Where is the Money Going?
TV Stations Ignore Supreme Court-Approved Law on Political Ad Spending
The review of 200 ad buys showed that many commercial slots were purchased by unknown or obscure buyers or did not include how much was actually spent for the air time.
In terms of actual numbers, fewer than one out of six ads targeting federal candidates disclosed the name of the candidate or election. As a result, voters are left in the dark not knowing which special interest might be behind an attack ad.
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Hospitals Reaping Nonprofit Tax Breaks Come Up Short in Charitable Work
Health economists estimate that the nonprofit tax exemptions benefiting hospitals amount to more than $12 billion a year. In turn, however, these institutions are not giving back nearly that same amount to the needy. The New England Journal of Medicine reported earlier this year that hospitals spent an average of 7.5% of their operating costs on charity care and community benefit. Some spent less than 1%, while others about 20%. read more
More U.S. Money to Burn in Afghanistan, This Time Millions on Faulty Incinerators
The equipment, manufactured and supplied by International Home Finance & Development, was purchased so that soldiers at Forward Operating Base Sharana in Paktika Province could safely dispose of their solid waste. But the incinerators’ bad wiring—which wasn’t checked by the Corps of Engineers—left them useless.
That, coupled with construction delays, forced base personnel to use open-air burn pits to get rid of the waste. read more
American Airlines Agrees to Pay Cantor Fitzgerald for 9/11 Attack Business Losses without Admitting Liability
Cantor Fitzgerald reached a settlement last week of its 2004 lawsuit against American Airlines over Cantor’s business losses arising from the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. Cantor lost 658 of its 960 New York employees when terrorists flew an American Airlines jet into the center’s north tower, where its headquarters was located. read more
Senate Aims to Save Money by Cracking Down on Official Portraits
The bill, introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) and Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), would cap funding for the portraits at $20,000 per painting.
Another provision says taxpayer money can only be spent on portraits of those officials who are in the line of succession for the presidency (that being the vice president, the speaker of the House, the president pro tempore of the Senate and cabinet members).
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Billions of Dollars in Federal Contracts Go to Violators of Labor Laws
Oil giant BP continued to receive federal contracts even after paying $20 million in safety violation fees following a 2005 Texas refinery explosion that killed 15 employees. The report was also critical of the fact that a major federal contractor database said nothing about allegations of BP’s misconduct with regard to that event or the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. read more
Intelligence Contractors Give Millions to Congressional Oversight Members
Since 2005, the 20 top intelligence companies have contributed $3.7 million to members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, according to Maplight, a government watchdog organization.
This might help to explain why these two committees have stalled legislation by other members of Congress to reform NSA surveillance programs.
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Government Contractors Pay Rate Increased by $190,000 to $950,000 a Year; Federal Employees get 1% Raise
The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) increased the maximum contractor compensation that may be charged to government contracts by 24.8%, from $763,029 per employee per year to $952,308 per employee per year—even though government contractors are less efficient than government employees, who have to make do with a 1% raise after a three-year freeze on basic pay rates. read more
IRS Loses $2 Billion a Year to Employer Identification Number Fraud
Although the IRS has processes to prevent such fraud, TIGTA identified 767,071 e-filed 2011 individual tax returns with refunds possibly based on falsely reported income and withholding. Of the 285,670 EINs used on these tax returns, 277,624 were stolen EINs used on 752,656 tax returns with refunds totaling more than $2.2 billion, while 8,046 were falsely obtained EINs used on 14,415 tax returns with refunds of more than $50 million. read more
2012 Poverty Rate Highest in 20 Years
In 2012, an average family of four in the U.S. was defined as living in poverty if its pre-tax cash income was below $23,492. The rate varies widely from state to state—from 24.2% In Mississippi to 10.0% in New Hampshire. read more
3 Anonymous Americans Gave $50 Million to Karl Rove’s Super Pac; 5 Anonymous Donors Funded Most of Pro-Obama PAC
Just 3 donors accounted for 28% of Crossroads GPS's funding, while million-dollar donors gave at least 54% of it. Priorities USA, the Democratic-leaning political nonprofit founded last year by some former aides to Barack Obama, claimed a relatively modest $8.4 million of revenue on its 2012 return, including a donation of $2 million, three of $1 million, one of $900,000, and three of $500,000. Thus 89% of the group's revenues came from eight donors. read more
Pro-Fracking Bills in Congress Line Up with Sharp Increase in Industry Contributions
The three pro-fracking bills were HR 1900, which would fast-track pipeline construction, HR 1965, which would speed up oil and gas drilling permitting on federal lands, and HR 2728, which would weaken federal fracking regulations. Although none of the bills is thought to have a chance of passing the Senate, critics decried the financial influence of the industry. read more
Education Dept. Reaps Profits from Student Debt
The Education Department has made so much money off student loans that these earnings comprised nearly 50% of the agency’s total outlays last year, the biggest share in 16 years. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has been able to request fewer dollars from Congress for his department’s budget because it is so flush with cash from student loans. read more
Fraudulent Bookkeeping at the Pentagon said to be Business as Usual
In one case cited in the report, the U.S. Army managed to lose $5.8 billion from 2003 to 2011 on equipment and supplies that were supposed to be sent to reserve and regular units.
In another case, Reuters found that various military divisions had signed contracts for new orders of supplies that they already had in excess, often up to three years’ worth.
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Billions Wasted as Medicare Turns Blind Eye to Excessive Brand-Name Drug Prescriptions
One physician singled out by ProPublica was Dr. Hew Wah Quon, whose practice is in Los Angeles’ Chinatown. Quon wrote $27 million in prescriptions from 2009 to 2011 for his mostly low-income patients. But he largely prescribed branded medications. Had he recommended available generics instead, Medicare would have saved $5 million from this one doctor alone. read more
IRS Zeroes in on Obscure Tax Break for Rich Property Owners
The IRS wants to eliminate a tax break that financially has benefited wealthy landowners, but also preserved historic buildings and open lands. That’s why getting rid of the tax deduction may prove difficult, what with conservationists and rich individuals teaming up to fight the change.
Under a provision in the tax code, landowners can deduct millions of dollars from their tax bills if they own—and don’t alter—the historic structures they own. read more