Q told us to look into corruption with slush funds …
Last night I posted a link to a Chaffetz-led Congressional oversight report concerning the fines/penalties levied by government agencies, and how many of those fines are unregulated, leaving those agencies to decide where those funds will be spent.
VERY interesting findings in this report.
“Article I of the United States Constitution provides Congress with the “power of the purse,” and the authority “to tax and spend public money for the national government.” Under this authority, Congress – rather than the executive branch – is meant to direct agency spending. In certain instances, Congress has provided in statutes limited and delegated authority to agencies in order to assess, collect, and in some instances retain fines and penalties. In recent years, a trend has emerged whereby regulatory agencies with these specific authorities are circumventing Congressional appropriations authority and instead are utilizing settlements from the fines and penalties authority to fund their own operations.”
“For example, a recent Wall Street Journal article discusses the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) recent use of settlements for violations of financial laws. The article discusses the DOJ’s discretion to allow the banks as part of their settlement agreement to provide donations to an approved list of non-profits which is considered “double credit” against the penalty amount the bank owes.”
Page 8
oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Fines-and-Penalties-Report-11-28-2016-FINAL.pdf