The $5.8 Billion Revolving Door: How Refugee Resettlement Agencies Lobby the Government That Funds Them

Investigation by Project Milk Carton

The Constitutional Republic and SpartanAltsobaPatriot

Jan 18, 2026

Investigation reveals federal officials rotating into leadership at agencies they once oversaw—while those agencies spend millions lobbying for more funding

By Project Milk Carton | January 17, 2026

Nine voluntary agencies contracted by the State Department to resettle refugees have received $5.8 billion in federal funding since 2017. During that time, at least two of them spent $1.2 million on registered lobbying—generating roughly $4,730 in federal grants for every dollar spent influencing Congress.

But the disclosed lobbying figures likely tell only part of the story.

The real concern isn’t just the money. It’s the people moving between the agencies receiving it and the federal offices distributing it.

The Revolving Door

Eskinder Negash served as Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement under President Obama from 2009 to 2015. During his tenure, federal money flowed heavily to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI).

When he left ORR in 2015, he returned to USCRI—as its President and CEO.

According to sources cited in the investigation: “Eskinder’s gone back to USCRI to run all the contracts he sent there.” When the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops lost a trafficking contract under Negash’s watch, the bulk of that funding went to USCRI.

Negash isn’t alone. Lavinia Limon served as ORR Director from 1993 to 2001 under President Clinton, then became Executive Director of USCRI. She later appointed Negash to ORR.

Bob Carey moved from Vice President of Resettlement and Migration Policy at the International Rescue Committee—where he also chaired the Refugee Council USA advocacy coalition—to ORR Director under Obama.

Amanda Catanzano went from Director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council to Vice President of Global Policy and Solutions at IRC. She’s now a registered lobbyist who has testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Oversight.

Before Negash left ORR, he created a new position within the agency for Patricia Swartz—who came from USCRI.

The Money Flow

Between 2017 and 2025, the seven VOLAGs tracked in HHS TAGGS grants received:

USCRI: $2,091,294,453 (446 awards)
LIRS/Global Refuge: $1,877,462,840 (622 awards)
International Rescue Committee: $764,537,551 (632 awards)
Church World Service: $581,657,067 (150 awards)
HIAS: $180,913,800 (156 awards)
Ethiopian Community Development Council: $179,717,463 (87 awards)
World Relief: $162,033,134 (110 awards)

Total: $5,837,616,308 across 2,203 federal awards.

The Lobbying Disclosures

Only two VOLAGs filed formal lobbying disclosure reports between 2018 and 2024:

International Rescue Committee:- 2018: $90,000

2019: $103,570
2020: $82,149
2021: $90,772
2022: $191,428
2023: $145,449
2024: $50,731
Total: $754,099

Global Refuge (formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service):

2019: $160,000
2020: $160,000
2022: $80,000
2023: $80,000
Total: $480,000

Combined disclosed lobbying: $1,234,099

IRC’s registered lobbyist is Amanda Catanzano, the former National Security Council official. Her contact information appears on Senate lobbying disclosure forms: 1030 15th St., Suite 750, Washington, DC 20005.

The Lobbying Loophole

The actual advocacy spending is almost certainly higher than disclosed figures suggest. Under federal law, 501(c)(3) charities can spend up to 20% of their budgets on lobbying without formal disclosure. Grassroots lobbying, member mobilization, public campaigns, coalition coordination costs, and in-house policy staff salaries often aren’t reported as lobbying expenditures.

Several VOLAGs have retained external lobbying firms. In 2023 filings, USCRI was represented by Allegiance Strategies, LLC. Catholic Charities—a VOLAG partner—retained multiple firms including Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, DeSiMone Consulting, ArentFox Schiff LLP, Corley Consulting, and R&R Partners. These firms reported $0 in expenses for those periods, which may indicate filing without reported activity.

The Coalition Network

All nine VOLAGs are members of Refugee Council USA (RCUSA), a coalition of 41+ organizations that coordinates refugee advocacy. RCUSA received 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in 2021 (Tax ID: 87-1437940). Its Executive Director is John Slocum.

Investigation data visualization

RCUSA’s full member list includes all nine VOLAGs plus:

Catholic Charities USA
Episcopal Migration Ministries
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
International Catholic Migration Commission
Amnesty International
Human Rights First
Islamic Relief USA
National Partnership for New Americans
Refugees International
Welcoming America
Refugee Congress
Oxfam America
And 20+ other organizations

Each year, RCUSA brings 150+ advocates to Washington for “Advocacy Days.” These events include congressional briefings, constituent meetings, teach-ins, and advocacy training.

