[Senate Report 116-17]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress  }                                            {   Report
                                SENATE                          
1st Session     }                                            {   116-17
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     




                     ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON

                         HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS


                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                                and its

                             SUBCOMMITTEES

                                for the

                     ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
                     


[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                 March 25, 2019.--Ordered to be printed
                 
                 
                 
                            _________ 
                      
              U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
 89-010                WASHINGTON : 2019                     
                 
                 
                 
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah                    KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
RICK SCOTT, Florida                  KRYSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Staff Director
               David M. Weinberg, Minority Staff Director
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                                 ------                                

  COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS DURING THE 
                             115TH CONGRESS

                    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona\3\              CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  JON TESTER, Montana\1\
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota            MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
STEVE DAINES, Montana                KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
JON KYL, Arizona\4\                  DOUG JONES, Alabama\2\

                                 ------                                

                  SUBCOMMITTEES OF THE 115TH CONGRESS
             PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS (PSI)

                      ROB PORTMAN, Ohio, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona\3\              THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  JON TESTER, Montana\1\
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
STEVE DAINES, Montana                GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
JON KYL, Arizona\4\                  MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
                                 ------                                

       FEDERAL SPENDING OVERSIGHT AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (FSO)

                     RAND PAUL, Kentucky, Chairman
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota            KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
                                     DOUG JONES, Alabama\2\
            REGULATORY AFFAIRS AND FEDERAL MANAGEMENT (RAFM)

                   JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona\3\              HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
STEVE DAINES, Montana                KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
JON KYL, Arizona\4\

\1\Senator Jon Tester served on the Committee January 17, 2017 to 
January 9, 2018.
\2\Senator Doug Jones joined the Committee January 9, 2018 and was 
assigned subcommittees on January 17, 2018.
\3\Senator John McCain died August 25, 2018.
\4\Senator Jon Kyl joined the Committee on September 6, 2018 and was 
assigned subcommittees on September 17, 2018.





                                CONTENTS

                                 ------                                
                                                                   Page
  I. Highlights of Activities.........................................1

        A. Border and Immigration Security.......................     2
        B. Cybersecurity.........................................     5
        C. Critical Infrastructure...............................     7
        D. Terrorism.............................................     8
        E. DHS REFORMS...........................................    10
        F. Oversight of Federal Agencies & Government Programs...    11
        G. Regulatory Reform.....................................    17
        H. Waste, Fraud, and Abuse...............................    19

 II. Committee Jurisdiction..........................................20
III. Bills and Resolutions Referred and Considered...................23
 IV. Hearings........................................................23
  V. Reports, Prints, and GAO Reports................................36
 VI. Official Communications.........................................50
VII. Legislative Actions.............................................51
        Measures Enacted Into Law................................    51
        Postal Naming Bills......................................    66
VIII.Activities of the Subcommittees.................................71


             Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI)

  I. Historical Background...........................................71

        A. Subcommittee Jurisdiction.............................    71

        B. Subcommittee Investigations...........................    73

 II. Subcommittee Hearings during the 115th Congress.................79

III. Legislation Activities during the 115th Congress................83

 IV. Reports, Prints, and Studies....................................84

       Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management (FSO)

  I. Authority......................................................102

 II. Activity.......................................................102

III. Legislation....................................................109

            Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management (RAFM)

  I. Authority......................................................112

 II. Activity.......................................................112

III. Legislation....................................................116

 IV. GAO Reports....................................................117




116th Congress   }                                       {   Report
                                SENATE
1st Session      }                                       {   116-17
                                                      

======================================================================



 
                ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND

                   SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                       DURING THE 115TH CONGRESS

                                _______
                                

                 March 25, 2019--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. JOHNSON, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                                 REPORT

    This report reviews the legislative and oversight 
activities of the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs and its Subcommittees during the 115th 
Congress. These activities were conducted pursuant to the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, as amended; by Rule 
XXV(k) of the Standing Rules of the Senate; and by additional 
authorizing resolutions of the Senate. See Section II, 
``Committee Jurisdiction,'' for details.
    Senator Ron Johnson was Chairman of the Committee during 
the 115th Congress; Senator Claire McCaskill was the Ranking 
Member.
    Major activities of the Committee during the 115th Congress 
included oversight and legislation involving border and 
immigration security; cybersecurity; protecting critical 
infrastructure; combatting terrorism; reauthorizing and 
reforming the Department of Homeland Security; the Committee's 
oversight jurisdiction; regulatory reform; and reducing waste, 
fraud and abuse in Federal spending. Discussion of these major 
activities appears in Section I below; additional information 
on these and other measures appears in Section VII, 
``Legislative Actions.''
    Extensive information about the Committee's history, 
hearings, legislation, documents, Subcommittees, and other 
matters is available at the Website, http://hsgac.senate.gov/.

                      I. HIGHLIGHTS OF ACTIVITIES

    Under the leadership of Chairman Ron Johnson and Ranking 
Member Claire McCaskill, the Committee established a mission 
statement for the 115th Congress: ``to enhance the economic and 
national security of America and promote more efficient, 
effective, and accountable government.'' In the last 2 years, 
the Committee has shed light on significant national and 
economic security challenges facing the Nation and worked 
collaboratively on bipartisan legislation. Our Committee 
continues to show how much we can accomplish together when we 
focus on areas of agreement.
    To improve our Nation's national security, the Committee 
identified emerging threats facing our Nation and proactively 
addressed them, whether to help secure our borders, strengthen 
our cybersecurity and protect critical infrastructure, combat 
terrorism, or improve the efficiency of the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS, or the Department). The Committee 
helped enact legislation to protect Americans from the threats 
posed by drones in the hands of malicious actors, shield 
Federal networks from foreign adversaries, and improve our 
ability to combat human trafficking.
    To improve our Nation's economic security, the Committee 
has continued its job overseeing the Federal Government to help 
it work better for all Americans. The Committee examined 
political bias in the Federal bureaucracy, the President's 
steel and aluminum tariffs, and how the government can get out 
of the way of patients with terminal illnesses who are looking 
for new and promising treatments to try. The Committee worked 
together to approve bipartisan legislation to protect Federal 
whistleblowers from retaliation, improve the regulatory 
process, and make the government more efficient. The Committee 
also approved dozens of bills that protect taxpayer dollars by 
reducing wasteful government spending and addressing 
inefficient, duplicative, or nontransparent government 
programs.
    In total, the Committee held more than 50 hearings and 
roundtables to study challenges facing the United States and 
identify potential solutions; approved or discharged over 100 
pieces of legislation (not including post office naming bills); 
shepherded close to 50 of these bills through the Senate and 
into law; confirmed 36 of President Trump's nominees; sent more 
than 500 oversight letters; and issued 5 majority staff 
reports.

                   A. BORDER AND IMMIGRATION SECURITY

    Our nation's borders remain unsecure. Smugglers and 
traffickers continue to cross our borders, endangering public 
safety. Legal loopholes create an incentive for people to make 
the dangerous journey to the United States. These problems, 
though widely recognized, persist because Congress as a whole 
refuses to act. Nonetheless, the Committee has continued to lay 
out the reality of our border security and worked to find areas 
of agreement on legislation within its jurisdiction.
    Continuing the Committee's emphasis on border security from 
the 114th Congress, the Committee convened seven hearings 
focused on border security in the 115th Congress. Below are 
highlights from some of those hearings.
    At The Effects of Border Insecurity and Lax Immigration 
Enforcement on American Communities, the Committee heard 
directly from Americans affected by lax border security and 
immigration enforcement, including from a Missouri woman whose 
husband was murdered in his home by an illegal alien who had 
returned to the United States after being deported.\1\ Two 
local law enforcement officers also testified about how illegal 
immigration contributed to crime and drug abuse in their 
communities. The hearing highlighted how our porous borders and 
ports of entry have allowed fentanyl, heroin, and other serious 
drugs to flood into our country killing tens of thousands of 
Americans each year, and led to increased drug violence in 
Mexico.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\The Effects of Border Insecurity and Lax Immigration Enforcement 
on American Communities: Hearing before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & 
Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At Perspectives From the DHS Frontline: Evaluating Staffing 
Resources and Requirements, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees on the 
front lines told the Committee about their staffing resources 
and retention challenges.\2\ Representatives from the ICE Union 
and the National Border Patrol Council testified that they have 
seen an increase in employee morale in the new administration 
because employees were allowed to enforce the Nation's laws.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Perspectives from the DHS Frontline: Evaluating Staffing 
Resources and Requirements: Hearing before the S. Comm. on Homeland 
Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    At Improving Border Security and Public Safety, then-DHS 
Secretary John Kelly explained the considerable challenges we 
face securing the border and committed to use the tools the 
President provided in his executive orders to hire more 
personnel, build more border security infrastructure, and have 
more rigorous interior enforcement.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Improving Border Security and Public Safety: Hearing Before the 
S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee also examined the use of fencing along the 
southwest border. The Committee held a hearing on fencing, 
featuring testimony about DHS's efforts to construct a physical 
wall on the border.\4\ Chairman Johnson released a majority 
staff report, Securing Israel: Lessons Learned from a Nation 
Under Constant Threat of Attack, that assessed Israel's 
approach to border security, aviation security, and 
cybersecurity.\5\ The report noted how the United States can 
learn from Israel's approach to border security, particularly 
with Israel's success in constructing a cost-effective fence 
along its border with Egypt. Fencing along the U.S. southwest 
border cost $3.5 million per mile for 654 miles of pedestrian 
and vehicle barriers. Conversely, Israel spent $2.9 million per 
mile to construct a 143-mile fence with Egypt. The number of 
illegal crossers into Israel from Egypt dropped from 16,000 in 
2011 to less than 20 in 2016.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Fencing Along the Southwest Border: Hearing Before the S. Comm. 
on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2017).
    \5\Majority Staff Report, S. Comm. on Homeland Security & 
Governmental Affairs, Securing Israel: Lessons Learned from a Nation 
under Constant Threat of Attack (FEB. 1, 2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Chairman Johnson received whistleblower documents showing 
that in 2014, at the height of the surge of unaccompanied 
children (UAC) arriving at the southwest border, the Obama 
Administration placed self-identified MS-13 gang members in 
placement centers across the country.\6\ Chairman Johnson 
requested information about these UACs from the Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS). The information the Committee 
received resulted in a hearing to examine the rise of MS-13 and 
other transnational gangs in May 2017.\7\ Because of the 
Committee's oversight, HHS changed its secure care policy on 
June 12, 2017, to ensure HHS considers self-disclosure of gang 
involvement as part of the UAC's placement.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Security 
& Governmental Affairs, to Scott Lloyd, Director, Off. of Refugee 
Resettlement, Dep't of Health & Human Servs. (May 23, 2017).
    \7\Border Insecurity: The Rise of MS-13 and Other Transnational 
Criminal Organizations: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & 
Governmental Affairs 115th Cong. (2017).
    \8\Letter from Barbara Pisaro Clark, Acting Assistant Secretary for 
Legislation, U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs., to Ron Johnson, 
Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs (June 21, 
2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On November 16, 2017, ICE Homeland Security Investigations 
announced the results of Operation Raging Bull, which targeted 
MS-13 domestically and abroad. A total of 267 MS-13 gang 
members were arrested in the operation and of those, 64 had 
illegally entered the United States as UACs. The Committee 
requested materials from DHS to better understand how MS-13 
exploited the UAC crisis to expand its influence in the United 
States.\9\ DHS has yet to produce all the requested documents, 
and the Committee's work continues.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & 
Governmental Affairs, to Thomas D. Homan, Acting Director, U.S. Imm. & 
Customs Enforcement (Feb. 8, 2018
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee also conducted oversight of the Trump 
Administration's ``Zero Tolerance'' policy put into effect in 
April 2018, and considered ways to address the Ninth Circuit's 
reinterpretation of the Flores Settlement Agreement. The 
Committee sought regular updates from the administration about 
the progress it was making reunifying families separated as a 
result of the policy.
    At a hearing entitled the Implications of the 
Reinterpretation of the Flores Settlement Agreement for Border 
Security and Illegal Immigration Incentives, the Committee 
considered the dramatic increase of family unit illegal border 
crossings since the 2015 court reinterpretation of the Flores 
Settlement Agreement and how the ruling entices migrant 
families to make the dangerous journey to the United States 
because they know they will be released.\10\ The number of 
family unit members apprehended at the border since FY2012 has 
increased by a staggering 864 percent.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\The Implications of the Reinterpretation of the Flores 
Settlement Agreement for Border Security and Illegal Immigration 
Incentives: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental 
Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018).
    \11\Dep't of Homeland Security Border Metrics Report (May 1, 2018), 
available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/
BSMR--OIS--2016.pdf; U.S. Border Patrol, Southwest Border Apprehensions 
FY2017-2018 (2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee held more than 20 bipartisan staff briefings, 
took staff delegation trips to family residential centers and 
an immigration court, and continued oversight related to the 
reinterpretation of Flores and current immigration challenges. 
The Committee also held a business meeting on September 26, 
2018, to discuss the FAMILIES Act, a bill introduced by 
Chairman Johnson to begin the conversation about what 
legislative changes are necessary to address loopholes like 
Flores and increase immigration resources.\12\ The Committee's 
work on this important issue will continue in the next 
Congress.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\S. 3478, FAMILIES Act (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In addition to performing oversight and conducting 
hearings, the Committee approved or discharged nine bills to 
improve security at and between U.S. ports of entry. For 
example, one bill approved by the Committee would ensure 
greater accountability over major border acquisitions.\13\ Two 
other bills approved by the Committee and signed into law 
authorize and strengthen the Department's program to combat 
human trafficking and extend the Asia-Pacific Economic 
Cooperation Business Travel Cards program, making it easier for 
American businessmen and women to do business in APEC 
countries.\14\ Still another bill approved by the Committee and 
passed by the Senate improves pay and retention awards for CBP 
employees.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\S. 146, Border Security Technology Accountability Act of 2017 
(115th Cong.).
    \14\Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign Authorization Act 
of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-125 (115th Cong.); Asia-Pacific Economic 
Cooperation Business Travel Cards Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-179 
(115th Cong.)
    \15\ S. 1305, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Hiring and 
Retention Act of 2017 (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            B. CYBERSECURITY

