EPA Contractor Behind CO Mine Spill Got $381 Million From Taxpayers

PHOTO: The Animas River flows through the center of Durango, Colo. on Aug. 7, 2015. Source: Brian Lewis/The Denver Post/Getty Images

The EPA may have been trying to hide the identity of the contracting company responsible for causing a major wastewater spill in southern Colorado, but the Wall Street Journal has revealed the company’s identity.

Environmental Restoration (ER) LLC, a Missouri-based firm, was the “contractor whose work caused a mine spill in Colorado that released an estimated 3 million gallons of toxic sludge into a major river system,” the WSJ was told by a source familiar with the matter. The paper also found government documents to corroborate what their source told them.

So far, the EPA has refused to publicly name the contracting company used to plug abandoned mines in southern Colorado, despite numerous attempts by The Daily Caller News Foundation and other media outlets to obtain the information. It’s unclear why the agency chose not to reveal the contractor’s name.

What is clear, however, is that ER has gotten $381 million in government contracts since October 2007, according to a WSJ review of data from USAspending.gov. About $364 million of that funding came from the EPA, but only $37 million was given to ER for work they had done in Colorado.

When contacted by phone, The DCNF had been informed ER’s offices had closed for the day. The EPA did not return a request for comment on the WSJ’s story revealing the identity of the agency’s contractor.

ER contractors reportedly caused a massive wastewater spill from the Gold King Mine in southern Colorado last week. EPA-supervised workers breached a debris dam while using heavy equipment and unleashed 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater into Cement Creek. The toxic plume eventually reached the Animas River where it’s been able to spread even further, forcing Colorado and New Mexico to declare a state of emergency.

The EPA has taken responsibility for the spill and has officials on the ground working with local officials to remedy the situation. Still, local officials and Native Americans are furious with the EPA over the spill, and have not ruled out legal action to make sure the agency remains accountable.

“No agency could be more upset about the incident happening, and more dedicated in doing our job to get this right,” EPA Chief Administrator Gina McCarthy said in a press conference in Durango, Colorado Wednesday. “We couldn’t be more sorry. Our mission is to protect human health and the environment. We will hold ourselves to a higher standard than anyone else.”

Via: Daily Caller

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Midnight Raids, Secret Subpoenas: IRS' Lerner Close Friends With Leader Who Targeted Scott Walker

The official behind the IRS' conservative nonprofit targeting scandal, Lois Lerner, was friends with the Wisconsin regulator who targeted Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's conservative aides and allies.

Lerner and Kevin Kennedy, director of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, were friends for 20 years and traded emails on campaign finance, politics, and personal matters between 2011 and 2013, emails obtained by the Wall Street Journal reveal. That was the same time frame the IRS increased its harassment of conservative groups and Wisconsin prosecutors conducted a secret John Doe probe of Walker's allies, raising the troubling question of whether they coordinated their investigations.

After Walker's victory in a recall election, Lerner's long time friend Kennedy helped Milwaukee County prosecutors conduct an onerous, several-year investigation into Walker's political allies, complete with secret subpoenas for phone, text message and email records and armed, middle of the night raids on Walker associates' homes.

Under Kennedy, the Government Accountability Board hired four investigators to conduct the probe and set aside staff for the investigation, according to WSJ.

Ostensibly the purpose of the investigation was to determine whether Walker's campaign had illegally colluded with conservative groups, after Walker had busted state employee unions and Wisconsin Democrats lost the state election recall to Walker.

The investigation never uncovered any wrongdoing, and eventually federal Judge Rudolph Randa ordered it to end, ruling that the investigation had violated the First Amendment rights of Walker's associates. They were "pursuing criminal charges through a secret John Doe investigation against the plaintiffs for exercising issue advocacy [free] speech rights," Randa wrote.

