The Obama administration has been illegally funding

Posted: Jul 8, 2016

Reduction(CSR) payments for years over the objections of IRS officials, according to a report released today by the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Since Congress launched its investigation, multiple agencies have refused to provide information, selectively applied the law, and even pressured one witness not to testify..... Since Congress launched its investigation, multiple Obama government agencies have undertaken a concerted effort to hide the truth by refusing to provide, or unlawfully redacting documents, refusing to answer questions or allow witnesses to testify, and selectively applying the law. In at least one case, the Obama administration pressured a witness into not revealing information, and in another case the administration prevented a witness from answering questions. As the report notes: •The Department of the Treasury improperly withheld and redacted documents without any valid legal basis to do so. •The Department of Health and Human Services improperly withheld documents without any valid legal basis to do so. •The Office of Management and Budget improperly withheld documents without any valid legal basis to do so. •The Department of the Treasury failed to search for records responsive to the committees’ subpoenas. •Treasury used regulations and Testimony Authorizations to prohibit current and former IRS employees from providing testimony to Congress about the source of funding for the CSR program. •Treasury officials selectively enforced the law by allowing witnesses to answer certain questions prohibited by the authorizations without objection •HHS counsel prevented witnesses from answering substantive questions regarding the CSR, citing the need to protect “internal deliberations” and “confidentiality interests” •Witnesses were instructed not to reveal the names of White House and DoJ officials involved in decisions regarding the cost sharing reduction program. •The Department of the Treasury pressured at least one witness into following the restrictions set forth in his Testimony Authorization after the witness questioned Treasury’s ability to limit his testimony. •OMB prevented a witness from answering factual questions regarding the dates or times of a meeting or conversation, refusing to invoke a legal privilege to justify withholding the information from Congress. ;