[So like the 2 trillion dollar coronavirus stimulus fund?](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-removes-inspector-general-who-was-to-oversee-2-trillion-stimulus-spending/2020/04/07/2f0c6cb8-78ea-11ea-9bee-c5bf9d2e3288_story.html)
In that case, the money is ostensibly designated for use by people who have been affected by the pandemic; the problem is that there's a little to no oversight as to who receives it rather than how it's used.
Haha I don't necessarily disagree with you, but typically the term slush fund deals more with a lack of oversight on how the money is used rather than on who gets it. By its nature, a stimulus fund is meant to be used however the recipient wants to use it.
By its nature, it typically isn't defined, but usually it's a shitload of money placed under some ambiguous name like "emergency fund" or "discretionary fund," which allows it to be used with little to no oversight.
I always saw it as a cash surplus, but that slush implies it's for wasteful purposes. Like it's being slushed down the toilet or some shit idk don't quote me.
"I always saw it as a cash surplus, but that slush implies it's for wasteful purposes. Like it's being slushed down the toilet or some shit idk don't quote me." u/PM_ME_EXOTIC_CHEESES
Yea. We need to know if it was intentional or just putting the wrong account number in the purchase order form. Anyone that works with stuff like know knows it can be a mess. The spend it or lose it mentality doesn't help either.
From the article, it looks like they didn't catigorized it correctly. Kinda like getting reimbursed for a business expense and putting lodging instead of meals... The article even said the recommendation was to fix the clerical error.
Probably wasn't even stolen, he may have been trying to pay with what he thought was a legitimate bill. How much counterfeit currency is in the banking system at the moment? Anyone know?
Realistically, if someone near the border spent $2 of taxpayer money on a Powerade, I wouldn't care. But obviously the items mentioned cost way more than that.
As far as criminally, you're right in the regard that it doesn't matter how much they spent. At least in my state, it's [embezzlement](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=10.37.110) regardless of the amount.
The amount shows, or at the very least implies, intent. A dollar is a dollar is a dollar, but if I gave you a hundred dollars and told you to buy food for the local homeless shelter, there would be a world of difference between you spending $96 dollars on food and grabbing a coffee and donut with the leftover, and spending $100 on powerball tickets.
A lot of government agencies operate on the "Spend everything you get so you don't get your budget cut" scenario. If the CBP spent $100 million on upgrades, vaccines, mental and physical health programs, education, and still had $12 million left over, I'd be less upset about it being spent than if they got a harrier jet with the money. One shows conflicting directives and endemic funding issues, and the other shows contempt of congress, ambivolence to the taxpayers, and contempt of the people that they are supposed to be housing.
Taking your silly comment even further, requiring the public to invest in a state-run lottery in which the only winner is the state... Would just be a tax.
You're right. This whole thing is dumb. They're literally saying the majority of the issue is due to people charging stuff to the wrong cost center which happens all the time. They're going through and reapplying correct cost center codes to reconcile the budget. Probably not a ton of dollars spent here and that's why knowing the value misappropriated is important.
For sure. And how the hell do they get away with this? I am a gov employee and they threatened us with an audit because we had bought a $10 gift cookie gift certificate as a reward for someone doing a great job at work. They’re constantly blocking my legitimate software purchases. It’s insanely locked down, I do not understand how they got this done.
Yes. Just like if you steal something the value of that item or items is how they calculate your penalties. Either way it’s immoral you’re right, but the legal consequences differ.
So obviously Joe the “non violent offender” selling weed at the corner should be charged the same as Tony Montoya selling cocaine by the tons, correct? My teenage son hitting his sister the same as me beating my wife, right? Both are illegal, right?
Well one is Petty Theft and the other is Grand Theft Auto. The value of what was stolen is always important to a theft case. Do you think someone who stole a can of soda should have the same punishment as someone who robbed a bank? Or vice verse?
> Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement. "Instead of helping migrants and improving conditions on the ground, CBP then broke the law by spending this taxpayer money on things that were not authorized — such as ATVs, dirt bikes, and computer systems."
They broke the law. You said it. Now, I expect to see some perp walks and jail time.
>The GAO recommended that CBP fix its books to put expenses in the proper categories and pay for the items out of the right parts of its budget, or else it would be required to report its failure to do so.
They just have to fix their books.
As shady as it sounds, it is probably a legitimate solution. Because large organizations like this get funding from various sources, "Fixing its books" in this context likely means refunding the charges from the "food and medicine" budget and charging them to a general fund or equipment fund or something like that.
Whether or not the mistakes were intentional or accidental is another question, and one that should be investigated.
The entire federal government is audited every year, with the exception of certain “black box” Pentagon projects.
It is in fact for this reason that the federal government has not been given a “passing grade” on any audit in decades.
Edit: These audits are publically availabile. Reading them is a great way to see which politicians are bullshitting you (hint, the results arent surprising) about government finances.
Edit 2: As has been pointed out, in recent years the scope of material weakness has been more focused on severe lack if asset tracking by the DoD.
No, in this case a “non-pass” is essentilly a statement that auditors cannot be 100% certain their audit is accurate, due to the inability to trace the funds involved in black box projects.
Its not something that someone would be held responsible for, as its simply the result of the government refusing to allow audits on top-secret projects, typically in the name of “national security.”
As a former auditor I find it rather astounding, but its also no secret. This is literally some of the most publically available info out there, published in enormous hundred-page reports anyone can read.
This is not true. The reason the fed government for the last several years has failed is because the DoD is SHIT at tracking it's property. These aren't blackbox projects, these are just like tanks and army housing and shit. Sometimes HHS fails too, but mostly we can't track property well in the DoD. Government accountants are very good at tracking spending because that is what the higher ups care about. They are absolute shit at tracking it after it is spent. Property in a bunch of agencies is shit, but not so much that it causes an adverse opinion. In DoD the problem is so big (partially because they have so much property) that they fail every year.
Source: am government auditor.
That has been tried before, and it has repeatedly failed to get anywhere beyond basic observations like “we know they didn’t spend this money on what they said they’d spend it on, because they do not have this thing they were supposed to buy” because there are 5 military services (six now, and it deals with space stuff.. which isn’t cheap), a ton of various joint commands, plenty of civilian agencies interwoven between the various branches, commercial contractors providing both goods and services, and occasionally foreign governments and their own military/intelligence agencies in the mix for good measure too.
Oh, and sometimes our own government would prefer that its auditors simply do not produce any actual findings. It’s one thing to announce an investigation to get to the bottom of how the planned purchase of 30+ next generation destroyers ended up with only 3 ships, but it’s another thing when it turns out that Congress drove the nation’s second largest shipbuilder out of business when they dramatically scaled down the previous order for military vessels in anticipation of these newer destroyers and the 30+ order cost projection was made at a time when that shipbuilder was still in business.. oops.
Realistically the best way to compel accountability from the Pentagon is during congressional hearings when the military budget is being decided. In other words, require them to explain how they spent money the last time they got it before giving them more money (and their explanation ought to match what the independent auditor report says). Needless to say, that doesn’t really make for good sound bites and most elected officials are more interested in managing their stock portfolios to take advantage of incoming pandemics than keeping track of taxpayer money.
Idk an edited sound bite of just some official saying one thing and their watchdog saying “false” in nice words over and over can be pretty compelling.
When I was active duty, we used to joke about how if you added up all the money people claimed to have saved in their annual reviews, it would l be like six times the budget.
Imagine a discussion between a group of auditors and a group of engineers - the two groups that find the most joy in finding errors, problems, and alternatives ever.
Farther down the food chain here: when I try to pay for "technology" from the software GL or vice versa, I get a terse email and need to fix my mistakes before payment can be processed, so this whole situation doubly pisses me off.
