The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "reform bill" ...
-
Investigating the IRS
As the national deficit soared, WTHR exposed fraud, confusion and government mismanagement that resulted in illegal immigrants getting billions of dollars in improper tax credits and refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. WTHR gained unparalleled access to tax records and immigrant communities to show exactly how the fraud was committed. The investigation revealed the IRS had known about the widespread problems for a decade but failed to act, and that IRS managers actively encouraged their tax examiners to ignore blatant signs of fraud. WTHR’s investigation quickly gained national attention, attracted more than 9 million online views, sparked intense debate and action by Congress, and triggered immediate reforms by the IRS. Following a series of in-depth follow-ups by WTHR and an Inspector General audit that confirmed all of WTHR’s findings, the IRS announced final rule changes in December designed to reduce the massive fraud and to save taxpayers billions of dollars.
Tags: tax fraud; taxes; taxpayers; Internal Revenue Service
-
State Integrity Investigation
The data-driven analysis of transparency and accountability in all 50 states resulted in a ranking if the 50 states, accompanied by both an overall letter gade and numerical score for each state. It measured the strength of laws and practices that are supposed to encourage openness and deter corruption.
Tags: integrity; ethics reform; state government; state ethics laws
-
Dodd-Frank Meeting Logs
The passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act included provisions, requiring five government financial agencies to log meetings with financial companies, employees, or lobbyists on their individual websites.
Tags: Consumer Protection Act; Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
-
Dodd-Frank Meeting Logs
The passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act included provisions requiring five government financial agencies to log meetings with financial companies, employees or lobbyists on their individual websites.
Tags: Dodd-Frank; consumer; Congess; financial industry
-
The Favor Factory
The Seattle Times analyzed the 2008 defense bill and found that lawmakers - who had promised full disclosure of earmarks - were hiding $3.5 billion of them, about 40 percent of total earmarks. Some of the most prominent and powerful members of Congress used loopholes in a new reform measure to avoid disclosure.
Tags: defense bill; lawmakers; legislature; earmarks; vetting earmarks; campaign donors; campaign scam; wasteful earmarks; chemical-warfare decontamination kit; inferior products; Capitol Hill; Congressional favors; campaign donations
-
The Evidence Gap
The nations' medical bill last year exceeded $2.7 trillin -- nearly as much as the projected total cost of the Iraq war. If it were medical money well spend, there might be few cries to "reform" the American health care system. But by some estimates, one-third or more of the medical care received by patients in this country may be virtually worthless. The nation is wasting hundreds of billions of dollars each year on superfluous treatments -- money that otherwise could by spent, for example , on providing health insurance for every child, woman and man int his country who currently have no coverage. A team of science and business reporters from The New York Times set out to explain how and why the United States is spending so much on health care with so relatively little to show for the money, They discovered a gaping chasm between scientific evidence and the practice of medicine. In an in-depth series of articles, told through real doctors and patients, and based on information they dug up that was frequently unflattering to medical providers, companies and regulators, the Times team documented many disturbing instances of "The Evidence Gap."
Tags: health care; CT angiograms; Avastin; cancer treatment; reckless spending; Food and Drug Administration; mammograms
-
A Troubled Diagnosis
"Overcrowding, violence and drug abuse have made New Jersey's Ancora Psychiatric Hospital a place where no one is safe. The report triggered a U.S. Civil Rights investigation into the hospital, plus reform bills in the Legislature."
Tags: mental health; asylum; clinical evaluation; DeWitt Crandell; human services; psych ward; suicide; mental illness; neglect
-
Unbalanced Taxes
This five-article analysis of tax bills and assessments across New Jersey found a loosely regulated, unevenly enforced system allowing municipalities to calculate property tax bills using property assessments that in some cases are decades old. This article explores the implications of the problem and offers possible ways to reform the system. The series also exposes an inequality in the cost of property taxes in white and black neighborhoods. The cause of this imbalance are outdated tax rolls which may be in violation of federal civil rights laws. This tax discrimination can overcharge some homeowners anywhere from $400 to $1,400 per year. The series includes several graphics to illustrate the assessment and tax disparities in many New Jersey towns.
Tags: taxes; real estate; property; discrimination; assessment; revaluation
-
In the future, who will pay the medical bills?
This article discusses the idea of reforming America's health insurance system. It looks into the reasons that reform is needed, different types of reform and how each option would affect local and national insurance companies.
Tags: insurance; health care; national health care
-
Close Connections
The Asbury Park Press' investigations of municipal officials found that politically powerful attorneys had almost free reign to double bill and over bill the agencies they were supposed to serve. An investigation of the township attorney, who is the top elected Republican in the state, found that he double billed the city by more than $8,000. He initially said the double-billing was not his responsibility, but later admitted it was an accident. The Press found that the project in which the double-billing occurred was part of an unfinished seven-year effort to rewrite the city's ordinances. The senator charged more than $100,000 for the incomplete work, although similar projects cost a quarter as much and can take months, not years, to finish. Close examination of these billing records for the ordinance re-writing project showed his bills included rewrites of ordinances that don't exist, and repeated rewrites of ordinances that were little more than a paragraph or two long.
Tags: Marlboro Township-New Jersey; Council Members; Mayor Matthew V. Scannapieco; developers; Anthony Spalliero; Senator John O. Bennett III; political contributions; double-billing; town budget; ordinances; legal invoice; Monmouth County; campaign contributions; Center for Responsive Politics Marlboro Cultural and Improvement Fund; Keansburg Board of Education; New Jersey State Commission of Investigation; reform bill; elected officials