Document baNj5N9YZL4EV0NNRx23eJV10

Message From: Sent: To: Subject: Americans for Limited Government [media@limitgov.org] 3/21/2018 1:32:32 PM Abboud, Michael [/o=ExchangeLabs/ou=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)/cn=Recipients/cn=b6f5af791al842fladcc088cbf9ed3ce-Abboud, Mic] The 1RSand Congress are ignoring millions of felonies committed by illegal immigrants stealing identities Why is this still happening? March 21, 2018 Permission to republish original op-eds and cartoons granted. The IRS and Congress are ignoring millions of felonies committed by illegal immigrants stealing identities. Why is this still happening? Despite the media and amnesty proponents on both sides of the aisle declaring illegal immigrants don't commit crimes, a recent report from CNS News should shut down the amnesty debate. After reviewing several Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reports, CNS found the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) routinely ignores massive numbers of possible identity theft. According to the report, there were 1.2 million cases in 2017 in which illegal aliens filed tax returns using Social Security Numbers (SSN). Why are the IRS and Congress ignoring a problem costing American citizens billions of dollars and countless years to fix? Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao smeared over inheritance she received from her mother's death Peter Schweizer's latest book "Secret Empires, " details a 2008 "windfall" received by then-Labor Secretary and now-Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. Schweizer claims the money somehow came from the Chinese government. In fact, it was inheritance from the death of Chao's mother, Ruth Mulan Chu, in 2007 after she lost her battle with cancer. Daily Caller: Scott Pruitt Will End EPA's Use Of `Secret Science' To Justify Regulations "Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt will soon end his agency's use of 'secret science' to craft regulations. `We need to make sure their data and methodology are published as part of the record, ' Pruitt said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation. 'Otherwise, it's not transparent. It's not objectively measured, and that's important. '" The IRS and Congress are ignoring millions of felonies committed by illega immigrants stealing identities. Why is this still happening? Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00004125-00001 By Printus LeBlanc Despite the media and amnesty proponents on both sides of the aisle declaring illegal immigrants don't commit crimes, a recent report from CNS News should shut down the amnesty debate. After reviewing several Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reports, CNS found the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) routinely ignores massive numbers of possible identity theft. According to the report, there were 1.2 million cases in 2017 in which illegal aliens filed tax returns using Social Security Numbers (SSN). Why are the IRS and Congress ignoring a problem costing American citizens billions of dollars and countless years to fix? This is not the typical identity theft most people think of, but employment identity theft. Employment identity theft is when someone uses another person's identity to get a job. The IRS can identify the theft through the ITIN/SSN mismatch process. The process detects instances in which an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is listed as either the primary or secondary Taxpayer Identification Number on form 1040, and the Form W-2, included with the return has an SSN. What is most infuriating about the recent report is the lack of enforcement of federal law. The IRS found 1.3 million cases of employment-related identity theft between 2011 and 2016. But in the same time frame, the IRS made 20,986 prosecution recommendations with only 4,329 being recommended for identity theft. The list of crimes being committed by the millions of illegal immigrants is numerous: 18 U S. Code 1028 - Fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information (identity theft) 18 U S. Code 1341 - Frauds and swindles (mail fraud) 18 U.S. Code 1343 - Fraud by wire, radio, or television (wire fraud) 18 U.S. Code 371 - Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States (conspiracy) Every day American citizens are investigated, charged, and convicted of these crimes. Why should illegal immigrants be any different? Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00004125-00002 What no one on Capitol Hill or the media is talking about, is the damage a stolen identity can do to a person. It may not seem like much to use someone else's identity to get a job, but it can take years to get the official records corrected. Home loans are denied, interest rates rise, and jobs are denied when there is an identity theft problem. It is hard to find someone that has not been impacted by identity theft, including myself: Several years ago, a friend of mine separated from the military. He and I were training for a contracting job with the State Department. After training, as we were getting ready to deploy, he was told he could not go because an update to his security clearance, which he previously possessed, found someone had stolen his identity. This honorably discharged Marine Scout Sniper was being denied a job because someone stole his identity. That's how serious stolen identities are. A stolen identity can ruin a person's life. Why is Congress trying to grant amnesty to people hurting American citizens? The first thing that should happen is the IRS must make criminal referrals to the Justice Department for cases of identity theft. The DOJ must then move to prosecute and deport any illegal immigrants that committed identity fraud. This cannot continue, the lack of punishment for committing multiple felonies only invites more lawlessness. Congress must also act. It must move to pass E-Verify. E-Verify will ensure illegal immigrants cannot be hired. The ITIN program must also be abolished. The program is filled with fraud and abuse costing taxpayers billions a year in improper payments. This must be done before any agreement is worked out on the DACA program or amnesty for Dreamers. Before any deal is done, Congress must demand an audit of potential DACA recipients and Dreamers to find out who amongst the group committed identity theft. Congress cannot reward identity theft with a green card. Congress and the federal government need to show the American people they matter. Printus LeBlanc is a contributing editor at Americans for Limited Government. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao smeared over inheritance she received from her mother's death Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00004125-00003 By Robert Romano "In 2004, [Elaine Chao and Mitch McConnell] had an average net worth of $3.1 million according to public disclosures--well below the senate average of $14.5 million. Ten years later, they had a net worth of between $9.2 million and $36.5 million. The key: in 2008 they received a gift from Elaine Chao's father, James [between $5 million and $25 million]." That is the passage from Peter Schweizer's latest book "Secret Empires," detailing a 2008 "windfall" received by then-Labor Secretary and now-Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. Schweizer claims the money somehow came from the Chinese government. In fact, it was inheritance from the death of Chao's mother, Ruth Mulan Chu, in 2007 after she lost her battle with cancer. Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning, who worked at the Labor Department under Chao during that time, noted in a statement blasting the book, "Anyone who worked with her at that time was aware that her mother was gravely ill. Unfortunately, when she passed, her estate was dispersed and the Secretary received some portion of that money. Any attempt to characterize this as anything but a normal generational transfer of wealth is misguided. And as anyone who has lost a parent will attest, any inheritance is small compared to the hole in your heart left by the loss." Schweizer does not tell readers why the gift was made, but for a footnote, Schweizer references a 2009 Politico report by Manu Raju and John Bresnahan, "Members' fortunes see steep declines." Raju and Bresnahan actually do better reporting than Schweizer, letting their readers know where the money came from because they included a statement from McConnell spokesman Don Stewart: "That was a gift from Secretary Chao's father in April 2008 to the Senator and the Secretary, in memory of her mother, who passed away in August 2007." Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00004125-00004 Raju and Bresnahan also report that the gift was fully transparent because it appeared in McConnell's annual financial disclosure report. That's how they learned about it. So not only was there not a crime or even an ethical issue to do with the inheritance, it was fully reported as required under the law. Instead, Schweizer implies it reveals a cozy relationship between Chao, McConnell and the Chinese government, warranting some sort of security concern. He characterizes it as "money flowing from the Chinese government to the McConnell-Chao family..." making it sound like some sort of bribe or something. In fact, it was money within the family and most of it was made in the U.S. In fact, James Chao fled China early in his life to Taiwan before coming to America where he built his ship-building company, Foremost, based in New York. Schweizer references Mr. Chao's investment and trade with Chinese companies, because some of those included defense contractors, as evidence of him basically being a Chinese agent, through which Chao and McConnell appear as pawns, implementing China's preferred policies in Washington, D C. at the highest corridors of power. Or, you know, Chao's family was very successful and wealthy, and has made multiple investments throughout the region including, yes, in China, which have proved profitable. Investing in Chinese companies does not make somebody a Chinese agent. Even if one disagrees with the stances Chao or McConnell have taken on China, and they are certainly debatable, these connections do not appear to be particularly relevant. Similar cheap shots were taken last year at Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross by NBC News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists for investing in a British company, Navigator, that ships natural gas all over the world, including from Russia. Russia is one of the top exporters of natural gas in the world. Which is as unsurprising as a businessman from Taiwan also having assets in China. Lots of investors have made money in China. It's now the second largest economy in the world. Now, there are many debatable problems to do with globalization, the impact on local economies and workers, trade flows and the like. Investment on its own really is not one of them. Interconnected financial markets makes investment in companies foreign and domestic easy and advantageous. The attack on the Chao family appears to be that they have benefited from those trends and insinuates that this has impacted public policy decisions by Chao and McConnell, but with no evidence. Schweizer calls Chao and McConnell's record "soft" but does not convincingly prove any sort of quid pro quo, and certainly not to do with the 2008 inheritance, which is the vast majority of the wealth that Schweizer makes the case against. Why not let readers know it was inheritance? They should not have to type the footnote into their Internet browsers before they realize there was more to the story. Again, there are many perfectly legitimate reasons to take a hard line on China as has President Donald Trump on trade relations, projecting military power, intellectual property rights and other issues. The shot Schweizer takes here really misses the mark and unfairly smears a family as acting as Chinese agents simply because they invested money in China. Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00004125-00005 In the context Schweizer is presenting, you have to believe that while Chao and McConnell have been married since 1993, only in the event of Chao's mother's death in 2007 did Chao's father use the opportunity to finally make the bribe. It not only does not pass the smell test, it stands out as shameful, lazy journalism; yet more foreign hysteria, this time in China. As Manning concluded in his statement, "Secretary Chao's story encapsulates the American dream. Her father fled Communist China and as he gained the means brought his wife and children to America from Taiwan over time. The Secretary has spent her life in public service and has made a true difference for our nation. It was a great honor for me to serve under her leadership at the Department of Labor in the Bush administration, and Mr. Schweizer owes her an apology for miscasting the inheritance she received during this trying time in her life." Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government. ALG Editor's Note: In the following piece from The Daily Caller News Foundation, Michael Bastasch reports on the announcement form EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt that his agency will stop using secret science to justify regulations: my-iOf ul mfls^tf* Scott Pruitt Will End EPA!s Use Of `Secret Science' To Justify Regulations By Michael Bastasch Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt will soon end his agency's use of "secret science" to craft regulations. "We need to make sure their data and methodology are published as part of the record," Pruitt said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation. "Otherwise, it's not transparent. It's not objectively measured, and that's important." Pruitt will reverse long-standing EPA policy allowing regulators to rely on non-public scientific data in crafting rules. Such studies have been used to justify tens of billions of dollars worth of regulations. EPA regulators would only be allowed to consider scientific studies that make their data available for public scrutiny under Pruitt's new policy. Also, EPA-funded studies would need to make all their data public. "When we do contract that science out, sometimes the findings are published; we make that part of our rule-making processes, but then we don't publish the methodology and data that went into those findings because the third party who did the study won't give it to us," Pruitt added. "And we've said that's fine -- we're changing that as well," Pruitt told TheDCNF. Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00004125-00006 Conservatives have long criticized EPA for relying on scientific studies that published their findings but not the underlying data. However, Democrats and environmental activists have challenged past attempts to bring transparency to studies used in rule making. Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith pushed legislation to end the use of what he calls "secret science" at EPA. Pruitt instituted another policy in 2017 backed by Smith against EPA-funded scientists serving on agency advisory boards. "If we use a third party to engage in scientific review or inquiry, and that's the basis of rulemaking, you and every American citizen across the country deserve to know what's the data, what's the methodology that was used to reach that conclusion that was the underpinning of what -- rules that were adopted by this agency," Pruitt explained. Pruitt's pending science transparency policy mirrors Smith's HONEST Act, which passed the House in March 2017. Smith's office was pleased to hear Pruitt was adopting another policy the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology chairman championed. "The chairman has long worked toward a more open and transparent rule-making process at EPA, and he looks forward to any announcement from Administrator Pruitt that would achieve that goal," committee spokeswoman Thea McDonald told TheDCNF. Junk science crusader Steve Milloy also called on EPA to end its use of "secret science" in rule making, especially when it comes to studies on the toxicity of fine particulates in the air. EPA has primarily relied on two 1990s studies linking fine particulate pollution to premature death. Neither studies have made their data public, but EPA used their findings to justify sweeping air quality regulations. Reported benefits from EPA rules are "mostly attributable to the reduction in public exposure to fine particulate matter," according to the White House Office of Management and Budget report. That's equivalent to billions of dollars. In fact, one of EPA's most expensive regulation on the books, called MATS, derived most of its estimated benefits from reducing particulates not from reducing mercury, which the rule was ostensibly crafted to address. EPA estimated MATS would cost $8.2 billion but yield between $28 billion to $77 billion in public health benefits. It's a similar story for the Clean Power Plan, which EPA estimated would cost $8.4 billion and yield from $14 billion to $34 billion in health and climate benefits. Democrats and environmentalists have largely opposed attempts to require EPA rely on transparent scientific data. Said data would restrict the amount of studies EPA can use, but a major objection is making data public would reveal confidential patient data, opponents argue. "A lot of the data that EPA uses to protect public health and ensure that we have clean air and clean water relies on data that cannot be publicly released," Union of Concerned Scientists representative Yogin Kothari told E&E News. "It really hamstrings the ability of the EPA to do anything, to fulfill its mission," Kothari said. Milloy, however, countered and argued it's a "red herring" to claim that forcing regulators to use public science data would harm patient privacy. Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00004125-00007 "The availability of such data sets is nothing new," said Milloy, publisher of JunkScience.com and senior fellow at the Energy and Environmental Legal Institute. "The state of California, for example, makes such data available under the moniker, `Public Use Death Files,'" Milloy said. "We used such data in the form of over two million anonymized death certificates in our recent California study on particulates and death." "Opponents of data transparency are just trying to hide the data from independent scrutiny," Milloy added. "But the studies that use this data are taxpayer-financed, and they are used to regulate the public." Americansfor Limited Government 10332 Main Street # 326None Fairfax Virginia 22030 United States This email is intended for abboud.michael@epa.gov. Update your preferences or Unsubscribe Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 7 ED 002061 00004125-00008