    Cyberattacks targeting government agencies, private 
businesses, and individuals are increasing in frequency and 
scope, costing the U.S. economy an estimated $109 billion in 
2016.\16\ Agencies under the Committee's jurisdiction have 
significant national responsibilities for cybersecurity. DHS 
plays a crucial role in supporting cyber risk mitigation for 
public and private sectors through managing programs that 
implement defensive capabilities to Federal agencies and 
private industry, responding to cybersecurity incidents, and 
developing law enforcement capacity to investigate 
cybercrime.\17\ The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
oversees Federal information security and information 
technology management.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\The Council of Economic Advisors, Executive Office of the 
President, The Cost of Malicious Cyber Activity to the U.S. Economy, 
(Feb. 2018), available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/
uploads/2018/02/The-Cost-of-Malicious-Cyber-Activity-to-the-U.S.-
Economy.pdf; Assessing the Security of Critical Infrastructure: 
Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Solution: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on 
Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018) (Testimony of 
Ted Koppel), available at https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/
assessing-the-security-of-critical-infrastructure-threat-
vulnerabilities-and-solutions.
    \17\DHS Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, Office of 
Cybersecurity and Communications, available at https://www.dhs.gov/
office-cybersecurity-and-communications#; DHS Federal Law Enforcement 
Training Centers (FLETC), Internet Investigations Training Program, 
available at https://www.fletc.gov/training-program/internet-
investigations-training-program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee has worked to conduct oversight and enact 
legislation to support Federal cybersecurity programs, 
including assisting DHS by reorganizing and renaming the 
National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) to form the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).\18\ 
Mitigating the broad range of risks and responding to small-
scale and large-scale incidents requires the continued efforts 
of both private and public sector actors and the legislation 
approved by the Committee reflects that understanding.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \18\Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018, 
Pub. L. No. 115-278 (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee held several hearings to examine how 
effective Federal Government programs implemented by DHS are at 
mitigating cybersecurity risk.\19\ The Committee learned that 
the Department's programs for securing Federal information 
systems and networks were insufficient to mitigate risk, and 
further that DHS could improve its programs to support private-
sector network security.\20\ The Committee learned from the 
Federal Chief Information Officer that the National 
Cybersecurity Protection System was detecting fewer than 4 
percent of the cyber intrusion incidents across Federal 
civilian networks.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \19\Cyber Threats Facing America: An Overview of the Cybersecurity 
Threat Landscape, Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & 
Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2017); Cybersecurity Regulation 
Harmonization Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & 
Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2017); Mitigating America's 
Cybersecurity Risk, Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & 
Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018); Nomination of Christopher C. 
Krebs to be Under Secretary, National Protection and Programs 
Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Hearing Before the 
S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018).
    \20\Mitigating America's Cybersecurity Risk, Hearing Before the S. 
Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018) 
(testimony of Gregory C. Wilshusen).
    \21\Letter from Suzettee Kent, Federal Chief Information Officer, 
to Chairman Ron Johnson (Sept. 14, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee also worked to help agencies protect their 
own networks. Communication and information technology supply 
chain threats are increasingly pervasive and dangerous. The 
National Counterintelligence and Security Center described our 
country as being ``under systemic assault by foreign 
intelligence entities'' who use our supply chains as vectors to 
commit espionage and steal valuable trade secrets.\22\ The 
security of our Federal supply chain has been at the forefront 
since the exposure of Kaspersky Labs and, more recently, with 
Huawei and ZTE. The risks posed by these threats have the 
ability to undermine our democracy, diminish our national 
security, and weaken our economy. In 2018, the Committee 
approved and Congress enacted the Federal Acquisition Supply 
Chain Security Act, introduced by Ranking Member McCaskill and 
Senator James Lankford.\23\ The Act codifies a Federal council 
to examine best practices and information sharing procedures 
for supply chain risks, and provides necessary authorities to 
the Department of Defense, DHS, and the intelligence community 
to prohibit government procurement of certain products that 
pose a threat to security.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \22\Supply Chain Risk Management Intelligence.Gov Background Paper, 
https://www.dni.gov/files/NCSC/documents/products/20170317-NCSC--SCRM-
Background.pdf.
    \23\S. 3085, signed in to law as Pub. L. No. 115-390, Strengthening 
and Enhancing Cyber-capabilities by Utilizing Risk Exposure Technology 
Act (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Private sector and State government experts told the 
Committee about how they navigate duplicative government 
regulatory bodies as they work to secure their networks. The 
Committee's June 2017 hearing highlighted how government 
regulatory bodies have evolved to respond to changing cyber 
threats.\24\ Though these efforts are well-intended, the result 
has been a myriad of duplicative, sometimes conflicting, rules 
imposed on industries throughout the economy. Not only do these 
rules impose regulatory costs, but they can also lessen 
security, as companies from the financial services, tech and 
healthcare sectors, as well as State governments, spend limited 
time and resources concentrating on regulatory compliance at 
the expense of security. The Committee found that one financial 
services firm reports spending 40 percent of its time on 
regulations and reporting requirements, time better spent 
enhancing the security of its networks.\25\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \24\Cybersecurity Regulation Harmonization: Hearing Before the S. 
Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs Comm., 115th Cong. (2017).
    \25\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Finally, the Committee passed and Congress enacted 
legislation to authorize, reorganize, and rename NPPD the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the 
Department of Homeland Security.\26\ The Department viewed the 
legislation as a priority to improve recruiting and public 
awareness of the agency's responsibilities.\27\ The Committee 
also passed and Congress enacted legislation to authorize a bug 
bounty pilot project within DHS to identify and assess any 
vulnerabilities in DHS systems.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \26\Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018, 
Pub. L. No. 115-278 (115th Cong.).
    \27\Nomination of Christopher C. Krebs to be Under Secretary, 
National Protection and Programs Directorate, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security: Hearing Before the S. Homeland Sec. & Governmental 
Affairs Comm., 115th Cong. (2018).
    \28\S. 1281, Hack the Department of Homeland Security Act of 2018, 
signed in to law as Pub. L. No. 115-390, Strengthening and Enhancing 
Cyber-capabilities by Utilizing Risk Exposure Technology Act (115th 
Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       C. CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

    The United States depends on its critical infrastructure, 
particularly the electric power grid, as all critical 
infrastructure sectors are to some degree dependent on 
electricity to operate. DHS is responsible for coordinating 
Federal efforts to secure our Nation's critical infrastructure. 
It is also the sector-specific agency for 10 of the 16 critical 
infrastructure sectors.
    Electromagnetic pulses (EMP) and geomagnetic disturbances 
(GMD) are low-probability, high-risk occurrences that could 
cause significant damage to our Nation's critical 
infrastructure. To date, Federal progress to address this risk 
has been woefully inadequate. On September 15, 2017, Chairman 
Johnson wrote a letter to DHS regarding its failure to provide 
a strategy to Congress to protect and prepare U.S. critical 
infrastructure against EMP and GMD, as required by a provision 
included in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.\29\ 
The Department is not making enough progress to address this 
vulnerability. A Committee hearing titled Evolving Threats to 
the Homeland highlighted the threat of EMPs/GMDs and weak 
government efforts to address the risks.\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \29\Letter from Chairman Ron Johnson, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & 
Governmental Affairs, to Hon. Elaine Duke, Acting Secretary of the 
Dep't of Homeland Sec. (Sept. 15, 2017).
    \30\Evolving Threats to the Homeland: Hearing before the S. Comm. 
on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee also provided oversight and approved reforms 
for the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) 
Program. The CFATS program regulates chemical facilities to 
help prevent terrorists from carrying out an attack with 
dangerous chemicals. Since its start in 2006, watchdogs have 
identified significant problems with the program, including 
questioning whether it successfully reduces risk and enhances 
security, and warned of serious management problems.\31\ The 
program is set to expire in February 2019. The Committee 
conducted extensive oversight of CFATS in the 115th Congress to 
evaluate whether it should be reauthorized and, if so, to 
develop a plan to improve and reauthorize it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \31\Examining the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards 
Program: Roundtable before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental 
Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee held numerous briefings with chemical 
facility owners, trade groups, DHS, and other relevant 
agencies, and the Chairman and Ranking Member asked the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a review of 
the CFATS program. Chairman Johnson also wrote a letter to DHS 
requesting additional information on the CFATS program, 
including the status of multiple overdue reports to 
Congress.\32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \32\Letter from Chairman Ron Johnson, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & 
Governmental Affairs, to Amy Graydon, Acting Director, Infrastructure 
Sec. Compliance Div., Nat'l Protection & Programs Directorate, Dep't of 
Homeland Sec. (Apr. 4, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    On June 12, 2018, the Committee held a roundtable with DHS, 
GAO, a CFATS chemical inspector, and multiple companies and 
industry groups.\33\ The roundtable was an important, frank 
discussion about the program's strengths and weaknesses. The 
Committee learned it is still far from clear that CFATS reduces 
the risk of a terrorist attack, and DHS does not measure 
whether it actually does so. The program forces some explosive 
material companies to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars 
complying with CFATS regulations that are duplicative of 
Justice Department regulations, and subjects companies to 
frequent, unnecessary site inspections. These practices are 
extremely costly and neither reduce risk nor enhance security. 
The program also fails to give credit to companies who already 
comply with other private, sector-specific programs that 
require high standards of care, fails to alert companies to the 
Department's expedited approval process, and needs to improve 
transparency to covered facilities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \33\Examining the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards 
Program: Roundtable before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental 
Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee unanimously approved the Protecting and 
Securing Chemical Facilities from Terrorist Attacks Act of 2018 
by voice vote in September 2018.\34\ The Chairman's bill would 
bring much-needed regulatory relief to U.S. businesses and 
provide them certainty by reauthorizing the program for 5 
years. The Chairman was disappointed that Congress could not 
get reforms across the finish line this year, but the Committee 
will continue its work next Congress.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \34\S. 3405, Protecting and Securing Chemical Facilities From 
Terrorist Attacks Act of 2018 (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee continued to oversee U.S. efforts to protect 
critical infrastructure from foreign cyberattacks. On March 20, 
2018, the Committee received a classified briefing from DHS and 
received an update regarding its assessment of what occurred in 
the 2016 elections. In addition, DHS discussed current threats 
to election infrastructure, how it is working with States, 
election agencies, and election service providers, and how it 
is preparing for the 2018 and 2020 elections. The Committee 
also kept abreast of agencies' efforts to combat Russia's cyber 
campaign targeting U.S. Government entities and multiple 
critical infrastructure sectors.

                              D. TERRORISM

    More than 17 years after the tragedy of September 11th, 
2001, terrorism threats to the homeland persist. Even as the 
United States successfully targets and degrades terrorist 
adversaries abroad, their ideas survive to inspire others. It 
is becoming increasingly clear that the threat of Islamist 
terrorist attacks will exist so long as terror groups can 
motivate extremists to commit attacks wherever they live on 
their behalf. Their methods have evolved, and our strategy must 
adapt as well, including the government's authorities to 
disrupt and prevent attacks from occurring. This Congress the 
Committee examined this changing threat environment and the 
steps we can take to safeguard our Nation.
    The Committee held five hearings and roundtables to explore 
terrorism threats to homeland security, to analyze how ideology 
relates to extremism and terrorism, to identify what new 
methods and technologies terrorists are likely to use next, and 
to develop new strategies on how to counter extremist ideology 
and terror.\35\
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    \35\Ideology and Terror: Understanding the Tools, Tactics, and 
Techniques of Violent Extremism: Hearing Before the S. Homeland Sec. & 
Governmental Affairs Comm., 115th Cong. (2017); Adapting to Defend the 
Homeland Against the Evolving International Terrorist Threat: Hearing 
Before the S. Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs Comm., 115th Cong. 
(2017); S. 2836, the Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018: 
Countering Malicious Drones: Hearing Before the S. Homeland Sec. & 
Governmental Affairs Comm., 115th Cong. (2018); Evolving Threats to the 
Homeland: Hearing Before the S. Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs 
Comm., 115th Cong. (2018); Threats to the Homeland: Hearing Before the 
S. Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs Comm., 115th Cong. (2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee also enacted important legislation to address 
emerging threats to the homeland. Unmanned aerial systems, or 
drones, could pose a variety of threats to the United States. 
Traffickers use drones to conduct surveillance or smuggle 
illegal drugs into our country. Criminals use drones to smuggle 
weapons and other contraband into secure areas including 
Federal prisons. Terrorists use drones to execute their attacks 
against innocent civilians. In 2011, the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation arrested and charged a U.S. citizen for planning 
an attack on the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol with an explosive 
attached to a drone. In 2018, we saw news reports of 
explosives-laden drones used to target the Venezuelan dictator 
Nicolas Maduro. To address this threat, the Committee passed 
and Congress enacted the Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 
2018.\36\ The Act provides DHS and the Department of Justice 
the authority they need to protect certain assets and 
facilities where drones would pose an unacceptable security 
risk to the public.
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    \36\S. 2836, signed in to law as Pub. L. No. 115-254, the FAA 
Reauthorization Act of 2018 (115th Cong.).
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    In 2018, the Committee approved and Congress enacted the 
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 2018 to authorize 
the office and more optimally organize DHS to confront the 
threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.\37\ DHS created 
the Office of Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) in 
2017 to counter the rising danger from threat actors who could 
use chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear agents to 
harm Americans or U.S. interests. The agency drew from the 
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, Office of Chief Medical 
Officer, Office of Health Affairs, and part of the Science and 
Technology Directorate to create the new office. Without 
legislative authority, however, the new office faced fiscal 
challenges.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \37\Pub. L. No. 115-387 (115th Cong.).
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    As American counterterrorism efforts have made complex, 
coordinated attacks more difficult to execute, terrorist 
organizations have gone low-tech. Recent guidance from groups 
like ISIS instructed aspiring extremists to use simple tools to 
inflict small-scale attacks on vulnerable targets. Over the 
last few years we have seen a trend of vehicular terror attacks 
across Europe, including incidents in London and Barcelona. 
Attackers used vehicles as weapons in highly publicized attacks 
in New York, NY in October 2017 and Charlottesville, NC in 
August 2018. To address this threat, the Committee approved and 
Congress enacted the Vehicular Terrorism Prevention Act of 
2018.\38\ The bill requires DHS to conduct an assessment and 
develop a strategy to assist emergency responders and private 
sector entities in preventing, mitigating, and responding to 
the threat of vehicular terrorism.
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    \38\Pub. L. No. 115-609 (115th Cong.).
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    The Committee approved six other bills to help the Federal 
Government combat those who wish to do us harm. Those bills 
include the Biometric Identification Migration Alert Program 
Authorization Act of 2018, to authorize the Department's 
program to help international partners identify suspected 
terrorists and other threat actors abroad before they travel to 
the United States\39\; the Office of Biometric Identity 
Management Authorization Act of 2018, to authorize the 
Department's office assigned the responsibility for maintaining 
a biometric database used to prevent terrorism and other 
threats to national security and public safety\40\; the 
Screening and Vetting Passenger Exchange Act of 2017, which 
requires DHS to establish best practices for advanced passenger 
information for counterterrorism screening\41\; and the REPORT 
Act, a bill to require intelligence agencies to report to 
Congress on individual acts of terrorism that occur in the 
United States\42\.
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    \39\H.R. 6439 (115th Cong.).
    \40\H.R. 5206 (115th Cong.).
    \41\H.R. 4581 (115th Cong.).
    \42\S. 1884 (115th Cong.).
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                             E. DHS REFORMS

