Tag: Treasury Department

Congress to Subpoena ActBlue as Feds Confirm Suspicious Activity Tied to Democrat Fundraising

Just the News
James Comer

House investigators prepared Wednesday to subpoena the Democrat donations platform ActBlue in a rapidly expanding probe into possible illicit foreign funding in the 2024 election after the Treasury Department confirmed to Congress its money laundering detection system has generated hundreds of suspicious activity reports related to the online fund-raising giant.

The dramatic developments were communicated to House members and ActBlue itself in a series of memos this week obtained by Just the News that reaffirmed that lawmakers fear foreign adversaries like China, Iran, Venezuela and Russia may be routing illicit foreign money into Democratic coffers by using the names of unsuspecting American donors.

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U.S. Borrowing Tops $1.9 Trillion So Far This Year

The Center Square

The federal government borrowed $1.9 trillion in the first eleven months of fiscal year 2024, including $380 billion in August, a startling amount as federal watchdogs sound the alarm on spending.

Those borrowing figures come from the latest Monthly Treasury Statement from the Treasury Department.

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Biden Administration Tried to Tax Tips Prior to Harris Following Trump with ‘No Tax on Tips’

Just the News
Kamala Harris

The Biden-Harris administration tried improve tax compliance on tips prior to Vice President Kamala Harris’ following Trump with a vow to end tax on tips.

In 2023, the Treasury Department introduced the Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) program to “take advantage of advancements in point-of-sale, time and attendance systems, and electronic payment settlement methods to improve tip reporting compliance.”

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CBO: U.S. Budget Deficit at $1.7 Trillion over Past Year

The Center Square

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office this week revealed the magnitude of the federal deficit, growing to $1.7 trillion in one year, as the national public debt reached $34.7 trillion for the first time in U.S. history.

On Monday alone, the national public debt grew by $37 billion. By Tuesday, it surpassed $34.7 trillion overall.

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Economist: ‘True’ Federal Debt Masked by Draining U.S. Treasury

The Center Square
Janet Yellen

The federal debt continues to climb to unprecedented levels, but the “actual, true” debt is higher if the Treasury weren’t being drained, a national economist says.

Citing Bureau of the Fiscal Service data, E. J. Antoni, Ph.D., an economist at the Heritage Foundation, argues that as the federal debt increases, the “true daily deficit” is being masked by the amount of cash being drained from the U.S. Treasury by Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen.

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Bezos Hosted Treasury Officials to Discuss Private Sector Climate Action: FOIA Documents Show

Just the News
Jeff Bezos

Newly revealed documents obtained by a watchdog group show that Amazon founder, multibillionaire, and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos hosted an event bringing together international bureaucrats, a liberal foundation, and senior Treasury Department officials at his palatial Washington, D.C. home to advance “Climate Action” efforts.

The event shows how Bezos has used his convenient capital city location and private foundation to help the Biden Administration advance its climate goals by galvanizing private finance through grants.

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Congress Probing Whether IRS Plyng AI to Invade Americans’ Financial Privacy

Just the News
Jim Jordan and Harriet Hageman

The House Judiciary Committee has opened an inquiry to whether the IRS is using artificial intelligence to invade Americans’ financial privacy after an agency employee was captured in an undercover tape suggesting there was a widespread surveillance operation underway that might not be constitutional.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., sent a letter last week to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen demanding documents, and answers as to how the agency is currently employing artificial intelligence to comb through bank records to look for possible tax cheats. 

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Biden to Oppose Foreign Acquisition of U.S. Steel in Bid to Sway Blue Collar Voters

Virginia Star Staff
Biden U.S. Steel

President Joe Biden is expected to announce his opposition to the foreign acquisition of the iconic American company U.S. Steel on Thursday as he looks to win over blue collar voters, according to The Associated Press.

The Japanese Nippon Steel Corporation first announced that it would be acquiring U.S. Steel, the world’s fourth-largest steel producer, in December for around $14.9 billion after entertaining multiple offers, including from American steel company Cleveland Cliffs. The announcement is part of the president’s bid to sway blue-collar voters and union members by positioning himself as supporting American manufacturing, with the remarks to be delivered in the battleground state of Michigan, according to the AP.

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Number of EVs Eligible for Tax Credits Plummet as U.S. Seeks to Shrink Reliance on China’s Supply Chain

Virginia Star Staff
EV VW

The number of electric vehicles (EV) that qualify for tax credits fell from 43 to 19 on Monday following new rules about the number of components in the vehicle that can be made by China and other foreign entities, according to Reuters.

On Dec. 1, 2023, the Treasury Department released guidance for which EVs are eligible for its $7,500 tax credit, requiring vehicles to have at least 60% of battery components and 50% of total critical minerals used not be from a foreign entity of concern like China starting in 2024. Vehicles that are impacted by the changes include the Volkswagen ID.4, Tesla Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive, BMW X5 xDrive 50e, Audi Q5 PHEV 55, Cadillac Lyriq and Ford E-Transit, losing eligibility for the credit, according to Reuters.

