Media Mentions – Functional Government Initiative

Biden Admin Sued Over Allegedly ‘Withholding’ FTC Records In Baby Formula Shortage Investigation

By Sarah Weaver (Daily Caller)

October 29, 2022

An ethics watchdog is suing the Biden Administration’s Federal Trade Commission for allegedly hiding information related to the investigation into the national baby formula shortage.

The FTC allegedly ignored an August FOIA request from The Functional Government Initiative for records about its investigation into the baby formula shortage, according to a complaint obtained by the Washington Examiner. The watchdog is now reportedly suing the FTC for “wrongfully withholding them.”

What’s Biden hiding on the infant formula shortage?

By Monica Showalter (American Thinker)

October 30, 2022

The Biden administration made a mess with the infant formula shortage earlier this year, and the problem is still ongoing, remaining at crisis levels in some parts of the country.

But don’t ask them how things are going now. After launching a high-profile investigation on why it happened last May 24, the shortages are still there, and now there’s a coverup.

Biden Admin Sued Over Withholding Baby Formula Shortage Information

By Sarah Arnold (Townhall)

October 30, 2022

The Biden Administration’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is being sued by an ethics watchdog for reportedly withholding key information on the baby formula shortage.

According to a complaint, the FTC ignored an August FOIA request from The Functional Government Initiative for records on its investigation into the shortage that affected families all over the country.

“FGI anticipates that officials and staff at FTC discussed and participated in making and implementing decisions about the investigation into the infant formula crisis… the public does not have an ability to easily evaluate the decision-making surrounding FTC’s investigation,” according to the lawsuit.

Biden administration sued for allegedly hiding documents on baby formula investigation

By Gabe Kaminsky (Washington Examiner)

October 29, 2022

President Joe Biden’s Federal Trade Commission is being sued for allegedly blocking the release of records related to its investigation of the nationwide baby formula shortage.

The Functional Government Initiative, an ethics watchdog, sent a Freedom of Information Act request in August to the FTC for the records, noting their release is in the “public interest.” But the watchdog has not received any records as of this writing and is now suing the FTC for “wrongfully withholding them,” according to a Wednesday complaint obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Pelosi raised concerns over media merger after taking donations from mogul who is against deal

By Gabe Kaminsky (Washington Examiner)

October 27, 2022

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) raised concerns over a proposed business merger on the heels of her campaign and two Pelosi-affiliated political action committees raking in hundreds of thousands in donations from a businessman who wants the deal quashed, records show.

Pelosi’s campaign, as well as her leadership PAC and joint fundraising committee, took over $271,000 combined between October and December 2021 from Byron Allen, the owner of several cable TV networks who is aiming to buy the broadcasting company Tegna, which is selling its 64 local TV stations. Allen raised $10 billion for his Tegna bid to compete with the investment firms Apollo Global Management and Standard General, Reuters reported in November 2021.

‘Astonishing’: Watchdog Sues Biden Admin For Records On Trump Law Targeting Illicit Drugs That Took Years To Put In Place

By Gabe Kaminsky

October 1, 2022

A watchdog group is suing the Biden administration for records they believe will shed light on why federal officials slow-walked the implementation of a 2018 law aimed at stopping the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S.

Former President Donald Trump in October 2018 signed The Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, which requires the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to report foreign package data to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and intends to fight drug trafficking. Though the law appears to have been implemented in March 2021, the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) is suing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and CBP to obtain the records, according to a Sept. 9 complaint obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Democrat Rep. Matt Cartwright Won’t Say if He’s Using Taxpayer Funds to Park His Private Plane

By Jordan Dixon-Hamilton (Breitbart)

September 12, 2022

Democrat Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) is suspiciously silent after reports came to light that he used taxpayer funds to pay the monthly parking fees for his private plane.

Cartwright, who is worth up to $10.9 million, pays $425 every month to the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the New Castle Airport in Delaware. As the Washington Free Beacon reported, that monthly price matches the airport’s advertised “small hangar” monthly storage price.

The monthly payments to the Delaware River and Bay Authority were marked on Cartwright’s financial disclosures as “Taxi/Parking/Tolls” and “District Office Parking,” despite the airport being outside his congressional district.

Democrat Matt Cartwright Has Potential Conflict of Interest with General Electric, Ethics Watchdog Says

By Nick Gilbertson and Jacob Bliss (Breitbart)

September 6, 2022

An ethics watchdog group says Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) is involved in a potential conflict of interest after visiting General Electric’s (GE) Research facility in upstate New York last month and holds up to $15,000 in GE stock, according to financial disclosures.

Cartwright and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) went to GE Research in Niskayuna, New York, on August 17, where they toured the facility, the Schenectady-based Daily Gazette’s John Cropley reported.

The reporter noted that the two congressmen left the research facility impressed by the “work being done in areas such as hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion and hydrogen-fueled engines,” bringing Cartwright to say, “There’s going to be a revolution in the way people get around in the air over the next 10 or 15 years and you’re going to see that revolution right here in Schenectady,” referring to the GE Research facility.

Dem May Have ‘Violated’ House Rules After Appearing In TV Ads, Watchdog Alleges

By Gabe Kaminsky (The Daily Caller)

August 31, 2022

Democratic Pennsylvania Rep. Matt Cartwright may have “violated” congressional rules for appearing in the TV ads of a top donor’s law firm, a watchdog alleged in a complaint obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Cartwright praised law firm Parker Waichman and its partner Jerry Parker in July TV ads that have since been pulled by the firm, Axios reported Thursday. Cartwright’s appearance in the ads may violate ethics rules because he gave his “endorsement” of Parker and used House resources to “support” the firm, watchdog Functional Government Initiative (FGI) wrote in a complaint Monday to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE).

‘Wholly Inadequate’: Federal Agencies Have No System To Check Whether Remote Employees Are Actually Working

By Patrick Hauf (Washington Free Beacon)

August 27, 2022

Several federal agencies have no system in place to monitor whether remote workers are actually clocking in for the job—a fact one Republican senator said is “unacceptable and baffling” as the Biden administration pushes to expand telework options for its growing number of federal workers.

Four federal agencies told the Washington Free Beacon they have no specific oversight of remote employees: the Department of the Interior, Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The agencies said their usual productivity measurements are adequate to track employees who shifted to remote work at the start of the pandemic. Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.) received a similar response from the Department of Labor when he asked about the agency’s telework policies—and said this justification is “wholly inadequate and non-responsive.”