    The Committee has primary responsibility within the Senate 
for overseeing and authorizing DHS. During the 115th Congress, 
the Committee took significant action, through oversight and 
legislation, to improve DHS's management and operations.
    2018 marked 15 years since Congress created the Department 
of Homeland Security. The Department has never been fully 
reauthorized, which raises questions about how DHS and its 
components should operate absent clear direction in statute. 
The House passed a reauthorization of the Department in July 
2017 by a vote of 386 to 41.\43\ Our Committee took up the bill 
in early 2018 and approved it by a vote of 10-1. As approved by 
the Committee, the bill would codify and authorize key roles 
and responsibilities for the Department's headquarters offices, 
strengthen the Department's approach to managing its 
acquisition programs, and address recommendations from 
watchdogs like the GAO and the inspector general to improve the 
Department's management and performance. Unfortunately, we were 
not able to clear the full Senate this Congress. Enacting the 
Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act would be an 
important step to strengthen DHS and to establish a process for 
regular authorizations so that Congress clearly defines the 
Department's responsibilities and authorities over time to 
evolve and address emerging threats.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \43\H.R. 2825, Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act 
(115th Cong.).
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    The Committee also passed and Congress enacted legislation 
to improve the country's response to natural disasters. In 
2017, the United States suffered one of the worst hurricane 
seasons on record. The Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA), along with other Federal agencies and State and local 
partners, worked tirelessly to save lives and help communities 
respond to the disasters. The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 
2018, approved by the Committee and enacted in 2018, better 
prepares the Nation for disasters, including by allowing FEMA 
to supplement its workforce with temporary personnel, 
supporting building code modernization, and funding pre-
disaster mitigation projects around the United States.\44\ The 
bill takes an important step toward reforming the way the 
Nation declares disasters, allowing FEMA to focus limited 
Federal resources on the most serious emergencies. Two other 
bills approved by the Committee and enacted by Congress improve 
the process for applicants to apply for disaster relief.\45\
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    \44\S. 3041, signed in to law as Pub. L. No. 115-254, the FAA 
Reauthorization Act of 2018 (115th Cong.).
    \45\Pub. L. No. 115-69 (115th Cong.); Pub. L. No. 115-159 (115th 
Cong.).
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    The Committee also passed and Congress enacted legislation 
to speed up the Department's integration of existing data and 
systems to increase efficiencies.\46\ The bill gives the 
Secretary of DHS 2 years from enactment to implement a data 
framework to integrate existing DHS data and systems. The 
framework itself has been in development since 2013. This 
framework connects and controls access to datasets across 
disparate DHS components to provide those with appropriate 
clearance and duties with real-time access to important data.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \46\S. 2397, DHS Data Framework Act, signed in to law as Pub. L. 
No. 115-331 (115th Cong.).
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    Finally, legislation approved by the Committee and signed 
into law will help improve the Department's management of its 
vehicle fleet\47\ and improve the oversight of major grant 
programs that help local fire departments comply with staffing, 
response, and operational standards.\48\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \47\DHS Save Act, Pub. L. No. 115-38 (115th Cong.).
    \48\United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program 
Reauthorization Act of 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-98 (115th Cong.).
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         F. OVERSIGHT OF FEDERAL AGENCIES & GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS

    All Americans deserve an efficient and effective Federal 
Government. In the 115th Congress, the Committee carried out 
its oversight responsibilities over the Federal bureaucracy to 
help foster a professional, nonpartisan, and accountable 
government. The Committee's oversight jurisdiction stretches 
across all facets of the executive branch. Pursuant to this 
expansive authority, the Committee conducted oversight of 
numerous Federal departments and agencies, ranging from the 
State Department to the Internal Revenue Service to the Justice 
Department's Bureau of Prisons.\49\ The Committee maintains a 
whistleblower hotline for Federal employees to disclose waste, 
fraud, abuse, and misconduct.
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    \49\E.g. Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, & Claire 
McCaskill, Ranking Member, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, 
to Mike Pompeo, Secretary, Dep't of State (May 1, 2018); Letter from 
Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, 
to Steven Mnuchin, Secretary, Dep't of the Treas., & David Kautter, 
Acting Commissioner, Internal Revenue Serv. (May 28, 2018); Letter from 
Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, 
to Hugh J. Hurwitz, Acting Director, Fed. Bureau of Prisons (July 12, 
2018).
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    Chairman Johnson fought to ensure that patients facing 
terminal illnesses have access to potentially life-saving 
treatments by enacting the Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, 
Jordan McLinn, and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act of 
2017.\50\ Patients like Trickett Wendler, who passed away in 
2015 from ALS without the chance to access new, experimental 
medication that could have helped prolong her life. And like 
Jordan McLinn, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, 
and until just recently was not allowed to access promising 
treatments that have helped other little boys in trials. The 
drug development process, including Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) approval--more than 4 years longer in the 
2000s than the 1990s\51\ and 145 percent more expensive in 2014 
than it was 10 years earlier\52\--is keeping patients from 
accessing innovative new drugs. Congress enacted the law in 
2018, and already Americans are gaining access to treatments 
that they could not have otherwise.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \50\Pub. L. No. 115-176 (115th Cong.).
    \51\Fabio Pammolli, Laura Magazzini, and Massimo Riccaboni, The 
Productivity Crisis in Pharmaceutical R&D,, VOL. 10 AT 429, Nature 
Reviews Drug Discovery (JUNE 2011).
    \52\Joseph A. Dimasi, Henry G. Grabowski, and Ronald W. Hansen, 
``Cost of Developing a New Drug,'' Briefing, Tufts Center for the Study 
of Drug Development (Nov. 18, 2014), http://csdd.tufts.edu/news/
complete--story/pr--tufts--csdd--2014--cost--study.
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    The Fair Chance Act, approved by the Committee, gives an 
opportunity to formerly incarcerated individuals to have a fair 
chance at employment.\53\ The dignity of work is probably the 
best way we can keep people from turning back to a life of 
crime.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \53\S. 2021, Fair Chance Act, S. Rep. No. 114-200 (2016).
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    The Committee also unanimously approved five bills\54\, 
four of which became law, that will provide more robust 
protections for whistleblowers across the Federal Government, 
and ensure supervisors are appropriately disciplined for 
retaliation, including the Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower 
Protection Act and the Office of Special Counsel 
Reauthorization Act of 2017.\55\ The Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick 
Whistleblower Protection Act, which adopts recommendations put 
forward by hearing witnesses, including prohibitions against 
accessing a whistleblower's medical records and protocols to 
address threats against VA employees. It also requires 
discipline for supervisors who retaliate against 
whistleblowers. The legislation is named after Dr. Chris 
Kirkpatrick, a VA employee at the Tomah, Wisconsin Veterans' 
Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) who tragically committed suicide 
after suffering retaliation after blowing the whistle on 
misconduct at the facility.\56\ The Committee exposed this and 
other misconduct at the Tomah VAMC in a multi-year 
investigation that culminated in a report in 2016.\57\ The 
Office of Special Counsel Reauthorization Act of 2017 
reauthorizes the office charged with protecting whistleblowers 
through 2022, and strengthens the office's ability to 
investigate retaliatory agency actions.\58\
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    \54\Pub. L. No. 115-73 (115th Cong.); Pub. L. No. 115-42 (115th 
Cong.); S. 582, signed in to law as Pub. L. No. 115-91 (115th Cong.); 
Pub. L. No. 115-40 (115th Cong.).
    \55\Pub. L. No. 115-73 (115th Cong.).
    \56\Majority Staff Report, S. Comm. On Homeland Sec. & Governmental 
Affairs, The Systemic Failures And Preventable Tragedies At The Tomah 
VA Medical Center, 114th Cong. (2016).
    \57\Id.
    \58\ S. 582, signed in to law as Pub. L. No. 115-91 (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Health care spending continues to be a significant and 
growing portion of the U.S. economy.\59\ Since 1960, the share 
of all government-paid health care spending has more than 
doubled, from about one-fifth to just under half. As a result, 
overall health spending now consumes about 17 percent of the 
Nation's gross domestic product.\60\ In the 115th Congress, the 
Committee examined the current State of health care in the 
United States with an eye toward improving health care choices 
for all Americans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \59\National Health Expenditures 2017 Highlights, Centers for 
Medicare & Medicaid Services, available at https://www.cms.gov/
Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/
NationalHealthExpendData/Downloads/highlights.pdf.
    \60\Majority Staff Report, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental 
Affairs, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has Been a Poor 
Steward of Federal Medicaid Dollars 
(June 20, 2018), https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-06-
20%20Medicaid%20Fraud%20and%20Overpayments%20Majority%20Staff%20Report.p
df.
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    The Committee conducted substantial oversight of the 
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In September 
2017, Chairman Johnson requested information and materials from 
CMS and eight States about higher-than expected spending and 
enrollment relating to Obamacare's Medicaid expansion.\61\ CMS 
and other data show original Medicaid expansion per-enrollee 
spending was understated by as much as 49 percent, and that 
enrollment in many expansion States has significantly exceeded 
original estimates.\62\ In California, for example, expansion 
enrollment as of May 2016 was 322 percent over what had been 
projected.\63\ In 2018, Chairman Johnson requested information 
from CMS about potential overpayments in California's Medicaid 
program that have cost Federal taxpayers more than $3.3 billion 
and about so-called ``Medicaid maximization'' schemes, in which 
States attempt to artificially inflate the Federal share of 
Medicaid.\64\ Independent watchdogs have warned that these 
schemes undermine the Federal-State Medicaid partnership by 
making Federal taxpayers responsible for costs that should be 
borne by the States.\65\ The Committee's work is ongoing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \61\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affs., to Seema Verma, Administrator, Cntrs. 
for Medicare & Medicaid Srvs. (Sept. 27, 2017).
    \62\Id.
    \63\Obamacare Expansion Enrollment is Shattering Projections (Nov. 
16, 2016), https://thefga.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ObamaCare-
Enrollment-is-Shattering-Projections-1.pdf.
    \64\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affs., to Seema Verma, Administrator, Cntrs. 
for Medicare & Medicaid Srvs. (Nov. 19, 2018).
    \65\ Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affs., to Seema Verma, Administrator, Cntrs. 
for Medicare & Medicaid Srvs. (Sept. 21, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In June 2018 and August 2018, the Committee convened 
hearings to examine potential fraud and overpayments in the 
Medicaid program.\66\ The hearings featured testimony from CMS 
Administrator Seema Verma, Comptroller General Gene Dodaro of 
the Government Accountability Office, and Brian Ritchie of the 
HHS Office of Inspector General, and explored Medicaid's 
vulnerabilities to fraud and how CMS can improve its 
stewardship of the program.\67\ Chairman Johnson released a 
majority staff report in June 2018 detailing how CMS must 
better police the Medicaid program.\68\ The report concluded 
that Medicaid is plagued by waste, fraud and abuse, including 
$37 billion per year in Medicaid overpayments to providers--a 
157 percent increase since 2013--and hundreds of thousands of 
beneficiaries providing apparently false social security 
numbers. At the end of 2017, State Medicaid Fraud Control Units 
had nearly 20,000 open fraud investigations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \66\Medicaid Fraud and Overpayments: Problems and Solutions: 
Hearing before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 
115th Cong. (2018); Examining CMS's Efforts to Fight Medicaid Fraud and 
Overpayments: Hearing before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & 
Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2018).
    \67\Id.
    \68\Majority Staff Report, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental 
Affairs, The 
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has Been a Poor Steward of 
Federal Medicaid Dollars (June 20, 2018), https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/
imo/media/doc/2018-06-
20%20Medicaid%20Fraud%20and%20Overpayments%20Majority%20Staff%20Report.p
df.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee also examined the Nation's opioid epidemic. 
Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member McCaskill requested 
information from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) 
about its anti-diversion investigations during the opioid 
epidemic.\69\ In July 2017, Chairman Johnson introduced 
legislation to schedule all fentanyl analogues as controlled 
substances.\70\ The DEA implemented this scheduling via 
regulation in February 2018.\71\ In January 2018, the Committee 
convened a hearing and released a majority staff report 
examining how the Medicaid program may contribute to the opioid 
epidemic.\72\ The report concluded that Medicaid has 
inadvertently fueled the epidemic by establishing a series of 
incentives that make it enormously profitable for beneficiaries 
and others to abuse and sell dangerous drugs. Committee 
majority staff found that 1,072 people have been convicted or 
charged nationwide since 2010 for improperly using Medicaid to 
obtain prescription opioids, some of which were then resold on 
the Nation's streets. Ranking Member McCaskill also issued 
minority staff reports about the role of the pharmaceutical 
industry in the opioid epidemic.\73\
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    \69\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, & Claire McCaskill, Ranking 
Member, S. Comm. on Homeland Security & Governmental Affs., to Charles 
P. Rosenberg, Acting Administrator, Drug Enforcement Admin. (May 8, 
2017)
    \70\S. 1553, 115th Cong. (2017).
    \71\Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of 
Fentanyl-Related Substances in Schedule I, 83 Fed. Reg. 5188 (Feb. 6, 
2018).
    \72\Unintended Consequences: Medicaid and the Opioid Epidemic: 
Hearing before the S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 
115th Cong. (2018); Majority Staff Report, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affs., Drugs for Dollars: How Medicaid Helps 
Fuel the Opioid Epidemic (Jan. 17, 2018).
    \73\E.g. Minority Staff Report, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't 
Affairs, Fueling an Epidemic: Exposing the Financial Ties Between 
Opioid Manufacturers and Third Party Advocacy Groups (Feb. 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee conducted oversight of the regulation issued 
by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in 2013 that 
authorized Members of Congress to receive an employer 
contribution on the Obamacare exchanges.\74\ In December 2017, 
Chairman Johnson issued a subpoena to OPM for documents 
relating to the development of this regulation.\75\ The 
Committee also requested and received documents from CMS, the 
National Archives, the District of Columbia Health Benefits 
Exchange, and a private contractor involved the decisionmaking 
process.\76\ The Committee's oversight of the OPM regulation 
continues as it receives relevant documents.
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    \74\Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Members of Congress 
and Congressional Staff, 78 Fed. Reg. 60,653 (Oct. 2, 2013).
    \75\Subpoena from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Sec. and Gov't Affairs to Kathleen McGettigan, Acting Dir., Office of 
Pers. Mgmt. (Dec. 22, 2017).
    \76\ Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Sec. & Governmental Affairs, to Tim Hurlebaus, President, CGI Federal, 
Inc. (Sept. 28, 2018); Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. 
on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, to Mila Kofman, Exec. Dir., DC 
Health Benefit Exch. Auth. (Mar. 5, 2018); Letter from Sen. Ron 
Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, to 
Alex Azar, Secretary, Dep't of Health & Human Servs. (Mar. 5, 2018); 
Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. and 
Governmental Affairs, to David Ferriero, Archivist of the United 
States, National Archives and Records Admin. (Feb. 21, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Using its legislative jurisdiction, the Committee approved 
legislation to repeal a section of the Affordable Care Act 
(ACA) that directed OPM to offer insurance plans on State 
health insurance exchanges, termed MSP.\77\ The intent of the 
program was to increase competition in healthcare by requiring 
MSP options to be available in all 50 States and the District 
of Columbia by 2017. At the beginning of 2018, OPM had already 
spent $54 million and had 42 full-time equivalents to 
administer the program, with only Arkansas participating.\78\ 
The program has failed by all measures to meet its original 
mission.
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    \77\S. 2221, Repeal Insurance Plans of the Multi-State Program Act 
(115th Cong.).
    \78\S. Rpt. No. 115-277, 115th Cong. (2018).
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    As the Trump Administration's pro-growth economic policies 
improve the U.S. economy, the Administration's tariffs 
threatened to increase input costs on steel-dependent 
industries employing 17 million Americans.\79\ Chairman Johnson 
requested information and data from the Commerce Department 
about (1) the Department's analyses of the effects of the 
tariffs;\80\ (2) how the Department evaluates requests for 
exclusions from the tariffs and any objections to those 
exclusion requests;\81\ and (3) the Department's interactions 
with major domestic steel and aluminum producers.\82\ Chairman 
Johnson also sought to understand how the Commerce Department 
considers the effects of the tariffs on downstream 
industries,\83\ and how it evaluates the ability of the 
domestic industries to meet demand.\84\
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    \79\Tori Whiting, President Should Reject Flawed Commerce Report on 
Steel Tariffs, The heritage foundation, Feb. 27, 2018, https://
www.heritage.org/trade/report/president-should-reject-flawed-commerce-
report-steel-tariffs.
    \80\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affairs, to Wilbur R. Ross, Secretary, Dep't of 
Commerce (Mar. 8, 2018).
    \81\ Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affairs, to Wilbur R. Ross, Secretary, Dep't of 
Commerce (Aug. 9, 2018).
    \82\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, & Claire McCaskill, Ranking 
Member, S. Comm. on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, to Wilbur 
R. Ross, Secretary, Dep't of Commerce (Aug. 30, 2018).
    \83\ Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affairs, to Wilbur R. Ross, Secretary, Dep't of 
Commerce (Mar. 8, 2018).
    \84\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affairs, to Wilbur R. Ross, Secretary, Dep't of 
Commerce (Nov. 30, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In addition, Chairman Johnson requested material from major 
domestic steel and aluminum producers.\85\ Finally, the 
Committee held three field roundtables in 2018 (in Wisconsin, 
Missouri and Alabama) examining the effects of the tariffs on 
local economies.\86\ Following a field roundtable in Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin, Chairman Johnson shared with President Trump the 
concerns of local businesses, including steel and aluminum 
price increases between 30 and 40 percent, lost export and 
domestic orders, and canceled capital expenditures.\87\
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    \85\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, & Claire McCaskill, Ranking 
Member, S. Comm. on Homeland Security & Governmental Affs., to Roger 
Newport, Chief Executive Officer, AK Steel Holding Corp. (Aug. 27, 
2018); Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, & Claire McCaskill, Ranking 
Member, S. Comm. on Homeland Security & Governmental Affs., to Michael 
Bless, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, Century 
Aluminum Co. (Aug. 27, 2018); Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, & 
Claire McCaskill, Ranking Member, S. Comm. on Homeland Security & 
Governmental Affs., to John Ferriola, Chairman, Chief Executive 
Officer, and President, Nucor Corp. (Aug. 27, 2018); Letter from Ron 
Johnson, Chairman, & Claire McCaskill, Ranking Member, S. Comm. on 
Homeland Security & Governmental Affs., to David Burritt, President and 
Chief Executive Officer, United States Steel Corp. (Aug. 27, 2018).
    \86\Examining the Effects of Tariffs and Trade Policy on Alabama 
Manufacturing and Agriculture: Field Roundtable before the S. Comm. on 
Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2017); Examining 
the Effects of Tariffs and Trade Policy on Missouri Manufacturing and 
Agriculture: Field Roundtable before the S. Comm. on Homeland Security 
& Governmental Affairs, 115th Cong. (2017); Examining the Effects of 
Tariffs on Wisconsin Business: Field Roundtable before the S. Comm. on 
Homeland Security & Governmental Affs., 115th Cong. (2017).
    \87\Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Sec. & Governmental Affairs, to President Donald Trump (July 18, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    With House Oversight and Government Reform Committee 
Chairman Trey Gowdy, Chairman Johnson examined taxpayer-funded 
official time, in which some Federal employees perform union 
activities while on the government payroll.\88\ The Committee 
requested information from 24 Federal departments and agencies 
about Federal employees on official time--their positions, 
titles, salaries, and percentage of official time work. 
Although the Committee received the information from some 
agencies, some requests remain outstanding and the 
investigation is ongoing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \88\E.g. Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on 
Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, & Trey Gowdy, Chairman, H. Comm. on 
Oversight & Gov't Reform, to R. Alexander Acosta, Secretary, Dep't of 
Labor (Jan. 9, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee also inquired about agencies' end-of-year 
spending habits, known as ``use it or lose it'' spending and 
which is prone to waste and abuse. The Committee received 
briefings from agencies about their plans to prevent abusive or 
wasteful ``use it or lose it'' spending.
    The Committee conducted oversight of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation (FBI) in the wake of news reports that senior FBI 
officials exhibited political bias while assigned to high-
profile, politically oriented cases. Chairman Johnson requested 
information from the FBI and the Justice Department about the 
FBI's investigation into the mishandling of classified 
information by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and 
the FBI's investigation of alleged collusion between the Trump 
campaign and Russia.\89\ Chairman Johnson also inquired about 
the FBI's record retention policy and FBI employees' 
communications with members of the news media about ongoing 
investigations.\90\ Because the FBI has not fully satisfied the 
Chairman's requests, the Committee's oversight continues.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \89\E.g. Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on 
Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to Jeff Sessions, Att'y Gen., Dep't of 
Justice (May 21, 2018); Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. 
Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to Christopher Wray, Director, 
Fed. Bureau of Investigations (May 21, 2018); Letter from Sen. Ron 
Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to 
Christopher Wray, Director, Fed. Bureau of Investigations (May 11, 
2018); Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to Jeff Sessions, Att'y Gen., Dep't of Justice 
(Apr. 19, 2018); Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on 
Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to Jeff Sessions, Att'y Gen., Dep't of 
Justice (Mar. 28, 2018); Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. 
Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to Jeff Sessions, Att'y Gen., 
Dep't of Justice (Mar. 23, 2018); Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, 
Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to Rod J. 
Rosenstein, Deputy Att'y Gen., Dep't of Justice (Mar. 1, 2018); Letter 
from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't 
Affairs, to Rod J. Rosenstein, Deputy Att'y Gen., Dep't of Justice 
(Jan. 31, 2018); Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on 
Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to Christopher Wray, Director, Fed. 
Bureau of Investigations (Dec. 14, 2017); Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, 
Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to Christopher 
Wray, Director, Fed. Bureau of Investigations (Dec. 13, 2017); Letter 
from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't 
Affairs, to Rod J. Rosenstein, Deputy Att'y Gen., Dep't of Justice 
(Dec. 6, 2017).
    \90\Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to Christopher Wray, Director, Fed. Bureau of 
Investigations (May 21, 2018); Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, 
S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to Christopher Wray, 
Director, Fed. Bureau of Investigations (Jan. 20, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee also received reports and information from 
the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General and 
the Office of Special Counsel.\91\ Chairman Johnson issued a 
majority interim staff report in February 2018.\92\ This 
interim staff report provided a timeline of the Committee's 
oversight and posed unanswered questions to be addressed 
through further inquiry.\93\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \91\E.g. Dep't of Justice, Off. of Inspector Gen., A Review of 
Various Actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the 
Department of Justice in Advance of the 2016 Election (June 2018) 
(Oversight and Review Division 18-04); Letter from Tristan Leavitt, 
Acting Special Counsel, Off. of Special Counsel, to Ron Johnson, 
Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Security & Governmental Affs. (Sept. 21, 
2017).
    \92\Majority Staff Report, S. Comm. on Homeland Security & 
Governmental Affs., The Clinton Email Scandal and the FBI's 
Investigation of It (Feb. 7, 2018).
    \93\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In July 2017, the Committee convened a hearing to examine a 
report by the Office of Special Counsel finding that the United 
States Postal Service had committed a systemic violation of the 
Hatch Act by helping its labor union mobilize employees for 
partisan activities.\94\ In November 2017, Chairman Johnson 
inquired about the potential ``burrowing in'' of a former OPM 
political appointee into a career position at the Consumer 
Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB).\95\ OPM provided information 
about the appointee's transfer to the CFPB,\96\ and the 
Committee referred the transfer to the Office of Special 
Counsel to review whether the transfer adhered to civil service 
principles.\97\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \94\The Postal Service's Actions During the 2016 Campaign Season: 
Implications for the Hatch Act: Hearing before the S. Comm. on Homeland 
Sec. & Governmental Affs., 115th Cong. (2017).
    \95\Letter from Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Sec. & Gov't Affairs, to Kathleen McGettigan, Acting Director, Off. of 
Personnel Management (Nov. 28, 2017).
    \96\Letter from Kathleen McGettigan, Acting Director, Off. of 
Personnel Management, to Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on 
Homeland Sec. & Gov't Affairs (Dec. 13, 2017).
    \97\Letter from Henry J. Kerner, Special Counsel, Off. of Special 
Counsel, to Sen. Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland Sec. & 
Gov't Affairs (Mar. 27, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In the early months of the Trump Administration, as 
sensitive details of the Administration's deliberations 
appeared in press accounts, the Committee examined leaks of 
national security information from the Federal bureaucracy. In 
July 2017, Chairman Johnson released a majority staff report 
that analyzed the spate of leaks, finding there had been on 
average one leak per day of information potentially damaging to 
national security.\98\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \98\Majority Staff Report, S. Comm. on Homeland Security & 
Governmental Affs., State Secrets: How an Avalanche of Media Leaks Is 
Harming National Security (July 6, 2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          G. REGULATORY REFORM