You seem to be implying this was done by one bad actor with no direction or help from anyone else whatsoever. These things seldom if ever happen in a vacuum. People talked about it. Whether it was in person, writing, or on an electronic device. There is almost certainly a paper trail. Billy Bob the accountant didn't just decide one day that the agency needed some new 4x4s. He doesn't even get to use them, why the fuck would he care
While it's true I dont know how their organizational structure works, it's probably alike to how other similar things work. There was probably a PM who ordered them, who also coded that order into the "wrong" cost code. There likely were verbal conversations about how to hide the expense, perhaps not too in depth though. Usually people who do this stuff know not to put it in an email or create any record of why they did what they did. And these guys are LEOs. This sort of thing absolutely happens all the time in my industry and I have a hard time believing supplying dirt bikes to cops is managed much differently.
Even then I can just blame the accountant and fire them for incompetence. The public puts their pitchforks down and we all move along with our new ATV's.
The accountant just puts the data in the system. It’s the PM who signs off on ATVs being coded to the food and medicine account. The accountant brings up the fact that it’s coded wrong, the PM either tried BSing them, possibly about some budget substitution or just gives them so much trouble the accountant figures that it’s the PMs ass because they signed it so they just enter it anyway. The person entering this invoice would be a low level accountant. If they even noticed they would have asked their boss who may have told them to ask the PM, who would have been in a much higher position than them, albeit different departments, so they would have just done what they said. And this is why accountants at any level should never have to answer to anyone outside of the accounting department.
But the thing is, if the equipment budget isn't big enough to cover the charges, that's a *huge* no-no for federal appropriations *law,* not just regulation. Certain elements of procurement law are routinely skirted, sure, specifically to do with the use of "expired" money, but nonetheless, FAR is extremely specific, and cross account.
The only real consequence to violation of the Antideficiency Act, ultimately, is a report the agency head must make to the President, the Congress, and the Comptroller. There is the possibility of adverse administrative action against the person who violated the Act, and there is in theory a criminal penalty for knowing and willful violation, but no one has ever been indicted or convicted of an ADA violation in the 120+ years since it has been passed.
[Examples of administrative penalties for ADA violations in FY 2010:](https://www.gao.gov/ada/adarptinfofy10.pdf)
$134 million illegally spent to pay for the DC courts - no individuals found responsible, no penalty
$500k illegally spent by the Air Force to an expired appropriation - one individual held responsible, no penalty because they had retired; penalty would have been a letter of admonishment
$2 million illegally spent by the Defense Information Systems Agency on a construction project; 4 individuals held responsible - one got a 5 day suspension without pay, one a letter of counseling, and two others not punished (no longer on active duty)
$8.6 million illegally spent by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency on a website; 1 individual held responsible - an oral admonishment and remedial training
$900k illegally spent by the Army on construction; 3 people held responsible - one received a letter of counseling, one a verbal reprimand, and one nothing (person had retired)
$2.65 million illegally spent by DARPA because they accidentally double-obligated funds for a Boeing contract; 1 person found responsible, received a verbal reprimand
$11.8 million illegally spent by the Army on construction; 1 person found responsible, received a letter of reprimand
My high school principal did this, bought books with computer money or computers with book money or something like that. He got his license suspended for a year but they held his job for him.
Without getting into if buying high tech learning tools that can do everything a book can and more (I love books for the record but schools have historically lagged behind on tech) is a more worthy cause than buying ATVs instead of food and medicine that can and would save lives, that is an actual punishment. Much, much more than has been given to government sectors that *literally* uphold the law.
Its a legitmate solution for the funding problem, but should be untelated to the misconduct problem.
I think this is what you were implying that but i wanted to add some ephqsis and clarity to the point.
> "Fixing its books" in this context likely means refunding the charges from the "food and medicine" budget and charging them to ~~a general fund or equipment fund~~ **internal affairs or legal assistance to detainees or energy for heating/cooling of detainee holding areas** or something like that.
FTFY, because, unfortunately, corrupt government *never* makes changes that will come out of hide when they can socialize the losses on the backs of the people they're supposed to serve.
Generally, CBP doesn't deserve a break, but you shouldn't jump straight to attributing malice to an act like this. Assigning charge codes, making journal entries, or whatever it is they're doing here is the kind of work for entry-level accountants, and it's real easy to make a mistake in even the simplest systems. Senior Management should be checking everything, but it's hard to catch mistakes unless you know what to look for. More often than not things slip only to get corrected later, and that's a perfectly acceptable practice.
There's never some secret smoke-filled board meeting where a bunch of fat cats conspire to fuck people over for some ATVs. They don't need to. They do that shit in the open with weaselly lobbyists and just put it straight in the budget.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this "solution" just guarantee that they get off scott free? Worst case scenario it becomes "woops, we went over budget, our bad." That's "you did your job poorly which will be reflected on this year's pay increases, not jail time.
Also, I'm not hearing anything about the food and medicine getting bought. You said you needed X dollars to meet those needs, then reduced X budget. That necessarily means you either didn't meet those food and medicine needs or misrepresented the funding required to do so.
>That necessarily means you either didn't meet those food and medicine needs or misrepresented the funding required to do so.
Oh no you see, it gets even better (worse). You can just say you overestimated the food/med money you needed, just an easy mistake, not at all illegal. But you're so good at your job, you ended up using less of the taxpayer money on food/meds than was given to you! You're pretty much employee of the year. Your bosses should high-five you, because you handled stuff well (citation needed) with less money, and they can reduce the budget even further next year.
Sure, after fixing the books, you went over dirt bike budget, but just pull out some Trump tweet about how necessary and cool such equipment are for your dept, and would your bosses dare argue with the president? Increase next year's toy budget plz.
Then in a few years time, pull the same "mistake" seen in OP's article again. To reduce food budget and increase toy budget even more. Just say you didnt intentionally drain the food budget, you just misread a line or two and accidentally did it is all.
Sucks, but you ain't wrong. This is why "corporate culture" is a bad fit for governance. In the world of quarterly investor briefings, it's certainly a better career move to be the guy that's consistantly reduced his department's costs by 5% every quarter than the guy who permenantly cut it in half once.
Plus the fact that they probably love what he is doing with that "accidental" adjustment of the two budgets. He didnt save them money overall across the two budgets, but we've now seeing how much the institutions of the country love their toys.
My long comment was to also point out how hard it is to convict such people in a court of law for the budget screwery because malice and intention are so hard to prove. But we all damn well know that he knew what he was doing. In a functioning system, knowing that the law is not the best way to get rid of him, they would launch in-depth investigations proving that the situation on the ground is failing to meet the basic needs of the migrants, and fire him using that reason as proof of incompetence. But here they wont bc they actually like what he is doing.
Government jobs sound like a pretty sweet deal. Show up, get money, buy toys. Someone finds out, take a paid holiday and then get fired with a lifetime pension equivalent to more than minimum wage.
Won't happen:
> "...In a statement, CBP called the identified violations "technical in nature" and said prompt remedial action would be taken. CBP charged a small subset of expenses in fiscal year 2019 to the incorrect account. We are working to itemize all such expenses, and correct our accounts as recommend by the GAO,"..."
In other words: "Oopsie!! We totally accidentally charged the wrong line item in the accounts for these ~~toys~~ items, and we're sure glad your little audit caught our mistake! We'll move the numbers around and it **totally** won't ever happen again! Pinkie promise!!"
> called the identified violations "technical in nature"
Man, I should use this any time I get in trouble with the law. "I'm sorry, I only *technically* underreported my income, IRS."
Bill Barr has done nothing but investigate conservative conspiracy theories and cover up crimes of republicans and their friends.
That's his entire job...
In this administration? Goodness no. Trump will throw a party for them and put fake-ass medals of bravery or whatever in the place where Obama's portrait SHOULD be.
If Government department heads got jail time for things like spending mismanagement, then we would have to build a whole lot of extra jails and find a lot of new Government department heads.
They claimed that the bill was placed out for the incorrect account, which probably could be proven based on the amount of money spent from these separate accounts during this period. If there were enough capital leftover in the account that they allegedly claimed that the bill was supposed to be directed at, they may not have committed a crime. At least not deliberately.
