by Corinne Murdock | Mar 13, 2024 | Education, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Arizona’s auditing agency for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) found no wrongdoing in its recent audit of Grand Canyon University (GCU).
The Arizona State Approving Agency (SAA) undertook the audit in response to the ongoing Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit against GCU for allegedly deceptive advertising and illegal telemarketing. The FTC sued GCU in December, several months after the Department of Education (ED) fined the university over $37 million for allegedly deceiving doctoral students into paying more for their degrees than advertised.
In the SAA letter to GCU reviewed by AZ Free News, SAA said that its audit yielded no evidence supporting the Biden administration’s claims.
“The Arizona SAA did not have any substantiated findings based on our review of Grand Canyon University,” stated SAA’s letter to GCU. “There are no findings impacting the continued approval of Grand Canyon University at this time. There are no follow-up actions required by Grand Canyon University at this time.”
SAA announced its audit in January, the second one to take place in under a year; the last SAA audit occurred last May.
GCU President Brian Mueller told AZ Free News that the SAA’s findings were in agreement with two favorable court rulings in recent years, all of which found GCU to not be guilty of the issues that the Biden administration claims exist. Mueller said that these discrepancies were “troubling,” and further indication of an unjust and purposeful targeting.
“The SAA, our accrediting body and two federal judges all looked at the same set of facts as the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. and came to the complete opposite conclusion,” said Mueller. “To have zero findings, praise and a court ruling that our disclosures are clear on one end and then have the U.S. Department of Education impose its largest fine ever on the other… that is very troubling. To be targeted in this manner by the federal government is an egregious example of overreach and the weaponization of these federal agencies.”
The Higher Learning Commission, GCU’s accrediting body, assessed the university’s doctoral disclosures to be “robust and thorough,” providing a “clear” academic and financial pathway for prospective students.
The Biden administration appears to be alone in its unfavorable assessment of GCU; further records to provide context as to why have not been made available for public review, either.
The lack of transparency prompted the Goldwater Institute to sue the Biden administration last month. ED denied their public records request seeking the documents that informed ED’s decision to fine GCU. The records request was spurred by the fact that ED didn’t include student complaints or visitations to GCU as part of their investigation into the university.
In our report issued several days before ED announced its record fine into the university, the Biden administration apparently coordinated efforts between ED, FTC, and VA to investigate GCU after the university sued ED for denying its nonprofit status. The IRS granted nonprofit status to GCU in 2018, but it took until late 2019 for ED to deny the status.
SAA recognized GCU as a private nonprofit in its most recent audit report.
Several months after GCU sued ED in early 2021, the agency launched a multi-year, off-site review of GCU. Several months after ED’s announcement, the FTC announced that it found GCU in violation of federal law; each violation incurs civil penalties of up to $50,000. The last time the FTC exercised the authority it leveled against GCU was in 1978.
The FTC, ED, and VA began their investigations into GCU in 2022.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Mar 13, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
A bill introduced by Republican Rep. David Schweikert aims to prevent wasted taxpayer dollars on Defense Department audit errors.
The Algorithms Utilized to Detect Institutional Transactions (AUDIT) Act ensures the audit of the Department of Defense’s financial statements is conducted using artificial intelligence to help streamline the internal review process. It also mandates that the technology be developed by both the secretary of defense and Inspector general of the Department of Defense.
“Since 2018, the federal government has spent nearly $1 billion annually trying to audit the Department of Defense, and it costs substantially more to correct the mistakes after its completion,” Schweikert said in a statement. “This legislation helps accelerate the adoption of innovative auditing tools to reduce costs and foster creative solutions that will increase government accountability.
The Pentagon employs 2.9 million people and has over half a million assets worth $3.8 trillion, while its liabilities total $4 trillion, according to Schweikert’s news release. This means personnel must count every single piece of inventory, including military equipment, supplies, and property. In 2019, DOD’s audit totaled $428 million in costs. Correcting the errors after the audit increased the costs by an additional $472 million.
Since it first started auditing itself in 2018, the Defense Department has failed to achieve a clean financial audit each year The 2023 audit required 1,600 auditors and 700 site visits to complete, costing $187 billion and earning a “disclaimer of opinion” rating. This means the department was unable to provide enough financial information to auditors for them to form an opinion.
