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** CfA's 2019 End-of-Year Newsletter
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Thank you for your continued support of Campaign for Accountability (CfA). Here's an update on our latest work, as well as our biggest victories in 2019.



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Our Latest Work:
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* CfA Calls on HHS to Stop Providing Title X Funding to Obria: On Tuesday, CfA sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Alex Azar, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs, Dr. Diane Foley, asking HHS to end Title X funding for The Obria Group, Inc., and its affiliated Obria Medical Clinics of Southern California (collectively Obria), an anti-choice religious ministry masquerading as a healthcare group. (Press Release ([link removed]) , Letter ([link removed]) )
* CfA Files FEC Complaint Against Sen. Joni Ernst for Creating Dark Money Group to Aid Her Campaign: On Monday, CfA filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) seeking an investigation into Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Iowa Values, a dark money organization set up to support Sen. Ernst’s reelection campaign. (Press Release ([link removed]) , Letter ([link removed]) )


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Help Us Fight Back Against Devin Nunes:
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* 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!

Click here to donate to CfA. ([link removed])



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CfA In the News:
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* CfA's Request to Stop Title X Funds From Going to Obria: CfA's letter calling on HHS to stop providing Title X funding to Obria was included in the Politico Pulse newsletter. (Politico Pulse ([link removed]) , 12.17.19)
* CfA's FEC Complaint Against Sen. Joni Ernst: CfA's FEC complaint against Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) appeared in Iowa Starting Line and the Associated Press. (Associated Press ([link removed]) , 12.20.19, Iowa Starting Line ([link removed]) , 12.16.19)
* Sen. Lankford to Chair Ethics Committee: CfA's Daniel Stevens spoke to The American Independent about Sen. James Lankford being tapped to chair the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. (The American Independent ([link removed]) , 12.11.19)
* Obria Chief's Derogatory Comments: The Guardian reported on Obria Chief Executive Kathleen Eaton Bravo's comments about Muslims "replacing" Christian Europeans and cited CfA's work to hold Obria accountable. (The Guardian ([link removed]) , 12.11.19)
* HHS's Close Ties with Obria: Emails obtained by CfA, which show how HHS helped Obria obtain federal funding, were featured in Inside Health Policy. (Inside Health Policy ([link removed]) , 12.6.19)


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What We're Reading:
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* Larry Page's "Charitable" Giving: Google co-founder Larry Page donated almost $400 million, but none of it went directly to charity. Instead, it went to "donor-advised funds," highlighting a growing problem in philanthropic giving. (Recode ([link removed]) , 12.18.19)
* Texas and Google Go to Battle Over States' Antitrust Probe: The state of Texas said in a court filing that Google is trying to hamstring an antitrust probe of the company's business practices. (The Washington Post ([link removed]) , 12.18.19)
* Patients Are Faced with Fear and Misinformation about Abortion Access: Paige Alexandria, a counselor at an abortion provider in Texas, wrote in VICE about how one patient asked her if she'd be sentenced to death for having an abortion (VICE ([link removed]) , 12.19.19)


** Our Victories in 2019:
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CfA achieved notable success in 2019. Here are some examples of how we held the powerful accountable:
* January 2019: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Resigns: CfA filed multiple ethics complaints against former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, including one where the Office of Special Counsel determined ([link removed]) that Sec. Zinke had violated the Hatch Act by wearing "Make America Great Again" socks. Sec. Zinke resigned in January 2019.
* February 2019: CfA Releases Payday Lending Report: In February 2019, CfA released a report, Academic for Hire ([link removed]) , revealing that a lawyer for the payday lending industry, Hilary Miller, funded, designed, and edited an academic study defending the payday lending industry.
* April 2019: Erik Prince Referred to DOJ for Criminal Investigation: In April 2019, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), announced ([link removed]) his intention to refer Blackwater founder Erik Prince to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for a criminal investigation into whether Prince provided false testimony to HPSCI regarding his meeting with Russian fund manager Kirill Dmitriev. CfA previously called on HPSCI to refer Prince for criminal investigation on March 8, 2018.
* April/May 2019: SBA List Dumps Kania: Following CfA's complaint ([link removed]) against Robert J. Kania, Jr. and his firm, Kania Enterprises, Inc., among others, for multiple serious violations of Pennsylvania’s Campaign Finance Reporting Law, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf removed ([link removed]) Mr. Kania from his position as a board member of the Port Authority of Allegheny County. Later that day, Mr. Kania in effect admitted he had failed to follow Pennsylvania’s campaign finance disclosure laws. Shortly thereafter, the Susan B. Anthony List, Inc. Candidate Fund, a PAC run by the Susan B. Anthony List, removed ([link removed])
Mr. Kania as treasurer of the PAC.
* June 2019: Google Changes Ad Policy for CPCs: In June 2019, Google changed ([link removed]) its advertising policies to deter deception by crisis pregnancy centers that use Google's advertising platforms, after CfA investigated Obria for the practice.
* June 2019: Scott Lloyd Leaves HHS: After CfA filed multiple complaints against former Office of Refugee Resettlement Director Scott Lloyd, Mr. Lloyd was effectively removed from his position and left ([link removed]) the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
* October 2019: Real Alternatives Loses State Funding in Michigan: In October 2019, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a line-item veto to terminate state funding for Real Alternatives, an anti-abortion nonprofit that received state funding to run the Michigan Parenting and Pregnancy Support Program. Gov. Whitmer’s veto came after CfA requested the termination of Real Alternatives' contract in January 2019 ([link removed]) , and renewed that request in September 2019 ([link removed]) .
* November 2019: Texas Holds the Heidi Group Accountable: In November 2019, the Texas Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General announced that the Heidi Group, anti-abortion nonprofit based in Texas, must repay ([link removed]) over $1.5 million in overpayments and prohibited costs associated with its mismanagement of state taxpayer dollars. Additional repayments could be required. CfA previously called for an investigation of the Heidi Group.
* December 2019: CfA Releases Themis Project Government Records Archive: In December 2019, CfA launched the Themis Project's Government Records Archive ([link removed]) , which contains thousands of documents related to anti-abortion advocacy organizations, crisis pregnancy centers, and government efforts to curtail reproductive rights. CfA will continue to add documents to the archive as they become available.


** Follow Our Work:
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We thank you for your continued support. Without people like you, our work would not be possible.

Here is how you can stay involved and help us accomplish our mission:
1. Follow CfA on Twitter ([link removed]) and Facebook ([link removed]) .
2. Follow the Google Transparency Project on Twitter ([link removed]) and Facebook ([link removed]) .
3. Tell your friends and colleagues ([link removed]) about CfA.
4. Send us a tip ([link removed]) .
5. Make a tax-deductible donation ([link removed]) .

Be on the lookout for more updates about our work in the upcoming weeks. Thanks again for signing up to be a part of CfA!

Sincerely,

Daniel Stevens
Executive Director, Campaign for Accountability

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