorks. 11
Sean Noble is the president and executive director of American Encore (formerly the Center to Protect Patient Rights). 12
References
- “About.” American Commitment. Accessed April 24, 2022. https://www.americancommitment.org/about.
- “Take Action.” American Commitment. Accessed April 24, 2022. https://action.americancommitment.org/.
- “New Analysis: Mask-Mandated Districts Had More School Disruptions.” American Commitment, March 31, 2022. Accessed April 24, 2022. https://www.americancommitment.org/content/new-analysis-mask-mandated-districts-had-more-school-disruptions
- “American Commitment Opposes Gigi Sohn’s FCC Nomination.” American Commitment, December 21, 2021. Accessed April 24, 2022. https://www.americancommitment.org/content/american-commitment-opposes-gigi-sohn%E2%80%99s-fcc-nomination.
- Kerpen, Phil. “Stop Biden’s Double Death Tax.” American Commitment, September 8, 2021. Accessed April 24, 2022. https://www.americancommitment.org/content/stop-bidens-double-death-tax.
- Freedom Partners, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2011, Schedule I, Part II.
- Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2019, Schedule I, Part II.
- Americans for Responsible Leadership, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2012, Schedule I, Part II.
- “About.” American Commitment. Accessed April 24, 2022. https://www.americancommitment.org/about.
- [1] “Mary Beth Weiss.” Network of Enlightened Women, 2022. Accessed April 24, 2022. https://enlightenedwomen.org/about/mary-beth-weiss/.
- “Board of Directors.” FreedomWorks. Accessed April 24, 2022. https://www.freedomworks.org/about/board-of-directors.
- “Sean Noble.” Ballotpedia. Accessed April 24, 2022. https://ballotpedia.org/Sean_Noble.