The judge wrote that investigators also targeted Republican candidates for state Senate and that "all or nearly all right-of-center groups and individuals in Wisconsin who engaged in issue advocacy from 2010 to the present are targets of the investigation," a violation of the First Amendment.

Via: Washington Examiner

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WSJ Reporter To Hillary: “Hill, Can I Ride On Your Lap To The White House?”

Gross!

*Updated with more e-mail reaction

An e-mail FOIA batch released by the State Department Friday included a bizarre transcript of an October 2012 interview that Wall Street Journal reporter Monica Langley had with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The source of the email and transcript, State Department Communications  Director Caroline Alder, commented, “This will be exciting when it’s FOIA’d…but will give you a sense of the interaction.”

Langley is invited to sit on the couch with Clinton at “an appropriate distance.” However, Clinton offers her a chair to bring her “within inches of the Secretary — leaning in even further.”

The reporter agrees and midway through the interview, she “grabs HRC’s knee” and Clinton began laughing “awkwardly” as she looked over at State Department Clinton senior advisor Philippe Reines.

Langley leaned in further and asked “Oh Hillary…what do you eat? Drink? Dream about when you sleep?”

At that point she began touching Clinton’s leg again and all those present in the room, including Reines, laughed “awkwardly.”

Finally, Langley tells Clinton, “They think I’m so funny [looking at Phillipe and Adler]. Hill, can I ride in your lap to the White House?”

Adler ends the transcript saying, “…this went on for about 51 minutes. And I agree with Phillipe — whatever she does, it works. It was a really great interview.”

Politico found other e-mails from Deputy Secretary of State Tom Nides and Reines reacting to the transcript sent by Adler.

“Tom, was an awesome interview. Hrc was great, but I was really impressed by how good of an interviewer Monica is. One of the best I’ve ever seen. But she was her usual wacky self and pulled one move that I can’t even describe so I’ll let Caroline do – since you’ll appreciate it given your familiarity with Monica Langley, Hillary Clinton, and the Secretary’s chair arrangement in her outer office,” Reines said before Adler sent the transcript.

Nides responded to the transcript saying, “I may go and throw up since I am laughing so hard.”

Reines writes back, CC’ing Clinton herself in the e-mail chain:

 “Tom, she moved that yellow chair as close as it went. Knee to knee. Amazed she didn’t try knee in between knee. And if that wasn’t enough, she leaned forward. More like a pivot, as far as her torso could fold forward to minimize the space between their heads. Was like the dental hygienist rolling around the floor to get the best access to your mouth depending on what tooth she was trying to get access to I’ve never seen a Westerner invade her space like that And even the non Westerners I’ve seen do it based on cultural differences have been only briefly to greet, This went on like that for 51 minutes – unacceptable in any culture. I don’t even think you see that behavior among any type of mammal.

The touching the leg and repeatedly calling her ‘Hillary’ was just gravy.

 

But it was wonderful. One of the best interviews I’ve ever witnessed. Wish it were on live tv.”

Via: Daily Caller

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Former IRS Chief: Democratic Senator Made Us Target Tea Party

A Journal editorial yesterday noted the Obama argument that new IRS rules are intended to fix "confusion" in the law surrounding non-profit groups like the Tea Party organizations that have been targeted by the tax agency. But in a letter this week to new IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, Reps. Darrell Issa and Jim Jordan show that the new rule-making was politically motivated from its inception. In an interview with House investigators, former IRS Acting Commissioner Steve Miller was asked what the problem was in the law that needed to be fixed. He responded, "So I'm not sure there was a problem, right? I mean, I think we were —we had, you know, Mr. Levin complaining bitterly to us—Senator Levin complaining bitterly about our regulation..." Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat, is among the most partisan Members of the U.S. Senate. 

The letter also details evidence that IRS and Treasury officials believed that the Supreme Court had erred in its Citizens United decision and, instead of respecting the authority of the Court, wrongly took it upon themselves to offset the impact of the law with IRS.