    At the start of 2017, Congress worked to roll back some of 
the midnight rules issued at the end of the previous 
administration using the congressional Review Act (CRA). 
Altogether, we successfully repealed 16 regulations, stopping 
regulatory costs over the next 10 years. This kind of 
retrospective work is necessary, but it is only a small portion 
of the more than 2,500 new rules President Obama's 
administration issued in its last 6 months, or the more than 
4,000 during his final year. According to the Competitive 
Enterprise Institute, the total annual Federal regulatory cost 
amounts to $1.9 trillion.\99\ To put this in perspective, this 
burden amounts to over $14,000, per year, per household.\100\ 
There are only seven economies in the world that are larger 
than the regulatory burden we impose on our economy and 
American families.\101\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \99\Clyde Wayne Crews, Ten Thousand Commandments 2018: An Annual 
Snapshot of the Federal Regulatory State, Report, Competitive 
Enterprise Institute (April 19, 2018).
    \100\Id.
    \101\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In the 115th Congress, our Committee continued its 
oversight and legislative work to shed light on our out-of-
control regulatory State, and begin to reform it to prevent 
future regulatory overreach. The Committee approved important 
legislation to help reduce the regulatory burden. For example, 
the Midnight Rules Relief Act would allow Congress to consider 
regulations issued in the waning days of an outgoing President 
together, rather than one at a time, to strengthen the CRA 
process.\102\ The REINS Act puts Congress back in charge--and 
on the hook--for regulatory policymaking instead of unelected 
bureaucrats.\103\ We also approved bipartisan structural 
reforms such as the Regulatory Accountability Act, which puts 
into law longstanding principles for guiding regulatory 
analysis--principles embraced for more than 20 years by 
presidents of both parties.\104\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \102\S. 34 (115th Cong.).
    \103\S. 21 (115th Cong.).
    \104\S. 951 (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee also approved three bills to increase 
transparency and public engagement. Congress too often passes a 
law and leaves it up to agencies to fill in the specifics of 
how it should be implemented. Agencies do this by issuing 
regulations and guidance. Businesses, even small ones, are 
expected to follow these provisions, but find it extremely 
difficult to sort through it all and keep up to date. The 
Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act of 2017, 
Early Participation in Regulations Act of 2017, and Guidance 
out of Darkness Act, if enacted, would help the public and 
businesses more easily view regulations and guidance put out by 
agencies and determine what they need to comply with.
    The Committee examined burdensome Federal regulatory 
actions that stifle innovation and economic growth. Among other 
efforts, Chairman Johnson urged the Labor Department to 
reconsider its so-called ``Fiduciary rule'' concerning 
investment advice,\105\ asked the FDA to review its e-cigarette 
regulations,\106\ and requested information about HHS's 
rulemaking process.\107\ Chairman Johnson examined the practice 
of Federal employee unions ``skimming'' membership dues from 
home health care Medicaid payments.\108\ Following Chairman 
Johnson's oversight, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services (CMS) changed its regulations to prohibit union dues 
skimming.\109\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \105\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affs., to Alexander Acosta, Secretary, Dep't of 
Labor (May 12, 2017).
    \106\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affs., to Scott Gottleib, Commissioner, Food & 
Drug Admin. (May 17, 2017).
    \107\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affs., to Alex M. Azar II, Secretary, Dep't of 
Health & Human Servs. (May 2, 2018).
    \108\Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affs., to Seema Verma, Administrator, Cntrs. 
for Medicare & Medicaid Srvs. (Apr. 30, 2018).
    \109\ Letter from Ron Johnson, Chairman, S. Comm. on Homeland 
Security & Governmental Affs., to Christopher Thompson, Cntrs. for 
Medicare & Medicaid Srvs. (Aug. 1, 2018); Medicaid Program; 
Reassignment of Medicaid Provider Claims, 83 Fed. Reg. 32,252 (July 12, 
2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee confirmed the head of the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) and pushed it to 
revisit a rule that gave special treatment to IRS regulations. 
The OIRA was created as part of the 1980 Paperwork Reduction 
Act, a law intended to curb the amount of and duplication in 
paperwork requirements imposed by regulatory agencies on the 
public. Among other responsibilities, the Administrator 
oversees and coordinates proposed regulations from agencies, 
and is ultimately the decider of whether to ``approve'' the 
rule or ``return'' it to the agency with recommended changes. 
The Committee approved--and the full Senate confirmed--Neomi 
Rao to head the office in 2017. Ms. Rao has been responsible 
for overseeing the Trump Administration's so-called ``one in, 
two out'' initiative that resulted in a total of 22 rules out 
for every new one in its first year of implementation, and in 
the second year, a total of 12 rules out for every new 
one.\110\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \110\Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Regulatory 
Reform: Completed Actions Fiscal Year 2017, https://www.reginfo.gov/
public/pdf/eo13771/FINAL--BU--20171207.pdf; Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Regulatory Reform under Executive Order 13771: 
Final Accounting for Fiscal Year 2018, https://www.reginfo.gov/public/
pdf/eo13771/EO--13771--Final--Accounting--for--Fiscal--Year--2018.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Since 1983, Treasury and OIRA had a memorandum of agreement 
which effectively exempted IRS regulations from the same kind 
of analysis and review applied to other executive branch agency 
rules. The Chairman sent a letter to both offices urging them 
to revisit the issue, and ultimately the subcommittee held a 
hearing on the topic when talks broke down. On the morning of 
the hearing, the two offices issued a new memo overturning the 
long-held agreement.

