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San Francisco Chronicle: Drakes Bay Oyster Co. sues feds in fight over farm

December 5, 2012 by

Owner of Drakes Bay Oyster Company

Read the full story here. SF Gate

“If allowed to stand, Secretary Salazar’s decision will terminate 31 full-time jobs, deprive 15 employees of affordable housing, hijack a property right of the State of California and permanently tear the fabric of a rural community,” stated the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco and made public Tuesday by the Washington D.C. nonprofit group, Cause of Action.

The suit asks the court to overturn the decision and allow the oyster farm owner, Kevin Lunny and his family, to be reimbursed for damages and allowed to continue harvesting oysters at least until another environmental report is completed and approved.

Salazar decided not to renew Lunny’s lease because, he said, the park service had made a commitment in 1972 to turn the 2,500-acre inlet into the first marine wilderness on the West Coast. Even though Salazar’s decision was not based on the oyster farm’s alleged impacts on the environment, lawyers for Cause of Action claim a rider inserted by Sen. Dianne Feinstein in an appropriations bill required him to consider the issue.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle / SF

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , ,

Cause of Action Responds to U.S.Government’s Attempt to Dismiss Ralls Corp. v. Obama et al.

November 30, 2012 by

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       CONTACT:      

NOVEMBER 28, 2012                                           Mary Beth Hutchins, 615-337-3710

Cause of Action Responds to U.S. Government’s Attempt to Dismiss Ralls Corp. v. Obama, et al.

WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (COA), a government accountability group, responded today to oral arguments in the case Ralls Corp. v Obama, et al challenging a shut-down of a Chinese-owned wind farm project in Oregon.  CoA filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of the American landowners and the American company Oregon Windfarms whose property and companies were a part of the Ralls Corp. wind farm project that was shut down by the federal government, specifically under the direction of both the President and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Amber Abbasi, Cause of Action’s Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, said:

When the federal government ignores the Constitution and the President acts beyond his authority, America’s job creators and therefore the American people are the ones who suffer. This court must therefore hold that Ralls’s claims are properly subject to its review.

Cause of Action filed its amicus brief on November 12, 2012. The brief can be found here.

Cause of Action represents the American-owned green energy company Oregon Windfarms, which originally designed the “Butter Creek Projects”—a group of four wind farms that started development and were sold to Ralls Corporation before the government intruded. CFIUS, an agency created during the Cold War era to review the implications of foreign investments in the United States on our national interest, sought to undo the wind farms’ sale to Ralls and prohibit third parties from purchasing the project companies. Its efforts were followed by a presidential order asserting even broader authority over the sale. The halted deal not only harms Ralls, but it also discourages investment in the United States and threatens the rights of American property and business owners.

Of additional concern to Cause of Action is how the federal government is spending taxpayer dollars through CFIUS. Instead of focusing on credible national security threats, the government has decided to target a company which the FAA and the Navy have already determined does not pose a threat. Add that to the detriment brought to consumers who would have benefitted from a lower cost energy supply from these wind farm projects and it is clear that this is yet another example of federal government power exceeding its proper limitations with damaging effects.

About Cause of Action:

Cause of Action is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that uses investigative, legal, and communications tools to educate the public on how government accountability and transparency protects taxpayer interests and economic opportunity. For more information, visit www.causeofaction.org.

To schedule an interview with Dan Epstein, Cause of Action’s Executive Director, or Amber Abbasi, Cause of Action’s Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, contact Mary Beth Hutchins, mary.beth.hutchins@causeofaction.org or Briton Bennett, briton.bennett@causeofaction.org.

 

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Filed Under: Press Release

Greenwire: Profile of Cause of Action, the watchdog group could be the “busiest advocacy group”

November 15, 2012 by

The most active nonprofit you’ve never heard of

Learn More

Filed Under: Media, News

Update: CoA to defend motion to dismiss in Fuel Cell Energy cronyism case

November 14, 2012 by

Over the past few months, Cause of Action has been working to expose the state of Delaware’s scheme to favor Bloom Energy, Inc. over its competitors. The cronyism that has been taking place reveals unconstitutional discrimination against other companies and because of this deal, the burden has been unfairly placed on Delaware taxpayers.

Today, Cause of Action’s Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs, Amber Abbasi, presented oral arguments in court arguing the need for a fair trial. We hope the judge will decide to allow us to defend the taxpayers of Delaware and fight the cronyism deal.

Read more about the case here. The complaint can be found here.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With:

Press Release: Cause of Action Files Hatch Act Complaint Against Interior Sec. Ken Salazar

November 1, 2012 by

 

Cause of Action Files Hatch Act Complaint Against Interior Sec. Ken Salazar

Did Salazar Campaign for President Obama While On Official Business?

WASHINGTON – Cause of Action (CoA) filed a complaint on Monday with the Office of Special Counsel requesting an evaluation of activities and statements made by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar at an October 5, 2012 event in Colorado that appear to violate the Hatch Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 7323(a) & 7324(a).

As first reported by The Colorado Observer, Sec. Salazar, “a former state attorney general and U.S. senator from Colorado, appeared at an event sponsored by the Montrose County Democratic Party. The party’s online calendar encouraged would-be participants to ‘(m)eet and greet our Democratic elected officials on their RV tour of the Western Slope, including Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.’”

Reports from the event claim that Sec. Salazar invoked support for the re-election of President Obama, which, if done in his official capacity as Secretary of the Interior, would be a violation of the Hatch Act.

 

“Cause of Action has serious concern about yet another administration official using taxpayer-funded time, travel, and title for direct political campaigning,” said Dan Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action. “First we exposed two Federal Aviation Administration officials for directing employees how to vote. The very next week, Sec. Kathleen Sebelius was found to have violated two counts of the Hatch Act, and now it 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.”

 

If Sec. Salazar is found to have violated the Hatch Act, his activity is considered illegal. As Cause of Action wrote in their complaint filed with the Office of Special Counsel:

 

“On October 5, 2012, Secretary Salazar may have used his official title to promote the 2012 candidacy of Barack Obama for President. Secretary Salazar appeared at numerous rallies in Colorado where he encouraged citizens to register to vote in the November election and he leveraged his title to appeal to swing voters about the importance of Colorado -one of eight so-called purple states – in this election, as well as the importance of re-electing Obama because of the supposed damage a President Romney would do for the country’s future. This is clearly partisan activity in violation of 5 U.S.C. § 7323(a) and possibly a violation of 5 U.S.C. § 7324(a), if Secretary Salazar was acting while on official duty.”

 

The complaint filed with OSC can be found here.

 

About Cause of Action:

Cause of Action is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that uses investigative, legal, and communications tools to educate the public on how government accountability and transparency protects taxpayer interests and economic opportunity. For more information, visit www.causeofaction.org.

 

To schedule an interview with Dan Epstein, Cause of Action’s Executive Director contact Mary Beth Hutchins, mary.beth.hutchins@causeofaction.org or Briton Bennett, briton.bennett@causeofaction.org.

 

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Filed Under: Press Release

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.

 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With:

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?
Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: ,