WHY WE NEED INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES
Peggy Noonan writes today on her "obsession"—how dependent our society is on electricity and how vulnerable the grid is to attack. This week the Journal reported on a highly-professional attack carried out on a California power station last year. Ms. Noonan writes that preventing such attacks isn't a Washington priority. "You always want to think your government is on it. You want to think they see what you see. But really, they're never on it. They always have to be pushed." We would add that with so many potential targets in the U.S., the best defense is a competent intelligence effort that can identify imminent threats and does not respect the imaginary privacy rights of foreign malefactors.

WHY TODAY'S JOBS REPORT IS IMPORTANT
After a series of mixed readings on the economy, this morning's unemployment report will get especially close attention to see if GDP growth at the end of last year can be sustained.

APPLE BUYS ITSELF
Apple CEO Tim Cook reports that the company has been aggressively buying back its own shares, which is sure to please activist investor Carl Icahn. And buybacks are certainly a respectable way to return cash to shareholders. But we wonder if it means the company sees few attractive areas to invest in growth, either inside or outside the tech giant.

Via: Wall Street JournaL

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Report: Most ObamaCare Enrollees Already Had Health Plans

The majority of the more than 2 million Americans who signed up for health insurance under ObamaCare through the end of December were already enrolled in employer-sponsored plans or had previously bought their own coverage, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Early data from insurers, brokers and consultants suggest that the marketplaces are popular with consumers who were previously covered elsewhere, raising questions about a law intended to expand coverage to millions of healthy, uninsured Americans to help offset costs.

A survey by management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. found that only 11 percent of consumers who purchased new coverage under ObamaCare were previously uninsured. The survey was based on a sampling of 4,563 consumers between November and January, according to The Wall Street Journal.

HealthMarkets Inc., an insurance agency that signed up about 7,500 people in exchange plans, reported that 65 of its enrollees had prior coverage, the report said. Fifteen percent of enrollees had their individual plans canceled, and 40 percent switched over from previous individual plans.

"One of the intents of the law was to address the uninsured problem in our country," David M. Cordani, chief executive of insurer Cigna told the newspaper. Some insurers said the early data on newly insured consumers is falling short of expectations.

Via: Fox News

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Time's Mark Halperin Lamented Press Failure to Scrutinize Obamacare....But In 2010, Boasted About It

 Last Thursday, Time's Mark Halperin told guest host Laura Ingraham on "The O'Reilly Factor" that "There is no doubt that the press failed to scrutinize this program at the time of passage and during the context of the president's re-election. Any reporter who would argue otherwise would be putting their head in the sand." Romney's vulnerability on Romneycare meant it wasn't much of an issue.

"It's part of the flaws of the way the media works," Halperin added. "If the candidates aren't talking about it, it gets less coverage. But there's no doubt a disservice was done to the country and even to liberals who want this program to succeed, because it didn't get scrutiny on passage, and then again when the President was running for re-election." But James Taranto of The Wall Street Journal did the mean thing to Halperin. Oh, look, here's one Mark Halperin on March 22, 2010, boasting about the forthcoming press failure on Obamacare, right after it passed:

 In the 7½ months between now and November's midterm elections, millions of Americans will be whipped into a frenzy over the purported evils in the Democrats' health care bill, egged on by Fox News chatter, Rush Limbaugh's daily sermons, threats of state legislative and judicial action and the solemn pledge of Republicans in Washington to make the fall election a referendum on Obamacare. But in doing so, they may be playing right into the Democrats' hands. . . .

 Democrats will be joined in the fray by much of the press. For Republicans, this will seem like familiar ground, since generations of conservatives have complained that the so-called mainstream media have been biased against them. Well, get ready, Republicans, for déjà vu all over again. The coverage through November likely will highlight the most extreme attacks on the President and his law and spotlight stories of real Americans whose lives have been improved by access to health care (pushed, no doubt, by Democrats from every competitive congressional district and state).

