Where is the Money Going?

76% of Political Fundraising Bashes Take Place within 3 Blocks of the U.S. Capitol

By far the most popular venue is The Capitol Hill Club, a purely Republican site that plays host to nearly 2,000 fundraising parties per year. A distant second is Johnny’s Half Shell, which entertains 861 bashes annually—two-thirds for Democrats and a third for Republicans. The top 10 venues account for 44% of all DC fundraisers. read more

Group that Spent $236 Million Last Year to Influence Elections Comes out of the Shadows (a Little)

In spending $236 million, Freedom Partners finished No. 2 in helping conservative causes, behind only Karl Rove’s American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS, which together spent about $300 million. Tax filings by the group revealed it has about 200 donors, each of whom pay at least $100,000 in annual dues. Among the donors are Charles G. and David H. Koch. read more

Balance of Financial Aid from Public Universities Tilts Away from Low-Income Students

In 1996, 34% of public college grants went to low-income students, while only 16% was given to higher-income students. By 2012, low-income students were still receiving a larger percentage of grants than wealthier students, but just barely. That’s because the share of aid going to poorer students had declined to 25%, while the portion going to higher income students rose to 23%. read more

IRS Cut Its Video Productions by 90% after Poor Reviews from Congress

Some IRS videos made for agency employees have been in a humorous vein, such as parodies of “The Apprentice” and “Gilligan’s Island.” But budget-cutting GOP lawmakers haven’t found anything funny with the IRS spending money on these videos, leading to repeated criticisms. The four-minute takeoff of “The Apprentice” reportedly cost $10,000. read more

U.S. Income Inequality Reaches Record Extreme

Wealth disparity between the rich and everyone else in the United States has reached a new extreme, according to an economic study out of the University of California, Berkeley (UCB). Last year, the top 10% of American society received more than half of the country’s total income, which was the highest level on record, economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty reported in their study. They also found that the top 1% of earners collected more than 20% of all U.S. income in 2012. read more

Has Post-9/11 GI Bill been Successful? No Way to Know

For-profit schools use veterans to avoid a federal requirement that no more than 90% of their revenues can come from government sources like Pell grants—but a loophole says that GI Bill benefits don’t count toward the 90% cap. This makes the veterans’ aid more valuable, and the Senate committee report cited constant phone calls by recruiters, pressuring applicants to sign contracts before speaking to a financial adviser. read more

Greater Burden on Vets as VA Tightens Small Business Rules to Avoid Fraud

More than $1 billion in government contracts meant for small businesses owned by disabled veterans had been reclassified by the VA over the last decade, resulting in nearly $150 million worth of work going to non-veteran companies. The reclassification came about after VA officials realized it had awarded millions of dollars in contracts to businesses that fraudulently claimed to be owned by veterans. read more

Lobbyists Earn Government Pensions in 20 States

Hundreds of lobbyists in at least 20 states currently are entitled to public pensions (and in some cases health care benefits) because they represent associations of counties, cities and school boards. Critics point out that the associations lobbyists represent are often private entities that face no public oversight of their activities, and can pay their executives private-sector salaries. read more

VA and Defense Dept. began Paying for New Records System while still Funding Abandoned One

So, now, the VA intends to spend $12 billion over five years to upgrade the agency’s IT systems, which is supposed to include interoperable software that can be used between the VA and the Pentagon. The VA began investing in this project in July 2011—back when the agency and the Defense Department were still spending money on the joint healthcare records system. read more

In 3 Years, Federal Spending has Dropped…1/20 of One Percent

$2 billion is no small amount of money. But, considering that total expenditures by the federal government only went down from $3.457 trillion in 2010 to $3.455 trillion today, the reduction isn’t all that much. Another way to look at it is this: federal spending fell by only 1/20 of 1%. read more

Federal Public Defenders Set to Take Heavy Hit from Budget Cuts

There are 81 public defender offices across the U.S. that handle 60% of all criminal defendants in the federal court system. These offices first were hit with a 10% budget cut earlier this year after sequestration kicked in. In the 2014 fiscal year, the offices could suffer another 23% reduction, plus another 10% cut due to additional budget trimming measures. read more

Government Report Accuses VA of Awarding Performance Bonuses without Proof of Performance

A surgeon left the operating room during a procedure, forcing residents to continue unsupervised until another surgeon was found. Although he was suspended for 14 days without pay, the surgeon got $11,189 in performance pay, nearly three-quarters of what he could have gotten. read more

Congressman Sues IRS over Failure to Regulate Election Activities of “Social Welfare” Groups

The IRS, according to the complaint, has flouted the intent of the statute by writing regulations that gut its social welfare requirement. Although the regulation “recognizes that electoral activity does not fall within the scope of activity promoting social welfare,” it also states that it is sufficient for an organization to operate “primarily” to promote social welfare, rather than “exclusively” so. read more

Should Dollar Coins Replace Dollar Bills?

It just so happens that these four senators represent “states with mining and metal-processing interests,” Steve H. Hanke, a Johns Hopkins University professor, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed arguing against the plan. But Americans may not like the idea. Two years ago, when similar legislation was introduced, a poll from Lincoln Park Strategies found that 76% of respondents “strongly opposed” the idea of the dollar coin. read more

Marijuana Industry Begs to be Taxed

The two lawmakers estimate that a $50-per-ounce tax could raise up to $20 billion annually for the government. This amount would exceed what the treasury receives through taxes on alcohol ($7.9 billion) and tobacco ($15 billion), they claim. Another House bill (the Small Business Tax Equity Act) would allow the Internal Revenue Service to provide breaks on federal income taxes for marijuana businesses. read more

Radiation More Often Prescribed by Doctors with Financial Interest in the Treatment

The GAO said Medicare beneficiaries often don’t know that their doctors stand to profit from the use of radiation therapy. Urologists “referred a substantially higher percentage of their prostate cancer patients” to radiation therapy when they owned the equipment (linear accelerators) or had financial ties to those who provided the treatment, the report said. read more