IRS Says It Spent $7.9 Million on Congressional Probes

The Internal Revenue Service claims it has cost nearly $8 million to answer congressional investigations into the extra scrutiny it gave conservative political groups before the 2012 election.

A letter from IRS Commissioner John Koskinen to House Democrats Elijah Cummings of Maryland and Sandy Levin of Michigan says 255 employees have spent 97,542 hours responding to the investigations, USA Today reports. 

Koskinen claimed the accounting was a "conservative approach" that did not include figures for some support staff, the press office, or congressional liaisons. 

The expenditures include $259,849 for travel, and staff time billed at more than $79 an hour for workers.

Levin and other House Democrats say the cost of the investigations shows Republicans are "fixated" on punishing the IRS, and Republicans are "wasting millions of dollars in an attempt to reignite their partisan inquiry before the November elections."

But Republicans say they want to disclose the whole story of how the IRS targeted certain organizations as the race to re-elect President Barack Obama neared.

"This committee is working to restore accountability and trust into this broken agency," said Sarah Swinehart, spokeswoman for House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich.

The Republican-controlled House is conducting two investigations, as is the Democratic-controlled Senate. In addition, a Treasury Department inspector general and the Department of Justice are investigating the IRS.

But the nearly $7.9 million in costs cited by Koskinen are just the beginning of the expenses the agency has absorbed since the 2012 scandal.

Via: Newsmax
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IRS Warns: Obamacare Tax Must Be Paid with Tax Return

Agency employs Orwellian term “Shared Responsibility Payment” to describe Obamacare individual mandate tax.

President Obama’s Internal Revenue Service today quietly released a series of Obamacare “Health Care Tax Tips” warning Americans that they must obtain “qualifying” health insurance – as defined by the federal government – or face a “shared responsibility payment” when filing their tax returns in 2015. The term “shared responsibility payment” refers to the Obamacare individual mandate tax, one of at least seven tax hikes in the healthcare law that directly hit families making less than $250,000 per year.

In “Four Tax Facts about the Health Care Law for Individuals” the agency writes:

Your 2014 tax return will ask if you had insurance coverage or qualified for an exemption.  If not, you may owe a shared responsibility payment when you file in 2015.

In “The Individual Shared Responsibility Payment- An Overview” the agency warns Americans they must prove they were covered each and every month of the year:

For any month in 2014 that you or any of your dependents don’t maintain coverage and don’t qualify for an exemption, you will need to make an individual shared responsibility payment with your 2014 tax return filed in 2015.

In “IRS Reminds Individuals of Health Care Choices for 2014”the agency details the calculations Americans can look forward to if they are liable for the tax:

If you (or any of your dependents) do not maintain coverage and do not qualify for an exemption, you will need to make an individual shared responsibility payment with your return. In general, the payment amount is either a percentage of your household income or a flat dollar amount, whichever is greater. You will owe 1/12th of the annual payment for each month you (or your dependents) do not have coverage and are not exempt. The annual payment amount for 2014 is the greater of:

• 1 percent of your household income that is above the tax return filing threshold for your filing status, such as Married Filing Jointly or single, or
• Your family’s flat dollar amount, which is $95 per adult and $47.50 per child, limited to a maximum of $285.

As confirmed by previous  IRS testimony to the tax-writing House Committee on Ways and Means, “taxpayers will file their tax returns reporting their health insurance coverage, and/or making a payment”.  

Once fully phased in, the Obamacare individual mandate tax will rise steeply, to a maximum of 2.5 percent of Adjusted Gross Income or $2,085 – whichever is higher

Via: Americans for Tax Reform

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Let Junk Food Be Advertised at Schools

Today, First Lady Michelle Obama announced it was time to ban advertising of what she deems unhealthy snacks in public schools. School children already can’t buy such foods in their schools, thanks to a government ban, but apparently she doesn’t even want kids to think about buying them. Increasingly, if liberals have their way, you’ll never have to make another decision for yourself or your family.

Via: The Foundry

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[CARTOON] Media Transparency

Via: California Political Review

[VIDEO] Dem Senator Has Worst Press Conference Ever?

I have no idea how Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan's news conference could've been worse except had she lit a baby bunny on fire while stomping on the American flag.

