[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 6, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1418-H1419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ELIMINATING GOVERNMENT-FUNDED OIL-PAINTING ACT

  Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(S. 188) to prohibit the use of Federal funds for the costs of painting 
portraits of officers and employees of the Federal Government, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 S. 188

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Eliminating Government-
     funded Oil-painting Act'' or the ``EGO Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR PORTRAITS.

       (a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 13 of title 31, 
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``Sec. 1355. Prohibition on use of funds for portraits

       ``(a) No funds appropriated or otherwise made available to 
     the Federal Government may be used to pay for the painting of 
     a portrait of an officer or employee of the Federal 
     Government, including the President, the Vice President, a 
     Member of Congress, the head of an executive agency, or the 
     head of an office of the legislative branch.
       ``(b) In this section--
       ``(1) the term `executive agency' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 133 of title 41; and
       ``(2) the term `Member of Congress' includes a Delegate or 
     Resident Commissioner to Congress.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for 
     subchapter III of chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding after the item relating to section 1354 
     the following new item:

``1355. Prohibition on use of funds for portraits.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Iowa (Mr. Blum) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration, including 
an exchange of letters on the House companion bill, H.R. 1701, between 
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on 
House Administration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Iowa?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 188, the Eliminating 
Government-Funded Oil-Painting Act, a bill introduced by Senator Bill 
Cassidy. In years past, the Federal Government spent hundreds of 
thousands of dollars on portraits of government officials. Taxpayer 
funds should be invested in programs that benefit taxpayers and our 
country, not oil paintings of Cabinet members to boost their egos.
  That is why today we consider S. 188, the Eliminating Government-
Funded Oil-Painting Act, otherwise known as the ``EGO Act.'' The EGO 
Act makes clear, once and for all, that government agencies cannot 
spend taxpayer dollars on oil paintings.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense, 
bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

         House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and 
           Government Reform,
                                 Washington, DC, December 6, 2017.
     Hon. Gregg Harper,
     Chairman, Committee on House Administration, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: On September 13, 2017, the Committee on 
     Oversight and Government Reform ordered reported H.R. 1701,

[[Page H1419]]

     the ``Eliminating Government-funded Oil-painting Act'' with 
     an amendment, by voice vote. The bill was referred primarily 
     to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, with an 
     additional referral to the Committee on House Administration.
       I ask that you allow the Committee on House Administration 
     to be discharged from further consideration of the bill so 
     that it may be scheduled by the Majority Leader. This 
     discharge in no way affects your jurisdiction over the 
     subject matter of the bill, and it will not serve as 
     precedent for future referrals. In addition, should a 
     conference on the bill be necessary, I would support your 
     request to have the Committee on House Administration 
     represented on the conference committee. Finally, I would be 
     pleased to include this letter and any response in the bill 
     report filed by the Committee on Oversight and Government 
     Reform, as well as in the Congressional Record during floor 
     consideration, to memorialize our understanding.
       Thank you for your consideration of my request.
           Sincerely,
     Trey Gowdy.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                            Committee on House Administration,

                                 Washington, DC, December 6, 2017.
     Hon. Trey Gowdy,
     Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter regarding H.R. 
     1701. As you know, the bill was received in the House of 
     Representatives on March 23, 2017, and referred primarily to 
     the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and in 
     addition to the Committee on the Committee on House 
     Administration. The bill seeks to restrict funds appropriated 
     or otherwise made available to the Federal Government from 
     being used to pay for the painting of a portrait of an 
     officer or employee of the Federal Government, including the 
     President, the Vice President, a Member of Congress, the head 
     of an executive agency, or the head of an office of the 
     legislative branch. On September 13, 2017, your Committee 
     ordered H.R. 1701 to be reported with an amendment by voice 
     vote.
       I realize that discharging the Committee on House 
     Administration from further consideration of H.R. 1701 will 
     serve in the best interest of the House of Representatives 
     and agree to do so. It is the understanding of the Committee 
     on House Administration that forgoing action on H.R. 1701 
     will not prejudice the Committee with respect to appointment 
     of conferees or any future jurisdictional claim. I request 
     that your letter and this response be included in the bill 
     report filed by your Committee, as well as in the 
     Congressional Record.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Gregg Harper,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This is a sad day in the swamp, to eliminate oil paintings of men and 
women who consider themselves very important, to make sure that 
taxpayer funds are never used for such a thing; sad day for the swamp 
in Washington.
  One can come to the Capitol and look at oil paintings that bestride 
every corridor and wall, in hearing rooms here in the Capitol, and not 
know most of these people. We haven't got a clue who most of them are. 
We recognize John Adams, but when we go to committee hearing rooms, one 
or two chairmen past, we often don't know who they are.
  I guess it was an attempt to achieve immortality, but it really is an 
act of ego that is a little embarrassing, even for Washington, D.C.
  This is an important bill, a commonsense bill, that brings us all 
back to Earth; that none of us is expendable and that, frankly, we make 
our contribution and we move on.
  This bill strikes at the uncontrolled egos and, I hope, sends a 
message to those narcissists among us that they can stay that way if 
they wish, but the taxpayer is not going to pay for their oil painting.
  I thank my friend from Iowa for bringing up the bill. I support the 
bill, and urge its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I would like to make the gentleman from 
Virginia aware that I have no further speakers and I am prepared to 
close. I enjoy my colleague from Virginia's rather dry sense of wit and 
humor.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Iowa, with whom I 
share a dry sense of humor. I will remind him, being Irish, that 
leprechauns are always on the shoulder, especially this time of year.
  Mr. Speaker, I like this bill. I think most taxpayers are going to 
like this bill. I think it is high time we acted on this kind of 
improvement and injected a sense of humility and humanity into our 
enterprise here in the United States Capitol. I urge passage of this 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BLUM. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back 
the balance of my time
  Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 188, the 
Eliminating Government-funded Oil-painting Act, an acronym for the EGO 
Act.
  S. 188 is the Senate companion to H.R. 1401, legislation that I 
introduced along with Representatives Jim Bridenstine, Cheri Bustos, 
Walter Jones, Leonard Lance, David McKinley, Pete Olson, and Tom Rice.
  My friend and former House colleague, Senator Bill Cassidy, is the 
lead sponsor of S. 188 which passed the Senate unanimously on September 
18, 2017.
  The EGO Act would prohibit Federal funds from being used to pay for 
the costs of painting portraits of officers and employees of the 
Federal Government. Federal agencies have spent hundreds of thousands 
of dollars on portraits that are displayed within agency buildings, 
often in secure locations that are not open to the public. Although 
this money is only a fraction of a percentage of the federal budget, it 
represents a failure to exercise fiscal restraint. Every dollar the 
government spends on vanity projects for federal officials is a dollar 
that is not spent improving the lives of everyday Americans.
  Congress has the responsibility to ensure that taxpayer dollars are 
being used efficiently and effectively. For these reasons, I am proud 
to sponsor the EGO Act, and urge the House to pass S. 188, sending it 
to the President's desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Blum) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, S. 188, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``An Act to amend 
title 31, United States Code, to prohibit the use of Federal funds for 
the costs of painting portraits of officers and employees of the 
Federal Government, and for other purposes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________