The federal government is owed $35 billion in fines from criminals and from civil cases, the majority of which comes from white collar criminals, who only pay 7 percent of restitution. According to the Associated Press, this amount is five times higher then it was a decade ago. Much of the uncollected money comes from violations of federal regulations, such as violations of mine safety laws. In most cases the federal government has waived the fines in favor of compliance, such as in the case of violations at nuclear facilities throughout the country. Anti-nuclear activist Greg Mello calls this, “kind of an exercise in absurdity.” The Government Accountability Office, an independent investigative office, has warned that the failure to enforce penalties and fines will undermine the effectiveness of enforcement agencies. Of course, this 2004 Denver Post story may shed some light on why the federal government is failing to take punitive action against violators.
Continue readingContractor Tier System Wasting Taxpayer Money:
Rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region is proving especially costly thanks to a dysfunctional contracting system. To understand how taxpayer money is wasted Reuters asks the key question, “How many contractors does it take to haul a pile of tree branches?” The answer: “at least four: a contractor, his subcontractor, the subcontractor's subcontractor, and finally, the local man with a truck and chainsaw.” If you want to get a roof patched you are going to need to get six contractors: “At the bottom tier is a Spanish-speaking crew making less than 10 cents for every square foot of tarpaulin installed. At the top, the prime contractor bills the government 15 times as much for the same job.” Watchdog groups and the Government Accountability Office have criticized the process claiming that it has cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars while the smaller subcontractors are being cheated by the large contractors.
Continue readingIn Other News:
Jeff Birnbaum of the Washington Post explains a little-known court case involving a Congressional police officer that may effect future bribery and corruption charges brought against lawmakers in the Jack Abramoff scandal. … Shareholder activists are leading a push to force corporations to make available online their political ties and contributions, according to the Los Angeles Times. … United Parcel Services has spent more money on political contributions over the past 15 years than any other company, according to Bloomberg. Now, they are asking for a return on their investment. … Roll Call’s K Street Files reports that the business group Committee for Economic Development has thrown its weight behind lobbying and ethics reform. … One ex-lobbyist campaigns for another ex-lobbyist in Georgia, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. … The Senate may pick up lobbying and ethics reform legislation the day after the St. Patrick’s Day recess ends, but only for one day, according to Roll Call, as Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) wants to move on to immigration reform. … According to Roll Call, “The Senate Ethics Committee signed off last year on a unique arrangement between the office of Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and the Montana State University telecommunications center that bears his name.”
Continue readingIn Blog Daylight:
Paul Kiel at TPM Muckraker looks at the finances of Julie Doolittle, the wife of Abramoff-linked Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), and finds that she has only worked for four clients as a fundraiser, her husband's campaign, where she got 15 percent of every contribution; Jack Abramoff’s restaurant and charity; and the DeLay-Abramoff lobby shop Alexander Strategies. All of these groups and individuals are under investigation for possible illegal activities. … Captain Ed at Captain’s Quarters voices his displeasure with this new revelation about Doolittle claiming, “I don't really care whether a politician has a D or an R after their name when this kind of nonsense occurs; all I know is that this stinks to high heaven.” … Arianna Huffington writes about John Ashcroft’s recent move to K Street in her Huffington Post. … Public Campaign’s Paid for by… blog reports that House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) is the main sponsor of a bill that would gut the pension system while also being a main recipient of campaign money from the securities and investment industry.
Continue readingAshcroft Moves to K Street:
Former attorney general John Ashcroft has relocated to K Street with a new career as a top Washington lobbyist specializing in homeland security firms and corporate accountability. According to the New York Times, Ashcroft has assembled a “talented team” of “Republican insiders” to tackle the expanding lobbying enterprise for firms seeking homeland security contracts. Ashcroft uses the phrase, “I’ve been at the heart of the war on terror,” as his sale pitch to explain why he can get big contracts for security firms. One of his more prominent clients is ChoicePoint, “a broker of consumer data” that “received millions of dollars in contracts from the Justice Department” during Ashcroft’s tenure as attorney general.