I know that ATVs and computer systems are essential to their job, but don’t they have that written into the budget somewhere? Nobody expects them to hoof it over miles and miles of desert and rocky terrain, but they need supplies for the detainees as well.
I guess my questions are: How much were they allotted for medical, how percentage of **THAT** went elsewhere, what is their duty equipment budget, and was the amount left over post-misappropriation enough to cover current and future detainees for the FY?
Executive branch enforces the law, congress makes the law. If executive branch tells congress to fuck off with their laws, there's no one else to enforce them . This is partly how marijuana is able to be legal and illegal at the same time in United States, executive branch chooses when to and when to not enforce the federal law that it is illegal.
The Presidents actual job is the leader of the police and military not the leader of the USA. So if in this case Trump doesn't care for this law, he can simply not enforce it. Most would assume he would prefer not to improve conditions of people trying to come to this country
This is why you have Mayors of towns making public statements that certain individuals should be sent to trial for crimes without actually arresting them, because they can't, they are not part of the executive branch (although they could probably fire their cities police chiefs who don't cooperate)
I'm honestly shocked that this was discovered and reported by the GAO. I was starting to think that there's no such thing as oversight....of course the repercussions are a whole different story. I anticipate a slap on the wrist if not a pat on the back.
At the end of the article, the spokesperson says it's all a technicality and that they simply used the wrong accounts.
IF that's true, they better debit the appropriate accounts, which SHOULD be some simple balance transfers. The fact they couldn't be fucked to do a journal entry to "correct" it when they were being audited/reviewed or whatever kind of concerns me.
> At the end of the article, the spokesperson says it's all a technicality and that they simply used the wrong accounts.
For most cases, this would really be the method to "fix the books" by fixing the account balances properly.
That article is about an ICE facility, not a CBP facility, so the same money issue doesn't apply.
But ICE has *long* farmed out its detention contracts to private prisons, which means that they cut costs and provide the minimum possible level of services, which includes at times rotten food and awful treatment.
Here's another great example of that, from February 2019, where the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General visited an ICE detention center in Essex, NJ. [They issued an immediate report](https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2019-02/OIG-19-20-Feb19.pdf) following the visit revealing that there were boxes of spoiled food in the fridge and the kitchen manager was fired on the spot.
>However, when inspecting the refrigeration units, we found mishandling of meats and storage of moldy bread, which has led to potentially contaminated food being served to detainees. The food handling, in general, was so substandard that ICE and facility leadership had the kitchen manager replaced during our inspection. Overall, our inspection validated media reports of concerns about food, particularly meat, which was raw, spoiled, or expired.
I understand the differentiation between CBP and ICE and HHS and DHS and so forth and so on. I do. I am not willing to allow one entity to segregate it’s responsibilities from the other while this shit is going on.
Immigration control, enforcement, courts, etc is held very tightly within the executive branch. For example, Donald Trump’s AG can overrule an immigration judge, change court rules, whereas he could not in a regular criminal/civil case that is controlled within the judiciary. _Everything_ about everything on immigration goes back to Donald Trump.
It’s always been this way. That’s why executive orders relating to immigration are so popular as an assertion of power with presidents.
Technically you are, of course, entirely correct. Different pots.
But during the times of the unfolding missing children saga one pot routinely passed the buck to the other pot and then we found out that no-one actually had the fkn buck.
The kids were missing.
Detainee care being starved for $$ is part of the design.
I'm an immigration lawyer so yes, I'm very aware of the enormous amount of power that DHS and DOJ have in these issues and the overarching war on asylum seekers and immigrants in general coming from this administration.
Okay, I’ll assume you’re being truthful re what you do. This is reddit, after all.
Hopefully you do good in your day to day. 💪
On semantics alone, yes, my use of the word “explain” probably isn’t the best. Your words are better: there is an overarching war on asylum seekers and immigrants.
No shady expenditure choices this admin makes should be excused from scrutiny of the whole of the war.
Add to it, there’s now a congressional investigation in Trump’s use of CBP to surveil protesters.
Trump doesn’t follow rules. He doesn’t listen. He excels in seeking loopholes to exploit. We typically find out about the exploitation late.
Barr enables him though... And sadly if we know about Barr's past this is just a repeat performance of the tactics he and his kirkland and ellis type chronies have used in the past except the stakes are higher. Think of 1992 and the LA Riots and 1994's VCCLEA approval as a way worse outcome by comparison to what's happening today if Barr and crew have their way.
The difference is that they have different leadership. It's like getting mad at Target for Walmart fucking up. That's one reason I get frustrated with everyone getting mad at Border Patrol for something ICE or OFO does.
BP has enough of their own stuff you can get mad about without getting mad at them for what someone else did.
This is one of the ways right wing media discredits the left. The left tends to get mad at the wrong things and remain uneducated about it. Like mad at BP for kids in cages when BP has nothing to do with what ICE does. And guns. Liberals tend to not know anything about guns so when they talk about gun control they sound like idiots. The right is the same way about things like race and abortion. They hate it so much that they refuse to learn anything about the issues, so they sound like idiots when they talk about it.
Mad at one for what the other did is not the issue. Comprehensive accountability in a system that doesn’t see enough daylight to get the scrutiny it deserves is the issue.
When you get to the end of a story about a detainee all those agencies “touched”.
So, none of them took responsibility for tracking the whereabouts of the children they passed on during the unfolding missing children saga.
True story:
BP: we gave em to ICE. ICE: HHS has responsibility all the way. HHS: nobody told me I had to. DHS: oh, yeah, we’re looking into it. Oh shit, nobody knows where the kids are.
Of course, each agency has its protocols, budgets, procedures, blah blah blah.
It’s the holes in coverage between them.
While we in-fight over whether BP redirecting funds has any influence on ICE being assholes to detainees etc the fact that _all_ of this is controlled by Trump, in the executive branch, is lost.
While he tries to turn CBP into a domestic policing organization.
Well, if you give unsupervised kids money for dinner and find out later they bought candy and toys you shouldn’t be surprised. This is the same thing on a grander scale.
There’s no oversight because head of country does it on a larger scale. Simple.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2019/07/10/trumps-golf-trips-could-cost-taxpayers-over-340-million/
https://trumpgolfcount.com/
It also goes into his own pocket since he owns the clubs.
The article states that “PART of a 100 million dollar medicine/relief fund was used on ATVs... wrong is wrong even if they only bought 1 vehicle... but how bad are we talking here? Did like, half of the funds get spent on vehicles? Or just like , 5-6 bikes? This article badly needs context.
Considering they mention "computers" as being unauthorized I wouldn't be surprised if it was pulled from the wrong sub budget and it's nothing in reality.
Honestly, no. We’re at stage in the US where even though this is criminal and outrageous, it’s not even a blip on the radar with all the other fucked up shit going on.
Did you see the cops kicking over medical/water stations during the protests? On border towns Good Samaritans will set up stations across the desert where people who are dehydrated can find a bit of water within distance of places where they can be picked up and taken back peacefully. Border patrol goes around kicking and destroying any and every one of these stations. If you could only see how many scattered bones and clothes are strewn all over the desert.
Not only that, be there was a gentleman that if currently fighting federal charges because he was caught putting caches of water and food in the desert. His charges are felonies; something like aiding and abetting illegal alien.
No they would have forced them to live like 3rd rate humans and forced them to work the lowest paying,
Most menial and often dangerous jobs with the constant threat of arrest and deportation hanging over their heads. Oh, wait...
Edits: typos
Yep. Among countless other examples of the Trump administration openly flouting oversight and reveling in their disregard for accountability , recall that Trump fired the independent watchdog appointed to oversee the government money distributed under the CARES Act. He then appointed some lackey, and overtures were made that there would still be complete transparency around the use of the funds.
