Off The Editor’s Desk – 4-5-2017

Fed is all about money!

As I review all the laws that the Federal Government has created, from Social Security to the Affordable Health Care Act, they are all designed to enhance the federal treasury.

Back in the 1930s when President Roosevelt pushed through the Social Security laws and money started to roll into Washington D. C. from that program, Congress and the president found a way to spend those funds.

So, today we have a government that is $20 trillion in debt. Some people that keep an eye on government spending figured that the federal government realistic debt is somewhere between $100 and $200 trillion. So we have a government that we can’t afford.

I came across an article written by Natalia Castro who is a contributing editor at Americans for Limited Government, and I would like to quote her.

“The power of the purse including that of raising revenue has been one of Congress’s greatest tools for balancing the power of the executive branch. However, a loophole in the law has allowed the executive branch to bypass Congress to raise funds for its own aims via fees, fines and other revenue. These are then used as slush funds for pet projects at departments and agencies.

“A House Committee reported last November on funding from 2010 to 2015 that the federal government had raided $83 billion in fees, fines and other revenue independent of the appropriations process.

“Congress was provided with the power of the purse to balance out the executive branch in Article 1 of the Constitution, however, agencies have been able to earn billions of dollars based on utilizing executive fees outside of congressional appropriations.

Executive agencies can use fines and fees collected from policy to fund programs as dictated by that executive agency. This provides agencies with a slush fund to utilize outside of money appropriated to the agency by Congress. 

“It was this method that allowed President Obama to institute the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) which congressional Republicans consistently tried to defund. By charging illegal immigrants $465 per application in fees and fines in exchange for their freedom, DACA has been able to accrue over $400 million to fund itself. Members of the executive branch have used fees and fines non-regulated by Congress to impose legislation that bureaucrats in the executive branch know Congress would never allow.

“The Department of Justice alone has raised $63.71 billion through ‘use of settlements for violations of financial laws. The DOJ’s discretion to allow the banks as part of their settlement agreement to provide donations to an approved list of non-profits, which is considered ‘double credit’ against the penalty amount the bank owes. In these instances, the executive branch is acting as the judge, jury, and regulator, determining what the fines and penalties to assess, how much the penalty is worth, and then how to distribute the funds.”

“U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla) told Florida Business Daily on February 7th, that during the Holder-Lynch reign, the Department of Justice would direct money obtained in enforcement actions to political activist groups that aligned with the Obama administration’s policies. In some instances, this was done to restore funding in areas that Congress had cut.

“Department of Justice fine and fees money directed toward an approved list of non-profits, meant funding to leftist advocacy groups during the Obama administration, such as The National Council of La Raza, The National Urban League, and The National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

“Similarly, the Department of Labor has gained over $1.3 billion from fines and fees and the Environmental Protection Agency has gained over $600 million.”

An Alabama congressman, Gary Palmer, has introduced legislation to return congressional accountability to executive offices who have taken control of funds through fines and fees and use them to allow unelected bureaucrats to put forth policy.

Thanks for reading!     ~Carlton

P. S. If you don’t think it’s all about money, here is what former Democratic National Committee Chairman, Howard Dean had to say about the confirmation hearing on Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court: “I can tell you right now if Judge Gorsuch, if he’s confirmed by Democrats, that is unless we force McConnell to exercise the nuclear option, if he’s confirmed straight up with 60 votes, 10 of which are Democratic, the Democratic Senatorial committee might as well hang it up ’cause they’ll never raise any money from our base.”