Continue readingKempthorne to Take Over at Interior Department:
Idaho Governor Dick Kempthorne (R) was chosen by President Bush to be the next Secretary of the Interior, according to the Washington Post. Kempthorne will replace Gale Norton, a highly controversial Interior secretary who consistently sided with corporate interests over environmental concerns and became entwined in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Kempthorne is already being hailed as an equally controversial choice. He received over $200,000 from energy and natural resources companies during his Senate career and backs oil and gas industry wish list items like drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve and offshore drilling. Kempthorne also fought to “open national forests to logging, mining, and oil and gas drilling.”
Continue readingIn Other News:
A report by the General Accounting Office shows that contracts for clean-up and rebuilding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina wasted millions of dollars. An Associated Press report shows that “[w]aste and mismanagement were widespread due to poor planning and miscommunication” which “led to money being paid for services, such as housing or ice, that were never used.” … The Center for Public Integrity issues a report on John Boehner (R-OH) and his use of corporate money and jets to ferry him around the country and the world. … The Washington Times reports that an aide, Lauren Weiner, at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee “will plead guilty to a federal charge of illegally obtaining Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele's credit report”. She will be required to complete 150 hours of community service and will serve no jail time. … In a victory for citizens and transparency, Philadelphia now offers campaign-finance information on citywide officials and potential candidates on the internet, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. … Clear Channel has rejected a billboard that called on Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA) to return $30,000 donated to him by former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. … The Associated Press reports that the Idaho Senate passed the first reform to the state’s lobbying laws in 32 years, expanding lobbying registration requirements to “include those who are paid to lobby all elected officials, administrative directors, and appointed commission members who wield influence over state contract awards.” … The minority office of the House Committee on Government Reform issued a report showing that taxpayers pay millions of dollars for campaign stops made by the President and Vice President.
Continue readingIn Blog Daylight:
Red State Rebels write that, “all these months (years?) of schmoozing the prez have finally paid off for Dirk Kempthorne,” while highlighting President Bush’s use of code: Kempthorne will preside over the “wise stewardship” of public lands. … Arizona Congress Watch points out that Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) introduced earmark reform, or as McCain calls it, the “Pork-Barrel Reduction Act”. … Rabbi Daniel Lapin’s non-profit Toward Tradition is having financial difficulties since it was named a money-laundering conduit in the Jack Abramoff scandal, according to the blatherWatch.
Continue readingRepublicans Clash over Ethics and Lobbying Reform:
“We need to bring about bold, strong reform,” Rules Chairman David Drier (R-CA) declared despite the Republican leadership’s plan to “indefinitely shelve the Senate bill tightening lobbying law” and Republican opposition to many aspects of a reform package. The Los Angeles Times reports that many rank-and-file House Republicans are upset over a proposed ban on private travel and restrictions on earmarks. The disunion over ethics and lobbying reform has also split the leadership. The Hill reports that Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) “erupted at Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) because he thought the newly elected majority leader was dragging his feet on lobbying reform.” Boehner has opposed the private travel ban proposed by Drier and Hastert in the wake of the Cunningham and Abramoff guilty pleas. Lobbying and ethics reform “has created significant tension within the leadership” as “[r]ank-and-file members have tried to play leaders off each other”.
Continue readingHouse Republicans Target ‘527’s:
Lobbying and ethics reform may be causing fissures in the Republican caucus, but they are coming together around a campaign finance reform that targets independent ‘527’ organizations. The Washington Post reports, “As part of the House GOP proposals, ‘527’ organizations that operate independently of the political parties would no longer be allowed to collect unlimited sums from individuals. … Instead, the groups would be governed by federal campaign finance laws that would restrict such giving to a total of $30,000 from individuals per year.” ‘527’ groups, named after the section of the tax code that governs them, “heavily aided Democrats in the 2004 elections” with such groups as MoveOn and others accepting millions of dollars in donations from small numbers of donors. While Democrats tend to use ‘527’s more than Republicans the group Progress for America, which is closely tied to the White House, helped push the Supreme Court nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito and waged a campaign against Iraq war protester Cindy Sheehan.
Continue reading
59063
