WASHINGTON, March 27 -- America First Legal, a civil rights organization, issued the following news release on March 26, 2024: * * * Highlights Biden's Knowledge that Funding the PA and UNRWA Supports Terrorism * * * Today, America First Legal (AFL) announced the filing of a First Amended Complaint against President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken for violating the Taylor Force Act. Taylor Force, a West Point graduate and veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, was murdered by a Palesti  more

WASHINGTON, March 30 -- The American Federation of Teachers issued the following news release on March 29, 2024: Today, the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) and AFT petitioned the U.S. Department of Education (ED)'s Office of the Inspector General to audit the Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri, also known as MOHELA. On March 25, 2024, MOHELA sent SBPC a so-called "cease and desist" letter, alleging that The MOHELA Papers' "tone...is false and misleading" and call  more

WASHINGTON, March 27 -- Americans for Tax Reform issued the following commentary on March 26, 2024: * * * Biden Weakens $400k IRS Audit Pledge President Biden's IRS audit pledge is becoming increasingly worthless. Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had promised not to increase IRS audits on households and small businesses making less than $400,000 per year. But Biden is constantly finding ways to make the pledge meaningless. The most recent: He has decided to use a creative definition  more

OAKLAND, California, March 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: Steve H.S. Kim pleaded guilty today to a scheme to defraud the Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) by selling over $3.5 million worth of fan assemblies to the DLA that were either counterfeit or misrepresented to be new. The plea was accepted by the Hon. Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr., United States District Judge. "Thro  more

LOS ANGELES, California, March 27 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for Central District of California issued the following news release on March 26, 2024: An El Monte man and two Chinese nationals living elsewhere in Los Angeles County were sentenced today to terms in federal prison for laundering gift cards purchased by telephone-scam fraud victims at Target stores across the United States. Blade Bai, 35, of El Monte; Bowen Hu, 28, of Hacienda Heights; and Tairan Shi, 29, of Diamond Bar; we  more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12525) on March 24, 2024, by public finance analyst Gary Guenther: * * * The IRS Business Systems Modernization Program: An Overview The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collects 95% of the funds needed to operate federal government programs and agencies. In FY2022, the agency collected $4.9 trillion in taxes, processed 263 million tax returns and other forms, and issued $642 billion in r  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF11122) on March 21, 2024, by public finance analyst Gary Guenther: * * * Section 199A Deduction for Pass-Through Business Income: An Overview The 2017 tax revision (P.L. 115-97, also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act or TCJA) created a temporary deduction for qualified pass-through business income (QBI) under Section 199A of the federal tax code. The maximum deduction is equal to the l  more

WASHINGTON, March 30 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection issued the following news release on March 29, 2024: On March 21, 2024, at approximately 10:27 p.m., the U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Communications Center reported via service radio that multiple individuals were approaching the secondary International Border Fence approximately 2.7 miles west of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and were carrying a ladder. At this location, the secondary International Bo  more

WASHINGTON, March 25 -- Don't Waste Arizona with collaborators has issued a public comment to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The 28-page comment was written on Feb. 15, 2024, and posted on March 4, 2024. The comment was on Docket No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2023-0142. Here are excerpts: * * * To: The Honorable Michael S. Regan Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW (Mail Code 1101A) Washington, DC 20460 Re: Potential Future Regulation for Emergency Relea  more

EGLIN AFB, Florida, March 27 -- The U.S. Air Force's Eglin Air Force Base issued the following news: By Michelle Gigante Two dead bodies in separate death investigations with a storm threatening to erase vital evidence. These were the scenes encountered by crime scene investigators at the debut of the Battle of the Badges competition. Inspired by the competitive spirit of investigators and drawing parallels from the popular TV show, "Crime Scene Kitchen," the Air Force Office of Special Inves  more

WASHINGTON, March 25 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency received the following public communication on March 13, 2024: * * * To: Ms. Kira Wiesinger EPA Region IX 75 Hawthorne St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Re: Docket No. EPA-R09-OAR-2023-0649 Dear Ms. Wiesinger: On behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Air Law for All, Ltd. submits the following comments in opposition to EPA's proposed action, "Air Plan Revisions; California; Feather River Air Quality Management District,"  more

WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Office of the Inspector General issued the following news on March 27, 2024: Description of What is Miso Inspector General Robert P. Storch announced today that the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General released the "Evaluation of the DoD's Military Information Support Operations Workforce." The evaluation examined the effectiveness of the DoD's recruitment, training, and retention of personnel conducting Military Information  more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States Office of Inspector General issued the following news release: Brussels, Belgium - Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis traveled to Brussels, Belgium last week as part of the U.S. delegation to the first ever global Nuclear Energy Summit, led by Senior Advisor to the President on Climate, John Podesta, alongside Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonn  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States Office of Inspector General issued the following news release: Atlanta, Georgia - Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis traveled to Atlanta this week as part of Prosper Africa's Atlanta Phambili mission, which was hosted by U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Reuben E. Brigety II. A U.S. mission in South Africa, Atlanta Phambili aims to deepen bilateral ties between the United States and S  more

WASHINGTON, March 27 -- The Export-Import Bank of the United States Office of Inspector General issued the following news release: San Jose, Costa Rica - Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) First Vice President and Vice Chair Judith Pryor traveled to Costa Rica last week as part of a U.S. delegation led by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and General Laura Richardson, Commander of the U.S. Southern Command to further economic ties between the U.S and Costa Rica. While in San   more

MIAMI, Florida, March 30 -- The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Markenzy Lapointe, issued the following news release: A Miami federal district judge sentenced a longtime fugitive and Cuban national, Ariel Nunez-Finalet, to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his role in a massive 18-defendant conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud through various south Florida pharmacies. The judge also ordered Nunez-Finalet to pay $1,910,222   more

ATLANTA, Georgia, March 30 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia issued the following news release: The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, and the Procurement Collusion Strike Force ("PCSF") hosted a summit where procurement officials and law enforcement partners from across the Atlanta metropolitan area convened to raise awareness concerning collusion, corruption, and fraud schemes that   more

WASHINGTON, March 24 -- The Health and Human Services Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. A-18-22-09005) on March 15, 2024, entitled "South Carolina Management Information Systems and Eligibility and Enrollment System Security Controls Were Adequate, but Some Improvements Are Needed" filed under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Here are excerpts: * * * Report in Brief Why OIG Did This Audit We are conducting a series of audits of State Medicaid Management  more

WASHINGTON, March 24 -- The Health and Human Services Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. A-18-21-09001) on March 15, 2024, entitled "Utah Medicaid Management Information Systems and Eligibility and Enrollment System Security Controls In Place, but Improvements Are Needed" filed under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Here are excerpts: * * * Report in Brief Why OIG Did This Audit We are conducting a series of audits of State Medicaid Management Informati  more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, issued the following news release: BISMARCK, N.D. - Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer and Congressman Kelly Armstrong today issued the following statement after the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Inspector General (IG) released its interim audit of facilities in Bismarck, Mandan and Minot. The audit, which is available here, found delayed mail and other operational deficiencies at each facility and recommended that district management:   more

WASHINGTON, March 25 (TNSrep) -- The Homeland Security Inspector General issued the following report (No. OIG-24-20) on March 15, 2024, entitled "Results of July 2023 Unannounced Inspections of Customs & Border Protection Holding Facilities in the Rio Grande Valley Area." Here are excerpts: * * * MEMORANDUM FOR: Troy Miller, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection FROM: Joseph V. Cuffari, Ph.D., Inspector General SUBJECT: Results of July  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The House Appropriations Committee issued the following testimony by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra involving a hearing on March 20, 2024, entitled "Fiscal Year 2025 Request for the Department of Health and Human Services": * * * Chair Aderholt, Ranking Member DeLauro, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). I am pleas  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction issued the following testimony by David A. Flosi, chief master sergeant of the U.S. Air Force, involving a hearing on March 20, 2024, entitled "Quality of Life in the Military": * * * Chairman Carter, Ranking Member Wasserman-Schultz, and distinguished members of this Subcommittee, thank you for your continued interest and support in the quality of life of the women and men who serve our great Nation. I am h  more

