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11/7/2012

The Colorado Observer: Watchdog Group: Salazar May Have Violated the Hatch Act

Read the full story here. Colorado Observer  

“Cause of Action, a Washington-based firm, said it asked to the Office of Special Counsel to evaluate Salazar’s activities and statements at a campaign event sponsored by the Montrose County Democratic Party on Oct. 5. Noting that Salazar reportedly told the participants the importance of re-electing President Obama, executive director Dan Epstein said the independent government agency should investigate the episode.

“(I)t appears Sec. Ken Salazar violated the Hatch Act in using his official capacity to campaign for the President. His behavior warrants attention and investigation by the OSC, as no violator of the Hatch Act should get away with such behavior,” Epstein said in a statement Wednesday…”

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10/23/2012

Bloomberg News: Chicago Agency Overbilling U.S. Told to Change Mileage Claims

Read the full story here. Business Week

“Cause of Action, a Washington-based research organization, in a report last week suggested the federal government was slow to investigate “Chicago-style fraud” at the authority because Transportation Department General Counsel Robert Rivkin held the same post at CTA from 2001 to 2004 and Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, was chairman of the agency’s board from 1995 to 2003.

 

The Cause of Action report cited a 2007 Illinois state audit that said Chicago’s transit system may have received as much as $5 million a year in extra U.S. funding for as long as 30 years. After its investigation, the FTA said the amount was closer to $700,000 to $800,000 a year….”

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10/20/2012

WGN TV: CTA made millions by inflating mileage

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10/19/2012

Chicago Sun-Times: Watchdog Group: CTA overstated bus mileage reports for decades

Read the full story here: Chicago Sun-Times

Cause of Action’s report “A bus tour of Chicago-style fraud” alleges the CTA inflated the annual number of miles reported to the Federal Transit Administration for its in-service buses.

 

The group based its allegation on a 2007 audit in which it says the CTA overreported the miles, allowing it to receive between $1 million and $5 million in extra funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation that year.

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10/19/2012

Chicago Tribune: Report: CTA reaped millions by over-reporting bus mileage

Read the full story here. Chicago Tribune

“The CTA has potentially inflated by up to $150 million the federal taxpayer money it received since as far back as 1982 by “fraudulently over-reporting” the number of miles CTA buses travel while in service, according to a new report by a little-known watchdog group. In its report, titled “A bus tour of Chicago-style fraud,” Washington-based Cause of Action alleged that CTA officials reaped millions in extra federal money that the agency was not entitled to by improperly including “deadhead,” or out-of-service bus miles, along with funding-eligible revenue bus miles when applying for money from the Federal Transit Administration.

The CTA has followed the FTA’s guidelines related to reporting mileage data, and it used the same methodology for almost 30 years, up through last year when the rules were changed, a CTA spokesman said Wednesday. But Cause of Action, which said it based its findings on “insider audit information” from six years ago, said the CTA likely continues to get away with its inaccurate mileage reporting, with the knowledge of the U.S. government, because of the transit agency’s political connections stretching from Chicago to Washington…”

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09/10/2012

VIDEO: Fox News – FAA execs politically swaying workers?

Fox News interviews Representative John Mica (R-FL), the Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, regarding Cause of Action’s investigation into a possible Hatch Act violation at the FAA.

 

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09/10/2012

New York Times: Inquiry Starts at FAA Over Remark on Budget

Read the full story here. The New York Times

“In the e-mails, obtained by the watchdog group Cause of Action, an F.A.A. employee in Seattle gives an account of Mr. Hickey’s remarks at the May 23 session. (The names on the e-mails are blacked out; the contents are reprinted here with typographical errors intact.) Cause of Action has asked for the F.A.A.’s inspector general to investigate.

“I would not be able to quote Mr. Hickey exact words, but what I took out of it was, if the conservative republication gain control of congress then the FAA could be looking at as much as a 15% cut in budget and we may be looking at furloughs,” one e-mail said. “If the liberal Democrats take control of congress then we would be looking at a flat budget. In short if the Republicans win office our jobs may be effected (furloughs) if the Democrats win office then our jobs would not be effected….”

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