Tuesday, June 09, 2009
NDPC Investigates by Brett Narloch
Issue: Property Rights
NDPC investigator Jacqueline Dotzenrod broke the news that Tracy Potter, executive director of the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation and the Northern Plains Heritage Foundation, misled the US Congress about how much public support there was for the Northern Plains National Heritage Area. He also misled the IRS about the lobbying activities of both foundations.
There’s more to the story. According to Northern Plains Heritage Foundation’s 2007 IRS Form 990, the foundation’s only revenue was a $62,000 federal grant. The Form 990 also lists the foundation’s program expenses for 2007. One of the expenses listed is Potter’s trip to testify at a congressional subcommittee, which cost $8,446.22. You can read his testimony by clicking HERE.
According to Open Secrets.org, in 2007 the Northern Plains Heritage Foundation (NPHF) hired the Greystone Group to lobby for passage of the National Heritage Area designation. What isn’t clear is how much the NPHF actually paid the Greystone Group. On Open Secrets.org it simply states “Less than $10,000.”
There are two questions that need to be answered: 1) Was Potter’s testimony considered lobbying? 2) Did the NPHF pay the Greystone Group any money?
These are serious questions because if the answer to either is “yes,” then Potter could be guilty of lobbying with federal dollars, which is against the law.
Federal law states that,
No part of the money appropriated by any enactment of Congress shall, in the absence of express authorization by Congress, be used directly or indirectly to pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written matter, or other device, intended or designed to influence in any manner a Member of Congress, a jurisdiction, or an official of any government, to favor, adopt, or oppose, by vote or otherwise, any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation, whether before or after the introduction of any bill, measure, or resolution proposing such legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation; but this shall not prevent officers or employees of the United States or of its departments or agencies from communicating to any such Member or official, at his request, or to Congress or such official, through the proper official channels, requests for any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriations which they deem necessary for the efficient conduct of the public business, or from making any communication whose prohibition by this section might, in the opinion of the Attorney General, violate the Constitution or interfere with the conduct of foreign policy, counter-intelligence, intelligence, or national security activities. Violations of this section shall constitute violations of section 1352 (a) of title 31.
The NDPC will report more as it comes to light.