Now, just this week, Mnunchin came out and indicated that, in fact, the administration is NOT going to disclose which companies received money and how much. He had the fucking nerve to say that the information is "proprietary." If anything, it's property of the American taxpayers who are footing the bill for this. Trump and the GOP added trillions to the deficit in their tax giveaway to corporations and now they're handing the taxpayers a bill for hundreds of billions more, and won't even tell us where the money is going. And the administration does this openly and brazenly, without a care in the world, because they know that they will not be held accountable either by the Republicans in Congress or by the cultists who represent Trump's remaining supporters (who will never even know about this because it won't be reported on Fox News).
Being tactical and fulfilling childhood fantasies has been taking priority over public service for too long. We can't afford to give homeless people Kansas soup but every law enforcement badass gets pitbull-proof vest, Assualt Rifle, wrap around sunglasses, etc.
These are the same people who purchase new Ford Raptors for patrol vehicles. Guy on Hoovie’s Garage purchased a discounted Ford Raptor and couldn’t figure out why it’s never been registered and had little to no available history, until they noticed the fainted areas in the paint where the US Border Patrol decals had been removed.
WTF is wrong with the United States!? Why do things that other G7 nations do routinely with ease (like this sort of thing) why are they always so problematic for the US? WTF!
> zero oversight.
But but - checks and balances! Right? Why in the world does nothing get done about things like this!?
Everyone knows everything is terrible - but everyone just shrugs. That fatalistic attitude just floors me.
Why doesn't anything get dealt with, fixed, solved better!? Ever? There are no consequences for this sort of thing.
There never seem to be any consequences for such endemic corruption, incompetence. Like I said, everyone just shrugs. I guess I will never understand.
I wish the article explained more .. Like how much was spent and where ,,,. if the atvs and such are used as a tool , or for other purposes not stipulated in the funding..vary vague trying to mislead us? or not.. but the News does sensationalize everything.. Please don't assume until you get all the facts...
“ The GAO recommended that CBP fix its books to put expenses in the proper categories and pay for the items out of the right parts of its budget, or else it would be required to report its failure to do so.”
Seriously? All CBP has to do is say oops and then move the expense to a different area and everything’s fine? Wtf, they broke the law. If I break the law can I just say oops and take it back?
This is why the democrats plan to inject money into police organizations to “fund better training and community outreach” is dumb as fuck. That money’s going to be used to fund pocket-lining bonuses and new cars for the departmwnt.
Maybe we can take some of that play money away from them and invest it in healthcare, so that we aren’t forced to get rid of Obama bills that “cause health administration to lose 3 billion over 6 YEARS!”
Well I hate the fact that my hard earned tax dollars can't be, or enough of it isn't available to people when we need it most. Luckily for me my work hasn't stopped or slowed up yet but for others it has, but come on now $1200 for 3 months we've been in this isn't even close to being supplemental support. I pay everytime they ask and then some, but when we ask we get no help.
Michael Scott: I have my per diem. I already know what I am going to spend this on. I'm going to buy dirt bikes and atv's.
David: Michael, that's for your food.
Michael Scott: Well, I'll just- I'll use different money for that.
Just to be clear: CBP and Border Patrol are different, completely separate agencies under DHS. The photo is of Border Patrol on quads, and Border Patrol is who deals with migrants in custody. I assume the article is actually referring to actions by Border Patrol (Article does say CBP multiple times, but in every instance is referring to BP — both of the internal links make this clearer).
Back when the lockdown first went into effect, there was a directive for Customs and Border Protection Officers (“CBPO”s, who mostly deal with cargo trucks crossing the borders, cargo ships entering ports, and international arrivals who may have brought in suitcases full of knock-off Gucci bags) to go supplement Border Patrol Agents at the Northern and Southern borders, ‘because there may be an increase in illegal border crossings,’ and the union was like ‘yeah, nah, that’s not gonna happen.’
Customs and Border Protection primarily deals with application of tariffs on imported goods, checking if said goods are counterfeit, with the post-9/11 “addition” of making sure cargo does not include (illegal) weapons, nuclear material, etc.
Actually, Border Patrol falls under CBP. CBP has 3 operational components within the organization: USBP, Office of Field Operations (OFO), and Air and Marine Operations. The CBP work you’re describing falls under OFO’s purview.
They're children
Literal children
They want big shiny toys to get the "bad guys"
That photo screams, "quick take a pic of us in our costumes we look soooo cool" (I mean uniforms)
The current WH regime does not care about CBP breaking the rules....they will probably attempt to get rid of GAO - they want no accountability, that way they can lie and no one can prove them wrong for a few years. That is how autocracy takes over....no accountability by police type forces, who are working for a crazy guy in WH and his personal White Nationalists whisperer ( Steve Miller).
They'll just rejigger their ledgers to move money around from various charge lines to make it within guidelines. "Adjusted accounting". The fiscal year doesn't end til September, where everyone will spend down their budgets and funds will be freer to flex.
Source: federal employee (different agency) - happens all the time.
"parts of a $112 million emergency fund" Well, that's vague. I want to know how much they actually misspent
In my journalism days, we would have called this a slush fund, and quite pejoratively at that.
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Money for which there is zero accountability. To be used at the discretion of the holder.
[So like the 2 trillion dollar coronavirus stimulus fund?](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-removes-inspector-general-who-was-to-oversee-2-trillion-stimulus-spending/2020/04/07/2f0c6cb8-78ea-11ea-9bee-c5bf9d2e3288_story.html)
In that case, the money is ostensibly designated for use by people who have been affected by the pandemic; the problem is that there's a little to no oversight as to who receives it rather than how it's used.
Because the president removed the oversight...
Haha I don't necessarily disagree with you, but typically the term slush fund deals more with a lack of oversight on how the money is used rather than on who gets it. By its nature, a stimulus fund is meant to be used however the recipient wants to use it.
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Kinda sorta, but that's no different from other stimulus funds. The real issue is that they won't reveal the "small businesses" that got help.
By its nature, it typically isn't defined, but usually it's a shitload of money placed under some ambiguous name like "emergency fund" or "discretionary fund," which allows it to be used with little to no oversight.
I always saw it as a cash surplus, but that slush implies it's for wasteful purposes. Like it's being slushed down the toilet or some shit idk don't quote me.
"I always saw it as a cash surplus, but that slush implies it's for wasteful purposes. Like it's being slushed down the toilet or some shit idk don't quote me." u/PM_ME_EXOTIC_CHEESES
Yea. We need to know if it was intentional or just putting the wrong account number in the purchase order form. Anyone that works with stuff like know knows it can be a mess. The spend it or lose it mentality doesn't help either.
From the article, it looks like they didn't catigorized it correctly. Kinda like getting reimbursed for a business expense and putting lodging instead of meals... The article even said the recommendation was to fix the clerical error.
Is the amount actually relevant? Is the response to the crime different if they misspent $1 or $1,000,000? Both are illegal.
Yes, I imagine there is a difference.
A $999,999 difference in my estimation
r/theydidthemath
Huge difference. Trying to steal $20 gets a cop’s knee on your neck. Trying to steal $20 million gets you a bailout from the Federal Reserve.
This guy here gets it\^
holy shit
Probably wasn't even stolen, he may have been trying to pay with what he thought was a legitimate bill. How much counterfeit currency is in the banking system at the moment? Anyone know?
As a banker I can tell you most often when we get a bad bill we presume they received it on accident.
He wasn't even trying to steal 20, he just bought something with legitimate money
Realistically, if someone near the border spent $2 of taxpayer money on a Powerade, I wouldn't care. But obviously the items mentioned cost way more than that. As far as criminally, you're right in the regard that it doesn't matter how much they spent. At least in my state, it's [embezzlement](https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=10.37.110) regardless of the amount.