WASHINGTON, March 25 -- The House Financial Services Committee issued a report (H.Rpt. 118-317) on the Financial Privacy Act (H.R. 5485), which aims to require the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for greater transparency and protections with regard to Bank Secrecy Act reports. The report was advanced by Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, R-North Carolina, on Dec. 13, 2023. Here are excerpts: * * * Purpose and Summary Introduced on September 14, 2023, by Representative French Hill, H.R. 5485, the   more

WASHINGTON, March 25 -- The House House Administration Committee issued a report (H.Rpt. 118-318) on the Stop Foreign Funds in Elections Act (H.R. 3229), which aims to amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to apply the prohibition against contributions and donations by foreign nationals in connection with elections to contributions or donations in connection with ballot initiatives and referenda. The report was advanced by Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisconsin, on Dec. 14, 2023. Here are exce  more

WASHINGTON, March 25 -- The House Judiciary Committee issued a report (H.Rpt. 118-307) on the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act (H.R. 6570), which aims to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to reform certain authorities and to provide greater transparency and oversight. The report was advanced by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on Dec. 11, 2023. Here are excerpts: * * * Purpose and Summary H.R. 6570, introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), reauthorizes Section   more

WASHINGTON, March 25 -- The House Judiciary Committee issued a report (H.Rpt. 118-307) on the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act (H.R. 6570), which aims to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to reform certain authorities and to provide greater transparency and oversight. The report was advanced by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on Dec. 11, 2023. * * * (Continued from Part 1 of 2) vii. Data Collection, Retention, and Sale Today, data is often referred to as   more

WASHINGTON, March 25 -- The House Oversight and Accountability Committee issued a report (H.Rpt. 118-397) on the Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act (H.R. 5527), which aims to amend Sec. 1078 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2018 to increase the effectiveness of the Technology Modernization Fund. The report was advanced by Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, on Feb. 23, 2024. Here are excerpts: * * * Summary and Purpose of Legislation H.R. 5527 reforms and reauthorizes  more

WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs issued the following testimony by Max Primorac, a senior research fellow at the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, involving a hearing on March 21, 2024, entitled "Accountable Assistance: Reviewing Controls to Prevent Mismanagement of Foreign Aid": * * * My name is Max Primorac. I am a Senior Research Fellow at the Margaret Thatcher Cent  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The House Rules Committee issued a report (H.Rpt. 118-419) on a resolution (H.Res. 1071), which provides consideration for the USE IT Act (H.R. 6276) and a resolution (H.Res. 1065) denouncing the Biden administration's immigration policies. The report was advanced by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, on March 11, 2024. Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE RESOLUTION The resolution provides for consideration of H.R. 6276, the USE IT Act of 2023, under a   more

WASHINGTON, March 25 -- The House Small Business Committee issued a report (H.Rpt. 118-399) on the Put America on Commission Act (H.R. 7129), which aims to amend the Small Business Act to establish the Office of Whistleblower Awards. The report was advanced by Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, on Feb. 23, 2024. Here are excerpts: * * * I. Purpose and Bill Summary On January 30, 2024, Chairman Williams, along with Representatives Mfume, Luetkemeyer, Stauber, Meuser, Van Duyne, Salazar, Mann, Ellz  more

WASHINGTON, March 25 -- The House Small Business Committee issued a report (H.Rpt. 118-393) on the WOSB Certification and Opportunity Expansion Act (H.R. 7105), which aims to establish requirements relating to certification of small business concerns owned and controlled by women for certain purposes. The report was advanced by Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, on Feb. 20, 2024. Here are excerpts: * * * I. Purpose and Bill Summary On January 29, 2024, Rep. Velazquez and Rep. LaLota introduced H.  more