The bill requires the defense secretary to retire outdated financial management systems that have led to the Pentagon failing six consecutive audits, and directs the secretary to adopt newer technology to facilitate the audit.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues to help modernize how Congress conducts such oversight to protect hardworking taxpayers,” Schweikert said.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Mar 13, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A Republican proposal for groundwater policy is making its way through the Arizona State legislature.
Late last month, the Arizona State Senate passed SB 1221, which “establishes a process for the designation of a basin management area (BMA) and an active BMA in any location not included in an active management area (AMA), to be initiated by petition to the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, [and] outlines the goals of an active BMA, active BMA council makeup, rights to water, reporting requirements, and requirements for the continuation or termination of an active BMA” – according to the purpose provided by the chamber.
The proposal passed the State Senate with a 16-12 vote (with two members not voting).
In a statement after the vote, Senator Sine Kerr, the bill’s sponsor, sharply criticized the state’s Democrat governor for the process and policies of her work on this issue. Kerr said, “In her State of the State Address, Hobbs made it clear she would work with the Legislature to enact groundwater policy. Sadly, she reneged on this commitment. I sent a letter this week to the Arizona Dept. of Water Resources urging the immediate withdrawal of her Administration’s proposal for an Active Management Area designation for the Gila Bend Groundwater Basin. Circumventing the Legislature sets a dangerous and undemocratic precedent in which our citizens did not approve of.”
The southwest Valley lawmaker added, “For months, I’ve committed time to researching and developing a tool that empowers rural Arizonans to manage, measure, conserve, and protect the groundwater within their communities for the benefit of their citizens and their local economies. Although still a work in progress, SB 1221 reflects the input of the actual water users whose voices were diminished within the Governor’s Water Policy Council. Her executive action promises to have detrimental impacts on rural Arizonans.”
When Senator Kerr introduced her bill, she compared her legislation to the “alternative proposals that would hand over the fate of local basins to the Executive Branch located hundreds of miles away, and under appointments all made from Phoenix.” Kerr was previously a member of Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs’ Water Policy Council, which was created last year “to analyze and recommend updates, revisions and additions to the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act (GMA) and related water legislation, which shall include without limitation, analysis and recommendations for groundwater management outside current Active Management Areas.” Hobbs referred to this council as “bipartisan,” though Senator Kerr, resigned from her post in October, alleging that the Council was “nothing more than a forum to rubberstamp the progressive environmental goals of special interest groups,” and that “this community (of Arizona citizens and stakeholders) is not being provided with fair representation at the table.”
Along with Kerr, the Arizona Farm Bureau also announced its withdrawal from the Council that month, opining, “…the outcome of the greater Council appears to be pre-determined as essentially a cross between the seriously flawed attempts of the past and an AMA (Active Management Areas).”
At the end of November 2023, the Governor’s Water Policy Council reported back with its recommendations. Those included “a launch point and guidance for drafting new rules for an Alternative Designation of Assured Water Supply (ADAWS) program,” as well as “a foundational framework to craft legislation for creating a new groundwater management program for rural Arizona.”
In Hobbs’ second State of the State address this past January, she took time to discuss the importance of water for Arizona and her past and future work on this front. Hobbs said, “Let us remember that water and drought do not care about party registration or job titles or whether you live in an urban or rural community. We can only protect our water supply by working together. I stand ready to work with you to pass legislation that makes the changes we need today – all to safeguard Arizona’s water for tomorrow. And those who have spent years refusing to act: if you don’t, I will.”
That last line earned the Democrat governor an ovation from her allies in the Arizona House chamber, yet a warning of legal repercussions from two powerful lawmakers who were listening to her words.
Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope responded, “Yeah, I don’t think she has that type of authority to act alone but she seems willing to bend the State Constitution to her will pretty often so I’m sure she’ll try and I’m sure we’ll see her in court.”
Shope’s colleague, Senate President Warren Petersen, added on to the comment, writing, “Kind of like when she broke the law by appointing 13 fake directors?”
SB 1221 will now be considered by the Arizona House of Representatives.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Mar 12, 2024 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
On Monday, an Arizona Senate bill requiring equal medical treatment and insurance coverage for detransitioners advanced out of a House committee.