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Biden Admin Unveils New Green Subsidy Guidelines That Could Allow China to Cash In

Virginia Star Staff

The Biden administration released proposed rules for green manufacturing tax credits on Thursday, leaving the door open for Chinese firms to capture their value.

The proposed guidance, released by the Treasury Department, clarifies the eligibility requirements for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) subsidies meant to incentivize domestic manufacturing of products like solar panels and electric vehicle (EV) parts, according to its text. The guidelines do not include restrictions on entities linked to adversarial foreign countries, and they would allow for China-tied companies to capture the value of tax credits if they establish operations in the U.S. that meet all other eligibility requirements.

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Sen. Joni Ernst Releases List of Federal Agencies with High Employee No-Show Rates Post-COVID

Just the News
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)

With Christmas fast-approaching, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa put out a “naughty list” of government agencies that have high no-show rates of employees who have not returned to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic ended.

According to Ernst’s list, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Social Security Administration top the list with just 7 percent office occupancy rates.

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New IRS Guidelines for Electric Car Tax Credit ‘Recipe for Fraud,’ Tax Watchdog Warns

Just the News
EV Charging Station

New Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines for the federal electric vehicle (EV) tax credit are a “recipe for fraud,” warns the head of the Tax Foundation.

Consumers will now be able to automatically claim the tax credit at the point of sale on new or used EV purchases, rather than wait to claim it on their tax return, according to the latest Treasury Department guidance.

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U.S. Unveils New Sanctions Against Hamas

Virginia Star Staff

The Treasury Department unveiled sanctions on a number of Hamas operatives and financial facilitators Wednesday in the wake of terrorist attacks on Israel.

Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas carried out attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, resulting in the deaths of over 1,400 Israelis and the kidnapping of over 100 people, including Americans. The Biden administration has taken steps to castigate Hamas since the attacks, including imposing sanctions against Hamas operatives and financial actors in an effort to throttle the group’s funding, according to a press release from the Treasury.

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‘Getting Very Close to Joe Biden’: Congress Probes Dozen Bank Accounts that Enriched First Family

Just the News

Congressional investigators have identified a labyrinth of at least a dozen bank accounts that were used to funnel money from foreign sources to Joe Biden’s family and uncovered the first evidence that some funds went to benefit the future president, the chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee has disclosed.

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Treasury Department Agrees to Hand over Hunter Biden Files

The Center Square

The House Oversight Committee said Tuesday that the U.S. Treasury Department is providing the investigatory committee with access to Hunter Biden’s Suspicious Activity Reports after months of delay.

The revelation is the latest chapter in the committee’s ongoing investigation into the president’s son and his associates. The lawmakers concerned with the issue argue the president could be compromised if foreign sources have knowledge of his or his son’s alleged wrongdoing.

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U.S. Hits $31.4 Trillion Debt Ceiling as Treasury Announces ‘Extraordinary Measures’ to Avoid Default

Just the News

The United States reached its debt ceiling of $31.38 trillion on Thursday, forcing the Treasury Department to implement “extraordinary measures” to avoid defaulting on bonds. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote how the U.S. had reached the debt limit in a letter Thursday to members of Congressional leadership.

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Treasury Dept Flagged 93 Financial Transfers Between Biden Associates and a Chinese Investment Fund, Report Shows

Virginia Star Staff

Businesses and associates linked to the Biden family allegedly exchanged over $2 million in wire transfers with a Shanghai investment fund controlled by the Bank of China over a five year period, according to a Treasury Department document obtained by Republican members of the House Oversight Committee.

Biden-linked operatives allegedly exchanged $2,461,962.60 in total with the Shanghai firm through 93 wire transactions between 2014 and 2019, according to a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) obtained by House Oversight Republicans, which also identified Hunter Biden as a “politically exposed person.” The revelation comes amid a House Oversight Committee investigation into the Biden family’s financial dealings.

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Ford Lobbies Biden Admin to Ease Ban on Chinese Electric Vehicle Parts

Virginia Star Staff

Ford is urging the Treasury Department to ease restrictions placed on electric car parts sourced from China and other “entities of concern” to ensure more of its vehicles can qualify for the consumer tax credits included in the Democrats’ massive climate spending bill, Reuters reported Friday.

The Democrats’ $430 billion climate package, which President Joe Biden signed into law in August, prevents the $7,500 consumer tax credits from applying to new electric vehicles (EVs) if their battery materials were produced or assembled by a “foreign entity of concern” such as China. Ford is claiming that the restrictions, which were aimed at taking EV supply chains out of Chinese hands, are too strict and will not allow enough consumers to reap the benefits of the tax credit, according to Reuters.