The junior Senator from North Carolina filed for re-election yesterday in Wake County. The media was all there, as her campaign obviusly alerted them to the event. This is pretty standard. It makes for good video to have the pol surrounded by friends, family, and supporters as they sign the paperwork and everyone cheers.

But it seemed to escape Hagan and her camp that after she signs the papers she'd need to actually talk to the media.

About her record.

And that's where the wheels fell off this thing.

... Hagan ... refused on Monday to answer questions about what she knew about the laws limits.

Like President Barack Obama, Hagan said the Affordable Care Act would allow North Carolinians to keep their existing insurance plans if they liked them. The pledge proved false – and earned Obama PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year honors.

But the details about what Hagan knew about the law’s limits and when she learned it remains unclear. Asked about it again Monday at a press conference in Raleigh, after she made her re-election bid official at the State Board of Elections, Hagan avoided the question.

Pressed on the question two more times as reporters followed her outside to the parking lot, Hagan did not answer. She offered this explanation without further details: “it wasn’t clear that insurance companies were selling substandard policies.”

Via: Fox News

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Obama direct threats call for governor gonads

It’s time for both Democrat and Republican U.S. governors to call Barack Obama’s bluff.

Unanswered Barack braggadocio that is the trademark of his presidency is reaching all time highs.

On Monday,  it was revealed that the Obama regime plans on gutting the U.S. military to pre-World War II levels.  On Tuesday, it became clear that the National Guard is next on his hit list.

Imagine an anti-American president who ducks adult gatherings, speaking mostly to school children and university students—and even then travels with his own private cheering section—warning Democrat and Republican governors not to push back against his intentions to gut the National Guard or they would hear from him—and getting away with it!

“I don’t mind telling you I was a bit troubled today by the tone of the president…For the president of the United States to look Democrat and Republican governors in the eye and to say ‘I do not trust you to make decisions in your state about issues of education, about transportation infrastructure…’-that is really troubling,” said Texas governor Rick Perry.

Via: Canada Free Press

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February Cable News Numbers: CNN Tumbles As Fox News Channel Logs 146th Consecutive Win; MSNBC Hangs On

February cable ratings are in –  Piers Morgan may be out at CNN, but what about the rest of the network’s primetime, which looked none too good for the month, all losing around half their audience compared to same month last year? CNN‘s Anderson Cooper at 8 PM dropped 47% February to February in overall audience to average 421,000 viewers, and 46% in the news demo to 127,000 viewers for the month, according to Nielsen. In his defense, Cooper’s lead-in, Erin Burnett Outfront, dropped 39% to post an average of 293,000 viewers in February –  CNN’s smallest monthly haul in the timeslot in more than two decades — and slipped 32% in the news demo to 100,000 viewers. Morgan’s getting scrubbed from 9 PM at CNN because, for instance, he logged 347,000 viewers for the month — down 46% –  and 100,000 demo viewers — down 38%.

Meanwhile, Fox News Channel has now reached 146 consecutive months at No. 1 in total viewers, in both total day and primetime, among cable news networks, and is for February the only cable network up in both total viewers and the demo compared to last February. In all of cable, Fox News ranked third in primetime (8-11 PM) – behind USA Network and History – and fifth for total day. Meanwhile, neither CNN or MSNBC were able to crack the top 20 in either daypart. CNN ranked 39th in prime and 34th in today day; MSNBC 26th in prime and 27th in total day. Every hour of the day, Fox News dominated CNN and MSNBC  combined in total viewers. It also beat both networks in the news demo.

FNC claimed the Top 13 cable news programs in total viewers, and eight of the Top 10 programs in the news demo. The O’Reilly Factor still leads the pack, and edged up  3% February to February in overall audience  (2.937 million) and 2% in the demo (450,000). But The Kelly File jumped 23% in overall audience (2.337 million) and 11% in the demo (354,000).

At MSNBC, regularly primetime programs enjoyed some demo uptick in Feburary, but the network’s overall primetime demo performance slipped because it includes other programming that ran during prime slots. Rachel Maddow is still the top player, averaging 996,000 total viewers and 287,000 demo viewers  at 9 PM — but in so doing she’s flat and up 7%, respectively. At 7 PM, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews jumped 24% and 17%, to 925,000 overall viewers and 232,000 demo viewers, respectively.