SB1511 passed narrowly out of the House Health & Human Services Committee along party lines, 5-4. Rep. Matt Gress (R-LD04) was absent. The bill would require parity of treatment between those who transition and those seeking to detransition; it wouldn’t compel healthcare providers or insurers to provide their services to detransitioners if their services don’t include gender transitions.
The bill sponsor, Sen. Janae Shamp (R-LD29), said during the committee’s Monday hearing that the state doesn’t currently provide complete care for all who suffer from gender dysphoria. The senator explained that billing and diagnoses codes exist for those undergoing gender transitions, but that none exist for detransitioners. Shamp explained that the bill includes a requirement for data tracking in order to better understand detransitioning rates and quality of care.
“This isn’t about what we believe, this is about taking care of people who need medical coverage,” said Shamp.
Several showed up to testify in favor of the bill.
David Boettger, a recently retired pediatrician from Salt Lake City and unpaid consultant for the political advocacy group Do No Harm, offered some data on those who transition. Boettger claimed that transgender individuals suffer from 19 times the suicide rate, five times more suicide attempts, 3.5 times more in-patient psychiatric admissions, and 2.5 times for cancer diagnoses. He characterized transitioning as a “ticking time bomb.”
Another Do No Harm representative, emergency doctor Carrie Mendoza, insisted that SB1511 assured individuals would receive insurance coverage that is critical to access and quality care. Mendoza testified that she handled detransitioners suffering from wound care problems, UTIs, and frequent pain, and that a lack of medical codes for treating detransitioners has caused their issues to go unreported, therefore limiting the healthcare community’s understanding of their needs.
Further testimony came from attorney Martha Shoultz, a representative of the organization Transition Justice. Shoultz testified on how young people who come to her organization have expressed difficulty in finding doctors who can balance hormones. Shoultz testified to the existence of several girls bound in wheelchairs or in need of lifelong medication due to uterine atrophy, and young men who never can have their same sexual functions after transitioning.
In closing, Shamp emphasized that her bill wasn’t partisan, but rather focused on assisting those left without recourse under the current healthcare system. Shamp said that she had engaged in numerous discussions with detransitioners troubled by doctors not knowing how to take care of them. Shamp said that one Arizonan told her that he would have to move to Israel in order to receive the care he needs.
“I understand that this has become a partisan issue, and I wish it wasn’t,” said Shamp. “That’s not what this bill is. Hear me when I say this is about taking care of all people. This isn’t about whether we agree or disagree on gender dysphoria or transitioning.”
Rep. Selina Bliss (R-LD01) expressed her support for the bill from her perspective as a nurse.
“To help someone with gender dysphoria to a certain point and abandon them, I just can’t sit here silently,” said Bliss.
Ahead of her “no” vote, Rep. Patty Contreras (D-LD12) read aloud from a coalition of LGBTQ individuals declaring the bill to be an “unnecessary and gratuitous excuse” to delegitimize gender transitions. Contreras’ letter denied the existence of detransitioners, claiming they were forced to detransition due to the harassment and discrimination they faced after transitioning.
Rep. Sarah Ligouri (D-LD05) said that the legislation constituted “government overreach,” specifically the datakeeping measure within the bill as a registry of individuals who transitioned genders.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, the bill would require health insurers and healthcare providers who provide gender transition services to also provide detransition services. Additionally, the bill would require health insurers to submit monthly reports to the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions detailing the number of gender detransition insurance claims; the age, sex, and state and county of residence of individuals who receive any gender detransition procedures, and the dates of the procedures. The reports wouldn’t include any names or personal information.
The bill would also require state agencies that issue licenses, certificates, permits, or any other official documents to adopt an expedited procedure for detransitioners seeking corrections to their official documents.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Mar 12, 2024 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
A veterans-related bill is making its way through the Arizona Legislature, but failing to pick up the bipartisan support that may be needed for Governor Katie Hobbs’ signature.
Earlier this month, the Arizona State Senate approved SB 1308, which “prescribes requirements and procedures that individuals assisting with veterans’ benefits matters before the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services (ADVS) or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (U.S. VA) must fulfill prior to receiving compensation for such services” – according to the purpose from the chamber.
All Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while 12 Democrats joined in opposition to its passage from the chamber. Two Democrats did not vote.
After the vote, the Arizona State Senate Republicans “X” account wrote, “Senate Democrats voted ‘NO’ on a bill protecting veterans from being financially taken advantage of when seeking advice on their benefits.”
SB 1308 was sponsored by Senator Wendy Rogers and co-sponsored by Senators Anthony Kern and Justine Wadsack.
Rogers cheered on the green light for her legislation, stating, “My SB 1308 passed the Arizona Senate offering us military veterans more options for help seeking disability claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
One of the provisions of the legislation would “prohibit a person from receiving compensation for advising, consulting or assisting an individual regarding a veterans’ benefits matter before ADVS or the U.S. VA; or referring an individual to another person to advise, consult or assist the individual with a veterans’ benefits matter.”
The bill does allow for “a person to receive compensation for advising, consulting or assisting an individual with a veterans’ benefits matter if the person, prior to providing any services, prepares an agreement to be signed by all parties that contains the following: a) the terms of the agreement, including the payment amount for the services being provided; and b) a disclosure written in 12-point font, in a readily noticeable and easily identifiable place, stating that the business is not sponsored, endorsed by or affiliated with ADVS or the U.S. VA or other federally chartered veterans’ service organization, and that specified organizations may be able to provide the veteran with the same services free of charge.”
On the Arizona Legislature’s Request to Speak system, a representative from Arizona Veterans signed in as neutral on the bill.
Derek Debus, a Military, Veterans, and Firearms Attorney, posted his displeasure with Senate Republicans over the passage of this bill on his “X” account, writing that SB 1308 “incentivizes and legitimizes unaccredited claims sharks and fraud mills from getting rich defrauding our veterans and taxpayers, [and] does not fix a single problem with Veterans’ access to legal representation by creates a whole host of problems and barriers.”
The bill now heads to the Arizona House of Representatives for consideration.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Daniel Stefanski | Mar 12, 2024 | Education, News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Many Arizona state schools may not be teaching students about the Holocaust.
Earlier this month, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne revealed that 322 of 750 Arizona districts and charter schools (approximately 43 percent) “have affirmed that they are teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides as required by state law.” Most of the state’s district and charter schools did not respond, according to Horne.
At the start of the year, Horne requested that “all Arizona district and charter schools report their compliance with state law that requires students to be taught about the Holocaust and other genocides.”
In a statement, Horne said, “After the horrific events of October 7, there was a one-sided pro-Hamas presentation at Desert Mountain High School that produced antisemitism among students and made Jewish students uncomfortable and fearful. If Holocaust studies are presented properly, students will be less gullible to antisemitic presentations. I am gratified that 322 districts and charters are following the law, with many of them taking anywhere from two to four weeks to do the instruction. That is commendable, but we need this bill to be sure all districts and charters are in compliance with the intent of the law.”
The law giving the state’s schools chief authority to require the information from Arizona schools was HB 2241, which was passed by the legislature and signed into law by then-Governor Doug Ducey in 2021. The bill was sponsored by Alma Hernandez, a Democrat. It passed both chambers with almost unanimous support. Ducey, in his letter to then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, informed her that he was signing the legislation to “ensure that we continue to teach our students the history of past atrocities, which in return will instill greater compassion, critical thinking, societal awareness, and educational growth in our students.”
Horne’s original deadline for Arizona schools to report to the state Department of Education was January 24. However, Horne announced in early February that he would be extending the deadline to February 23 due to the lack of responses from schools.
Not only did Horne extend the deadline for schools to report compliance with the law, but he is hoping state legislators and the governor are able to strengthen the statute for future students. He again noted that two Arizona state lawmakers have embarked on a bipartisan mission to pass a bill that would “require students in grades 7-12 to twice complete a three-day program on the Holocaust and other genocides.”
The Republican Superintendent added, “Current state law requires teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides, but it does not specify how much time is spent. We surveyed districts and charters to find out if they are following the law, but more than half did not respond. This shows the need for HB 2779, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Republican Rep. David Marshall and Democrat Rep, Alma Hernandez to be passed and signed into law.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
