The chief watchdog for the Environmental Protection Agency has recommended that the agency recoup $9 million in grant funds given to an Oregon non-profit – the entirety of the award – citing uncompetitive procurement costs, shoddy financial management, and inadequate reporting of information to the federal government. EPA awarded the …
The Commerce Department’s inspector general will investigate whether an obscure agency within the department spent millions of dollars on an annual conference near Disney World in Florida. The agency has disputed those allegations, first brought by congressional Republicans on behalf of a whistleblower. If the whistleblowers’ numbers — contained in …
It’s no secret that employment is the top concern for Americans. It stands to reason, then, that politicians will be hyping their proposals for job creation, and touting their respective records on that front. This week in Charlotte, NC, a number of speakers — including the keynote, San Antonio Mayor …
Venture corporatist Steve Westly benefitted personally and financially from President Obama’s push for green energy after supporting the president with major campaign contributions. Tonight he’ll take the stage in Charlotte, NC, for a high-profile speech. Westly heads up the California-based venture capital firm the Westly Group. He bundled more than $500,000 for Obama’s …
A major state-level teachers union accused a group promoting school choice for African-American families of supporting the notorious white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan in a series of statements on Thursday. The Louisiana Federation of Teachers accused the Louisiana Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) of advancing a “pro-KKK …
Brian has a tough job. He’s a socialist trying to sell a commodity. Wandering around Tuesday’s protest near the Republican convention in Tampa, FL, he asked for donations in exchange for the newspaper of his organization, the Socialist Alternative. His offer was a bit jarring, so I asked him whether …
A stimulus program designed to create jobs by funding rural utility projects has created only about 12% of the jobs projected at the outset of the program in a sample of towns recently examined by the Agriculture Department’s Inspector General. The IG examined 22 local utilities and government agencies to receive …
At least four states provide exemptions to anti-stalking laws for labor union officials conducting organizing activities, according to a new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Every state in America criminalizes stalking, generally defined as repeated unwanted contact with another individual designed to cause some sort of mental or …
A report from the Agriculture Department’s Inspector General has revealed some stunning examples of financial waste in the Department’s nascent technology security efforts, which have mismanaged about $63 million in taxpayer funding. Among the IG’s findings: the USDA spent more than $2 million on an internship program that only hired …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a large loan guarantee to a biofuel company whose investors donated handsome sums to the Obama campaign. Some of them have even visited the White House to discuss federal job-creation efforts. Taxpayers will guarantee a $105 million loan for Fulcrum Sierra BioFuels, a …
