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Monday, February 4, 2013 Morning News

February 4, 2013 by

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has announced his resignation, joining the ranks of other members of the president’s cabinet to step down after his first term in office. The Daily Caller has the latest:

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced on Friday that he would leave the Obama administration sometime after February and planned to return to academic life in California after serving four years and coming under harsh criticism from Republicans.

The Republican Oversight Committee has been seeking documents related to potential contract-rigging at USAID. More from the Washington Post:

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has threatened to subpoena the nation’s foreign aid agency if it doesn’t hand over documents and information relating to alleged wrongdoing by top agency officials…The oversight committee is examining an inspector general’s investigation into possible contract-rigging by the agency’s general counsel and allegations that USAID’s second-ranking executive interfered with the probe.

Retired monkeys living it up on federal tab in Louisiana ‘Chimp Haven’

Filed Under: News

Wednesday, January 30, 2013 Morning News

January 30, 2013 by

Coverage of our Drakes Bay Oyster Company lawsuit against the Department of the Interior and National Park Service continues. Listen as Owner Kevin Lunny details the fight on KALW San Francisco:

Drakes Bay Oyster Company, an oyster farm in the Point Reyes National Seashore, is at the center of a nationwide debate over what it means to preserve wilderness. When the national seashore was created, the oyster farm got a 40 year lease to operate on the park land. That lease expired at the end of 2012, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar refused to renew it.

There is more trouble at the Department of the Interior this week. Assistant Secretary Tony Babauta, an Obama Appointee, has resigned following an investigation into his official travel. More from the Washington Post:

A Department of Interior official whose official travel and other conduct was being investigated has resigned. Tony Babauta, the Assistant Interior Secretary for Insular Areas, is leaving the agency Feb. 1, a spokesman tells the Loop, though Babauta has been on administrative leave since Nov. 17 while the investigation was pending. President Obama named Babauta, a native of Guam, to the position in 2009. He was tasked with overseeing U.S. territories including Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. 

Ray LaHood announced that he will vacate his position as Secretary of the Department of Transportation after four years in the position. The Washington Times has this story:

President Obama is losing another trusted member of his Cabinet with the announcement Tuesday that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is leaving the administration. Mr. LaHood, 67, the last Republican still serving in Mr. Obama’s Cabinet, said he will stay on until a successor is confirmed by the Senate. The president has not yet announced a nominee.

There’s a new watchdog in town this week as the SEC names a new Inspector General.

More interesting reads:

Federal Computer Week – Groups call for stronger FOIA

Filed Under: News Tagged With:

The future may not hold the “sunshine” we government accountability advocates long to see.

January 21, 2013 by

In November we asked why the President continues to ignore laws that have been put in place to protect the integrity of the election system. What we continue to find is that there is a pressing need for increased accountability, not just over election law, but in holding administration officials accountable.

In April 2012 when the Federal Election Commission approved an audit by a vote of 6-0 finding that the Obama for America campaign “did not file required 48-hour notices for 1,312 contributions totaling $1,972,266 that were received prior to the general election,” the Obama for America Campaign agreed to pay the FEC a $375,000 fine, the largest fine ever given to a presidential campaign. Obama campaign spokeswoman Katie Hogan downplayed the FEC investigation, but this audit demonstrated that the FEC will take violations and enforcement of the law seriously.

Will this commitment from the FEC serve as a catalyst in an Administration for greater transparency and oversight? If the best predictor of future success is past behavior, the future may not hold the “sunshine” we government accountability advocates long to see.

Take the following examples into consideration:

When Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius violated the Hatch Act she lamented that the ruling was “somewhat unfair” and her actions were “technical and minor.” Regardless, she still broke the law and is the highest Administration official to ever be found guilty of a Hatch Act violation, yet she received no formal punishment for her actions.

National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Lafe Solomon was not prosecuted for violating conflict of interest laws, but instead was excused by the Board’s Office of Inspector General by a claim of “extenuating and mitigating circumstances.” According to a sworn affidavit by a former ethics officer at the NLRB, Solomon should not have been excused.

These are just two examples of a culture of abuse of power that seems to be carried out by the President and his Administration: First from his campaign, then through his first term. What will happen in his second term? The American people deserve public officials that are held accountable for their actions, and we will continue to call the President and his officials on the carpet in our demands for accountability and transparency.

Filed Under: Blog

Truth-Out.org: Government Ethical Standards Are Toothless, Unenforced

January 8, 2013 by

Read full article here. Truth-Out.org

“Nonpartisan watchdog Cause of Action said in a memo that “OGE recklessly disregarded clear warning signs of waste, fraud and abuse at GSA. Furthermore, any mismanagement or fraud within the OGE is subject to review only by OGE itself, as OGE lacks an inspector general.”

In the 34 years since the formation of OGE, none of the 5,700 employees working in the 133 executive agencies has found any wrongdoing to be significant enough to trigger enforcement of ethical standards. Similarly, Congressional oversight of the executive branch has ignored president/s who condone torture, assassination, imprisonment of whistleblowers they formerly encouraged, violate the Constitution at will and have been accused of war crimes by constitutional lawyers…”

Filed Under: News

Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act signed into law

November 27, 2012 by

At Cause of Action, we are always interested in whistleblower protection. In fact, the fight for government accountability depends on whistleblowers from within the government who are willing to step forward to hold our government accountable.

Today, President Obama signed into law the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act (WPEA), furthering protection for those who report government waste, fraud and abuse.