                       H. WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE

    As the Senate committee with direct legislative 
jurisdiction over governmental operations, the Committee is 
tasked with conducting oversight and passing legislation to 
combat waste, fraud, and abuse in government to yield 
significant cost savings to taxpayers. The Committee also works 
closely with government watchdogs, including inspectors general 
(IGs) and the GAO, to identify needed reforms. In the 115th 
Congress, the Committee worked on a bipartisan basis to approve 
dozens of pieces of legislation that make government work 
better for Americans. Several examples are highlighted below. 
Additionally, the Committee approved seven inspectors general 
for full Senate consideration this Congress.
    Committee members may disagree on how big the Federal 
Government should be, but we all agree that what government 
programs we have need to run efficiently and at better value 
for taxpayers. This Congress, the Committee approved and 
Congress enacted legislation to stop automatic and wasteful 
printing of the Federal Register, to prohibit the use of 
Federal funds to pay for official portraits for Federal 
employees, and to authorize the use of more cost-effective and 
innovative modes of transportation when Federal employees need 
to travel.\111\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \111\Pub. L. No. 115-184 (115th Cong.); Pub. L. No. 115-158 (115th 
Cong.); Pub. L. No. 115-34 (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Committee members understand that by making more documents, 
data, and information available to the public, Federal agencies 
are held accountable for the decisions they make and the money 
they spend. That's why the Committee approved several bills 
that require agencies to make more information available to the 
public.\112\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \112\See, e.g., S. 1769 (115th Cong.); S. 2896 (115th Cong.); S. 
760 (115th Cong.); S. 2276 (115th Cong.); S. 3031 (115th Cong.); S. 
3050 (115th Cong.); S. 2178 (115th Cong.); S. 234 (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee has worked to address the skyrocketing amount 
of money that the Federal Government improperly pays out each 
year. From 2013 to 2015, the improper payment total increased 
from $105 billion to $136.5 billion.\113\ The Committee 
approved several bills that crack down on improper payments and 
fraud, including a bill that would prevent the Social Security 
Administration from paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to 
people who are deceased, one that reduces the instances in 
which the government can send out an individual's social 
security number in the mail, and one that improves the way 
Federal improper payment laws are written in statute to help 
reduce future improper payments.\114\ The Committee also 
approved, and Congress enacted, legislation to ensure GAO can 
access the National Director of New Hires to perform better 
oversight of Federal improper payments.\115\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \113\Gov't Accountability Office, GAO-14-747T, Improper Payments: 
Government-Wide Estimates and Reduction Strategies (July 9, 2014).
    \114\S. 2374 (115th Cong.); S. 1208 (115th Cong.); S. 2948 (115th 
Cong.).
    \115\S. 17, GAO Access and Oversight Act of 2017, signed in to law 
as Pub. L. No. 115-3 (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee also approved legislation to help the Trump 
Administration re-think the Federal bureaucracy. The Reforming 
Government Act of 2018 would provide authority for the 
President to submit government reorganization proposals to 
Congress for expedited consideration.\116\ This bill would 
provide expedited reorganization authority for up to 2 years 
upon enactment and requires that the President provide certain 
information to Congress as a condition before Congress can use 
the expedited authority to consider the proposal. After lengthy 
discussion at the Committee's business meeting, members agreed 
to require that sponsors establish bipartisan support for any 
proposal before it can be considered under expedited 
procedures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \116\S. 3137 (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Finally, the Committee approved legislation to improve the 
Presidential transition process. The Presidential Transition 
Enhancement Act would clarify the responsibilities of the 
General Services Administration (GSA) and other agencies during 
a transition and require a contractual relationship between GSA 
and a transition team to guide the transition process.\117\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \117\S. 3487 (115th Cong.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       II. COMMITTEE JURISDICTION

    The jurisdiction of the Committee (which was renamed the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs when 
the 109th Congress convened) derives from the Rules of the 
Senate and Senate Resolutions:

                                RULE XXV

                            * * * * * * * *

    (k)(1) Committee on Governmental Affairs, to which 
committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages, 
petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the 
following subjects:

     1. Archives of the United States.
     2. Budget and accounting measures, other than 
appropriations, except as provided in the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974.
     3. Census and collection of statistics, including economic 
and social statistics.
     4. Congressional organization, except for any part of the 
matter that amends the rules or orders of the Senate.
     5. Federal Civil Service.
     6. Government information.
     7. Intergovernmental relations.
     8. Municipal affairs of the District of Columbia, except 
appropriations therefor.
     9. Organization and management of United States nuclear 
export policy.
    10. Organization and reorganization of the executive branch 
of the Government.
    11. Postal Service.
    12. Status of officers and employees of the United States, 
including their classification, compensation, and benefits.
    (2) Such committee shall have the duty of--
    (A) receiving and examining reports of the Comptroller 
General of the United States and of submitting such 
recommendations to the Senate as it deems necessary or 
desirable in connection with the subject matter of such 
reports;
    (B) studying the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of 
all agencies and departments of the Government;
    (C) evaluating the effects of laws enacted to reorganize 
the legislative and executive branches of the Government; and
    (D) studying the intergovernmental relationships between 
the United States and the States and municipalities, and 
between the United States and international organizations of 
which the United States is a member.

                  SENATE RESOLUTION 62, 115th CONGRESS

        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS.

    Sec. 12. (a) * * *

                            * * * * * * * *

    (d) INVESTIGATIONS--
    (1) IN GENERAL--The committee, or any duly authorized 
subcommittee of the committee, is authorized to study or 
investigate--
    (A) the efficiency and economy of operations of all 
branches of the Government including the possible existence of 
fraud, misfeasance, malfeasance, collusion, mismanagement, 
incompetence, corruption, or unethical practices, waste, 
extravagance, conflicts of interest, and the improper 
expenditure of Government funds in transactions, contracts, 
and, activities of the Government or of Government officials 
and employees and any and all such improper practices between 
Government personnel and corporations, individuals, companies, 
or persons affiliated therewith, doing business with the 
Government; and the compliance or noncompliance of such 
corporations, companies, or individuals or other entities with 
the rules, regulations, and laws governing the various 
governmental agencies and its relationships with the public;
    (B) the extent to which criminal or other improper 
practices or activities are, or have been, engaged in the field 
of labor-management relations or in groups or organizations of 
employees or employers, to the detriment of interests of the 
public, employers, or employees, and to determine whether any 
changes are required in the laws of the United States in order 
to protect such interests against the occurrence of such 
practices or activities;
    (C) organized criminal activity which may operate in or 
otherwise utilize the facilities of interstate or international 
commerce in furtherance of any transactions and the manner and 
extent to which, and the identity of the persons, firms, or 
corporations, or other entities by whom such utilization is 
being made, and further, to study and investigate the manner in 
which and the extent to which persons engaged in organized 
criminal activity have infiltrated lawful business enterprise, 
and to study the adequacy of Federal laws to prevent the 
operations of organized crime in interstate or international 
commerce; and to determine whether any changes are required in 
the laws of the United States in order to protect the public 
against such practices or activities;
    (D) all other aspects of crime and lawlessness within the 
United States which have an impact upon or affect the national 
health, welfare, and safety; including but not limited to 
investment fraud schemes, commodity and security fraud, 
computer fraud, and the use of offshore banking and corporate 
facilities to carry out criminal objectives;
    (E) the efficiency and economy of operations of all 
branches and functions of the government with particular 
reference to--
    (i) the effectiveness of present national security methods, 
staffing, and processes as tested against the requirements 
imposed by the rapidly mounting complexity of national security 
problems;
    (ii) the capacity of present national security staffing, 
methods, and processes to make full use of the Nation's 
resources of knowledge and talents;
    (iii) the adequacy of present intergovernmental relations 
between the United States and international organizations 
principally concerned with national security of which the 
United States is a member; and
    (iv) legislative and other proposals to improve these 
methods, processes, and relationships;
    (F) the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of all 
agencies and departments of the government involved in the 
control and management of energy shortages including, but not 
limited to, their performance with respect to--
    (i) the collection and dissemination of accurate statistics 
on fuel demand and supply;
    (ii) the implementation of effective energy conservation 
measures;
    (iii) the pricing of energy in all forms;
    (iv) coordination of energy programs with State and local 
government;
    (v) control of exports of scarce fuels;
    (vi) the management of tax, import, pricing, and other 
policies affecting energy supplies;
    (vii) maintenance of the independent sector of the 
petroleum industry as a strong competitive force;
    (viii) the allocation of fuels in short supply by public 
and private entities;
    (ix) the management of energy supplies owned or controlled 
by the Government;
    (x) relations with other oil producing and consuming 
countries;
    (xi) the monitoring of compliance by governments, 
corporations, or individuals with the laws and regulations 
governing the allocation, conservation, or pricing of energy 
supplies; and
    (xii) research into the discovery and development of 
alternative energy supplies; and
    (G) the efficiency and economy of all branches and 
functions of government with particular references to the 
operations and management of Federal regulatory policies and 
programs.
    (2) EXTENT OF INQUIRIES.--In carrying out the duties 
provided in paragraph (1), the inquiries of this committee or 
any subcommittee of the committee shall not be construed to be 
limited to the records, functions, and operations of any 
particular branch of the Government and may extend to the 
records and activities of any persons, corporation, or other 
entity.
    (3) SPECIAL COMMITTEE AUTHORITY.--For the purposes of this 
subsection, the committee, or any duly authorized subcommittee 
of the committee, or its chairman, or any other member of the 
committee or subcommittee designated by the chairman is 
authorized, in its, his or her, or their discretion--
    (A) to require by subpoena or otherwise the attendance of 
witnesses and production of correspondence, books, papers, and 
documents;
    (B) to hold hearings;
    (C) to sit and act at any time or place during the 
sessions, recess, and adjournment periods of the Senate;
    (D) to administer oaths; and
    (E) to take testimony, either orally or by sworn Statement, 
or, in the case of staff members of the Committee and the 
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, by deposition in 
accordance with the Committee Rules of Procedure.
    (4) AUTHORITY OF OTHER COMMITTEES.--Nothing contained in 
this subsection shall affect or impair the exercise of any 
other standing committee of the Senate of any power, or the 
discharge by such committee of any duty, conferred or imposed 
upon it by the Standing Rules of the Senate or by the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946.
    (5) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.--All subpoenas and related legal 
processes of the committee and its subcommittee authorized 
under S. Res. 73, agreed to February 12, 2015 (114th Congress) 
are authorized to continue.

           III. BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS REFERRED AND CONSIDERED

    During the 115th Congress, 277 Senate bills and 191 House 
bills were referred to the Committee for consideration. In 
addition, 11 Senate Resolutions and 3 Senate Concurrent 
Resolutions were referred to the Committee.
    The Committee reported 92 bills; an additional 15 measures 
were discharged.
    Of the legislation received by the Committee, 93 measures 
became public laws, including 62 postal naming bills.