WASHINGTON, March 25 -- The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee issued a report (H.Rpt. 118-411) on the Impact of Crime on Public Building Usage Act (H.R. 6261), which aims to direct the Comptroller General to conduct a review on the impact of crime on public building usage. The report was advanced by Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, on March 6, 2024. Here are excerpts: * * * PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION The purpose of H.R. 6261, the Impact of Crime on Public Building Usage Act of 2023,   more

WASHINGTON, March 28 -- Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pennsylvania, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, issued the following opening remarks at a hearing on March 12, 2024, entitled "Disaster Readiness: Examining the Propriety of the Expanded Use of FEMA Resources." FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency. * * * Today's hearing will focus on examining the propriety of the expanded use of FEMA res  more

WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management issued the following testimony by Kristen D. Bernard, deputy inspector general for audit at the Homeland Security Department, involving a hearing on March 12, 2024, entitled "Disaster Readiness: Examining the Propriety of the Expanded Use of FEMA Resources." FEMA is the Federal Emergency Management Agency. * * * Chairman Perry, Ranking Member Titus  more

WASHINGTON, March 25 -- The House Veterans' Affairs Committee issued a report (H.Rpt. 118-425) on the Restore Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability Act (H.R. 4278), which aims to amend Title 38 of the U.S. Code to modify personnel action procedures with respect to employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The report was advanced by Rep. Mike Bost, R-Illinois, on March 15, 2024. Here are excerpts: * * * Purpose and Summary H.R. 4278, the "Restore VA Accountability Act of 2023"   more

WASHINGTON, March 25 (TNSrep) -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General issued the following report (No. 2024-FW-1002) on March 11, 2024, entitled "After More Than 6 Years, The City of New Orleans' National Disaster Resilience Project Activities Had Made Little Impact on Resilience." Here are excerpts: * * * To: Cheryl S. Breaux, Director, Office of Community Planning and Development, New Orleans Field Office, 6HD From: Kilah S. White, Assistant Inspector General f  more

WASHINGTON, March 25 (TNSrep) -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General issued the following report (No. 2024-FW-1003) on March 19, 2024, entitled "The Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority's Homebuyer Assistance Program Positively Impacted Participants but May Not Have Distributed Disaster Recovery Funds Equitably." Here are excerpts: * * * To: Claudia I. Monterrosa, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs, DG From: Kila  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Internal Revenue Service issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: The Internal Revenue Service today kicked off the annual Dirty Dozen list with a warning for taxpayers to be aware of evolving phishing and smishing scams designed to steal sensitive taxpayer information. With taxpayers continuing to be bombarded by email and text scams, the IRS and the Security Summit partners warned individuals and businesses to remain v  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following readout of the agency's Procurement Collusion Strike Force's Summit on March 28, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia: * * * The Justice Department, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia and the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) hosted a summit today where procurement officials and law enforcement partners from across the Atlanta metropolitan area convened to raise awareness of collusion, corruption   more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release: A former correctional officer at the Federal Correctional Institution Dublin (FCI Dublin), where he supervised prisoners, was sentenced to 72 months in prison for sexually abusing five inmates at FCI Dublin. This is the seventh correctional officer to be sentenced in connection with the wide-ranging investigation into sexual abuse of the inmates in the prison. Nakie Nunley, 48, of Fairfield, California, p  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release: Gamma Healthcare Inc. (Gamma), a laboratory located in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and three of its owners, Jerry W. Murphy, Jerrod W. Murphy and Joel W. Murphy (the Murphys), have agreed to pay the United States $13,619,660.18 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by submitting or causing the submission of claims to Medicare for lab tests that were not ordered by health care pro  more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release: A Florida man pleaded guilty today to his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare by billing for over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits and genetic tests that were ineligible for reimbursement and procured by paying illegal kickbacks and bribes. According to court documents, Robert M. Clark, 29, of Pompano Beach, was the figurehead owner of Clear Choice Diagnostics Inc. (Clear Choice). Clark and his co-conspir  more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release: A California man and two Chinese nationals were sentenced today to 15, 10 and eight years in prison, respectively, for laundering gift cards purchased by telephone-scam fraud victims at Target stores across the United States. According to court documents, Blade Bai, 35, of El Monte, Bowen Hu, 28, of Hacienda Heights, California, and Tairan Shi, 29, of Diamond Bar, California, were part of a network of ind  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: A California man pleaded guilty yesterday to a scheme to defraud the Department of Defense's (DoD) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) by selling over $3.5 million worth of fan assemblies to the DLA that were either counterfeit or misrepresented to be new. "The defendant sold counterfeit and deficient fan assemblies for use in military systems to increase his profit," said Principal Deputy As  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release: An owner of a durable medical equipment (DME) company was sentenced yesterday to three and a half years in prison and ordered to forfeit $1.8 million for his participation in a healthcare fraud kickback conspiracy. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Mark Sorensen, 53, of Chicago, owned Symed Inc. (Symed), a Chicago DME pharmacy that paid illegal kickbacks to obtain patients to   more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: Within the past year, the number of people ICE placed in solitary confinement skyrocketed by 61 percent Letter Text (PDF) Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Patrick Lechleitner calling for ICE to l  more

BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: A Haverhill man was arrested and charged today in connection with a Massachusetts Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claim he filed in 2020 for a man who was living in Brazil and who has since been charged with migrant smuggling, among other offenses. Julio Roncaly Morais, 41, was charged by complaint with mail fraud, wire fraud, and cons  more

BALTIMORE, Maryland, March 27 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland issued the following news release on March 26, 2024: U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced En-Wei Eric Chang, age 48, a citizen of the United States and the Republic of Taiwan, residing in Taiwan, today to two years in federal prison, followed by supervised release of six months of home detention, for a conspiracy related to the export of defense materials to Iran. Such materials were embarg  more

MOODY AFB, Georgia, March 30 -- The U.S. Air Force Moody Air Force Base (23rd Air Wing) issued the following news: By Senior Airman Deanna Muir, 23rd Wing Public Affairs The 23rd Wing conducted an aircraft accident response exercise at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, March 26, 2024. This home-station exercise simulated a hard landing of an HH-60W Jolly Green II with injured aircrew members and tested Moody AFB Airmen's communication and response capabilities in an emergency. "The purpose of e  more

BISMARCK, North Dakota, March 27 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota issued the following news release: United States Attorney Mac Schneider announced that on March 26, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland sentenced Kent Pfaff, age 60, from Washburn, North Dakota, to pay $379,317.00 in restitution to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and to serve a three-year period of supervised release on a charge of False Statement to Influence th  more

NEWARK, New Jersey, March 28 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey issued the following news release on March 27, 2024: A Florida man was sentenced today to 42 months in prison for illegally obtaining more than $1.5 million in government benefits, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Michael Blanc, 34, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty on Sept. 13, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp in Trenton federal court on to an information charging him w  more

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico, March 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico issued the following news release: A former State Representative and her longtime friend are facing federal charges for long-term scheme to defraud the U.S. government. Sheryl Williams Stapleton, 66, of Albuquerque, and Joseph Johnson, 72, of Chantilly, Virginia, are schedule to appear in federal court for an initial appearance on April 9, 2024. The indictment alleges that from about July 1, 20  more

NEW YORK, March 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Naomi Gruchacz, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General ("HHS-OIG"); Brian J. Solecki, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Field Office of the U.S. Department   more

ROCHESTER, New York, March 26 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York issued the following news release on March 25, 2024: U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Melanie Armstrong, 55, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson to wire fraud involving national emergency benefits, filing false claims against a government agency, and transfer of a means of identification. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years   more

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 26 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio issued the following news release: A Cincinnati-based healthcare staffing company has agreed to pay $9.25 million and to pledge an additional $8 million for related healthcare projects to resolve civil and criminal investigations into the company's visa sponsorship program. Health Carousel, LLC, is a privately held healthcare staffing company that offers workforce placements for healthcare professiona  more