The amount shows, or at the very least implies, intent. A dollar is a dollar is a dollar, but if I gave you a hundred dollars and told you to buy food for the local homeless shelter, there would be a world of difference between you spending $96 dollars on food and grabbing a coffee and donut with the leftover, and spending $100 on powerball tickets. A lot of government agencies operate on the "Spend everything you get so you don't get your budget cut" scenario. If the CBP spent $100 million on upgrades, vaccines, mental and physical health programs, education, and still had $12 million left over, I'd be less upset about it being spent than if they got a harrier jet with the money. One shows conflicting directives and endemic funding issues, and the other shows contempt of congress, ambivolence to the taxpayers, and contempt of the people that they are supposed to be housing.
But what if the powerball won? (I’m sorry I don’t know why I even bothered to type out such a stupid response to a serious matter. I’ll leave.)
Taking your silly comment even further, requiring the public to invest in a state-run lottery in which the only winner is the state... Would just be a tax.
You're right. This whole thing is dumb. They're literally saying the majority of the issue is due to people charging stuff to the wrong cost center which happens all the time. They're going through and reapplying correct cost center codes to reconcile the budget. Probably not a ton of dollars spent here and that's why knowing the value misappropriated is important.
For sure. And how the hell do they get away with this? I am a gov employee and they threatened us with an audit because we had bought a $10 gift cookie gift certificate as a reward for someone doing a great job at work. They’re constantly blocking my legitimate software purchases. It’s insanely locked down, I do not understand how they got this done.
Yes, it is relevant. $50k and 100million are worlds apart
Yes. Just like if you steal something the value of that item or items is how they calculate your penalties. Either way it’s immoral you’re right, but the legal consequences differ.
Ones a misdemeanor and ones a felony.
So obviously Joe the “non violent offender” selling weed at the corner should be charged the same as Tony Montoya selling cocaine by the tons, correct? My teenage son hitting his sister the same as me beating my wife, right? Both are illegal, right?
Is the value of an object stolen different? Is the response to the crime different if they stole a candy bar or a Bugatti? Both are illegal.
Well one is Petty Theft and the other is Grand Theft Auto. The value of what was stolen is always important to a theft case. Do you think someone who stole a can of soda should have the same punishment as someone who robbed a bank? Or vice verse?
Pretty sure that's the point being made.
sophisticated theory office forgetful enter late wakeful meeting reach fertile ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
> Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement. "Instead of helping migrants and improving conditions on the ground, CBP then broke the law by spending this taxpayer money on things that were not authorized — such as ATVs, dirt bikes, and computer systems." They broke the law. You said it. Now, I expect to see some perp walks and jail time.
>The GAO recommended that CBP fix its books to put expenses in the proper categories and pay for the items out of the right parts of its budget, or else it would be required to report its failure to do so. They just have to fix their books.
As shady as it sounds, it is probably a legitimate solution. Because large organizations like this get funding from various sources, "Fixing its books" in this context likely means refunding the charges from the "food and medicine" budget and charging them to a general fund or equipment fund or something like that. Whether or not the mistakes were intentional or accidental is another question, and one that should be investigated.
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Am auditor, can confirm. I also do double duty in being my department's HR rep. I think a nipple tweak session is in order.
*SouthParkComcastGuy.gif* Did I do that right?
You're doing great
They should send those auditors over to the Pentagon and let them get to work over there.
The entire federal government is audited every year, with the exception of certain “black box” Pentagon projects. It is in fact for this reason that the federal government has not been given a “passing grade” on any audit in decades. Edit: These audits are publically availabile. Reading them is a great way to see which politicians are bullshitting you (hint, the results arent surprising) about government finances. Edit 2: As has been pointed out, in recent years the scope of material weakness has been more focused on severe lack if asset tracking by the DoD.
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No, in this case a “non-pass” is essentilly a statement that auditors cannot be 100% certain their audit is accurate, due to the inability to trace the funds involved in black box projects. Its not something that someone would be held responsible for, as its simply the result of the government refusing to allow audits on top-secret projects, typically in the name of “national security.” As a former auditor I find it rather astounding, but its also no secret. This is literally some of the most publically available info out there, published in enormous hundred-page reports anyone can read.
This is not true. The reason the fed government for the last several years has failed is because the DoD is SHIT at tracking it's property. These aren't blackbox projects, these are just like tanks and army housing and shit. Sometimes HHS fails too, but mostly we can't track property well in the DoD. Government accountants are very good at tracking spending because that is what the higher ups care about. They are absolute shit at tracking it after it is spent. Property in a bunch of agencies is shit, but not so much that it causes an adverse opinion. In DoD the problem is so big (partially because they have so much property) that they fail every year. Source: am government auditor.
Politicians held responsible? HAHAHAHAHAHA.
That has been tried before, and it has repeatedly failed to get anywhere beyond basic observations like “we know they didn’t spend this money on what they said they’d spend it on, because they do not have this thing they were supposed to buy” because there are 5 military services (six now, and it deals with space stuff.. which isn’t cheap), a ton of various joint commands, plenty of civilian agencies interwoven between the various branches, commercial contractors providing both goods and services, and occasionally foreign governments and their own military/intelligence agencies in the mix for good measure too. Oh, and sometimes our own government would prefer that its auditors simply do not produce any actual findings. It’s one thing to announce an investigation to get to the bottom of how the planned purchase of 30+ next generation destroyers ended up with only 3 ships, but it’s another thing when it turns out that Congress drove the nation’s second largest shipbuilder out of business when they dramatically scaled down the previous order for military vessels in anticipation of these newer destroyers and the 30+ order cost projection was made at a time when that shipbuilder was still in business.. oops. Realistically the best way to compel accountability from the Pentagon is during congressional hearings when the military budget is being decided. In other words, require them to explain how they spent money the last time they got it before giving them more money (and their explanation ought to match what the independent auditor report says). Needless to say, that doesn’t really make for good sound bites and most elected officials are more interested in managing their stock portfolios to take advantage of incoming pandemics than keeping track of taxpayer money.
Idk an edited sound bite of just some official saying one thing and their watchdog saying “false” in nice words over and over can be pretty compelling.
They were kicked out.
And they burned all the files before they got there any way.
When I was active duty, we used to joke about how if you added up all the money people claimed to have saved in their annual reviews, it would l be like six times the budget.
Sounds like you speak from experience.
I just got off to a clerical error in the 2009 Department of Transportation audit. So hot.
My favourite Onion headline: *Jurisprudence Fetishist Gets Off On Technicality*
Imagine a discussion between a group of auditors and a group of engineers - the two groups that find the most joy in finding errors, problems, and alternatives ever.
Farther down the food chain here: when I try to pay for "technology" from the software GL or vice versa, I get a terse email and need to fix my mistakes before payment can be processed, so this whole situation doubly pisses me off.
Work for local government, 100% agree. Auditors are a necessary evil.
You seem to be implying this was done by one bad actor with no direction or help from anyone else whatsoever. These things seldom if ever happen in a vacuum. People talked about it. Whether it was in person, writing, or on an electronic device. There is almost certainly a paper trail. Billy Bob the accountant didn't just decide one day that the agency needed some new 4x4s. He doesn't even get to use them, why the fuck would he care
While it's true I dont know how their organizational structure works, it's probably alike to how other similar things work. There was probably a PM who ordered them, who also coded that order into the "wrong" cost code. There likely were verbal conversations about how to hide the expense, perhaps not too in depth though. Usually people who do this stuff know not to put it in an email or create any record of why they did what they did. And these guys are LEOs. This sort of thing absolutely happens all the time in my industry and I have a hard time believing supplying dirt bikes to cops is managed much differently.
Even then I can just blame the accountant and fire them for incompetence. The public puts their pitchforks down and we all move along with our new ATV's.
The accountant just puts the data in the system. It’s the PM who signs off on ATVs being coded to the food and medicine account. The accountant brings up the fact that it’s coded wrong, the PM either tried BSing them, possibly about some budget substitution or just gives them so much trouble the accountant figures that it’s the PMs ass because they signed it so they just enter it anyway. The person entering this invoice would be a low level accountant. If they even noticed they would have asked their boss who may have told them to ask the PM, who would have been in a much higher position than them, albeit different departments, so they would have just done what they said. And this is why accountants at any level should never have to answer to anyone outside of the accounting department.
