Government Integrity Project

NLPC “blows the whistle” on government officials and interest groups engaged in questionable activities. NLPC has filed formal Complaints with a variety of authorities and regulators, including the Federal Election Commission, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Congressional Ethics Committees.

NLPC supports government integrity in two additional ways: by promoting the First Amendment as the basis for campaign finance reform, and by promoting use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Iceland Recovers from Bank Meltdown without European Union Bailout

Submitted by: Carl Horowitz 05/23/2012 - 17:34

Icelandic flag The European Union (EU) is now in a full-scale panic over how to arrange financial bailouts for its least capable members. Yet few officials within the 27-nation federation have pondered the possibility that the best arrangement may be no bailout - and no EU as well. The recent experience of Iceland, which isn't a member (yet), could serve as a lesson for both Europe and the U.S. This contrasts with the subsidized nations elsewhere in Europe whose conditions are approaching a breaking point, most of all, in riot-torn Greece, on the cusp of secession (or expulsion) from the EU. Not far behind are Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The comparison should serve as a lesson on why governments, here or abroad, shouldn't insulate businesses from the consequences of bad decisions.

Submitted by: Mark Modica 05/21/2012 - 13:39

I recently reported that the Houlihan Lokey group suspiciously received a $1.35 million contract from the Energy Department to track the government money lent to Fisker Automotive and Beacon Power Corp. Houlihan Lokey was the institutional bondholder representative which smoothed the way for the General Motors' bankruptcy process by endorsing the Obama Administration's 363 bankruptcy plan. I have now uncovered three more firms that cooperated in the GM bankruptcy process that have subsequently been awarded Energy Department contracts.

Submitted by: Paul Chesser 05/18/2012 - 10:05

As taxpayer-backed electric car battery-maker A123 Systems reported a $125 million 1^st quarter loss this week and its stock price dipped to near its 52-week low, the executives that were just awarded big raises and parachutes look like they want to cash in and sell the company.

Officials with the Massachusetts-based manufacturer, which received a $249.1 million grant from the Department of Energy but this week said the ability for the company to continue is a “going concern,” also announced they retained an outside adviser for “evaluation of strategic alternatives.” Translation: they’re looking to sell. If they are successful, A123 President David Vieau and his colleagues stand to reap a windfall even after they laid off 125 factory workers ("Green jobs") in November.

Submitted by: Paul Chesser 05/17/2012 - 16:38

Dan Arvizu

As Americans grow increasingly skeptical about global warming, and the availability of shale oil and natural gas is greater than ever in the U.S., a federal official based in Colorado says the climate threat is so dire that electric utilities should not plan long-term for the development of natural gas power plants.

Submitted by: Mark Modica 05/18/2012 - 07:06

Chevy Volt charger The Department of Transportation and NHTSA have announced that a "technical symposium" will be held on May 18^th "to discuss safety considerations for electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries." In addition to NHTSA's presentations, the Department of Energy, automotive manufacturers and battery makers will participate. Given the bias of the participants, the symposium sounds like it is going to be less informational and more infomercial.

Submitted by: Paul Chesser 05/16/2012 - 14:38

Vinod Khosla

This story has been updated below.

The three top U.S. tycoons on Forbes’s “Green” billionaires list have received billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for their clean technology companies, after they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for political campaigns and lobbying.

Submitted by: Mark Modica 05/15/2012 - 12:18

When JPM Chase reported that it had lost $2 billion recently on risky derivative trades, the predictable call came from the Obama Administration to increase regulation on banks. The hypocrisy of the politically motivated proclamations becomes evident when you compare the JPM trades to Treasury's continued gamble on its taxpayer funded stake in General Motors, which has suffered an approximate $5 billion loss in value over the past year.

Submitted by: Mark Modica 05/14/2012 - 11:49

The Obama Administration has become quite the expert on bankruptcy filings. The Detroit Free Press reports that the third auto bailout partaker, Ally Financial, has filed bankruptcy for its mortgage subsidiary, ResCap. The government still owns 74% of Ally, and now has an 0 for 3 record on restructuring bailed out auto-related companies outside of bankruptcy.

Submitted by: Paul Chesser 05/14/2012 - 11:12

Nissan Leaf Now that Nissan believes it has captured all the “early adopters” of its all-electric Leaf, its North American subsidiary plans to market the 73-mile-per-charge (they used to say it was 100 miles) vehicle to “pragmatists.”

These practical patrons, according to Executive Vice President Andy Palmer, will not be drawn from the limited ranks of environmental activism, but instead will consist of everyday Joes “who will see the dollars-and-sense benefits of driving one,” reports USA Today.

Submitted by: Mark Modica 05/10/2012 - 13:03

One of the most egregious abuses of the Obama Administration's auto bailouts was the blatant favoritism evidenced in the treatment of Delphi (General Motors' parts supplier) retirees. After the Delphi bankruptcy, UAW retirees had their pensions "topped off" by General Motors, apparently with taxpayer money accessed through TARP. While the UAW retirees maintained their pension benefits, non-union, salaried retirees of Delphi lost theirs. There was no logical reason for one group to have their pensions saved while another group lost theirs, just the facts that the distributions were inequitable and the only difference between the groups was that one belonged to a powerful ally of Team Obama and the other did not.

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