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09/29/2014

Coalition of Open Government Groups Confront President Obama On Policy that Frustrates Transparency

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                            CONTACT:      

September 29, 2014                                            Mary Beth Hutchins, 202-400-2721

Coalition of Open Government Groups Confront President Obama

On Policy that Frustrates Transparency

25 Groups Ask President to Withdraw or Clarify Memorandum Instructing Agencies to Consult with White House on Document Releases

WASHINGTON – A coalition of 25 transparency groups and open government advocates sent a letter to President Obama today urging him to either “withdraw” or “provide guidance to agencies” on a 2009 White House Counsel memorandum that instructs all federal agencies to consult with White House attorneys on documents of interest to the Administration before releasing them.

Sent by then-White House Counsel Gregory Craig, the memorandum requires federal agencies to consult with the White House Counsel’s Office on any document request that may involve records implicating “White House equities.” An undefined term that allows the White House to affect agency decision-making over the release of documents, “White House equities” appears to refer to any interest the administration might have in agency records. “White House equities” consultation already delayed the release, and allowed for improper Executive branch review, of documents to numerous requesters, including members of the media, Congress, and the public.

Executive Director Dan Epstein of Cause of Action, a government oversight organization, which recently sued a dozen cabinet agencies for documents regarding “White House equities,” said:

Public promises of transparency are no excuse for secret memos that prevent it. Americans deserve a government that is fair and open and delaying the release of documents prevents the ability of a free press to educate the public. Our hope is that President Obama honors the laws in place designed to provide transparency, such as the Freedom of Information Act, and withdraws this 2009 memo.

Executive Director of OpenTheGovernment.org Dr. Patrice McDermott said:

To put it simply, ‘White House equities’ is not a well-defined term. Not surprisingly, a policy based around protecting an ill-defined term can sow confusion among agency officials and the public, and make it very hard to know exactly the effect of the policy. In the interest of the unprecedented levels of openness in government committed to by the President, the White House needs to review this policy, and send agencies any additional guidance if needed.

The full list of signatories:

American Library Association

Brechner Center for Freedom of Information

Cause of Action

Center for Effective Government

Defending Dissent Foundation

Electronic Privacy Information Center – EPIC

Essential Information

Government Accountability Project – GAP

James Madison Project

MuckRock

National Security Archive

National Security Counselors

Northern California Association of Law Libraries

National Freedom of Information Center

OpenTheGovernment.org

PEN American Center

Project On Government Oversight – POGO

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility – PEER

Society of Professional Journalists

Special Libraries Association

The Sunlight Foundation

Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse – TRAC

Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University

Washington Coalition for Open Government

Individual signatories (additional information for identification purposes only):

Mark Tapscott, Executive Editor, Washington Examiner

The letter can be found here.

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.

About OpenTheGovernment.org:

OpenTheGovernment.org is a coalition of good- and limited- government groups, environmentalists, journalists, library and consumer groups, labor, and others united to make the federal government a more open place in order to ensure integrity and accountability in the operation of our governing institutions, foster confidence in representative government, and support our democratic principles. Our coalition transcends partisan lines and includes progressives, libertarians, and conservatives.

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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09/26/2014

Lessons for the Next Attorney General

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is resigning after five-and-a-half years in the Obama administration. Despite Cause of Action raising the following concerns to the Department of Justice (DOJ) during Attorney General Holder’s tenure, here are four DOJ failures that Cause of Action hopes the next Attorney General would ensure the agency corrects:

  1. Cause of Action asked DOJ to take the claims of IRS targeting seriously, but the available evidence suggests a failure to conduct a full and fair investigation.
  2. The IRS appears to have violated the Federal Records Act (and possibly other laws) by losing or deleting Lois Lerner’s emails, but DOJ has given no indication that it will investigate the email destruction in any meaningful way.
  3. Cause of Action provided DOJ with evidence of up to $150 million in fraud at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in May 2012.  When given the opportunity to intervene and recover taxpayer dollars under the False Claims Act, DOJ declined.  Cause of Action is continuing to pursue this fraud lawsuit against the CTA because American taxpayers deserve accountability.  DOJ retains the ability to intervene, despite its initial failure to do so.
  4. On March 19, 2009, AG Holder issued a memo on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) stating: “In the face of doubt, openness prevails.”  Despite this proclamation, Associated Press Washington Bureau Chief Sally Buzbee says the transparency of the Obama administration “is significantly worse than previous administrations.”  Cause of Action’s own investigation found that improper White House review of FOIA requests violated both the letter and spirit of FOIA. In fact, DOJ is one of twelve agencies Cause of Action is suing for allowing the White House to obstruct the processing of FOIA requests.
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09/26/2014

Washington Examiner: Earmarks never went away — they changed addresses

Read the full story: Washington Examiner

According to the government watchdog group Cause of Action, which launched a website in early September dedicated to exposing executive earmarks, federal grant spending has jumped 40 percent since 2001.