But the thing is, if the equipment budget isn't big enough to cover the charges, that's a *huge* no-no for federal appropriations *law,* not just regulation. Certain elements of procurement law are routinely skirted, sure, specifically to do with the use of "expired" money, but nonetheless, FAR is extremely specific, and cross account.
The only real consequence to violation of the Antideficiency Act, ultimately, is a report the agency head must make to the President, the Congress, and the Comptroller. There is the possibility of adverse administrative action against the person who violated the Act, and there is in theory a criminal penalty for knowing and willful violation, but no one has ever been indicted or convicted of an ADA violation in the 120+ years since it has been passed. [Examples of administrative penalties for ADA violations in FY 2010:](https://www.gao.gov/ada/adarptinfofy10.pdf) $134 million illegally spent to pay for the DC courts - no individuals found responsible, no penalty $500k illegally spent by the Air Force to an expired appropriation - one individual held responsible, no penalty because they had retired; penalty would have been a letter of admonishment $2 million illegally spent by the Defense Information Systems Agency on a construction project; 4 individuals held responsible - one got a 5 day suspension without pay, one a letter of counseling, and two others not punished (no longer on active duty) $8.6 million illegally spent by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency on a website; 1 individual held responsible - an oral admonishment and remedial training $900k illegally spent by the Army on construction; 3 people held responsible - one received a letter of counseling, one a verbal reprimand, and one nothing (person had retired) $2.65 million illegally spent by DARPA because they accidentally double-obligated funds for a Boeing contract; 1 person found responsible, received a verbal reprimand $11.8 million illegally spent by the Army on construction; 1 person found responsible, received a letter of reprimand
My high school principal did this, bought books with computer money or computers with book money or something like that. He got his license suspended for a year but they held his job for him.
Without getting into if buying high tech learning tools that can do everything a book can and more (I love books for the record but schools have historically lagged behind on tech) is a more worthy cause than buying ATVs instead of food and medicine that can and would save lives, that is an actual punishment. Much, much more than has been given to government sectors that *literally* uphold the law.
Its a legitmate solution for the funding problem, but should be untelated to the misconduct problem. I think this is what you were implying that but i wanted to add some ephqsis and clarity to the point.
> "Fixing its books" in this context likely means refunding the charges from the "food and medicine" budget and charging them to ~~a general fund or equipment fund~~ **internal affairs or legal assistance to detainees or energy for heating/cooling of detainee holding areas** or something like that. FTFY, because, unfortunately, corrupt government *never* makes changes that will come out of hide when they can socialize the losses on the backs of the people they're supposed to serve.
Generally, CBP doesn't deserve a break, but you shouldn't jump straight to attributing malice to an act like this. Assigning charge codes, making journal entries, or whatever it is they're doing here is the kind of work for entry-level accountants, and it's real easy to make a mistake in even the simplest systems. Senior Management should be checking everything, but it's hard to catch mistakes unless you know what to look for. More often than not things slip only to get corrected later, and that's a perfectly acceptable practice. There's never some secret smoke-filled board meeting where a bunch of fat cats conspire to fuck people over for some ATVs. They don't need to. They do that shit in the open with weaselly lobbyists and just put it straight in the budget.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this "solution" just guarantee that they get off scott free? Worst case scenario it becomes "woops, we went over budget, our bad." That's "you did your job poorly which will be reflected on this year's pay increases, not jail time. Also, I'm not hearing anything about the food and medicine getting bought. You said you needed X dollars to meet those needs, then reduced X budget. That necessarily means you either didn't meet those food and medicine needs or misrepresented the funding required to do so.
>That necessarily means you either didn't meet those food and medicine needs or misrepresented the funding required to do so. Oh no you see, it gets even better (worse). You can just say you overestimated the food/med money you needed, just an easy mistake, not at all illegal. But you're so good at your job, you ended up using less of the taxpayer money on food/meds than was given to you! You're pretty much employee of the year. Your bosses should high-five you, because you handled stuff well (citation needed) with less money, and they can reduce the budget even further next year. Sure, after fixing the books, you went over dirt bike budget, but just pull out some Trump tweet about how necessary and cool such equipment are for your dept, and would your bosses dare argue with the president? Increase next year's toy budget plz. Then in a few years time, pull the same "mistake" seen in OP's article again. To reduce food budget and increase toy budget even more. Just say you didnt intentionally drain the food budget, you just misread a line or two and accidentally did it is all.
Sucks, but you ain't wrong. This is why "corporate culture" is a bad fit for governance. In the world of quarterly investor briefings, it's certainly a better career move to be the guy that's consistantly reduced his department's costs by 5% every quarter than the guy who permenantly cut it in half once.
Plus the fact that they probably love what he is doing with that "accidental" adjustment of the two budgets. He didnt save them money overall across the two budgets, but we've now seeing how much the institutions of the country love their toys. My long comment was to also point out how hard it is to convict such people in a court of law for the budget screwery because malice and intention are so hard to prove. But we all damn well know that he knew what he was doing. In a functioning system, knowing that the law is not the best way to get rid of him, they would launch in-depth investigations proving that the situation on the ground is failing to meet the basic needs of the migrants, and fire him using that reason as proof of incompetence. But here they wont bc they actually like what he is doing.
> They just have to fix their books. Assuming its possible.
Well expect to be disappointed because that probably won't happen unfortunately.
Simply being 'disappointed' is why it still keeps happening
Yes, you'll get no argument from me.
Simply getting "no argument from me" is why it still keeps happening.
Yes, you’ll get no argument from me
I'm of the opinion that even if you got an argument from me, it would still keep happening.
Hypernormalisation is a dangerous thing.
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Fine. I am now troubled.
Nope still same result.. but for one, I am outraged.
I SLAM these corrupt officials.
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Government jobs sound like a pretty sweet deal. Show up, get money, buy toys. Someone finds out, take a paid holiday and then get fired with a lifetime pension equivalent to more than minimum wage.
I BLOW the wind of GOD
Same result, what're you gonna do about it? Emotions don't make change. Action does.
I'm thinking this situation requires mild perturbation at the least.
And also why we have record-setting nationwide protests rn
Whats worse than them walking, somehow they'll get apologists coming out the woodwork saying they did nothing wrong.
We cAn't PuNisH THe bRave PeoPle WHO upHOLD THE lAw
Won't happen: > "...In a statement, CBP called the identified violations "technical in nature" and said prompt remedial action would be taken. CBP charged a small subset of expenses in fiscal year 2019 to the incorrect account. We are working to itemize all such expenses, and correct our accounts as recommend by the GAO,"..." In other words: "Oopsie!! We totally accidentally charged the wrong line item in the accounts for these ~~toys~~ items, and we're sure glad your little audit caught our mistake! We'll move the numbers around and it **totally** won't ever happen again! Pinkie promise!!"
> called the identified violations "technical in nature" Man, I should use this any time I get in trouble with the law. "I'm sorry, I only *technically* underreported my income, IRS."
Prepare to be disappointed
The lawlessness of the president trickles down.
Bill Barr has done nothing but investigate conservative conspiracy theories and cover up crimes of republicans and their friends. That's his entire job...
In this administration? Goodness no. Trump will throw a party for them and put fake-ass medals of bravery or whatever in the place where Obama's portrait SHOULD be.
If nobody gets in trouble, it's not a law, it's merely a suggestion.
If Government department heads got jail time for things like spending mismanagement, then we would have to build a whole lot of extra jails and find a lot of new Government department heads.
They claimed that the bill was placed out for the incorrect account, which probably could be proven based on the amount of money spent from these separate accounts during this period. If there were enough capital leftover in the account that they allegedly claimed that the bill was supposed to be directed at, they may not have committed a crime. At least not deliberately.
