CfA's November 15, 2019 Newsletter

Our Latest Work:

• New Evidence Interior Secretary David Bernhardt Violated Ethics Rules: On Tuesday, CfA and Western Values Project, a Montana-based nonprofit conservation group, submitted additional evidence to ethics officials at the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Office of Government Ethics showing U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt continued to work with his former lobbying client, Westlands Water District, through at least July 2017, which is longer than was previously known.  CfA previously submitted a request for investigation of Sec. Bernhardt's relationship with Westlands Water District in February 2019. (Press Release, Letter )
• Letter Calling on Vibiana Events to Cancel Fundraiser for Live Action: Tomorrow, Vibiana Events is planning to host a fundraiser in Los Angeles, California, for Live Action, an extreme anti-LGBT, anti-abortion organization. CfA and Reproaction sent a letter to Vibiana Events last month, calling on them to cancel their fundraiser. (Letter )

 
Latest CfA Victory:

• Anti-Abortion Heidi Group, Who Mismanaged Texas Taxpayer Dollars, Ordered to Repay $1.5 Million: Last
  Thursday, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Office of Inspector General announced that the Heidi Group, an anti-abortion nonprofit based in Texas, must repay more than $1.5 million in overpayments and prohibited costs associated with its mismanagement of state taxpayer dollars. CfA previously called for investigations of the Heidi Group and the state’s decision to renew contracts with the group.(Houston Chronicle Article, CfA Tweet Thread )

Help Us Fight Back Against Devin Nunes:

• Donate to CfA: Last year, CfA filed three ethics complaints against Congressman Devin Nunes documenting his deplorable conduct. Now he's filed a frivolous lawsuit against us to deflect attention away from his ethical lapses. Please donate to CfA and help us fight back!

CfA In the News:

• The Trump Administration is Giving Family Planning Funds to Obria, a Network of Anti-Abortion, Anti-Birth Control Clinics: Mother Jones relied on some of CfA's research into Obria and talked to CfA Counsel Alice Huling, who said: "Title X was created to help low-income women control their reproductive futures by providing them access to birth control... Yet HHS gave these funds to a group that is fundamentally opposed to birth control. It just doesn’t make sense." (Mother Jones, 11.19)

What We're Reading:

• Google Gathers Personal Medical Data: Google accessed medical data for millions of Americans under the name ‘Project Nightingale,’ without the knowledge of doctors and patients.  (The Wall Street Journal, 11.11.19)
• Google Interfering with Search Algorithms and Results: A Wall Street Journal investigation found that Google "has increasingly re-engineered and interfered with search results to a far greater degree than the company and its executives have acknowledged." (The Wall Street Journal, 11.15.19)
• Dark Money in North Dakota Elections: The North Dakota Legislature's interim Judiciary Committee is undertaking a two-year study of state government ethics. This week, North Dakota lawmakers heard examples of "dark money" in recent state elections. (Bismarck Tribune, 11.13.19)

Follow Our Work:

1. Follow CfA on Twitter and Facebook.
2. Follow the Google Transparency Project on Twitter and Facebook.
3. Tell your friends and colleagues about CfA. 
4. Send us a tip. 
5. Make a tax-deductible donation.