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, March 29 -- The Oklahoma Department of Corrections issued the following agency statement on March 27, 2024, in response to the Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee meeting: * * * The Oklahoma Department of Corrections takes seriously the safety and security of our staff and inmates. During today's Criminal Justice and Corrections committee meeting, Representative Justin Humphrey made multiple untrue claims. He began by saying an inmate at the Great Plains Correct  more

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, March 26 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued the following news release: The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that John H. Johnson and Paula Z. Johnson, both age 62, of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging them with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. John H. Johnson also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to   more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce Patent and Trademark Office has issued a proposed rule (37 CFR Parts 2 and 7), published in the Federal Register on March 26, 2024, entitled "Setting and Adjusting Trademark Fees During Fiscal Year 2025." The proposed rule was issued by Katherine Kelly Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director. COMMENT DEADLINE: May 28, 2024 Here are excerpts: * * * SUMMARY: The United States Patent and Trademark Office  more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- The U.S. Postal Service Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. 24-027-R24) on March 22, 2024, entitled "California 5 District: Delivery Operations." Here are excerpts: * * * We performed a self-initiated audit at the Los Angeles Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) and three delivery units serviced by the P&DC during the week of November 13, 2023. The delivery units included the Dockweiler Station, Downtown Long Beach Station, and Inglewood Carri  more

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- Rep. Joseph Neguse, D-Colorado, issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: Yesterday, House Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy expressing concern about the United States Postal Service's proposal to shift Western Slope mail processing operations from Grand Junction to Denver. As part of the USPS's national strategy dubbed Delivering for America, the agency proposes changing the Grand Junction Processing and Dist  more

WASHINGTON, March 30 -- Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., introduced a resolution on Feb. 16, 2024. The text of the resolution was released on March 28. H. Res. 1021. A resolution providing the sense of the House of Representatives that the political persecution of President Donald J. Trump is morally unjustifiable and has damaged institutional trust to an extraordinary degree; that the Biden administration's weaponization of the Federal Government against Donald Trump, the Republican Party's nominee f  more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, issued the following news release: Recently released documents from the Center for Medical Progress show Planned Parenthood has been providing human fetal tissue, obtained from abortions, to the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). The documents show that Planned Parenthood provided the tissue in exchange for the rights to any of the resulting research findings. Current federal law prohibits the transfer of aborted fetal tissue for c  more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, issued the following news release: The U.S. Senate approved a legislative package of six appropriations bills that includes funding for Arkansas defense, health and education priorities championed by U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) including significant investment in the future pilot training mission in Fort Smith. The legislation was signed into law Saturday. "I'm proud to deliver investments to Arkansas that support growth and developm  more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, issued the following news release: As part of his continued efforts to defend Montana and ensure our servicemembers have the resources they need to keep our country safe, U.S. Senator Jon Tester voted to pass a bipartisan package of annual government funding appropriations bills that included the defense bill he wrote as chairman of the Senate committee that sets the military's budget, as well as critical funding to help secure our southern bo  more

WASHINGTON, March 27 -- Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, issued the following news release on March 26, 2024: Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, outlining his concern about the ability of the Department of Energy (DOE) to protect its cutting-edge research and development (R&D) into artificial intell  more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news release on March 25, 2024: Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a statement following the Biden administration instructing Central States Pension Fund to return the $127 million that it was wrongfully paid as part of the Democrats' $9  more

WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The Senate on March 20, 2024, published 26 executive communications from the Executive Branch: * * * EC-3778. A communication from the Supervisor, Human Resources Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, transmitting, pursuant to law, two (2) reports relative to vacancies in the Environmental Protection Agency, received in the Office of the President of the Senate on March 19, 2024; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. EC-3779. A communication  more

WASHINGTON, March 28 -- The Senate on March 21, 2024, published 16 executive communications from the Executive Branch: * * * EC-3820. A communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, a six-month periodic report on the national emergency that was declared in Executive Order 13536 with respect to Somalia; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. EC-3822. A communication from the Secretary of the Treasury, transmitting, pursuant to law, a six-mon  more