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Report: Biden Admin Weighs Potential Investigation into Musk’s Purchase of Twitter

Virginia Star Staff

The Treasury Department is weighing whether or not it has the authority to launch an investigation into Elon Musk’s recent acquisition of Twitter, The Washington Post reported Tuesday evening.

Under the terms of the deal, foreign investors, including a member of the Saudi royal family, could potentially have access to confidential financial and user data, according to The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources familiar with the deal. Treasury Department officials are examining their legal options to investigate the deal, but whether they were aware of this potential information sharing was unclear and the Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) typically investigates foreign nationals, not U.S. citizens like Musk.

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Biden Administration Is Withholding Hunter Biden Documents, Oversight Republican Says

Admin

Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen this week alleging that the federal agency is withholding documents that detail the foreign transactions conducted by the president’s son, Hunter Biden.

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IRS Destroyed 30 Million Tax Filing Documents, Lawmakers Demand Answers

The Center Square
Outside of IRS building

The Internal Revenue Service has been under fire for delays and millions of backlogged returns, but now lawmakers are raising the alarm after the federal agency “destroyed” millions of Americans’ tax documents.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig this week asking for answers about why these records were destroyed.

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Treasury Department Hires First-Ever ‘Counselor for Racial Equity’

Virginia Star Staff

The Treasury Department announced Monday it hired its first every Counselor for Racial Equity to support President Biden’s push for economic opportunities for people of color.

Janis Bowdler, former president of the JPMorgan Chase & Co. Foundation, will serve as the first “Counselor for Racial Equity,” the Treasury Department said.

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Wall Street Journal Editorial Board: Democratic Proposal Will Let the IRS Snoop on Your Bank Account

Virginia Star Staff
Woman holding credit card, laptop open in front of her

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board said that a Democratic effort to crack down on tax cheating would give the Treasury Department access to almost every American’s bank account.

The Thursday op-ed focused on a proposal that would require financial institutions to report individual accounts containing at least $10,000 to the IRS. That effort, the board wrote, would affect the vast majority of Americans who did not exclusively use cash to make purchases and pay bills.

“The details are murky, but most Americans could still get ensnared in this dragnet unless they pay bills and buy goods in cash,” the editorial board wrote. “Democrats say banks will only have to report total annual inflows and outflows, not discrete transactions. But nearly all Americans spend more than $10,000 a year.”

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Biden Helped Evacuate the French Embassy While Leaving American Citizens to the Mercy of the Taliban

Virginia Star Staff

President Joe Biden boasted during a press conference Friday that his administration supported the evacuation of the French embassy in Kabul while at the same time American citizens are being told the U.S. government cannot escort them to the airport.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul informed American citizens on Thursday that the Biden administration “cannot ensure safe passage to the airport.” The message came one day after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. military lacks the capability to escort Americans trapped behind enemy lines to the airport.

However, the Biden administration did have the capability to provide support to a convoy of hundreds of French people from their embassy to the airport, the president said Friday.

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Janet Yellen Warns of ‘Irreparable Harm’ If Congress Doesn’t Raise the Debt Ceiling

Virginia Star Staff

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned congressional leaders Friday that failing to raise the debt ceiling would risk “irreparable harm to the U.S. economy and the livelihoods of all Americans.”

In a letter, Yellen said that she did not know how long the Treasury Department could prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt, which could carry catastrophic economic consequences. The debt ceiling is set to expire on Aug. 1.

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Report: U.S. National Debt Closer to $123 Trillion, Nearly $796,000 Per Household

The Center Square

The U.S. national debt is closer to $123 trillion, more than four times what the Treasury Department is reporting, Chicago-based Truth in Accounting calculates in its new annual analysis of the nation’s finances.

The federal government has $5.95 trillion in assets and $129.06 trillion worth of bills resulting in a $123.11 trillion shortfall, or a debt burden of $796,000 per U.S. household.

Because of this massive amount of debt and repeatedly poor financial decisions made by lawmakers, TIA gave the U.S. government an “F” grade for its financial condition.

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President Trump’s New Rule Aims to Expand Health Coverage and Lower Costs

Admin

by Robert Moffit   The Trump administration just announced a major regulatory change, effective Jan. 1, 2020, that could significantly expand access to affordable health coverage and increase the choice of health plans, particularly among workers and their families in small businesses. The proposed rule, jointly developed by the Department…

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Federal Court Hands Trump a Win, Brings Rogue Agency Under Tighter Control

Admin
Donald Trump

by John-Michael Seibler   “You’re fired.” President Donald Trump will soon be able to use his famous catch phrase against the head of a troubled federal agency, the Fair Housing Finance Agency, which is led by a single Obama appointee with no meaningful oversight from the president. The 5th U.S. Circuit…

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