                              IV. HEARINGS

    During the 115th Congress, the Committee held 50 hearings 
on legislation, oversight issues, and nominations. Hearing 
titles and dates follow.
    The Committee also held 24 scheduled business meetings.
    Lists of hearings with copies of Statements by Members and 
witnesses, with archives going back to 1997, are online at the 
Committee's Website, http://hsgac.senate.gov/.
Nomination of John F. Kelly to be Secretary, U.S. Department of 
        Homeland Security. January 11, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-141)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nomination of John F. 
Kelly to be Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 
Mr. Kelly was introduced by Senators John McCain and Thomas R. 
Carper as well as Hon. Robert M. Gates.
Nomination of Hon. J. Michael Mulvaney to be Director, Office of 
        Management and Budget. January 24, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-292)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nomination of Hon. J. 
Michael Mulvaney to be Director, Office of Management and 
Budget. Mr. Mulvaney was introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham 
and Tom Cotton.
High Risk: Government Operations Susceptible to Waste, Fraud, and 
        Mismanagement. February 15, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-314)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine the 
Government Accountability 2017 update of the High-Risk Series 
as well as opportunities to improve the performance of agencies 
under the Committee's jurisdiction. The witnesses described the 
reasons for adding areas to and removing areas from the High-
Risk Series and highlighted the steps that are being taken to 
address waste, fraud, and mismanagement in their respective 
government agencies.
    Witnesses: Hon. Eugene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of 
the United States, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Hon. 
John H. Thompson, Director, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department 
of Commerce; Hon. Michael J. Missal, Inspector General, U.S. 
Department of Veterans Affairs; and Hon. John Roth, Inspector 
General, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The Effects of Border Insecurity and Lax Immigration Enforcement on 
        American Communities. March 01, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-289)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine the 
real-world consequences of America's unsecure southern border 
and the lax enforcement of our immigration laws and policies. 
Witnesses in law enforcement provided insight as to how 
immigration and border security policies impact their 
communities and explained how Congress and the Administration 
can help to combat the effects of the unlawful movement of 
people, illegal drugs, and other contraband. The third witness 
shared her personal experience, detailing how border insecurity 
and lax immigration enforcement have impacted her family.
    Witnesses: Julie Nordman, Wentzville, Missouri; Hon. Eric 
Severson, Sherriff, Waukesha County, State of Wisconsin; and 
Ryan Rectenwald, Chief Deputy of Special Operations, Grant 
County Sheriff's Office, State of Washington.
Nomination of the Honorable Elaine C. Duke to be Deputy Secretary, U.S. 
        Department of Homeland Security. March 08, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-
        356)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nomination of Elaine 
C. Duke to be Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security. Ms. Duke was introduced by Senator Rob Portman.
Perspectives from the DHS Frontline: Evaluating Staffing Resources and 
        Requirements. March 22, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-159)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine the 
staffing needs of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel, 
identify resource shortages at these agency components, and 
assess the most effective way for the Department of Homeland 
Security to help secure our Nation's borders and enforce our 
immigration laws. Witnesses described the most pressing 
challenges facing CBP's and ICE's work force and recommended 
measures to resolve them.
    Witnesses: Brandon Judd, President, National Border Patrol 
Council (testifying on behalf of Border Patrol Agents, U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection); Anthony M. Reardon, National 
President, National Treasury Employees Union (testifying on 
behalf of Office of Field Operations Officers, U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection); and Chris Crane, President, National 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Council (testifying on 
behalf of Enforcement Removal Operations Officers, U.S. 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
Fencing Along the Southwest Border. April 04, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-295)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine 
efforts to secure the southwest border through the construction 
of fencing and to provide the Administration and the Department 
of Homeland Security with lessons learned from previous fence 
deployment efforts. The hearing also highlighted the legal 
authorities and financial implications related to fence 
construction as well as the costs and benefits associated with 
deploying additional infrastructure, technology and personnel 
along the U.S.-Mexico border. Mr. Aguilar and Mr. Colburn 
described their experiences overseeing the deployment and 
construction of fencing and tactical infrastructure. Dr. 
Garrett discussed his work on eminent domain issues.
    Witnesses: David Aguilar, Former Acting Commissioner of 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security; Ronald Colburn, Former Deputy Chief of the 
U.S. Border Patrol at U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Terence M. Garrett, 
Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Public Affairs and Security Studies 
Department, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Improving Border Security and Public Safety. April 05, 2017. (S. Hrg. 
        115-289)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine the 
Department of Homeland Security's ongoing efforts to improve 
border security and public safety, including President Trump's 
executive orders and the request for additional appropriations. 
Secretary Kelly described DHS's resources for border security 
and immigration law enforcement, including staffing and 
infrastructure needs, offered his perspective regarding the 
overall budgetary needs of the Department, and detailed DHS's 
implementation of the Administration's recent executive orders.
    Witnesses: Hon. John F. Kelly, Secretary, U.S. Department 
of Homeland Security.
Duplication, Waste, and Fraud in Federal Programs. April 26, 2017. (S. 
        Hrg. 115-178)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine the 
Government Accountability Office's (GAO's) report titled, 
``2017 Annual Report: Additional Opportunities to Reduce 
Fragmentation, Overlap, and Duplication and Achieve Other 
Financial Benefits.'' Mr. Dodaro provided recommendations 
pertaining to the 2017 report as well as assessed the progress 
of GAO recommendations stemming from previously published 
duplication reports. The remaining witnesses discussed areas of 
focus within the report: Mr. George testified on duplication 
within refundable tax credit programs, Ms. Blank testified 
about the administrative requirements on Federal research, and 
Mr. Repko testified regarding the construction of Department of 
Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities.
    Witnesses: Hon. Eugene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of 
the United States, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Hon. 
J. Russell George, Inspector General for Tax Administration, 
U.S. Department of the Treasury; Hon. Rebecca M. Blank, Ph.D., 
Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Keith D. 
Repko, Medical Center Director, VA St. Louis Health Care 
System, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of 
Veterans Affairs.
Cyber Threats Facing America: An Overview of the Cybersecurity Threat 
        Landscape. May 10, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-298)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to provide an 
overview of the cybersecurity landscape across four broad 
threat categories: criminal, malicious, industrial espionage, 
and warfare. The witnesses discussed existing cyber-related 
offensive capabilities, motivations of threat actors, and the 
role of private and public sector actors in mitigating risks 
and responding to incidents.
    Witnesses: Jeffrey E. Greene, Senior Director, Global 
Government Affairs and Policy, Symantec Corporation; Steven 
Chabinsky, Global Chair of Data, Privacy, and Cyber Security, 
White & Case LLP (testifying in his personal capacity); Brandon 
Valeriano, Ph.D., Donald Bren Chair, Marine Corps University, 
and Adjunct Fellow, Niskanen Center; and Kevin Keeney, Captain, 
Missouri National Guard, and Director, Cyber Incident Response 
Team, Monsanto Company (testifying in his personal capacity).
Border Insecurity: The Rise of MS-13 and Other Transnational Criminal 
        Organizations. May 24, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-289)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine the 
presence and activity of gangs and transnational organizations, 
like Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, in American communities. The 
witnesses described recent transnational gang-related activity 
in their jurisdictions, detailing the motivations of members 
and recruits as well as the challenges that law enforcement 
officers face when apprehending gang members. The witnesses 
also discussed how unaccompanied minors from Central America's 
Northern Triangle are particularly susceptible to gang 
recruitment upon entering the United States.
    Witnesses: Timothy D. Sini, Police Commissioner, Suffolk 
County Police Department, Suffolk County, New York; Scott 
Conley, Detective, Criminal Investigative Division, Chelsea 
Police Department, Chelsea, Massachusetts; and J. Thomas 
Manger, Chief of Police, Montgomery County Police Department, 
Montgomery County, Maryland.
The Department of Homeland Security Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Request. 
        June 06, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-293)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to discuss the 
Department of Homeland Security's budget request for Fiscal 
Year 2018. Secretary Kelly described how the requested budget 
will meet the Nation's homeland security needs.
    Witnesses: Hon. John F. Kelly, Secretary, U.S. Department 
of Homeland Security.
Nominations of Brock Long to be Administrator, Federal Emergency 
        Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; 
        Russell Vought to be Deputy Director, Office of Management and 
        Budget; and Neomi Rao to be Administrator, Office of 
        Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
        Budget. June 07, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-372)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations of Brock 
Long to be Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Russell Vought to be 
Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget; and Neomi Rao 
to be Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget. Ms. Rao was 
introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch.
Ideology and Terror: Understanding the Tools, Tactics, and Techniques 
        of Violent Extremism. June 14, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-309)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine the 
root causes of global extremism and terrorism as well as to 
consider strategies for confronting the problem and securing 
the United States. The witnesses offered recommendations for 
combatting terrorism and testified as to the root causes of 
violent extremism--including the tools, tactics, and techniques 
that extremists use to spread their messages.
    Witnesses: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Research Fellow, Hoover 
Institution, Stanford University; Asra Nomani, Co-Founder, 
Muslim Reform Movement; John Lenczowski, Ph.D., President, 
Institute of World Politics; and the Honorable Michael E. 
Leiter, Former Director of the National Counterterrorism 
Center.
Cybersecurity Regulation Harmonization. June 21, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-
        310)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine the 
burden of duplicative, overlapping, and conflicting 
cybersecurity regulations within various industries and to 
explore opportunities to consolidate regulations to focus 
resources on cybersecurity practices. The witnesses discussed 
how regulations have impacted various organizations' 
cybersecurity practices, especially in terms of the resources 
expended.
    Witnesses: Christopher F. Feeney, President, BITS/Financial 
Services Roundtable; Dean C. Garfield, President and CEO, 
Information Technology Industry Council; Daniel Nutkis, Founder 
and CEO, Health Information Trust Alliance; and James ``Bo'' 
Reese, Vice President, National Association of State Chief 
Information Officers and Chief Information Officer, Office of 
Management and Enterprise Services, State of Oklahoma.
Nominations of Claire M. Grady to be Under Secretary for Management, 
        U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Henry Kerner to be 
        Special Counsel, Office of Special Counsel. June 28, 2017. (S. 
        Hrg. 115-332)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations of Claire 
M. Grady to be Under Secretary for Management, U.S. Department 
of Homeland Security, and Henry Kerner to be Special Counsel, 
Office of Special Counsel.
Nominations of David J. Glawe to be Under Secretary for Intelligence & 
        Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and David P. 
        Pekoske to be Assistant Secretary (Transportation Security 
        Administration), U.S. Department of Homeland Security. July 11, 
        2017. (S. Hrg. 115-357)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations of David 
J. Glawe to be Under Secretary for Intelligence & Analysis, 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and David P. Pekoske to 
be Assistant Secretary (Transportation Security 
Administration), U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The Postal Service's Actions During the 2016 Campaign Season: 
        Implications for the Hatch Act. July 19, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-
        352)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine the 
investigations by the United States Postal Service (USPS) 
Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Office of Special 
Counsel (OSC) into a violation of the Hatch Act during the 2016 
election cycle. Representatives from the OSC and the OIG 
explained their findings, while a Wisconsin letter carrier 
described his experiences and why he first raised concerns. 
Postmaster General Brennan responded to the findings, pledging 
to comply with the recommendations.
    Witnesses: Timm Kopp, Letter Carrier, U.S. Postal Service; 
William Siemer, Acting Deputy Inspector General, Office of the 
Inspector General, U.S. Postal Service; Adam Miles, Acting 
Special Counsel, Office of Special Counsel; and the Honorable 
Megan J. Brennan, Postmaster General and Chief Executive 
Officer, U.S. Postal Service.
The History and Current Reality of the U.S. Health Care System. 
        September 06, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-373)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to discuss the 
rising cost of health care in the U.S., how the current third-
party payment model incentives overutilization of care, the 
disconnect between health care consumers and the prices of 
care, and the need for consumer driven price transparency and 
competition.
    Witnesses: Melissa Thomasson, Ph.D., Professor and Director 
of Graduate Studies, Department of Economics, Miami University; 
Katherine Baicker, Ph.D., Dean, Harris School of Public Policy, 
The University of Chicago; and Sabrina Corlette, Research 
Professor, Center on Health Insurance Reforms, Georgetown 
University Health Policy Institute.
Nominations of Daniel J. Kaniewski to be Deputy Administrator for 
        Protection and National Preparedness, Federal Emergency 
        Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and of 
        Jonathan Pittman to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of 
        the District of Columbia. September 12, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-358)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations of Daniel 
J. Kaniewski to be Deputy Administrator for Protection and 
National Preparedness, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Jonathan Pittman to 
be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of 
Columbia.
FCC's Lifeline Program: A Case Study of Government Waste and 
        Mismanagement. September 14, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-359)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine 
waste, fraud, and abuse in the FCC's Lifeline Program, as 
uncovered by the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) 
recent report, ``Telecommunications: Additional Action Needed 
to Address Significant Risks in FCC's Lifeline Program.'' The 
representative from GAO, Mr. Bagdoyan, discussed the report's 
findings, while Federal Communications Commission Chairman Pai 
and Universal Service Administrative Company Acting Chief 
Executive Officer Robinson outlined the steps they are taking 
to verify subscriber eligibility, increase the oversight of 
service providers, and bring enforcement actions against bad 
actors.
    Witnesses: Seto Bagdoyan, Director of Audit Services, 
Forensic Audits and Investigative Service, Government 
Accountability Office; Hon. Ajit V. Pai, Chairman, Federal 
Communications Commission; and Vickie S. Robinson, Acting Chief 
Executive Officer and General Counsel, Universal Service 
Administrative Company.
Threats to the Homeland. September 27, 2017.
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to update the 
public's understanding of prevailing threats to the homeland 
and how Federal agencies are countering those threats. The 
witnesses addressed the most pressing domestic and foreign 
threats as determined by their respective agencies.
    Witnesses: Hon. Elaine C. Duke, Acting Secretary, U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security; Hon. Christopher A. Wray, 
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of 
Justice; and Hon. Nicholas J. Rasmussen, Director, National 
Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National 
Intelligence.
Nomination of John M. Mitnick to be General Counsel, U.S. Department of 
        Homeland Security. October 03, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-360)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nomination of John M. 
Mitnick to be General Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security.
Nominations of Jeff T.H. Pon to be Director, Office of Personnel 
        Management; Michael J. Rigas to be Deputy Director, Office of 
        Personnel Management; and Emily W. Murphy to be Administrator, 
        General Services Administration. October 18, 2017. (S. Hrg. 
        115-430)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations of Jeff 
T.H. Pon to be Director, Office of Personnel Management; 
Michael J. Rigas to be Deputy Director, Office of Personnel 
Management; and Emily W. Murphy to be Administrator, General 
Services Administration. Ms. Murphy was introduced by Senator 
