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Tag: Government Oversight

USDA Pushes Reforms After Study Links Liquor and Tobacco Shops to SNAP Fraud Risks
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Just The News, Approved, National

USDA Pushes Reforms After Study Links Liquor and Tobacco Shops to SNAP Fraud Risks

By: Steven Richards | Just the News More than 5,000 liquor and smoke shops were approved as retailers under SNAP, raising fraud concerns. There's no way to determine how much alcohol, tobacco, or other "non-compliant" goods have been sold nationwide. At least 20 states refuse to share data with the feds. Food stamps were first issued in 1939 as an assistance program to prevent starvation during the Great Depression.  But 86 years later, thousands of liquor stores and smoke shops have become approved retailers, increasing the possibility of fraud, new research shows.  The longest ever government shutdown, which ended after 43 days of deadlock, thrust the federal food stamp program into the national spotlight as millions of recipients went without benefits. But...
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Polis Silent on Claims of RTD Using Public Tax Money for Political Gain
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Commentary, State

Polis Silent on Claims of RTD Using Public Tax Money for Political Gain

By Natalie Menten | Commentary, Colorado Politics A tax-hike campaign shouldn’t be funded with public tax dollars to hire political consultants — period. Yet Colorado law contains a loophole that allows public agencies to spend money campaigning under the guise of “education” or “engagement.” That’s exactly what the Front Range Passenger Rail District, an appointed board that includes 17 voting and seven non-voting members — many hand-picked by Gov. Jared Polis — intends to do. On Oct. 30, the district issued a public bid to hire a consultant team to create a “Friends of Front Range Rail” relational engagement platform. The bid spells out the goal: “build awareness, engagement, and grassroots momentum,” while giving supporters tools to “share campaign content,” “invite friends,” and ...
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The Case of Ian Roberts: A Slap in the Face to Law-Abiding Citizens
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

The Case of Ian Roberts: A Slap in the Face to Law-Abiding Citizens

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The arrest of Ian Roberts, former superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, is more than a scandal. It is an insult to every law-abiding citizen who plays by the rules, pays their taxes, and expects their government institutions to uphold the law with fairness and integrity. Roberts, an undocumented immigrant with a final deportation order, was entrusted with the leadership of Iowa’s largest school district. For this role, he collected nearly $300,000 a year in taxpayer money. Parents who struggle to pay rising property taxes funded his salary and benefits, even while their children’s classrooms lacked resources and their teachers went without competitive pay. How could this happen? According to federal filings, Roberts...
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Audit Finds Serious Financial Failures at Colorado’s Health Exchange
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Audit Finds Serious Financial Failures at Colorado’s Health Exchange

By: Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette Worries that the quasi-governmental agency that operates Colorado’s official state-based health insurance marketplace was spending money for political purposes turned out to be unfounded, according to a new audit. But the state audit found that Connect for Health Colorado has serious problems with its financial management, including a lack of oversight on the use of a credit card by its chief executive officer. That questionable spending included up to $13,000 on alcohol alone over an 18-month period. The audit released Monday by the Legislative Audit Committee looked into the financial management and sponsorship activity of Connect for Health Colorado. It found that the organization’s policies and oversight need major change...
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Denver Firms Charged With Selling Chinese Forklifts as “Made in USA”
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Denver Firms Charged With Selling Chinese Forklifts as “Made in USA”

By Heather Willard | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — Two Denver-area companies and three of the businesses’ top executives are facing federal charges for allegedly defrauding the government on sales of forklifts and trying to dodge tariffs on equipment imported to the U.S. According to a federal grand jury indictment and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs, the two companies involved were Endless Sales Inc. and Octane Forklifts, Inc., which both appear to have addresses on Lima Street in Denver. The indictment alleges that current company executives Brian Firkins and Jeffrey Blasdel, as well as former executive J.R. Antczak, conspired to import forklifts from China and then conceal the trucks’ foreign origin. Once disguised, the group would sell the fork...
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Colorado’s path to ruin: How bad policy created crisis and dependency
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Substack, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s path to ruin: How bad policy created crisis and dependency

By Christopher Richardson | Commentary, Substack Colorado stands at a crossroads. For too long, state policy has ignored the basic truths of economics and public safety, and we are now paying the price. The upcoming general session must be more than another exercise in partisan talking points—it must be an honest debate about how we got here, and how we can get back on track. The warning signs are everywhere. Overregulation and endless legal risks have driven businesses out of Colorado. Entrepreneurs hesitate to expand, while larger firms look to friendlier states. The result? Job growth has shifted almost entirely to government payrolls, leaving fewer private-sector opportunities and stagnant wages for working families. At the same time, rising crime has made Colorado less at...
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Congress Votes to Investigate Clinton Links to Epstein Network
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National, Approved, Just The News

Congress Votes to Investigate Clinton Links to Epstein Network

By Misty Severi | Just the News A House subcommittee on Wednesday passed a motion to issue subpoenas to former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over their connection with former Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The subcommittee does not have the power to issue the subpoenas themselves, but the orders are expected to be sent by House Oversight Chairman James Comer in the coming days. It is not clear if any deposition would take place during the chamber's August recess, or if the subject will wait until September. The motion was introduced by Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Scott Perry, who blasted Democrats for allegedly pretending to care about Epstein's victims. "It's disappointing how Democrats, who shielded this convicted sex criminal fo...
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Biden’s DOE Played Fast and Loose Rushing to Spend $42 Billion in Taxpayer Cash
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National, Approved, Real Clear Politics

Biden’s DOE Played Fast and Loose Rushing to Spend $42 Billion in Taxpayer Cash

By Staff | Real Clear Investigations In its last two working days, the Biden administration’s Energy Department signed off on nearly $42 billion for green energy projects – a sum that exceeded the total amount its Loan Programs Office (LPO) had put out in the past decade. The frenzied activity on Jan. 16 and 17, 2025, capped a spending binge that saw the LPO approve at least $93 billion in current and future disbursements after Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election in November, according to documents provided by the department to RealClearInvestigations. It appears that Biden officials were rushing to deploy billions in approved funding in anticipation that the incoming Trump administration would seek to redirect uncommitted money away from clean energy projects. The...
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