The Paper Trail: September 10, 2024

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The Paper Trail

Announcements

Working with Agency & Industry Counsel on Oversight & Investigations: POGO’s virtual training on how to work cooperatively with investigative subjects to achieve your oversight goals will be held Friday, September 13 at 12 noon EDT. This event is only open to staff in Congress, GAO, and CRS. Register HERE.

The Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds has new guidance on closing whistleblower cases (PDF) and supporting whistleblowers with FOIA (PDF). These resources and more are available on the Office’s Guidance Documents webpage.

The Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy granted its 2024 Award for Excellence in Oversight Research to the paper “Common Law Executive Privilege(s)” by Jonathan David Shaub, associate professor at the University of Kentucky College of Law.

Top stories for September 10, 2024

House Republicans and Democrats issue dueling documents casting blame for mistakes made in U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: Republicans accused President Biden of demanding an exit no matter the cost and claimed his administration prioritized optics over personnel security. Democrats claim the GOP manipulated the facts and cast blame on the Trump administration’s deal with the Taliban. (Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood, CNN)

Iraqi banks used U.S.-created system to funnel funds to Iran: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s process to move Iraq’s oil earnings lacked key money-laundering safeguards, resulting in years of illicit transfers that financed terrorist groups. (David S. Cloud, Wall Street Journal)

Even after unanimous Senate approval, a bill addressing dire judge shortage faces uphill climb in the House: It’s been 34 years since Congress last passed a comprehensive bill increasing the number of judges on lower federal courts. In that period, the American population has grown by 80 million and the number of filings in district courts increased by more than 30%. (Tierney Sneed, CNN)

Maui wildfire recovery effectively paused without additional funds: The government has spent approximately $3 billion on Maui wildfire recovery efforts and has made significant progress; however, continuing improvements are essentially on hold unless Congress provides additional funding. (Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive)

Wrecked rain gauges. Whistleblowers. Million-dollar payouts and manhunts. Then a Colorado crop fraud got really crazy: Waste and mistakes have been inherent in crop subsidy programs, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Outright fraud is much rarer, and the Department of Agriculture says it has worked diligently to eliminate fraud in recent years. (Michael Booth, Colorado Sun)

Buying elections could become a tax deduction: The flood of dark money in politics was ushered in by a 2010 Supreme Court decision which allowed corporations and outside groups to spend unlimited amounts on elections. If a new lawsuit is successful, the country’s rich and powerful could have even more incentive to fund dark-money efforts in the form of a big tax break. (Helen Santoro, The Lever)

Supreme Court Ethics

Justice Alito reported $900 concert tickets from a German princess: On his most recent financial disclosure form, Alito reported a single gift: $900 concert tickets from Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, a German princess known for her links to conservative activists. His disclosure doesn’t list details, but the princess revealed in an interview that the tickets were for an annual summer celebration she hosts at her Bavarian castle. (Abbie VanSickle, New York Times)

🔎 See Also: Justice Alito’s stock portfolio stands apart on Supreme Court (Emily Birnbaum, Bloomberg)

Elena Kagan keeps pressing for ethics code enforcement at Supreme Court: At an appearance Monday, Justice Kagan leaned into her call for an enforcement mechanism, although she steered clear of a suggestion she made last year that Congress’ power to dictate ethics rules for the court was well established. (Josh Gerstein, Politico)

Political Misbehavior

Trump threatens prosecution of 2024 election officials if he wins presidency: Donald Trump’s threats of prosecution — part of his repeated efforts to cast doubt on the integrity of the 2024 election — come as early voting will soon be underway in some states. Trump has routinely suggested he would weaponize the justice system to go after his political opponents if he returns to the White House. (Kate Sullivan and Jack Forrest, CNN)

Police Misconduct

D.C. officer’s murder case stokes debate over U.S. police prosecutions: The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., has charged more law enforcement officers with excessive force and other abuses in the past five years than over the preceding three decades. Prosecutors say the spike in police prosecutions is attributable not to politics but to the proliferation of cellphone and surveillance video and robust policies for body cameras and review of police killings. (Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post)

Defense and Veterans Affairs

Analysis: Hawks want a new Cold War but are cagey about the cost. So we did the math: A congressionally established commission proposed in a recent report significant entitlement cuts and tax increases to drastically increase military spending, but they refused to say by how much. Their plan could entail up to $10 trillion in additional Pentagon spending over the next decade. (Christopher Preble and Julia Gledhill, The Hill)

Sen. Tuberville blocks promotion of Lloyd Austin’s top military aide: Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark was among Defense Secretary Austin’s senior staff who, upon learning of Austin’s hospitalization late last year, didn’t immediately notify the White House or Congress. (Dan Lamothe, Washington Post)