McCaskill.
2017 Hurricane Season: Oversight of the Federal Response. October 31, 
        2017. (S. Hrg. 115-391)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to review the 
Federal Government's past and present response to the 2017 
hurricane season. The hearing highlighted response efforts by 
Federal agencies and partners to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and 
Maria, which caused significant damage to Texas, Florida, 
Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
    Witnesses: Hon. Brock Long, Administrator, Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security; Robert G. Salesses, Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
Defense for Homeland Defense Integration and Defense Support of 
Civil Authorities, U.S. Department of Defense; Major General 
Donald E. Jackson, Deputy Commanding General for Civil and 
Emergency Operations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. 
Department of Defense; and Hon. Robert P. Kadlec, M.D., 
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services.
2020 Census: Examining Cost Overruns, Information Security, and 
        Accuracy. October 31, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-444)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to discuss the 
factors that led the Department of Commerce to increase the 
cost estimate for the 2020 Census Program as well as what 
actions the Department is taking to lower the costs and 
operational risks of the 2020 Census. Secretary Ross described 
the changes he has made since his nomination and the 
Comptroller General explained why the Government Accountability 
Office placed the 2020 Census on its 2017 High Risk List in 
February 2017.
    Witnesses: Hon. Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., Secretary, U.S. 
Department of Commerce (accompanied by Ron S. Jarmin, Ph.D., 
Acting Director, U.S. Census Bureau); and Hon. Eugene L. 
Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States, U.S. 
Government Accountability Office.
Nominations of Hon. Ernest W. DuBester, Hon. Colleen D. Kiko, and James 
        T. Abbott to be Members, Federal Labor Relations Authority. 
        November 07, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-420)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations Hon. 
Ernest W. DuBester to be a Member, Federal Labor Relations 
Authority; Hon. Colleen D. Kiko to be a Member, Federal Labor 
Relations Authority; and James T. Abbott to be a Member, 
Federal Labor Relations Authority. Ms. Kiko was introduced by 
Representative Jim Sensenbrenner.
Nomination of Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary, U.S. Department of 
        Homeland Security. November 08, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-392)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nomination of 
Kirstjen M. Nielsen to be Secretary, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security. Ms. Nielsen was introduced by Senators Rob 
Portman and Marco Rubio.
Adapting to Defend the Homeland Against the Evolving International 
        Terrorist Threat. December 06, 2017 (S. Hrg. 115-440)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to discuss the 
changing threat landscape with the destruction of the so-called 
ISIS ``caliphate'' and the challenges the Federal Government 
faces in defending the homeland against threats--both around 
the globe and here in the United States. The witnesses 
described their agencies' specific roles in countering evolving 
terrorist threats to the homeland, the resources and personnel 
devoted to the mission, as well as the challenges they face.
    Witnesses: Mark E. Mitchell, Acting Assistant Secretary of 
Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict, U.S. 
Department of Defense; Lora Shiao, Acting Director for 
Intelligence, National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the 
Director of National Intelligence; Nikki L. Floris, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Counterterrorism, Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice; and Robin Taylor, 
Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Intelligence & Analysis, U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security.
Nomination of Margaret M. Weichert to be Deputy Director for 
        Management, Office of Management and Budget. December 14, 2017. 
        (S. Hrg. 115-427)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nomination of 
Margaret M. Weichert to be Deputy Director for Management, 
Office of Management and Budget.
Unintended Consequences: Medicaid and the Opioid Epidemic. January 17, 
        2018. (S. Hrg. 115-441)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine the 
relationship between the Medicaid program and the ongoing 
opioid epidemic. The witnesses drew on their experiences to 
discuss whether Medicaid incentivizes and facilitates opioid-
related fraud and abuse.
    Witnesses: Sam Adolphsen, Former Chief Operating Officer at 
the Department of Health and Human Services, State of Maine, 
and Vice President, Rockwood Solutions; J. Otto Schalk, 
Prosecuting Attorney, Harrison County, State of Indiana; 
Emmanuel Tyndall, Inspector General, State of Tennessee; David 
A. Hyman, M.D., Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law 
Center; and Andrew Kolodny, M.D., Co-Director of Opioid Policy 
Research, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, 
Brandeis University.
ROUNDTABLE--Reauthorizing DHS: Positioning DHS to Address New and 
        Emerging Threats to the Homeland. February 07, 2018. (S. Hrg. 
        115-457)
    The purpose of this roundtable was to examine the need for 
a reauthorization of the Department of Homeland Security as the 
Committee considers H.R. 2825, The Department of Homeland 
Security Authorization Act. The participants from DHS discussed 
the need for reauthorization and the participants from the 
Government Accountability Office and the Office of the 
Inspector General discussed their recommendations for policy 
and programmatic reforms at DHS.
    Participants: Hon. Elaine C. Duke, Deputy Secretary, U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security (accompanied by Christopher 
Krebs, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under 
Secretary, National Protection and Programs Directorate, U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security); Hon. Claire M. Grady, Under 
Secretary for Management, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; 
George A. Scott, Managing Director, Homeland Security and 
Justice, U.S. Government Accountability Office (accompanied by 
Chris Currie, Director, Emergency Management and National 
Preparedness Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office); 
and John V. Kelly, Acting Inspector General, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security.
FEMA: Prioritizing a Culture of Preparedness. April 11, 2018. (S. Hrg. 
        115-442)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to review the 
response by Federal Agencies and partners to natural disasters 
that occurred in 2017. Specifically, Administrator Long 
described lessons learned from the 2017 hurricane season, as 
well as efforts to increase resiliency for emergency management 
efforts at the Federal, State and local levels.
    Witnesses: Hon. William ``Brock'' Long, Administrator, 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security.
Nominations of Hon. David Williams, Hon. Robert M. Duncan, and Calvin 
        R. Tucker to be Governors, U.S. Postal Service. April 18, 2018. 
        (S. Hrg. 115-450)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations of Hon. 
David Williams, Hon. Robert M. Duncan, and Calvin R. Tucker to 
be Governors, U.S. Postal Service. Mr. Duncan was introduced by 
Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.
Mitigating America's Cybersecurity Risk. April 24, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-
        475)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine how 
effective DHS programs are at mitigating cybersecurity risks 
for government and private-sector networks. The witnesses 
testified about these programs as well as the steps that have 
been taken by DHS to assist State election security efforts.
    Witnesses: Jeanette Manfra, Assistant Secretary, Office of 
Cybersecurity & Communications, National Protection and 
Programs Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; 
Gregory C. Wilshusen, Director of Information Security Issues, 
U.S. Government Accountability Office; and Hon. Eric Rosenbach, 
Co-Director, Belfer Center for Science and International 
Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard 
University.
Nomination of Christopher C. Krebs to be Under Secretary, National 
        Protection and Programs Directorate, U.S. Department of 
        Homeland Security. April 25, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-445)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nomination of 
Christopher C. Krebs to be Under Secretary, National Protection 
and Programs Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Authorities and Resources Needed to Protect and Secure the United 
        States. May 15, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-465)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to discuss the 
need for reauthorization, as well as additional resources and 
authorities needed by DHS in light Departmental priorities. 
Secretary Nielson discussed efforts to secure the border, 
strengthen the DHS work force, and mitigate cybersecurity 
risks.
    Witnesses: Hon. Kirstjen M. Nielsen, Secretary, U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security.
Nominations of Emory A. Rounds III to be Director, Office of Government 
        Ethics; Kelly A. Higashi to be an Associate Judge, DC Superior 
        Court; and Frederick M. Nutt to be Controller, Office of 
        Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget. 
        May 23, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-472)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations of Emory 
A. Rounds III to be Director, Office of Government Ethics; 
Kelly A. Higashi to be an Associate Judge, DC Superior Court; 
and Frederick M. Nutt to be Controller, Office of Federal 
Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget. Mr. 
Rounds was introduced by Senator Angus S. King, Jr. Ms. Higashi 
was introduced by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.
S. 2836, the Preventing Emerging Threats Act of 2018: Countering 
        Malicious Drones. June 06, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-476)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine the 
emerging threat that malicious unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) 
pose to public safety and homeland security. The witnesses 
spoke generally about the threat landscape as well as the 
specific authorities needed by the Federal Government to 
address these risks. Furthermore, each witness indicated how S. 
2836 would help DHS and DOJ in their missions to protect the 
homeland from security threats involving UAS.
    Witnesses: Hon. David J. Glawe, Under Secretary, Office of 
Intelligence and Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security; Hayley Chang, Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Department 
of Homeland Security; Scott Brunner, Deputy Assistant Director, 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice; 
and Angela H. Stubblefield, Deputy Associate Administrator, 
Security and Hazardous Materials Safety, Federal Aviation 
Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
ROUNDTABLE--Examining the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards 
        Program. June 12, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-477)
    The purpose of this roundtable was to examine the 
effectiveness of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards 
(CFATS) program as the Committee considers reauthorization. The 
participants described which aspects of the program have been 
working well and which areas can be further improved.
    Participants: David Wulf, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary 
for Infrastructure Protection, National Protection and Programs 
Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Christopher 
P. Currie, Director, Homeland Security and Justice Team, U.S. 
Government Accountability Office; Randall Eppli, President and 
CEO, Columbus Chemical Industries, Inc.; Justin Louchheim, 
Director, Government Affairs, The Fertilizer Institute; Debra 
S. Satkowiak, President, Institute of Makers of Explosives; 
Linda Menendez, Director of Operations, Austin Powder Company; 
William Erny, Senior Director, American Chemistry Council; 
Jesse LeGros, Jr., Vice President, Infrastructure Protection, 
AFGE National Local #918; and Jennifer Gibson, Vice President, 
Regulatory Affairs, National Association of Chemical 
Distributors.
Medicaid Fraud and Overpayments: Problems and Solutions. June 27, 2018. 
        (S. Hrg. 115-543)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to discuss the 
Medicaid program's vulnerability to fraud and overpayments. The 
witnesses described their office's oversight of the Centers for 
Medicare and Medicaid Service's (CMS) efforts to combat 
Medicaid fraud and overpayments.
    Witnesses: Hon. Eugene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of 
the United States, U.S. Government Accountability Office; and 
Brian P. Ritchie, Assistant Inspector General for Audit 
Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Reviewing the Administration's Government Reorganization Proposal. July 
        18, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-547)
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to discuss the 
Administration's recently released government reorganization 
proposal, entitled, ``Delivering Government Solutions in the 
21st Century: Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations.'' 
The Deputy Director described OMB's vision for modernizing and 
streamlining the Federal Government to improve accountability, 
effectiveness, efficiency, and stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
    Witnesses: Hon. Margaret Weichert, Deputy Director for 
Management, Office of Management and Budget.
Nominations of Dennis D. Kirk to be Chairman, Merit Systems Protection 
        Board; Hon. Julia A. Clark and Andrew F. Maunz to be Members, 
        Merit Systems Protection Board; and Carmen G. McLean to be an 
        Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 
        July 19, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-546)
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations of Dennis 
D. Kirk to be Chairman, Merit Systems Protection Board; Hon. 
Julia A. Clark and Andrew F. Maunz to be Members, Merit Systems 
Protection Board; and Carmen G. McLean to be an Associate 
Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Examining CMS's Efforts for Fight Medicaid Fraud and Overpayments. 
        August 21, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-543)
    The purpose of this single panel hearing was to examine 
Medicaid's vulnerability to fraud and overpayments, and the 
efforts of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 
to safeguard taxpayer dollars in the Medicaid program as a 
followup to the June 27, 2018, hearing and program initiative 
announced by CMS.
    Witnesses: Hon. Seema Verma, Administrator, Centers for 
Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services; and Hon. Eugene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General 
of the United States, U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Nominations of William N. Bryan to be Under Secretary for Science & 
        Technology, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Peter T. 
        Gaynor to be Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. August 22, 2018.
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations of 
William N. Bryan to be Under Secretary for Science & 
Technology, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Peter T. 
Gaynor to be Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Gaynor was 
introduced by Senator Jack Reed.
Evolving Threats to the Homeland. September 13, 2018.
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to increase 
the public's awareness of underappreciated threats to the 
homeland that, if not mitigated, could significantly damage the 
Nation's critical infrastructure and/or disrupt people's lives. 
Topics covered included threats from cyberspace, drones, 
electromagnetic pulses and geo-magnetic disturbances, and 
supply chain vulnerabilities from information and communication 
technology.
    Witnesses: Kevin Mandia, Chief Executive Officer, FireEye, 
Inc.; Cathy Lanier, Senior Vice President of Security, National 
Football League; Scott McBride, Manager, Infrastructure 
Security Department, Idaho National Laboratory; and Jennifer 
Bisceglie, President and Chief Executive Officer, Interos 
Solutions, Inc.
The Implications of the Flores Settlement Agreement for Border Security 
        and Illegal Immigration Incentives. September 18, 2018.
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to examine 
what effects the 2015 reinterpretation of the Flores settlement 
agreement has had on U.S. border security and immigration, as 
well as the factors that lead to illegal immigration. Witnesses 
were also asked to address any legislative action necessary to 
reduce illegal immigration, as well as any additional resources 
and authorities needed to better secure the United States' 
southwest border.
    Witnesses: Matthew Albence, Executive Associate Director, 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security; Robert Perez, Acting Deputy Commissioner, 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security; Joseph Edlow, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney 
General, U.S. Department of Justice; and Rebecca Gambler, 
Director, Homeland Security and Justice, U.S. Government 
Accountability Office.
Nominations of Hon. Steven D. Dillingham, Ph.D., to be Director of the 
        Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, and Michael M. Kubayanda 
        to be a Commissioner, Postal Regulatory Commission. October 3, 
        2018.
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations of Hon. 
Steven D. Dillingham, Ph.D., to be Director of the Census, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, and Michael M. Kubayanda to be a 
Commissioner, Postal Regulatory Commission.
Threats to the Homeland. October 10, 2018.
    The purpose of this single-panel hearing was to update the 
public's understanding of prevailing threats to the homeland 
and how Federal agencies are countering those threats. The 
witnesses addressed the most pressing domestic and foreign 
threats as determined by their respective agencies.
    Witnesses: Hon. Kirstjen M. Nielsen, Secretary, U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security; Hon. Christopher A. Wray, 
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of 
Justice; and Russell E. Travers, Acting Director, National 
Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National 
Intelligence.
Nominations of Ronald D. Vitiello to be Assistant Secretary for 
        Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of 
        Homeland Security, and Richard S. Tischner, Jr., to Director, 
        Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, District of 
        Columbia. November 15, 2018.
    This one-panel hearing considered the nominations of Ronald 
D. Vitiello to be Assistant Secretary for Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and 
Richard S. Tischner, Jr., to Director, Court Services and 
Offender Supervision Agency, District of Columbia.

