Waste Of The Day: $8.3 Billion Of Disaster Funds Stuck In Purgatory

 by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations,

Topline: The Federal Emergency Management Agency is refusing to help some local governments pay for storm recovery while its aid fund faces a $6.2 billion deficit. The White House keeps blaming Congress for not providing enough money, but the fiscal crisis is partially FEMA’s own fault.

FEMA has $8.3 billion in “unliquidated obligations” set aside to help victims of storms from before 2012, according to a Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report titled “FEMA’s Inadequate Oversight Led to Delays in Closing Out Declared Disasters.” It is money that FEMA has promised to spend in the future, but it’s unclear when or if it will actually help American families.

Meanwhile, the money can’t be used to help victims of hurricanes from this summer.

Key facts: FEMA grants must be used before a “period of performance” deadline. If the deadline is extended, FEMA officials are supposed to provide a detailed written justification.

FEMA has recently extended deadlines by up to 16 years for $7 billion of grants, sometimes without explanation, according to the OIG report.

For example, FEMA set aside billions to help the Northeast recover from Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The money was supposed to be used up by October 2016, but FEMA extended the deadline to September 2026. $4.5 billion of it was still unused as of last year and is unavailable for victims of this year’s storms.

The extensions are awarded based on “subjective” criteria, the report says. Auditors wrote that “As a result, the potential risk for fraud, waste, and abuse increases the longer a program remains open.”

Even when extensions are not granted, FEMA does not always enforce its deadlines. There was $9.4 million set aside for grants with deadlines over 12 months ago as of June 2023, according to the report. FEMA recouped an additional $5.7 million while the audit was taking place.

Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com.

Background: The inspector general report is the latest controversy in what has been a challenging year for FEMA. There were a record 28 storms that each caused over $1 billion in damages last year, and there have been 19 so far this year.

In July, the Government Accountability Office reported that FEMA greatly underestimated how much money it would need to spend on the Covid-19 pandemic and had not requested enough money from Congress over the last few years.

The agency’s Disaster Relief Fund nearly ran out of money this August, and FEMA was forced to pause 650 projects that were not deemed essential for “life-saving services.” The same thing happened in October 2023 and seven other times since 2001.

Yet FEMA continues to approve new expenses related to the Covid-19 pandemic, even though the public health emergency officially ended in May 2023.

Summary: There’s no use in obligating billions of dollars to help victims of natural disasters if the money is just going to sit in a bank account.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/waste-day-83-billion-disaster-funds-stuck-purgatory

Avid FQ1 results, outlook

 -- Recorded First Quarter Revenue of $40.2 Million --

-- Signed $66 Million in Net New Business, Resulting in Backlog of $219 Million --

-- Maintained FY2025 Revenue Guidance of Between $160 Million and $168 Million --

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/09/09/2943210/0/en/Avid-Bioservices-Reports-Financial-Results-for-First-Quarter-Ended-July-31-2024.html

Corvus Starts Phase 3 Trial in Relapsed/Refractory Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma

 Soquelitinib is a potential first-in-class ITK inhibitor with broad potential in cancer and immune diseases

There are currently no fully approved agents for the treatment of relapsed PTCL and soquelitinib has been granted Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track Designation by the FDA

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/09/10/2943658/0/en/Corvus-Pharmaceuticals-Initiates-Registrational-Phase-3-Clinical-Trial-of-Soquelitinib-for-Patients-with-Relapsed-Refractory-Peripheral-T-Cell-Lymphoma.html

Altimmune reports promising obesity treatment study

 Altimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has revealed data from a Phase 2 sub-study of pemvidutide, indicating significant lean mass preservation and reduction in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) among overweight and obese individuals. The findings were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Madrid, Spain.

The sub-study, part of the MOMENTUM obesity trial, utilized MRI to assess body composition changes in 67 subjects, 50 of whom were treated with pemvidutide over a 48-week period. Results showed a lean loss ratio of 21.9%, which measures the change in lean mass relative to total mass loss. Notably, participants over 60 years of age experienced an even lower lean loss ratio of 19.9%, highlighting the treatment's potential to mitigate risks associated with age-related frailty.