 The louder Republicans yell, the more they will be characterized and caricatured as sore losers infuriated by the first major delivery of candidate Obama's promise of "change." The focus on the weekend's alleged racial and gay-bashing verbal attacks by opponents of the Democrats' plan should be a caution to Republican strategists trying to figure out how to manage the media this year.

Taranto added: "His indictment should have been framed as a confession."

Via: Newsbusters

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Faltering Obama revs up attacks

Buzz Cut:
• Faltering Obama revs up attacks
• President’s approval craters in Ohio
• Paperwork nightmare for small businesses
• Hillary handlers horn in on credit for Iran deal
• ‘We got married in a fever…’

FALTERING OBAMA REVS UP ATTACKS - President Obama is back in attack mode. Obama’s tone, which was briefly contrite following his admission that he had misled voters about being able to keep their insurance policies, turned combative during his West Coast campaign swing. He blamed Republicans for problems with his faltering health law, promising that “anybody who is going to keep on pushing against that, they will meet my resistance.” Obama is very much reverting to his 2012 playbook: firing up the base with sharp attacks on Republicans and personalizing policy differences. That’s one thing in an election when he could pin it on an individual opponent, but quite another when the issue is a law passed with only Democratic votes and enacted by his own administration. While liberals may be feeling less bilious as signups for free and subsidized health insurance pick up, the problem is all about the people who are losing coverage and jobs because of the law.

[Calls to delay the next round of penalties under the health law are growing louder. WSJ has more]

Gather together - Liberals armed with Twitter-fed talking points are ready to bring the battle of ObamaCare to the Thanksgiving dinner table, but the problems will far outlast the holiday or any of the shifting deadlines for enactment and enforcement of the law. The president’s hope to revive and drive his campaign supporters in defense of ObamaCare sounds okay for an administration deep in panic mode, but what about when the cancellation notices keep rolling out and premium spikes continue to torment so many of the 85 percent of Americans who already have coverage? Convincing folks that the uninsured should be covered is one thing, but telling them that they have to give up coverage or pay more for what they have in order to finance it is quite another.

Via: Fox News

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Conservatives who backed Wisconsin Gov. Walker appear target of secret probe

Dozens of conservative groups that support Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker reportedly have been subpoenaed by a special prosecutor demanding donor lists and other documents pertaining to their backing of Walker's union overhaul and recall fight. 

The so-called "John Doe" investigation bars those subpoenaed from talking publicly. 

But Eric O'Keefe, director of the Wisconsin Club for Growth, told The Wall Street Journal recently that investigators have raided at least three homes and that he "wants the public to know what is going on," despite the personal risk. 

He also suggested the probe is having a chilling effect on conservative groups as Walker approaches a 2014 re-election effort. 

He said the subpoenas, including the one he received in early October, "froze my communications and frightened many allies and vendors of the pro-taxpayer political movement in Wisconsin. ... The process is the punishment." 

Watchdog.org reported in late October that authorities were confiscating equipment and files from targets of the probe, and demanding phone and email records. Watchdog.org also reported this week that three of the unidentified targets have hired top First Amendment and campaign finance experts as part of their defense team. 

Via: Fox News

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White House braces for doctor dump

WHITE HOUSE BRACES FOR DOCTOR DUMP - The president’s “if you like it” bait-and-switch on insurance is not the only pledge that will be broken under ObamaCare.  Press Secretary Jay Carney appeared to step back from the second part of President Obama’s oft-repeated campaign promise: that Americans could keep their doctors if they like them. Carney hinted consumers could lose their doctors too saying, “So, if you are looking for, if you want coverage from your doctor, a doctor that you've seen in the past, and want that, you can look and see if there's a plan in which that doctor participates in.”

[Asked at a WSJ forum what he might have done better in implementing ObamaCare, the president blamed Republicans for failing to help him in “fixing glitches and fine-tuning the law.” Washington Examiner has more.]

