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10/18/2018

Cause of Action Institute Files Lawsuit Against Commerce Department for Failing to Release Tariff Exemption Material & Information

Washington, D.C. (Oct. 18, 2018) – Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute), a government watchdog organization, today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce for failing to turn over public documents related to trade tariffs and tariff exemptions. CoA Institute first launched the investigation into the tariff exemption process after it was reported that some of the largest steel and aluminum manufacturers in the country had successfully blocked every tariff exemption filed by smaller U.S manufacturing companies.

John Vecchione, president and CEO of CoA Institute, issued the following statement:

“Tariffs manipulate the free market by creating government-controlled barriers that harm hardworking Americans and putting the economic health of our country at risk. We now have a system where the Executive Branch has the power to pick winners and losers. Our investigation seeks to uncover the process by which tariff exemptions are approved and denied, ensure the tariff-exemption exclusion process is free of political and corporate influence, and seek to uncover any communication between government officials and the companies successfully blocking tariff exemptions.”

Background and timeline:

Attachments:

  • Complaint – Cause of Action Institute v. U.S. Department of Commerce, No. 18-2397. Tariff Exemptions
  • FOIA #1 – Request for work calendars of staff and leadership at the U.S. Department of Commerce that may create or influence tariff and tariff exemption policy
  • FOIA #2 – Employee records relating to tariff exemption process, guidance and employees involved in the decision-making process
  • FOIA #3 – Any and all communication between staff and leadership at the U.S. Department of Commerce and companies benefiting from tariffs and those filing tariff exemptions

See also:

About Cause of Action Institute

Cause of Action Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit working to enhance individual and economic liberty by limiting the power of the administrative state to make decisions that are contrary to freedom and prosperity by advocating for a transparent and accountable government.

Media Contact:
Matt Frendewey
matt.frendewey@causeofaction.org
202-699-2018

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07/13/2017

CoAI Seeks Supreme Court Review of Job-Killing Fishing Regulation

High Court may be last hope to halt regulation that will put 60 percent of New England ground fishermen out of business

Washington, D.C. – Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) has filed a petition for writ of certiorari urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the legal arguments of our clients, groundfisherman David Goethel and a group of Northeast fishermen, who sued the U.S. Department of Commerce after the agency shifted the costs for at-sea monitors onto industry. At more than $700 per day at sea, these costs are more than double what many small-boat fishermen take home from an average day of fishing.

Both the U.S. District Court for New Hampshire and the First Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case, ruling that the fishermen’s suit was untimely based on when the rule was first disseminated, even though the regulatory costs were not shifted to industry until several years later.

CoA Institute Vice President Julie Smith: “Our clients deserve an opportunity to be heard on the merits. Fishermen who have done nothing wrong should not be put out of business by an unlawful regulation.”

The petition states:

“The First Circuit, in defiance of this Court’s precedents, refused to reach the merits of the fishermen’s challenge, holding that even though the fishermen would certainly face enforcement action for failure to comply with the Government’s unlawful monitoring requirement, they missed any opportunity to seek preenforcement review of that regulation. By requiring Petitioners to, quite literally, ‘bet the boat,’ the First Circuit has committed clear error in ignoring this Court’s precedents on pre-enforcement review…

“Here, the Government waited five years before deciding to implement the industry-funding requirement for the groundfish At-Sea Monitoring Program. Petitioners promptly filed suit, but, so far, have been denied a decision on the merits of their case. This Court should grant review to settle these . . . important questions of law and vindicate its own precedents, which will give the New England fishing industry a second chance at life.”

David Goethel: “After 30 years of fishing, I can’t afford to fish any longer if I’m forced to pay for at-sea monitors. These regulatory costs will devastate small boat fishermen like myself. The Supreme Court may be our last hope to save an industry that for centuries has provided a living for fishermen in New England.”

Northeast Fishery Sector 13 Manager John Haran: “The fishermen in my sector can’t sustain this industry funding requirement and many will be put out of business if this mandate remains in place. The livelihoods of generations of proud fishermen in New England are at stake.”

Case Background:

In November 2015, the Department of Commerce finally announced the date by which sector fishermen, who fish for cod, flounder and certain other ground fish, must not only carry third-party contractors known as “at-sea monitors” on their vessels during fishing trips, but also pay out-of-pocket for the cost of those monitors.  CoA Institute’s clients filed suit to challenge this “industry funding” requirement, which will devastate the Northeast fishing industry, at the price of many jobs and family livelihoods.

