FOIA Request (April 20, 2012)
VA Response Letter (July 30, 2012)
Documents:
Archives for October 2014
10/24/2014
Politico: Conservative group: Ethics panel ignored Reid complaint
Read the full story: Politico
Cause of Action said on Tuesday that the committee never responded to its December 2013 complaint that alleged Reid “inappropriately interfered” in asking for reconsideration of immigrant investor visa petitions after they were rejected. The group claims it never learned whether its allegations were deemed without merit or whether the panel’s “silence reflects a failure to properly discharge duties.”
“The Committee’s failure to publicly provide reasoned notice for its apparent findings of insufficiency shows an unacceptable opacity,” Cause of Action Executive Director Daniel Epstein wrote in a letter to Senate Ethics Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and ranking member Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.).
10/24/2014
The Des Moines Register: The Register’s Editorial: Obama administration is wrong to stiff-arm inspectors
Read the full story: The Des Moines Register
In August, the nonprofit organization Cause of Action sued the administration, claiming the president’s attorneys have interfered with Freedom of Information Act disclosures simply to prevent the release of information that could be embarrassing to the president.
10/22/2014
Fox News: WATCHDOG GROUP STILL WAITING ON REID ETHICS COMPLAINT
Read the full story: Fox News
Watchdog group Cause of Action is calling on a Senate Ethics panel to respond to a complaint it filed against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in 2013. At the center of the complaint is Reid’s alleged use of his political clout to lobby U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to reconsider and approve EB-5 immigrant investor visa petitions where a company receiving the foreign funding was a major contributor to the Democratic Party, and, at the time, was represented by the Senator’s son.
10/21/2014
Cause of Action Calls on Senate Ethics Committee to Answer for Failure to Respond to Ethics Complaint Against Sen. Harry Reid
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
October 21, 2014 Mary Beth Hutchins, 202-400-2721
Cause of Action Calls on Senate Ethics Committee to Answer for Failure to Respond to Ethics Complaint Against Sen. Harry Reid
WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (CoA), a nonprofit government oversight group, today wrote to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics in follow up to a December 2013 ethics complaint CoA filed against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that has received no response from the Committee. CoA’s complaint highlighted Senator Reid’s use of his political clout to lobby U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to reconsider and approve EB-5 immigrant investor visa petitions where the principal entity receiving the foreign funding is a major contributor to the Democratic Party, and, at the time, was represented by the Senator’s son.
CoA’s letter highlights the need for the Committee to provide an explanation for why its 2013 complaint did not lead to a preliminary inquiry, despite CoA providing sufficient evidence.
CoA Executive Director Dan Epstein:
We rely on Congress to conduct oversight of bad government behavior, including investigating its own members to ensure that America’s elected officials are behaving ethically. For over 300 days to pass since our complaint was received with no reasoned notice of the Committee’s determination is unacceptable. The Committee appears to have dismissed Cause of Action’s complaint without engaging in a preliminary inquiry and without explanation, where independent evidence unearthed by the media supports the allegations of misconduct. The American public, who elected their Senators, deserve an ethics committee that takes its role seriously, and our hope is that the public receives an explanation for this delay in oversight.
On October 23, 2014, CoA sent a follow up letter after Senate Ethics claimed it did not receive the ethics complaint in 2013.
About Cause of Action:
Cause of Action is a non-profit, nonpartisan government accountability organization that fights to protect economic opportunity when federal regulations, spending and cronyism threaten it. For more information, visit www.causeofaction.org.
To schedule an interview with Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein, contact Mary Beth Hutchins, mary.beth.hutchins@causeofaction.org
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10/20/2014
Breitbart: Austan Goolsbee Claims Innocence as Court Orders Investigative Records Released
Read the full story: Breitbart
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October 9, 2012 – Watchdog group Cause for Action files a FOIA request for any investigative documents pertaining to disclosure of private tax information to the Executive Office of the President.
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November 30, 2012 – Treasury’s IG Office issues a response which refuses to confirm or deny the existence of any such reports.
10/20/2014
Fox News: Watchdog claims union’s legal fight reveals ObamaCare fraud
Read the full story: Fox News
Non-profit group Southern United Neighborhoods got a $1.3 million federal grant in 2013 to serve as a “navigator,” enrolling people in Affordable Care Act coverage. The group subcontracted with United Labor Unions Local 100, which, according to Cause of Action, paid members less than it billed the government and, in some cases, paid them to recruit union members. The watchdog group discovered the alleged discrepancy in court papers filed by union workers suing the labor organization for unpaid overtime.
“Southern United Neighborhoods and ULU Local 100, both rebranded ACORN entities, present a risk of violating the law – this time by potentially misusing over $1.3 million of taxpayer dollars for union activities instead of enrolling individuals in the Affordable Care Act,” Daniel Epstein, executive director for Cause of Action said to FoxNews.com.
Epstein and his group sent a letter to the federal Health and Human Services Inspector General this week asking that SUN and the union be investigated for fraud.