 

Cause of Action began investigating executive branch earmarks in December 2011, when the group sent Freedom of Information Act requests to 21 different agencies to track down discretionary grants.

 

Hundreds of letters resulting from the organization’s probe and compiled on its new website reveal a pattern of funding requests that echo the language once found in legislative earmarks.

 

The Cause of Action website features a digital timeline of milestones in earmarking’s evolution, including Executive Order 13457, “Protecting American Taxpayers from Government Spending on Wasteful Earmarks,” which President George W. Bush signed in 2008.

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09/17/2014

Cause of Action Supports Congressional Efforts for an Inspector General over the Affordable Care Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                            CONTACT:      

September 17, 2014                                               Mary Beth Hutchins, 202-400-2721

Cause of Action Supports Congressional Efforts for an Inspector General over the Affordable Care Act

CoA Sends Letter of Support for Special Inspector General for Monitoring the Affordable Care Act of 2014, H.R. 4158

WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (CoA), a government oversight group, sent a letter today supporting legislation establishing an Inspector General who will monitor the implementation and administration of the Affordable Care Act. SIGMA, the Special Inspector General for Monitoring the Affordable Care Act of 2014, is sponsored by Rep. Peter Roskam and has been referred to the House Education and the Workforce’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

CoA’s letter states in part:

The Affordable Care Act (“ACA” or “Obamacare”) is a deceptively complex and non-transparent law that has created one of the largest government bureaucracies in decades.  The American public already has seen countless problems with the implementation of various aspects of this law, and little has been done to address the risks of waste, fraud and abuse of the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that states are receiving to run their exchanges or marketplaces.  By authorizing a Special Inspector General to focus on monitoring ACA, the SIGMA Act of 2014 has the potential to curb waste, fraud, and abuse. If done properly – by utilizing a robust inspector general who acts independently from HHS and the officials in charge of implementing the ACA – this approach should, in turn, lower health care costs for taxpayers.

You can read the full letter here.

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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09/15/2014

Federalist Society Teleforum: Redressing Politicized Spending

Cause of Action’s Dan Epstein discusses politicized spending by the Executive Branch during a September 10, 2014 Federalist Society Teleforum. Read more about the phenomenon of Executive Branch earmarks and the transparency problems that persist at www.ExecutiveBranchEarmarks.com/.

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09/8/2014

Cause of Action Launches Online Resource: ExecutiveBranchEarmarks.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      CONTACT:      

September 8, 2014                                             Mary Beth Hutchins, 202-400-2721

Cause of Action Launches Online Resource: ExecutiveBranchEarmarks.com

WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (CoA), a government accountability organization, launched a new online resource today for those concerned about political influence on discretionary spending: ExecutiveBranchEarmarks.com.

While Congressional earmarks were banned in 2010 and 2011, Executive Branch Earmarks took their place.  Political priorities, insider access to the President, and vote buying are some ways that the President and his political allies benefit from Executive Branch, or agency level, earmarks.

Cause of Action’s three-year-long investigation has revealed the lack of transparency in the way executive branch earmarking occurs.  While congressional earmarks were listed in a publicly available database, Executive Branch Earmarks happen in secret.

Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein said:

“Earmarks are not dead, they have just changed form. The danger of Executive Branch Earmarks is that the White House, not the taxpayers, can pick who receives our tax dollars.  Worse, unlike congressional earmarks, there is no transparency with Executive Branch Earmarks.  ExecutiveBranchEarmarks.com is a resource for learning how federal spending is being politicized.”

Visit the new ExecutiveBranchEarmarks.com.

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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08/26/2014

Dan Epstein on The Federal Drive with Tom Temin 8/25/2014

Listen to the interview here.

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