In addition to preserving lean mass, pemvidutide treatment led to a 25.6% reduction in VAT at a 2.4mg dose by the study's end. This type of adipose tissue is closely linked to cardiovascular disease risk, and its preferential reduction is seen as a positive outcome.

https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/altimmune-reports-promising-obesity-treatment-study-93CH-3609160

Nonprofits Sue IRS Alleging Political Speech Rules Not Applied Equally

  by Steven Kovac via The Epoch Times,

Two Texas churches and a couple of nonprofit organizations with tax-exempt status are challenging the IRS in federal court over alleged violations of their freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, and equal treatment under the law.

The group alleges that numerous churches and “left-leaning” publications that are owned by tax-exempt nonprofits routinely support Democratic political candidates in violation of the Internal Revenue Code with no repercussions, while conservative churches and nonprofits are threatened and penalized.

In the complaint, the group cites examples of nonprofit media organizations appearing to endorse President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other political figures, as well as church leaders praising Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and former President Barack Obama during services while they were candidates for president.

“Plaintiffs believe that the activity described ... demonstrates ongoing, open, and obvious violations of the [law] by churches friendly to Democrat candidates,” the complaint states.

“However, plaintiffs contend that all such activity is constitutionally protected. Plaintiffs only seek the freedom to engage in similar activity.”

In 2020, a church called Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia, was fined after its pastor told congregants to vote in line with the values set forth in the Bible and said the Republican platform was in greater alignment with the Bible than the Democratic platform, according to the legal filing.

An organization called “Christians Engaged” was also denied tax-exempt status in 2021 for Bible teachings on topics that “are typically affiliated with the [Republican] party and candidates,” according to an excerpt from the IRS letter in the complaint. The denial was later reversed.

“To Plaintiffs’ knowledge, no investigation, and particularly no adverse action, has ever been taken against any left-leaning or Democrat-affiliated nonprofit,“ the complaint states.

”The proportion of adverse actions taken against 501(c)(3) nonprofits skews disproportionately against conservative organizations.”

For an organization to be considered a not-for-profit charity, it must not “participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office,” according to a 1954 law known as the Johnson Amendment.

The IRS widely publicizes warnings that violators could be subject to monetary penalties and the revoking of their tax-exempt status.

The plaintiffs also point out that since the U.S. Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” decision in 2010, all for-profit corporations and all nonprofits organized under any section other than 501(c)(3) may freely support or oppose candidates for public office in line with the First Amendment.

The result is an unfair and unequal application of the law, the plaintiffs allege.

The complaint was filed on Aug. 28 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division.

The plaintiffs in the case are the National Religious Broadcasters, Sand Springs Church, the First Baptist Church Waskom, and the Intercessors for America, a national prayer group.

The IRS did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

One of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, David Kallman of the Kallman Legal Group, told The Epoch Times: “We are not asking the court to restrict the rights of ... churches and other liberal organizations, even though they continuously violate the Johnson Amendment without repercussions from the IRS.

“We just want the same standard to be applied to all churches and 501(c)(3)s. If the law is not enforced in the same way against everyone, then it also violates the constitutional principle of equal protection under the law.”

The plaintiffs are seeking a declaratory judgment that the Johnson Amendment is unconstitutional and injunctive relief against the IRS to prohibit the continued application of the amendment to political speech.

They contend that the law substantially burdens their right to the free exercise of their religion because it thwarts their ability to inform others of how a candidate’s position squares with the teachings of the Bible.

The plaintiffs also request a declaratory judgment that the IRS is violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993.

Lead counsel for the plaintiffs, Michael Farris, told The Epoch Times that a lot of churches may choose to not get involved in politics.

“Yet it is untenable under the First Amendment for government to shut down some voices in this country that are seeking to speak the truth,” he said.

“We live in a time where we benefit from more speech, not less speech.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/nonprofits-sue-irs-alleging-political-speech-rules-not-applied-equally

CVS, Humana dip amid new mental health guidelines, Leerink note

 CVS Health (CVS) and Humana (HUM) stocks moved lower after the White House announced new health insurance requirements and Leerink issued a note.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4148079-cvs-humana-dip-amid-new-mental-health-guidelines-leerink-note

Gilead and Genesis Therapeutics in AI Collaboration

 -- Gilead and Genesis Will Leverage the GEMS AI Platform to Generate and Jointly Optimize Molecules Against Selected Targets --

-- Gilead Receives Exclusive Rights to Develop and Commercialize Products from the Collaboration --

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240910912771/en