In July 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire dismissed the lawsuit. CoA Institute appealed the decision and in April 2017, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the District Court’s ruling, but without addressing the merits of the case. The Circuit Court held that the fishermen’s suit was untimely, and must have been filed within thirty days of the original agency rule that mandated industry-funding, despite the fact that the requirement never enforced for nearly half a decade.  Interestingly, while the First Circuit did not address the merits of the case, it did emphasize the devastating economic impacts of the regulation and, in a rare move, urged congressional action to clarify the law regarding who should pay for the at-sea monitors.

To learn more, visit the Cause of Action Institute website.

For information regarding this press release, please contact Zachary Kurz, Director of Communications: zachary.kurz@causeofaction.org

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04/18/2017

Court of Appeals Upholds Decision on Reg That Will Put 60 Percent of New England Ground Fishermen Out of Business

Judges refuse to consider legal arguments, but implore Congress to clarify the law about who should pay for at-sea monitors 

Washington, D.C. – On Friday, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the District Court’s ruling last summer that a lawsuit filed by Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute) on behalf of Plaintiffs David Goethel and Northeast Fishery Sector 13 against the U.S. Department of Commerce should be dismissed.

In its opinion, the Court found that the fishermen’s suit was untimely and therefore did not consider the Plaintiff’s legal arguments that requiring fishermen to pay for monitors is against the law.  However, in a rare move, the judges highlighted the devastating economic impacts of the regulation in question, and urged Congress to clarify the law and who should pay for the at-sea monitors.

“I am disappointed by the decision,” Goethel said. “But I’m hopeful that Congress will heed the Court’s direction and clarify the law. It is the government’s obligation to pay for these at-sea monitors. I’ve made a living fishing in New England for more than 30 years and I have never exceeded a single fishing quota. But I can’t afford to fish if I am forced to pay for at-sea monitors.  I’m grateful to Cause of Action Institute for bringing this case forward, and I remain hopeful that Congress will clarify the law to ensure the New England groundfishing industry is not regulated out of existence.”

Northeast Fishery Sector 13 Manager John Haran said, “I’m disappointed that timeliness of the case was the Court’s deciding factor and not the merits of our arguments. The fishermen in my sector can’t sustain this industry funding requirement and many will be put out of business if this mandate remains in place.”

Cause of Action Vice President Julie Smith said, “We are disappointed that the First Circuit did not reach the merits of our case.  While we respect the opinion of the First Circuit, the federal government is clearly overextending its regulatory power and is destroying an industry.  We are considering all of our legal options for judicial review on the merits.  We also encourage Congress and the Administration to act swiftly to ensure that these unlawful regulatory costs do not put an end to the tradition of generations of proud fishermen in New England.”

Background:

In December 2015, the Department of Commerce ordered that fishermen who fish for cod, flounder and certain other fish in the Northeast United States not only must carry National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) enforcement contractors known as “at-sea monitors” on their vessels during fishing trips, but must pay out-of-pocket for the cost of those monitors.  This “industry funding” requirement would devastate the Northeast fishing industry, at the price of many jobs and livelihoods.  The opinion by the First Circuit upholds the lower court’s decision and allows this job-killing mandate to remain in place.

To learn more, visit the Cause of Action Institute website.

For information regarding this press release, please contact Zachary Kurz, Director of Communications at CoA Institute: zachary.kurz@causeofaction.org

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08/19/2014

FOIA Follies: Department of Commerce Accidentally Says No Responsive Records, Then Wrongfully Withholds 30 Pages

Cause of Action is continuing to investigate improper White House review of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by asking agencies to produce their communications with the White House. We recently sued 12 agencies that have failed to provide a final response to our FOIA Requests. We submitted a FOIA request to The Department of Commerce (Commerce) asking for its communications with the White House on November 26, 2013. After eight months of waiting, Commerce responded on June 25, 2014 saying that there were no responsive documents.

No Docs

Cause of Action received a supplemental response from Commerce 25 minutes later informing us to disregard the previous email and provided a new final response. The new response: “The responsive documents located in response to your FOIA request are being withheld in their entirety.” Commerce withheld 30 pages of documents in full, citing FOIA exemptions 5 and 6. By contrast, every other agency that has responded to our request provided documents with only some redactions and nothing withheld in full.

withheld

In less than 30 minutes, “no responsive documents” becomes 30 pages of documents “withheld in their entirety.” This is transparency in the “most transparent administration in history.”

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