After many years spent in development, the WPEA was presented to the Senate and unanimously passed on November 14, 2012. Soon after, on November 21, President Obama waived the rescission of $11.5 million in funds for several department and agency inspectors generals so they could continue their long-term investigations. The waiver applies to the departments of Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation, National Science Foundation and Small Business Administration. The waiver also applies to the Department of Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration.

The new law puts into effect many positive changes:

(1)    It increases protections for whistleblowing to Congress.

(2)    It increases agency responsibility to inform prospective whistleblowers of their rights.

(3)    It requires Inspector Generals to directly appoint assistant IGs for whistleblower protection and investigation purposes.

(4)    It specifically outlines the need to protect against censorship of data and research at federal agencies.

 

Read more about the WPEA here and listen to Executive Director, Dan Epstein, discuss it here.

Blow the Whistle here.

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Get on the Party Bus with CTA

October 26, 2012 by

CTA Infographic

Cause of Action’s investigative report, “A Bus Tour of Chicago-Style Fraud,” revealed the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) may have improperly received up to $150 million in taxpayer funds, dating as far back as 1982. Since our report was published, we now know that the Department of Transportation was aware of over-reporting by CTA, and we’ve seen a letter the Federal Transit Administration sent to CTA on April 27, 2012 instructing them to correct their 2011 data.  And new questions have emerged.

  • Why did FTA not act on Thomas Rubin’s 2007 report of this exact behavior by the CTA?
  • When did DOT Inspector General Calvin Scovel decide to investigate the matter?
  • Is there evidence to suggest that this same type of over-reporting is happening at other transit authorities around the United States?
  • Why hasn’t the FTA reported the CTA to the Department of Justice for a criminal investigation in light of their over-reporting and potential years of defrauding American taxpayers?
  • How does the President explain the Chicago connections of Robert Rivkin, Valerie Jarrett and others in light of this misuse of taxpayer dollars?

This final question highlights several ties between the Chicago Transit Authority and the Obama Administration.

  • Robert Rivkin, the current general counsel for the United States Department of Transportation, previously served as the general counsel for the Chicago Transit Authority, from 2001-2004.
  • Valerie Jarrett, the former Chair of CTA (1995-2003), now serves as a senior advisor for public engagement and intergovernmental affairs in the Obama administration.
  • Forrest Claypool, the current President of the CTA was appointed to the position by Rahm Emanuel, former chief of staff for the 44th president and current mayor of Chicago. Before coming to CTA, Claypool served as a member of Obama’s media team in 2008.
  • Shelia Nix, former CTA board member (and also a former aide to Rod Blagojevich), now serves as Vice President Biden’s chief of staff.

Cause of Action thinks that these connections raise questions about the nature of the relationship between Washington and CTA, especially given how reluctant the FTA was to investigate allegations of over-reporting that were raised as early as 2007.

 

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Bloomberg story proves Cause of Action’s investigation right on the money

October 23, 2012 by

Last week, Cause of Action released a report called, “A Bus Tour of Chicago Style Fraud.” It turns out that our suspicions were correct. As Bloomberg News reports today , the U.S. Transportation Department knew that “…[the] Chicago Transit Authority collected more federal aid than it should have after inflating mileage covered by its bus routes.”

The Federal Transit Administration, part of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, not only knew of the over-reporting by CTA, but it seemingly ignored evidence of it for years because, as our report outlines, a 2007 audit showed that something was awry with the way CTA was reporting their mileage.

Instead, the USDOT chose to wait until this year to instruct CTA to change its behavior moving forward, as highlighted in an April 27, 2012 letter that FTA sent to CTA.

“FTA’s letter highlights two very important facts,” said Cause of Action’s Executive Director Dan Epstein. “First, CTA was, as Cause of Action suspected, violating the reporting manual used to calculate VRM, thereby improperly receiving federal grant money. But secondly, FTA is revealing that it had knowledge of overreporting occurring, and by conducting a review of only 2011, it ignored the 2007 report presented by auditor Thomas Rubin that showed the same potential actions happening in fiscal year 2006.”

So the question of why an investigation didn’t happen until 2011 despite clear evidence that it should have happened sooner remains unanswered by the FTA.

“It appears an explanation for why FTA limited its review to one year, and failed to disclose its findings to Cause of Action following our expedited FOIA request, is that there is clearly a politically motivated cover-up happening at the Department of Transportation” said Epstein.

Cause of Action’s investigation into the poor stewardship of tax dollars only further raises the spectre of corruption at the same agency where Cause of Action revealed two top officials who violated the Hatch Act, Epstein said.

“Just as no punishment occurred when Kathleen Sebelius violated the Hatch Act, no punishment will occur with a CTA that defrauded the American taxpayers. Cause of Action exists to fight this kind of corruption and show the American taxpayers exactly what is happening to their money in the hands of corrupt politicians,” concludes Epstein.

In the coming days, Cause of Action hopes to be able to answer these questions on behalf of taxpayers of the United States.

  1. When did DOT Inspector General Calvin Scovel decide to investigate the matter?
  2. Is there evidence to suggest that this same type of overreporting is happening at other transit authorities around the United States?
  3. Why hasn’t the FTA reported the CTA to the Department of Justice for a criminal investigation in light of their overreporting and potential years of defrauding American taxpayers?
  4. How does the President explain the Chicago connections of Secretary LaHood, Robert Rivkin, Valerie Jarret and himself in light of this misuse of taxpayer dollars?
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