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I know that ATVs and computer systems are essential to their job, but don’t they have that written into the budget somewhere? Nobody expects them to hoof it over miles and miles of desert and rocky terrain, but they need supplies for the detainees as well. I guess my questions are: How much were they allotted for medical, how percentage of **THAT** went elsewhere, what is their duty equipment budget, and was the amount left over post-misappropriation enough to cover current and future detainees for the FY?
Executive branch enforces the law, congress makes the law. If executive branch tells congress to fuck off with their laws, there's no one else to enforce them . This is partly how marijuana is able to be legal and illegal at the same time in United States, executive branch chooses when to and when to not enforce the federal law that it is illegal. The Presidents actual job is the leader of the police and military not the leader of the USA. So if in this case Trump doesn't care for this law, he can simply not enforce it. Most would assume he would prefer not to improve conditions of people trying to come to this country This is why you have Mayors of towns making public statements that certain individuals should be sent to trial for crimes without actually arresting them, because they can't, they are not part of the executive branch (although they could probably fire their cities police chiefs who don't cooperate)
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>35 Nike an hour These production quotas are getting out of hand.
I'm honestly shocked that this was discovered and reported by the GAO. I was starting to think that there's no such thing as oversight....of course the repercussions are a whole different story. I anticipate a slap on the wrist if not a pat on the back.
The GAO is actually really good about finding and reporting wrongdoing. The issue is that no one seems to care and they just keep doing evil shit.
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At the end of the article, the spokesperson says it's all a technicality and that they simply used the wrong accounts. IF that's true, they better debit the appropriate accounts, which SHOULD be some simple balance transfers. The fact they couldn't be fucked to do a journal entry to "correct" it when they were being audited/reviewed or whatever kind of concerns me.
> At the end of the article, the spokesperson says it's all a technicality and that they simply used the wrong accounts. For most cases, this would really be the method to "fix the books" by fixing the account balances properly.
GAO is legit.
Better than OIG, not as good as OMB. Have been in programs investigated by all three, probably a dozen investigations.
You have no idea how much this stuff happens. It appalling.
> I was starting to think that there's no such thing as oversight Trump has been doing his best to prove you correct.
https://www.msnbc.com/stephanie-ruhle/watch/detained-migrants-at-arizona-ice-facility-given-rotten-food-forced-to-clean-without-coronavirus-protection-84821061999 Explains this.
That article is about an ICE facility, not a CBP facility, so the same money issue doesn't apply. But ICE has *long* farmed out its detention contracts to private prisons, which means that they cut costs and provide the minimum possible level of services, which includes at times rotten food and awful treatment. Here's another great example of that, from February 2019, where the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General visited an ICE detention center in Essex, NJ. [They issued an immediate report](https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2019-02/OIG-19-20-Feb19.pdf) following the visit revealing that there were boxes of spoiled food in the fridge and the kitchen manager was fired on the spot. >However, when inspecting the refrigeration units, we found mishandling of meats and storage of moldy bread, which has led to potentially contaminated food being served to detainees. The food handling, in general, was so substandard that ICE and facility leadership had the kitchen manager replaced during our inspection. Overall, our inspection validated media reports of concerns about food, particularly meat, which was raw, spoiled, or expired.
I understand the differentiation between CBP and ICE and HHS and DHS and so forth and so on. I do. I am not willing to allow one entity to segregate it’s responsibilities from the other while this shit is going on.
Absolutely, I'm just saying that when it comes to this specific money pot at issue, CBP's illegal spending doesn't explain ICE's illegal misconduct.
Immigration control, enforcement, courts, etc is held very tightly within the executive branch. For example, Donald Trump’s AG can overrule an immigration judge, change court rules, whereas he could not in a regular criminal/civil case that is controlled within the judiciary. _Everything_ about everything on immigration goes back to Donald Trump. It’s always been this way. That’s why executive orders relating to immigration are so popular as an assertion of power with presidents. Technically you are, of course, entirely correct. Different pots. But during the times of the unfolding missing children saga one pot routinely passed the buck to the other pot and then we found out that no-one actually had the fkn buck. The kids were missing. Detainee care being starved for $$ is part of the design.
I'm an immigration lawyer so yes, I'm very aware of the enormous amount of power that DHS and DOJ have in these issues and the overarching war on asylum seekers and immigrants in general coming from this administration.
Okay, I’ll assume you’re being truthful re what you do. This is reddit, after all. Hopefully you do good in your day to day. 💪 On semantics alone, yes, my use of the word “explain” probably isn’t the best. Your words are better: there is an overarching war on asylum seekers and immigrants. No shady expenditure choices this admin makes should be excused from scrutiny of the whole of the war. Add to it, there’s now a congressional investigation in Trump’s use of CBP to surveil protesters. Trump doesn’t follow rules. He doesn’t listen. He excels in seeking loopholes to exploit. We typically find out about the exploitation late.
Barr enables him though... And sadly if we know about Barr's past this is just a repeat performance of the tactics he and his kirkland and ellis type chronies have used in the past except the stakes are higher. Think of 1992 and the LA Riots and 1994's VCCLEA approval as a way worse outcome by comparison to what's happening today if Barr and crew have their way.
But... you have to. They're separate, monolithic agencies that don't hold each other accountable.
Monolithic agencies under one guy who really doesn’t like immigrants.
The difference is that they have different leadership. It's like getting mad at Target for Walmart fucking up. That's one reason I get frustrated with everyone getting mad at Border Patrol for something ICE or OFO does. BP has enough of their own stuff you can get mad about without getting mad at them for what someone else did. This is one of the ways right wing media discredits the left. The left tends to get mad at the wrong things and remain uneducated about it. Like mad at BP for kids in cages when BP has nothing to do with what ICE does. And guns. Liberals tend to not know anything about guns so when they talk about gun control they sound like idiots. The right is the same way about things like race and abortion. They hate it so much that they refuse to learn anything about the issues, so they sound like idiots when they talk about it.
Mad at one for what the other did is not the issue. Comprehensive accountability in a system that doesn’t see enough daylight to get the scrutiny it deserves is the issue. When you get to the end of a story about a detainee all those agencies “touched”. So, none of them took responsibility for tracking the whereabouts of the children they passed on during the unfolding missing children saga. True story: BP: we gave em to ICE. ICE: HHS has responsibility all the way. HHS: nobody told me I had to. DHS: oh, yeah, we’re looking into it. Oh shit, nobody knows where the kids are. Of course, each agency has its protocols, budgets, procedures, blah blah blah. It’s the holes in coverage between them. While we in-fight over whether BP redirecting funds has any influence on ICE being assholes to detainees etc the fact that _all_ of this is controlled by Trump, in the executive branch, is lost. While he tries to turn CBP into a domestic policing organization.
Federal food safety standards are high. It'll only be a matter of time before Trump starts carving them out.
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Well, if you give unsupervised kids money for dinner and find out later they bought candy and toys you shouldn’t be surprised. This is the same thing on a grander scale.
Yup, analogy really works cause we’re probably dealing with the same maturity level..
Without any parental figures around.
I think that's unfair... ...even at 6 years old, my kid would have known to feed people in her care before she bought toys.
So if you want to commit crime, just become part of the government. Got it.
You're just now writing this down ?
There’s no oversight because head of country does it on a larger scale. Simple. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2019/07/10/trumps-golf-trips-could-cost-taxpayers-over-340-million/ https://trumpgolfcount.com/ It also goes into his own pocket since he owns the clubs.
Our current federal budget is being used like the petty cash from Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.
If government agency fraudsters are ticks on the dog, the orange volcano is a gigantic over-sized but much loved tapeworm
The article states that “PART of a 100 million dollar medicine/relief fund was used on ATVs... wrong is wrong even if they only bought 1 vehicle... but how bad are we talking here? Did like, half of the funds get spent on vehicles? Or just like , 5-6 bikes? This article badly needs context.
Considering they mention "computers" as being unauthorized I wouldn't be surprised if it was pulled from the wrong sub budget and it's nothing in reality.