Historical pages archived via the Wayback Machine show RCUSA hosting resources titled “Write Your Member of Congress” and “The Need to Contact Members of Congress.” Advocacy Days were held in 2021, 2022, and 2023, with archived pages documenting each event.

The Dependency Problem

According to Center for Immigration Studies analysis, VOLAGs receive between 57% and 98% of their funding from the federal government. Episcopal Migration Ministries—a VOLAG partner—receives 97-99.5% of its funding from federal sources, according to Form 990 data and media reports.

Former ORR official David Robinson stated: “The federal government provides about ninety percent of [the VOLAGs’] collective budget” and their “lobbying umbrella wields enormous influence over the Administration’s refugee admissions policy.”

VOLAGs operate on a per-capita reimbursement model. More refugees resettled means more federal funding received. Agencies funded almost entirely by taxpayer dollars are lobbying the government for policies that directly increase their revenue.

The Executive Compensation

While receiving billions in federal grants, VOLAG executives command substantial salaries. Form 990 data shows aggregated officer compensation at peak years:

IRC: $3,659,704
LIRS/Global Refuge: $3,411,649
HIAS: $2,980,852
World Relief: $1,159,203
USCRI: $1,036,144
Church World Service: $819,556

IRC CEO David Miliband—a former UK Foreign Secretary who served from 2007 to 2010—received $1,253,728 in total compensation in 2022. This included:

Base salary: $1,086,979
Bonus: $150,000
Housing allowance: $50,000

According to media reports, Miliband’s salary increased by $111,000 while IRC cut staff and reduced aid projects. HIAS executive Mark Hetfield received approximately $316,000 in 2017, according to Form 990 data.

Red Flags

The investigation identified multiple concerns:

Critical Issues:

Multiple ORR directors have moved to or from VOLAGs they previously oversaw
Allegations of contract steering—USCRI received contracts previously held by USCCB under Negash’s ORR tenure
Extreme federal dependency (97-99% for some agencies) creates structural conflicts of interest
Disclosed lobbying amounts don’t match apparent advocacy activity levels
Coalition coordination through RCUSA may constitute unreported coalition lobbying

Additional Concerns:

CEO salaries exceeding $1 million at organizations receiving billions in federal funds
RCUSA “Advocacy Days” strategically timed to congressional appropriations cycle
Limited transparency—many VOLAGs do not disclose lobbying despite documented advocacy activities

What Should Happen Next

The investigation recommends five actions:

IRS auditof Form 990 Schedule C (lobbying disclosures) for all nine VOLAGs
Government Accountability Office reviewcross-referencing lobbying disclosure with actual advocacy spending
Inspector General investigationinto ORR-VOLAG revolving door practices and contract steering allegations
Congressional oversight hearingon VOLAG lobbying and federal funding dependency
FARA reviewto determine if any VOLAG advocacy serves foreign government interests

The Bottom Line

The refugee resettlement program serves legitimate humanitarian purposes. But when the same individuals rotate between federal oversight positions and the agencies they regulate—while those agencies lobby for policies that directly increase their funding—the system demands scrutiny.

Former government officials shouldn’t be able to steer contracts to agencies, then leave to run those agencies. Nonprofits receiving 97% of their funding from taxpayers shouldn’t be spending that money lobbying for more. And when disclosure rules allow millions in advocacy spending to go unreported, Congress has no way to track the influence.

Taxpayers deserve to know how their money moves, who’s moving it, and where it goes.

Methodology: This investigation analyzed 2,203 federal grant awards from the HHS TAGGS NGO Grants Database (2017-2025), 98+ Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings, IRS Form 990 executive compensation data for all seven VOLAGs, and IRS Business Master File records. OSINT tools included theHarvester (domain reconnaissance), waybackurls (historical URL discovery for RCUSA advocacy pages), and whois (domain registration lookup). Additional sources: InfluenceWatch.org organizational profiles, Refugee Council USA coalition membership documentation, OpenSecrets lobbying disclosure aggregation, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer Form 990 database, Center for Immigration Studies federal funding analysis, and C-SPAN congressional testimony records. All database queries, API calls, and OSINT tool executions are documented in the original investigation report (VOLAG-LOBBY-2026-01-17).