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07/30/2014

Cause of Action Statement on New Report by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works

Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein commented on the new report, “The Chain of Environmental Command,” released by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works revealing how collusion amongst a handful of individuals, environmentalist groups and the government is shaping public policy:

“Despite our request nearly two years ago to TIGTA to investigate organizations violating their tax-exempt status through fiscal sponsorship, the agency has done nothing and as the Committee’s new findings show, the abuse of fiscal sponsorship is obviously still a problem.  While the IRS seems to be over-inclusive in auditing legitimate nonprofits that differ politically from the Administration, they have been under-inclusive in their oversight of politically favored groups who are actually abusing the law. Even the President has spoken out against millionaires and billionaires ‘bankrolling whoever they want, however they want, in some cases undisclosed.’ But what EPW’s report shows is the environmental movement is following the very model President Obama criticized, manipulating the tax code in the process, with no repercussion from the IRS. Cause of Action has asked the IRS to take simple steps to define the rules for fiscal sponsorship, but they refused to do so, protecting their political friends, while targeting their political enemies.”

Read our report on fiscal sponsorship here.

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07/24/2014

Cause of Action Demands Investigation of CPSC for Waste, Abuse and Mismanagement Relating to Buckyballs Matter

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       CONTACT:      

July 23, 2014                                                    Mary Beth Hutchins, 202-400-2721

 

Cause of Action Demands Investigation of CPSC for Waste, Abuse and Mismanagement Relating to Buckyballs Matter

WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (CoA), a government accountability organization, sent a letter Wednesday to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)’s Inspector General (IG) seeking an investigation of CPSC for improprieties related to its investigation of Mr. Craig Zucker, the former CEO of the company that sold Buckyballs.  The CPSC’s investigation led to waste of taxpayer dollars and forced Mr. Zucker to expend considerable resources to defend himself.

“The CPSC’s actions regarding Craig Zucker were never about consumer safety, they’re about punishing an entrepreneur who spoke out against the agency’s overzealous, overreaching activity,” said CoA Executive Director Dan Epstein. “The IG’s role is to prevent and root out fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement.  Therefore, it must investigate the CPSC’s behavior concerning Mr. Zucker.”

CoA’s request centers on 3 primary allegations:

  • CPSC Made Material Misrepresentations in its Amended Complaints – Former CPSC Executive Director Kenneth Hinson and CPSC Assistant General Counsel Mary B. Murphy claimed that they obtained Commission authorization to amend CPSC’s original Complaint against Mr. Zucker’s company and to potentially hold Mr. Zucker personally responsible for conducting a recall.  But they never obtained such authorization, in violation of CPSC regulations and Mr. Zucker’s due process rights.
  • CPSC Retaliated Against Mr. Zucker for his Exercise of First Amendment Rights.  Mr. Zucker aggressively defended his actions in numerous forums, and CPSC responded by pursuing the complaint against Mr. Zucker personally in an attempt to deter him and other corporate officers from exercising their rights to free speech.  Never before in the history of CPSC had an action been filed to require an officer or former officer of a company to personally conduct a recall.
  • CPSC Failed to Comply with the IQA and FOIA.  In connection with this matter, CPSC’s actions demonstrated its failure to comply with its information collection, dissemination and quality requirements under the Information Quality Act (IQA) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  CPSC made public statements that failed to include information required by the IQA and/or were inconsistent with the facts.  CPSC also failed for months to respond to a FOIA request for records relating to the Buckyballs investigation and the prosecution of Mr. Zucker.  As a result, CoA was forced to file an IQA petition (on Mr. Zucker’s behalf) and a FOIA lawsuit.

Read the letter here.

Read the exhibits 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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07/22/2014

Two Obamacare Court Decisions: Only One Win for Accountability

Two Obamacare Court Decisions: Only One Win for Accountability

WASHINGTON – Cause of Action responded to two crucial court decisions today concerning the Affordable Care Act: Halbig v. Burwell, et al in the DC Circuit and King v. Burwell, et al in the 4th Circuit, showing that in the end, these cases are really about executive branch power and the need for accountability.

Cause of Action’s Senior Vice President of Litigation Reed Rubinstein:

“Two courts today affirmed the critical role of an external check on executive branch power– but only one court got it right. While the 4th Circuit gave lip service to the judiciary’s role as a check on agency action, it deferred to the agency’s own interpretation of the law. The DC Circuit, however, actually put that check into play and ruled that the IRS acted without authority. If our courts merely defer to executive branch power, no check and balance exists. Judges must do the job of judging and not hand over this responsibility to the agencies.”

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07/21/2014

Department of Labor Prioritized Illegal Fundraising Over Following The Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        CONTACT:      

July 21, 2014                                                              Annalisa Burnett, 202-499-4232

Department of Labor Prioritized Illegal Fundraising Over Following The Law

WASHINGTON – Government watchdogs Cause of Action and Americans for Limited Government (ALG) exposed the Administration for valuing illegal fundraising for the President over its statutory duty to keep the public informed of its activities.

Cause of Action obtained documents revealing that a public records appeal filed by ALG with the Department of Labor (DOL) concerning former Secretary Solis’ calendars was held up for years before DOL released the information.

Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens:

“President Obama upon entering office promised us an open and transparent administration, stating that records should not be withheld ‘because of speculative or abstract fears.’ Instead of fulfilling this promise, the White House is micro-managing how agencies release records, apparently acting on exactly these types of fears. As a result, release of records is delayed and the delays in many instances destroy the public utility of the information in the records. These delays are, of course, contrary to FOIA and should cease immediately.”

Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein:

“Former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis chose to illegally fundraise for President Obama using taxpayer-funded resources while neglecting to ensure that the agency she oversaw was transparent.  DOL sat on records for years until the White House cleared the information for release.  Sadly, such delays have become par for the course under this Administration, which screens agency  documents containing White House “equities,”  — a broad and undefined term used to delay the release of politically sensitive information to the public, and even to Congress. Hiding behind White House equities is a threat to free speech and this Administration must be held accountable for it.”

Documents show that ALG’s FOIA appeal was delayed by over two years:

Sept. 1, 2010:  In response to a Jan. 14, 2010 FOIA request from ALG, DOL withheld a calendar entry showing that Solis met with Cecilia Munoz from White House on April 7, 2009.

Oct. 26, 2010:  ALG files FOIA appeal, challenging redactions.

Approx. March 2012:  Solis makes a fundraising call to a DOL employee during business hours in order to aid the President’s reelection campaign.

Apr. 8, 2013 to May 6, 2013:  DOL finally consults with White House Counsel’s Office about releasing the calendar entry; White House agrees to release.

May 20, 2013: DOL issues final response to ALG which includes the production of the calendar with the calendar entry.

 

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 Americans for Limited Government:

Americans for Limited Government is a non-partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms, private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG, visit www.GetLiberty.org.

To schedule an interview with Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein, contact media@causeofaction.org or (202) 499-4232. To schedule an interview with Americans for Limited Government’s President Nathan Mehrens, contact media@limitgov.org or (703) 383-0880 x 106.

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07/16/2014

Cause of Action statement regarding the latest Hatch Act concerns raised by Congress

Statement from Cause of Action Executive Director Dan Epstein on the latest Hatch Act concerns raised by Congress:

“The Office of Special Counsel’s (OSC) guidance on the Hatch Act prohibits certain federal employees from engaging in partisan political behavior that contributes to the success or failure of a political party, candidate or political group.  If the IRS used government resources to actively target partisan political groups, then why has OSC failed to enforce the Hatch Act against that agency?  The Obama Administration cannot have it both ways.  Either organizations singled out by this Administration are not partisan political groups and this President authorizes the suppression of First Amendment activity with impunity or the OSC is not enforcing the law against executive branch employees for their on-duty partisan targeting of organizations the White House claims are partisan political groups.”

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07/7/2014

Cause of Action Files Amicus Brief Before Supreme Court in Yates Case

Cause of Action, joined by Southeastern Legal Foundation and Texas Public Policy Foundation, has filed an amicus brief calling on the Supreme Court to overturn the conviction of a commercial fisherman who was prosecuted under Sarbanes-Oxley’s anti-shredding provision for throwing fish overboard.  According to CoA’s Executive Director Dan Epstein, “the government’s conduct in this case is quintessential Executive Branch overreach.  Congress never imagined, much less intended, that the law it passed to deter corporate financial scandals would be used the way it was here.  If the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s actions stand, then the regulatory floodgates will open more Americans to government abuse.”  CoA and the amici are represented by Gus Coldebella of Goodwin Procter LLP.

In the brief, CoA and the amici argued that if Captain Yates’ conviction is upheld, then a person who “conceals evidence of a surfboard being used on a beach designated for swimming, throws away a bag of chips from a workplace restroom prior to an OSHA inspection, fails to declare an item on a customs form at the airport, gets rid of a bat used in a teenager’s game of ‘mailbox baseball,’ or discards an empty container of medicine purchased from a foreign pharmacy” has violated SOX and faces up to twenty years in prison.

CoA and the amici also noted that Captain Yates’ case raises troubling questions about the government’s inconsistent application of the law, given the multiple cases of document destruction by federal officials.  For example, in 2011, during the course of an Inspector General investigation into NOAA’s Office of Enforcement, then director Dale J. Jones, Jr. actually shredded documents to conceal evidence.  Jones was not prosecuted—instead, he was given a different job. Similarly, Charles Edwards, former Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, allegedly destroyed documents to impede a federal investigation. Edwards, too, was reassigned to another federal job.

According to Epstein: “This is an obvious double standard: a taxpayer subsidized employee who destroys documents to obstruct an investigation (conduct clearly covered by the statute) is reassigned, while a taxpayer who throws fish overboard is sent to prison.  No system that treats government employees differently than average citizens engenders respect for the law.”

Yates v US Amicus Brief by Cause of Action

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06/26/2014

Cause of Action Signs Coalition Letters in Support of FOIA Reform

Senators Leahy and Cornyn recently introduced the FOIA Improvement Act of 2014.  This legislation makes several pro-requester improvements.

The legislation:

  • Codifies the presumption of openness
  • Puts limits on the use of Exemption 5
  • Improves OGIS’s ability to report to Congress and the President
  • Disallows agencies from using the unusual circumstances excuse to avoid waiving fees.  If the agency fails to comply within the extended 10 days, it may not assess search fees.
  • And other changes

Cause of Action signed two coalition letters with fifty organizations (organized by OpenTheGovernment.org) in support of FOIA Reform. OpenTheGovernment.Org’s press release can be found here.

FOIA Improvement Act Sign-On Letter 2014-06-19 by Cause of Action

Senate FOIA Bill Support Press Release by Cause of Action

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