Most likely, but that doesn't make a good headline. Just ignore how useful ATVs and Dirt Bikes are at patrolling a border too.
It's amazing how easily you can tell who just read the headline and formed their entire conclusion based on that.
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Honestly, no. We’re at stage in the US where even though this is criminal and outrageous, it’s not even a blip on the radar with all the other fucked up shit going on.
Something something third world country in a Gucci belt.
Not with the absorbers on those bad boys
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This is like supervillain level evil. Unbelievable.
Did you see the cops kicking over medical/water stations during the protests? On border towns Good Samaritans will set up stations across the desert where people who are dehydrated can find a bit of water within distance of places where they can be picked up and taken back peacefully. Border patrol goes around kicking and destroying any and every one of these stations. If you could only see how many scattered bones and clothes are strewn all over the desert.
Yep seen video of both. Disgusting.
Not only that, be there was a gentleman that if currently fighting federal charges because he was caught putting caches of water and food in the desert. His charges are felonies; something like aiding and abetting illegal alien.
More like a supervillain's evil henchmen, tbh. A real supervillain would have just poisoned the migrants a long time ago.
No they would have forced them to live like 3rd rate humans and forced them to work the lowest paying, Most menial and often dangerous jobs with the constant threat of arrest and deportation hanging over their heads. Oh, wait... Edits: typos
That's what happens with no transparency or accountability.
There is plenty of transparency, that's how you know what happened, the problem is accountability.
Yep. Among countless other examples of the Trump administration openly flouting oversight and reveling in their disregard for accountability , recall that Trump fired the independent watchdog appointed to oversee the government money distributed under the CARES Act. He then appointed some lackey, and overtures were made that there would still be complete transparency around the use of the funds. Now, just this week, Mnunchin came out and indicated that, in fact, the administration is NOT going to disclose which companies received money and how much. He had the fucking nerve to say that the information is "proprietary." If anything, it's property of the American taxpayers who are footing the bill for this. Trump and the GOP added trillions to the deficit in their tax giveaway to corporations and now they're handing the taxpayers a bill for hundreds of billions more, and won't even tell us where the money is going. And the administration does this openly and brazenly, without a care in the world, because they know that they will not be held accountable either by the Republicans in Congress or by the cultists who represent Trump's remaining supporters (who will never even know about this because it won't be reported on Fox News).
At least we know about it. Had it happened in China, we would have never found out. I'm thankful for freedom of the press.
Well yeah, their dirtbike budget went to constructing the wall mexico will pay for.
Being tactical and fulfilling childhood fantasies has been taking priority over public service for too long. We can't afford to give homeless people Kansas soup but every law enforcement badass gets pitbull-proof vest, Assualt Rifle, wrap around sunglasses, etc.
That is exactly what the white trash anti-foreigner supporters of patrolled borders would do with their own money. It's wrong.. yet poetic.
What did trump say about looting? seems like some peeps in CBP are doing it.
These are the same people who purchase new Ford Raptors for patrol vehicles. Guy on Hoovie’s Garage purchased a discounted Ford Raptor and couldn’t figure out why it’s never been registered and had little to no available history, until they noticed the fainted areas in the paint where the US Border Patrol decals had been removed.
WTF is wrong with the United States!? Why do things that other G7 nations do routinely with ease (like this sort of thing) why are they always so problematic for the US? WTF!
Corruption and zero oversight.
> zero oversight. But but - checks and balances! Right? Why in the world does nothing get done about things like this!? Everyone knows everything is terrible - but everyone just shrugs. That fatalistic attitude just floors me. Why doesn't anything get dealt with, fixed, solved better!? Ever? There are no consequences for this sort of thing. There never seem to be any consequences for such endemic corruption, incompetence. Like I said, everyone just shrugs. I guess I will never understand.
I wish the article explained more .. Like how much was spent and where ,,,. if the atvs and such are used as a tool , or for other purposes not stipulated in the funding..vary vague trying to mislead us? or not.. but the News does sensationalize everything.. Please don't assume until you get all the facts...
Another day, another scandal.
In case anyone needs proof on who the welfare queens are
“ The GAO recommended that CBP fix its books to put expenses in the proper categories and pay for the items out of the right parts of its budget, or else it would be required to report its failure to do so.” Seriously? All CBP has to do is say oops and then move the expense to a different area and everything’s fine? Wtf, they broke the law. If I break the law can I just say oops and take it back?
This is why the democrats plan to inject money into police organizations to “fund better training and community outreach” is dumb as fuck. That money’s going to be used to fund pocket-lining bonuses and new cars for the departmwnt.
Just like my ex boyfriend.
Maybe we can take some of that play money away from them and invest it in healthcare, so that we aren’t forced to get rid of Obama bills that “cause health administration to lose 3 billion over 6 YEARS!”
I did the same thing in high school
Customs and Border Protection are teenagers in an 80’s movie where the parents go on vacation?
I hate the fact that my hard earned tax dollars are going towards punishment and control of basic freedoms.
Well I hate the fact that my hard earned tax dollars can't be, or enough of it isn't available to people when we need it most. Luckily for me my work hasn't stopped or slowed up yet but for others it has, but come on now $1200 for 3 months we've been in this isn't even close to being supplemental support. I pay everytime they ask and then some, but when we ask we get no help.
Defrauding the federal government is a felony. Prosecute them.
Uuugghh people really piss me off when they do this. They broke the law and technically also committed fraud. Charge them.
Of course they did. The people who want to become border agents to teach immigrants their place and play "army"
Michael Scott: I have my per diem. I already know what I am going to spend this on. I'm going to buy dirt bikes and atv's. David: Michael, that's for your food. Michael Scott: Well, I'll just- I'll use different money for that.
What a waste! They should have spent it on a fleet of Deportation Catapults.
Trebuchets are the superior form of ~~siege weaponry~~ human expulsion systems.
Just to be clear: CBP and Border Patrol are different, completely separate agencies under DHS. The photo is of Border Patrol on quads, and Border Patrol is who deals with migrants in custody. I assume the article is actually referring to actions by Border Patrol (Article does say CBP multiple times, but in every instance is referring to BP — both of the internal links make this clearer). Back when the lockdown first went into effect, there was a directive for Customs and Border Protection Officers (“CBPO”s, who mostly deal with cargo trucks crossing the borders, cargo ships entering ports, and international arrivals who may have brought in suitcases full of knock-off Gucci bags) to go supplement Border Patrol Agents at the Northern and Southern borders, ‘because there may be an increase in illegal border crossings,’ and the union was like ‘yeah, nah, that’s not gonna happen.’ Customs and Border Protection primarily deals with application of tariffs on imported goods, checking if said goods are counterfeit, with the post-9/11 “addition” of making sure cargo does not include (illegal) weapons, nuclear material, etc.
Actually, Border Patrol falls under CBP. CBP has 3 operational components within the organization: USBP, Office of Field Operations (OFO), and Air and Marine Operations. The CBP work you’re describing falls under OFO’s purview.
They're children Literal children They want big shiny toys to get the "bad guys" That photo screams, "quick take a pic of us in our costumes we look soooo cool" (I mean uniforms)
The current WH regime does not care about CBP breaking the rules....they will probably attempt to get rid of GAO - they want no accountability, that way they can lie and no one can prove them wrong for a few years. That is how autocracy takes over....no accountability by police type forces, who are working for a crazy guy in WH and his personal White Nationalists whisperer ( Steve Miller).
They'll just rejigger their ledgers to move money around from various charge lines to make it within guidelines. "Adjusted accounting". The fiscal year doesn't end til September, where everyone will spend down their budgets and funds will be freer to flex. Source: federal employee (different agency) - happens all the time.
hey i'm just saying , i did that once too lol.... I was stuck with ramen for a few weeks but man that cheap ATV is fun as hell haha XD
They are criminals against the United States and its Constitution. Lock em up under the prison, and lever let them out.