The Top 5 programs in cable news for February:

Total Viewers: The O’Reilly Factor (2,937,000); The Kelly File (2,337,000);Special Report w/ Bret Baier (2,114,000); The Five (2,107,000);  On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren (1,938,000)

Adults 25-54: The O’Reilly Factor (450,000); The Five (358,000); The Kelly File(354,000); Special Report w/ Bret Baier (315,000); On the Record with Greta Van Susteren (299,000)

Via: Deadline Hollywood

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Dem House candidate: Without immigration reform, where will we get our landscapers and maids?

In a genuine gaffe (accidentally telling the truth), Florida Democratic congressional candidate Alex Sink revealed the class system at the heart of so-called “immigration reform.” TheWashington Free Beacon reports:

Florida Democratic congressional candidate Alex Sink said immigration reform was important at a Tuesday debate because, without it, it would be difficult for employers to find people to cleanhotel rooms and do landscaping.

“Immigration reform is important in our country,” she said. “We have a lot of employers over on the beaches that rely upon workers and especially in this high-growth environment, where are you going to get people to work to clean our hotel rooms or do our landscaping? We don’t need to put those employers in a position of hiring undocumented and illegal workers.”

Evidently Ms. Sink believes that there is no unemployment among American citizens in her disctrict. Or maybe she believes that unemployed Americans would rather receive unemployment benefits, section 8 housing subsidies, food stamps EBT cards, Earned Income Tax credits, and the other range of freebies available in our welfare statesafety net hammock. She should really explain why Americans can’t do those jobs, in her opinion.

Via: American Thinker

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Veterans Affairs ‘Falsifying Reported Wait-Times’

Veterans Affairs purged thousands of medical tests to 'game' its backlog stats

 Thousands of orders for diagnostic medical tests have been purged en masse by the Department of Veterans Affairs to make it appear its decade-long backlog is being eliminated, according to documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.

About 40,000 appointments were “administratively closed” in Los Angeles, and another 13,000 were cancelled in Dallas in 2012.

That means the patients did not receive the tests or treatment that had been ordered, but rather the orders for the follow-up procedures were simply deleted from the agency’s records.

It is not known how widespread the practice is, or how many veterans hospitals have mass-purged appointment orders to clear their backlogs.

Alas, this feels all too familiar to someone who grew up with Britain’s National Health Service.

Here’s the thing: when one subordinates healthcare to government, one inevitably gets all of the usual government games. A favorite trick: Mrs. Jones needs a hip replacement, so she calls up her local NHS hospital to arrange it; the NHS tells Mrs. Jones that she should call back in a given amount of time, after which she will be treated within 24 or 48 or 72 hours — or however long the government has promised would elapse between “phone call” and “treatment”; Mrs. Jones waits the requisite amount of time, then calls, then gets her appointment; the state then says semi-truthfully that Mrs. Jones was given a hip replacement “quickly” and that the gap between her requesting the treatment and her receiving the treatment was short. Now, did Mrs. Jones actually get her hip replacement “quickly”? Of course not. She waited both the amount of time that the government recorded and the amount of time that it did not. But who cares? All that matters when the government is elected or fired based on its performance running the health system is what the government is able to say about how it is running the health system. So it lies its damn head off.

Via: Washington Examiner

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‘Entitlement foods’: Feds Spending $292,080 on String Cheese

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) put in a $292,080.60 order for string cheese on Thursday, as part of its “entitlement food” offered through the National School Lunch Program.

The nearly $300,000 worth of lite mozzarella string cheese will be used for federal school lunch programs that supply local districts in Texas and Arkansas for three months.

Miceli Dairy, the “makers of fine Italian cheese,” was awarded the contract. A total of 113,400 pounds of the product will go to Van Buren, Ark., and Texas school districts in Austin, McCallen, San Antonio, Grand Prairie, Lubbock, and Dallas.

The order will be delivered beginning April 1 and go through June 30.

The USDA’s Farm Service Agency has strict requirements for the quality of mozzarella cheese that is used in domestic food programs, which the contractor must follow.

For instance, the string cheese has to be made in America and “not previously owned by the government.”

“Mozzarella cheese which deviates from the specifications and the schedule of discounts contained herein will be rejected, or at the discretion of the contracting officer, accepted at discounts to be determined by the government,” the requirements said.

Under “Additional String Cheese Requirements,” the USDA requires “Protein strands shall be properly aligned lengthwise to ensure that fibrous strings can be pulled from the string.”

Via: WFB

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