WASHINGTON, March 28 -- Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Delaware, issued the following news release on March 27, 2024: Today, Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) announced the bipartisan FEHB Protection Act to stop fraud within the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program, the largest employer-sponsored health insurance program in the country which covers eight million federal employees, retirees and family members. The FEHB Protection Act will codify Government Accountability Off  more

WASHINGTON, March 27 -- Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, issued the following news release: Today, Senator Rick Scott and Senator Tom Carper announced the bipartisan FEHB Protection Act to stop fraud within the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program, the largest employer-sponsored health insurance program in the country which covers eight million federal employees, retirees and family members. The FEHB Protection Act will codify Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Office of Inspector  more

WASHINGTON, March 25 (TNSrep) -- The State Department Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. AUD-FM-24-13) entitled "Independent Auditor's Report on the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico, U.S. Section, FY 2023 and FY 2022 Financial Statements." Here are excerpts: * * * Summary of Audit An independent external auditor, working on behalf of and under the direction of the Office of Inspector General, audited the International Boundary and Wa  more

WASHINGTON, March 25 (TNSrep) -- The State Department Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. ISP-I-24-12) entitled "Inspection of Embassy Dar es Salaam, Tanzania." Here are excerpts: * * * What OIG Inspected OIG inspected the executive direction, policy and program implementation, resource management, and information management operations of Embassy Dar es Salaam. What OIG Recommends OIG made 25 recommendations: 23 to Embassy Dar es Salaam, 1 to the Bureau of Global Healt  more

WASHINGTON, March 25 (TNSrep) -- The State Department Inspector General issued the following audit report (No. ISP-I-24-09) in February 2024 entitled "Inspection of Embassy Singapore." Here are excerpts: * * * What OIG Inspected OIG inspected the executive direction, policy and program implementation, resource management, and information management operations of Embassy Singapore. What OIG Recommends OIG made 23 recommendations: 21 to Embassy Singapore, 1 to the Bureau of East Asian and Pa  more

SANTA ANA, California, March 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for Central District of California issued the following news release: The former senior director of fiscal services at an Orange County public school district pleaded guilty today to embezzling approximately $15.9 million from the district over several years. Jorge Armando Contreras, 53, of Yorba Linda, pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement, theft and intentional misapplication of funds from an organization receiving fede  more

DENVER, Colorado, March 27 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado issued the following news release: The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado announces Tarek Kassem, 63, of Parker, Colorado, was indicted by a federal grand jury for wire fraud and money laundering. According to the indictment, from March 2020 and through at least March 2023, the defendant applied for and received more than $1.4 million dollars in Small Business Association (SBA)   more

NEWARK, New Jersey, March 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: A Florida man admitted his role in a conspiracy to receive kickbacks and bribes from laboratories in exchange for referrals of patient DNA samples and genetic tests, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced today. Jeffrey Tamulski, 50, of Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Newark federal co  more

COLUMBIA, South Carolina, March 28 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina issued the following news release: Shannon Layne Myers, 51, of Lancaster, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a wide range of federal gun and drug charges, including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, four counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine or heroin, three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, two c  more

WASHINGTON, March 26 -- Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota, issued the following news release: BISMARCK - The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Inspector General (IG) released its interim audit of facilities in Bismarck, Mandan, and Minot, which found delayed mail and other operational deficiencies at each facility. After the release of the interim audit, the North Dakota delegation issued the following statement: "The USPS's audit makes it clear that improvements are needed at postal facilities in Bi  more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 26 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah issued the following news release on March 25, 2024: A Utah County businessman was arrested today after he was indicted by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City on March 20, 2024, for wire fraud. Robert Blake Molling, 41, of Lehi, Utah, is accused of fraudulently obtaining over $1.8 million in federal government disaster relief funds. According to court documents, from March 2020 to April 2022, Molling  more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 29 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah issued the following news release on March 28, 2024: Three Tooele County residents accused of running a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan fraud ring will appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge today following a federal indictment. The indictment, returned by a grand jury on Feb. 28, 2024, includes charges of wire fraud and aiding and abetting during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to court document  more