VA delays rule change on how it pays veterans’ air ambulance services: VA leaders agreed to delay rule changes on specialty ambulance reimbursements until 2029, a win for advocates who claim the new policies could severely impact emergency services for veterans living in rural areas. (Leo Shane III, Military Times)

🔎 See Also: $12 billion more for VA medical budget urgently needed, department says (Rebecca Kheel, Military.com)

Business and Finance

These household brands want to redefine what counts as “recyclable”: Most of the products in the typical kitchen use plastics that are virtually impossible to recycle. Now a trade group is pressuring regulators to make plastic appear more environmentally friendly, a proposal that could worsen a crisis that is flooding the planet and our bodies with the toxic material. (Lisa Song, ProPublica)

U.S. argues Google created ad tech monopoly: Google went to court on Monday in a second antitrust trial, this one focused on its dominance in advertising technology software. A federal judge ruled in the other case last month that Google had illegally maintained a monopoly over online searches. (David McCabe, New York Times)

Infrastructure

Water system upgrades could require more than $1 trillion over next 20 years: Water quality projects needed to meet goals of the Clean Water Act will cost an estimated $630.1 billion over the next 20 years. Another study found that water utilities nationwide will need to spend $625 billion over the next 20 years to fix, maintain, and improve the country’s water infrastructure. (Mollie Mills and Aleena Oberthur, Route Fifty)

🔎 See Also: Parts of Texas “out of water” as the rest dries out, ag commissioner says (Saul Elbein, The Hill)

Health Care

How a Maine county jail helped prisoners blunt opioid cravings: Of the more than 1.2 million prisoners in the U.S., up to 65% have active substance use disorders. Addiction treatment for prisoners is relatively scarce. (Jan Hoffman, New York Times)

Only 61% of teens have been fully vaccinated against HPV: Research suggests that many parents are hesitant to vaccinate their children because of a lack of knowledge, fears about safety, or their child not being sexually active. (Ian McMahan, Washington Post)

ICYMI

Project 2025:

→ Former Project 2025 director downplays Trump ties, but says he hopes he’d implement the plan

Immigration and Border Security:

→ Trump campaign and JD Vance promote false rumors about Haitian immigrants eating pets

→ Trump’s claim terrorists are pouring over southern border does not stand up to scrutiny

Other News:

→ Feds say white supremacist leaders of “Terrorgram” group plotted assassinations, inspired attacks

→ Could an easy radio fix have prevented the Trump assassination attempt?

→ These are the 2024 winners of the “Oscars” of government service

Upcoming Events

📌 A Hearing with former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. Tuesday, September 10, 2:00 p.m., 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.

📌 The U.S. Companies’ Technology Fueling The Russian War Machine. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Tuesday, September 10, 3:30 p.m., 342 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

📌 Financial Privacy under Fire: Protecting and Restoring Americans’ Rights. Cato Institute. Thursday, September 12, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., F. A. Hayek Auditorium, 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC.

📌 Holding the SBA Accountable: Testimony from Small Business Administrator Guzman. House Committee on Small Business. Wednesday, September 18, 10:00 a.m., 2360 Rayburn House Office Building.

📌 Oversight of Extremism Policies in the Army. House Committee on Armed Services; Subcommittee on Military Personnel. Thursday, September 19, 1:00 p.m., 2212 Rayburn House Office Building.

Hot Docs

🔥📃 GAO - Federal Oil and Gas Royalties: Opportunities Exist to Improve Interior’s Compliance Program. GAO-24-103676 (PDF)

🔥📃 GAO - GPS Modernization: Delays Continue in Delivering More Secure Capability for the Warfighter. GAO-24-106841 (PDF)

🔥📃 Texas Census Institute / Project On Government Oversight: Funding Implications of the 2020 Census Undercount in Texas by Federal Program Categories. September 2024.

Nominations & Appointments

Appointments

• Andrew G. Biggs - Member, Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico
• Manuel A. Chinea - Member, Community Development Advisory Board
• Troy Coronado - Member, Board of Visitors to the U.S. Military Academy
• Kamana‘opono M. Crabbe - Commissioner, President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders
• Justin Driver - Member, Permanent Committee for the Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise
• Sameera Fazili - Commissioner, President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders
• Edgar Gluck - Member, Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad
• Janie Simms Hipp - Member, Community Development Advisory Board
• Emmanuel Jenkins - Member, President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities
• Krystal Ka‘ai - Commissioner, President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders
• Mark Alan Kaufman - Member, Community Development Advisory Board
• Vida Lin - Commissioner, President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders
• Cameron McKenzie - Member, Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico
• John Earl Nixon - Member, Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico
• Susan Chapman Plumb - Member, Community Development Advisory Board
• Charles P. Riley - Member, Route 66 Centennial Commission
• Damon Y. Smith - Member, Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States