He doesn’t like it, he won’t keep it - President Obama meets today with state insurance commissioners, whom he charged last week with undoing his order to crack down on individual insurance policies. After working for three years to impose regulations required by ObamaCare that have led to the cancellation of millions of policies, the commissioners learned Thursday that the president was upending the rules. Facing withering anger from voters after being forced to admit that he misled them about the law, the White House said in talking points that cancelled policies would no longer be the fault of the law but rather insurance companies and state insurance commissioners.

Via: Fox News Politics

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[VIDEO] mObama: 'We're Going to Have to...Re-market and Re-brand' the Affordable Care Act

(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama told a gathering of corporate executives Tuesday he's confident that his model of health care will work in the end, but he said he's going to have to "re-brand" it to sell it to a skeptical public.

He didn't use the word "Obamacare" once on Tuesday in talking about his health care law, but he mentioned the "Affordable Care Act" seven times.

"So, look, I am confident that the model that we built, which works off of the existing private insurance system, is one that will succeed," Obama told the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

"We are going to have to, (a) fix the website so everybody feels confident about that. We're going to have to, obviously, re-market and re-brand, and that will be challenging in this political environment."

During a campaign stop in Colorado last year, the president embraced the name that Republicans had given to his health insurance law: "The Affordable Care Act -- also known as Obamacare," Obama said in August 2012. "I actually like the name," he added. "Because I do care -- that's why we fought so hard to make it happen."

Via: CNS News

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Special Prosecutor Intimidating Wisconsin Conservatives

According to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal, politically active conservatives in Wisconsin are being targeted by an overzealous special prosecutor. A number of conservative organizations – specifically those that support Republican Gov. Scott Walker – have received subpoenas and been the subject of law enforcement raids.

Reports indicate that Francis Schmitz has sent a number of demands to these groups, primarily seeking information regarding the efforts to recall Walker in recent years.

Furthermore, the investigation is reportedly being conducted under the so-called John Doe law, which creates obstacles for any of the targeted groups hoping to speak out in their own defense. Under the state legislation, the party that receives a subpoena is barred from discussing its details with anyone aside from an attorney.

An official with one of the subpoenaed groups said that at least three individuals have had their personal computers seized during a raid.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the gag order, several targets believe that leftist politicians are using these subpoenas as a method of gaining more information.

Via: Western Journalism

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Obama, Staff Still Don't Know Why Rollout Failed

Facing what some believe is its toughest week, the Obama administration is now in reflection and reorganization mode, assessing at a troubling crossroads the disastrous and ongoing fallout of its signature healthcare plan amid other notable errors in foreign and domestic policy.

The "what went wrong" posture on the Obamacare healthcare rollout comes as the president has issued multiple apologies and as media and consumers point a tougher finger at his administration's execution of key policies that some fear will taint his legacy, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The lack of credible responsibility continues to stagger as Democrats in Congress, which the president has repeatedly misread, pull away from him in fear of hot constituent backlash and looming 2014 midterm elections. 

But many inside the Beltway and elsewhere seem shocked as Americans must deal with the ramifications of a health policy that its own government created, but now can't manage. It's no longer Republicans who are using the word "lied" when referring to the president's healthcare debacle.

"Had I been informed (about the healthcare.gov website), I wouldn't be going out saying, 'Boy, this is going to be great,'" Obama told reporters, sparking a ripple among news outlets who diplomatically were forced to concur: if he didn't know, as president, who did and why didn't they tell him? Most notable, some allow, is that no key administration official charged with the healthcare rollout has been fired.

Those dealing with Obama on the issue didn't mute their anger. "I'm sure he has all sorts of reasons he made the decision he made,'' said Monica Lindeen, vice president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners told the Journal. "But from a practical standpoint, for commissioners all across this country, it really did turn our lives upside down."

Via: Newsmax

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