                  V. REPORTS, PRINTS, AND GAO REPORTS

    During the 115th Congress, the Committee prepared and 
issued 93 reports and 2 Committee Prints on the following 
topics. Reports issued by Subcommittees are listed in their 
respective sections of this document.

                           COMMITTEE REPORTS

    Activities of the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs and its Subcommittees for the One Hundred 
Fourteenth Congress. S. Rept. 115-12.
    To provide for the reimbursement for the use of modern 
travel services by Federal employees traveling on official 
Government business and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-31, 
re. H.R. 274.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make the 
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Health Affairs 
responsible for coordinating the efforts of the Department of 
Homeland Security related to food, agriculture, and veterinary 
defense against terrorism, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 
115-29, re. S. 500.
    To prohibit the use of Federal funds for the costs of 
painting portraits of officers and employees of the Federal 
Government. S. Rept. 115-28, re. S. 188.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the 
Under Secretary for management of the Department of Homeland 
Security to make certain improvements in managing the 
Department's vehicle fleet, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 
115-32, re. H.R. 366.
    To amend Title 5, United States Code, to extend certain 
protections against prohibited personnel practices, and for 
other purposes. S. Rept. 115-30, re. S. 576.
    To provide taxpayers with an annual report disclosing the 
cost and performance of Government programs and areas of 
duplication among them, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-
34, re. S. 317.
    To provide greater whistleblower protections for Federal 
employees, increased awareness of Federal whistleblower 
protections, and increased accountability and required 
discipline for Federal supervisors who retaliate against 
whistleblowers, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-44, re. S. 
585.
    To restrict the inclusion of Social Security account 
numbers on documents sent by mail by the Federal Government, 
and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-62, re. S. 218.
    To reauthorize the Office of Special Counsel, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-74, re. S. 582.
    To designate the area between the intersections of 
Wisconsin Avenue, Northwest and Davis Street, Northwest and 
Wisconsin Avenue, Northwest and Edmunds Street, Northwest in 
Washington, District of Columbia, as ``Boris Nemtsov Plaza'', 
and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-119, re. S. 459.
    To require agencies to publish in advance notice of 
proposed rulemake for major rules. S. Rept. 115-121, re. S. 
579.
    To require each agency, in providing notice of a 
rulemaking, to include a link to a 100 word plain language 
summary of the proposed rule. S. Rept. 115-120, re. S. 577.
    To provide for the identification and prevention of 
improper payments and the identification of strategic sourcing 
opportunities by reviewing and analyzing the use of Federal 
agency charge cards. S. Rept. 115-129, re. S. 1099.
    To amend Title 5, United States Code, to appropriately 
limit the authority to award bonuses to Federal employees. S. 
Rept. 115-127, re. S. 696.
    To reauthorize the Assistance to Firefighters Grants 
Program, The Fire Prevention and Safety Grants Program, and the 
staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant 
Program, and other purposes. S. Rept. 115-128, re. S. 829.
    To provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection with 
additional flexibility to expedite the hiring process for 
applicants for law enforcement positions, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-133, re. S. 595.
    To expand the Government's use and administration of data 
to facilitate transparency, effective governance, and 
innovation, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-134, re. S. 
760.
    To permanently authorize the Asia-Pacific Economic 
Cooperation Business Travel Card Program. S. Rept. 115-140, re. 
S. 504.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the 
Secretary of Homeland Security to issue department-wide 
guidance and to develop training programs as part of the 
Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-157, re. S. 1103.
    To require the collection of voluntary feedback on services 
provided by agencies, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-156, 
re. S. 1088.
    To require the administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency to submit a report regarding certain plans 
regarding assistance to applicants and grantees during the 
response to the emergency or disaster. S. Rept. 115-158, re. 
H.R. 1117.
    To ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency's 
current efforts to modernize its grant management system 
includes applicant accessibility and transparency, and for 
other purposes. S. Rept. 115-159, re. H.R. 1679.
    To prohibit Federal agencies and Federal contractors from 
requesting that an applicant for employment disclose criminal 
history record information before the applicant has received a 
conditional offer, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-162, 
re. S. 842.
    To amend Title 5, United States Code, to require that the 
Office of Personnel Management submit an annual report to 
Congress relating to the use of official time by Federal 
employees. S. Rept. 115-167, re. H.R. 1293.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for 
congressional notification regarding major acquisition program 
breaches, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-165, re. S. 906.
    To amend Chapter 8 of Title 5, United States Code, to 
provide for en bloc consideration in resolutions of disapproval 
for ``Midnight Rules'', and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-
164, re. S. 34.
    To require notice of cost-free Federal procurement 
technical assistance in connection with registration of small 
business concerns in procurement systems. S. Rept. 115-166, re. 
S. 938.
    To amend Chapter 8 of Title 5, United States Code, to 
provide that major rules of the executive branch shall have no 
force or effect unless a joint resolution of approval is 
enacted into law. S. Rept. 115-169, re. S. 21.
    To amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to 
reauthorize The Judicial Conference of the United States to 
redact sensitive information contained in financial disclosure 
reports of judicial officers and employees, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-172, re. S. 1584.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an 
acquisition review board in the Department of Homeland 
Security, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-170, re. S. 886.
    To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide for 
an option under the Secure Mail Initiative under which a person 
to whom a document is sent under that initiative may elect to 
have the United States Postal Service use the hold for pickup 
service or the signature confirmation service in delivering the 
document, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-171, re. S. 
1208.
    To ensure the effective processing of mail by Federal 
agencies, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-176, re. H.R. 
194.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to reauthorize 
the Border Enforcement Security Task Force Program within the 
Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. S. 
Rept. 115-179, re. S. 1199.
    To amend Title 44, United States Code, to restrict the 
distribution of free printed copies of the Federal register to 
Members of Congress and other officers and employees of the 
United States, and for other purposes. S. Rept.115-184, re. 
H.R. 195.
    To amend Section 8433 of Title 5, United States Code, to 
provide for flexibility in making withdrawals from the Thrift 
Savings Fund. S. Rept. 115-183, re. S. 873.
    To require the Director of the National Background 
Investigations Bureau to submit a report on the backlog of 
personnel security clearance investigations, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-185, re. H.R. 3210.
    To amend subchapter 1 of Chapter 31 of Title 5, United 
States Code, to authorize agencies to make noncompetitive 
temporary and term appointments in the competitive service. S. 
Rept. 115-189, re. S. 1886.
    To reauthorize and rename the position of Whistleblower 
Ombudsman to be the Whistleblower Protection Coordinator. S. 
Rept. 115-196, re. S. 1869.
    To require a new or updated Federal website that is 
intended for use by the public to be more mobile friendly, and 
for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-195, re. S. 1769.
    To amend Chapter 6 of Title 5, United States Code (commonly 
known as the ``Regulatory Flexibility Act''), to ensure 
complete analysis of potential impacts on small entities of 
rules, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-194, re. S. 584.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to ensure that 
the needs of children are considered in Homeland Security, 
Trafficking, and Disaster Recovery Planning, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-202, re. S. 1847.
    Direct Hire of Students and Recent Graduates Act of 2017. 
S. Rept. 115-205, re. S. 1887.
    To reform the process by which Federal agencies analyze and 
formulate new regulations and guidance documents, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-208, re. S. 951.
    To provide for joint reports by relevant Federal agencies 
to Congress regarding incidents of terrorism, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-210, re. S. 1884.
    To amend the Act of August 25, 1958, commonly known as the 
``Former Presidents Act of 1958'', with respect to the monetary 
allowance payable to a former president, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-211, re. S. 1791.
    To establish a bug bounty pilot program within the 
Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. S. 
Rept. 115-209, re. S. 1281.
    To amend the Federal Advisory Committee Act to increase the 
transparency of Federal Advisory Committees, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-217, re. H.R. 70.
    To amend Title 5, United States Code, to provide permanent 
authority for judicial review of certain merit systems 
protection board decisions relating to whistleblowers, and for 
other purposes. S. Rept. 115-229, re. H.R. 2229.
    To strengthen accountability for deployment of border 
security technology at the Department of Homeland Security, and 
for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-230, re. S. 146.
    To provide for the appropriate use of bridge contracts in 
Federal procurement, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-232, 
re. S. 2413.
    To amend Title 41, United States Code, to improve the 
manner in which Federal contracts for design and construction 
services are awarded, to prohibit the use of reverse auctions 
for design and construction services procurements, and for 
other purposes. S. Rept. 115-231, re. S. 2113.
    To direct the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget to establish an interagency working group to study 
Federal efforts to collect data on sexual violence and to make 
recommendations on the harmonization of such efforts, and for 
other purposes. S. Rept. 115-238, re. S. 2349.
    To eliminate or modify certain audit mandates of the 
Government Accountability Office. S. Rept. 115-239, re. S. 
2400.
    To amend Title 40, United States Code, to eliminate the 
sunset of certain provisions relating to information 
technology, to amend the Carl Levin and Howard P. ``Buck'' 
McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2015 
to extend the sunset relating to the Federal Data Center 
Consolidation Initiative, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-
244, re. S. 1867.
    To require the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity 
and Efficiency to make open recommendations of Inspectors 
General publicly available, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 
115-245, re. S. 2178.
    To increase access to agency guidance documents. S. Rept. 
115-271, re. S. 2296.
    To provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection with adequate 
flexibility in its employment authorities. S. Rept. 115-270, 
re. S. 1305.
    To repeal the Multi-State Plan Program. S. Rept. 115-277, 
re. S. 2221.
    To require a Department of Homeland Security Overseas 
Personnel Enhancement Plan, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 
115-308, re. H.R. 4567.
    To require disclosure by lobbyists of convictions for 
bribery, extortion, embezzlement, illegal kickbacks, tax 
evasion, fraud, conflicts of interest, making false Statements, 
perjury, or money laundering. S. Rept. 115-317, re. S. 2896.
    To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop 
best practices for utilizing advanced passenger information and 
passenger name record data for counterterrorism screening and 
vetting operations, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-334, 
re. H.R. 4581.
    To require agencies to submit reports on outstanding 
recommendations in the annual budget justification submitted to 
Congress. S. Rept. 115-331, re. S. 2276.
    To authorize the United States Postal Service to carry out 
emergency suspensions of post offices in accordance with 
certain procedures, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-329, 
re. S. 1204.
    To save taxpayer money and improve the efficiency and speed 
of intragovernmental correspondence, and for other purposes. S. 
Rept. 115-333, re. S. 3027.
    To assist the Department of Homeland Security in preventing 
emerging threats from unmanned aircraft and vehicles, and for 
other purposes. S. Rept. 115-332, re. S. 2836.
    To amend Title 5, United States Code, to increase the 
maximum amount of a voluntary separation incentive payment and 
to include and annual adjustment in accordance with the 
consumer price index. S. Rept. 115-330, re. S. 1888.
    To amend the Chapter 5 of Title 40, United States Code, to 
improve the management of Federal personal property. S. Rept. 
115-343, re. S. 3031.
    To amend Title 5, United States Code, to allow 
whistleblowers to disclose information to certain recipients. 
S. Rept. 115-346, re. S. 2196.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make certain 
improvements in the laws administered by the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-351, 
re. H.R. 2825.
    To establish a narcotic drug screening technology pilot 
program to combat illicit opioid importation and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-353, re. S. 3047.
    To amend the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery 
Improvement Act of 2012, including making changes to the Do Not 
Pay Initiative, for improved detection, prevention, and 
recovery of improper payments to deceased individuals, and for 
other purposes. S. Rept. 115-352, re. S. 2374.
    To modernize Federal grant reporting, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-354, re. S. 3484.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the 
Department of Homeland Security to develop an engagement 
strategy with fusion centers, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 
115-355, re. H.R. 5079.
    To reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism 
Standards Program of the Department of Homeland Security. S. 
Rept. 
115-384, re. S. 3405.
    To provide for reforming agencies of the Federal Government 
to improve efficiency and effectiveness. S. Rept. 115-381, re. 
S. 3137.
    To amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to improve 
the orderly transfer of the executive power during Presidential 
transitions. S. Rept. 115-386, re. S. 3487.
    To amend Title 5, United States Code, to provide a 2-year 
prohibition on employment in a career civil service position 
for any former political appointee, and for other purposes. S. 
Rept. 115-387, re. H.R. 1132.
    To establish a Federal rotational cyber work force program 
for the Federal cyber work force. S. Rept. 115-385, re. S. 
3437.
    To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a 
data framework to provide access for appropriate personnel to 
law enforcement and other information of the Department, and 
for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-380, re. S. 2397.
    To require executive agencies to consider rental in any 
analysis for equipment acquisition, and for other purposes. S. 
Rept. 
115-383, re. S. 3251.
    To provide agencies with discretion in securing information 
technology and information systems. S. Rept. 115-382, re. S. 
3208.
    To provide for reforming agencies of the Federal Government 
to improve efficiency and effectiveness. S. Rept. 115-381, re. 
S. 3137.
    To amend the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to improve 
the orderly transfer of the executive power during Presidential 
transitions. S. Rept. 115-386, re. S. 3487.
    To authorize cyber incident response teams at The 
Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes. S. 
Rept. 115-412, re. S. 3309.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the 
Office of Biometric Identity Management, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-413, re. H.R. 5206.
    To establish a Federal Acquisition Security Council and to 
provide executive agencies with authorities relating to 
mitigating supply chain risks in the procurement of information 
technology, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-408, re. S. 
3085.
    To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to work 
with cybersecurity consortia for training, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-410, re. S. 594.
    To improve executive agency digital services, and for other 
purposes. S. Rept. 115-418, re. S. 3050.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish in 
the Department of Homeland Security The Biometric 
Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program, and for 
other purposes. S. Rept. 115-419, re. H.R. 6439.
    To provide for the expeditious disclosure of records 
related to civil rights cold cases, and for other purposes. S. 
Rept. 115-424, re. S. 3191.
    To improve efforts to identify and reduce government wide 
improper payments, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-445, 
re. S. 2948.
    To provide for additional safeguards with respect to 
imposing Federal mandates, and for other purposes. S Rept. 115-
447, re. H.R. 50.
    To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide for 
innovative research and development, and for other purposes. S. 
Rept. 115-444, re. S. 278.
    To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act to provide for disaster recovery 
reforms, and for other purposes. S. Rept. 115-446, re. S. 3041.

                            COMMITTEE PRINTS

    The Committee issued the following Committee Prints during 
the 115th Congress:
    Rules of Procedure. Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs. (Printed. 40 pp. S. Prt. 115--9)
    Rules of Procedure. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on 
Investigations on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 
(Printed. 23 pp. S. Prt. 115-11)

                              GAO REPORTS

    Also during the 115th Congress, the Government 
Accountability Office (GAO) issued 152 reports at the request 
of the Committee. GAO reports requested by the Subcommittees 
appear in their respective sections. Reports are listed here by 
title, GAO number, and release date.
    Foster Care: HHS Has Taken Steps To Support States' 
Oversight Of Psychotropic Medications, But Additional 
Assistance Could Further Collaboration. GAO-17-129. January 5, 
2017.
    Medicaid: Program Oversight Hampered By Data Challenges, 
Underscoring Need For Continued Improvements. GAO-17-173. 
January 6, 2017.
    Grants Management: Selected Agencies Should Clarify Merit-
Based Award Criteria And Provide Guidance For Reviewing 
Potentially Duplicative Awards. GAO-17-113. January 12, 2017.
    2020 Census: Additional Actions Could Strengthen Field Data 
Collection Efforts. GAO-17-191. January 26, 2017.
    Cybersecurity: DHS's National Integration Center Generally 
Performs Required Functions But Needs To Evaluate Its 
Activities More Completely. GAO-17-163. February 1, 2017.
    Federal Disaster Assistance: FEMA's Progress In Aiding 
Individuals With Disabilities Could Be Further Enhanced. GAO-
17-200. February 7, 2017.
    Critical Infrastructure Protection: Additional Actions By 
DHS Could Help Identify Opportunities To Harmonize Access 
Control Efforts. GAO-17-182. February 7, 2017.
    Drug-Free Communities Support Program: Agencies Have 
Strengthened Collaboration But Could Enhance Grantee Compliance 
And Performance Monitoring. GAO-17-120. February 7, 2017.
    Southwest Border Security: Additional Actions Needed To 
Better Assess Fencing's Contributions To Operations And Provide 
Guidance For Identifying Capability Gaps. GAO-17-331. February 
16, 2017.
    Federal Real Property: Government-Wide Building Disposal 
Data Generally Reliable, But Opportunities For Further 
Improvements Exist. GAO-17-321. March 2, 2017.
    Embassy Construction: State Needs To Better Measure 
Performance Of Its New Approach. GAO-17-296. March 16, 2017.
    Immigration Status Verification For Benefits: Actions 
Needed To Improve Effectiveness And Oversight. GAO-17-204. 
March 23, 2017.
    2016 Lobbying Disclosure: Observations On Lobbyists' 
Compliance With Disclosure Requirements. GAO-17-385. March 31, 
2017.
    Countering Violent Extremism: Actions Needed To Define 
Strategy And Assess Progress Of Federal Efforts. GAO-17-300. 
April 6, 2017.
    Homeland Security Acquisitions: Earlier Requirements 
Definition And Clear Documentation Of Key Decisions Could 
Facilitate Ongoing Progress. GAO-17-346SP. April 6, 2017.
    Federal Contracts: Agencies Widely Used Indefinite 
Contracts To Provide Flexibility To Meet Mission Needs. GAO-17-
329. April 13, 2017.
    Homeland Security Acquisitions: Identifying All Non-Major 
Acquisitions Would Advance Ongoing Efforts To Improve 
Management. GAO-17-396. April 13, 2017.
    Performance Partnerships: Agencies Need To Better Identify 
Resource Contributions To Sustain Disconnected Youth Pilot 
Programs And Data To Assess Pilot Results. GAO-17-208. April 
18, 2017.
    Countering ISIS And Its Effects: Key Issues For Oversight. 
GAO-17-354SPC. April 20, 2017.
    2017 Annual Report: Additional Opportunities To Reduce 
Fragmentation, Overlap, And Duplication And Achieve Other 
Financial Benefits. GAO-17-491SP. April 26, 2017,
    Data Act: Offices Of Inspector General Reports Help 
Identify Agencies' Implementation Challenges. GAO-17-460. April 
26, 2017.
    Data Act: As Reporting Deadline Nears, Challenges Remain 
That Will Affect Data Quality. GAO-17-496. April 28, 2017.
    Memory Supplements: Clarifying FDA And FTC Roles Could 
Strengthen Oversight And Enhance Consumer Awareness. 
GAO-17-416. May 16, 2017.
    Service Contracts: Agencies Should Take Steps To More 
Effectively Use Independent Government Cost Estimates. GAO-17-
398. May 17, 2017.
    Homeland Security: Progress Made To Implement It Reform, 
But Additional Chief Information Officer Involvement Needed. 
GAO-17-284. May 18, 2017.
    Data Center Optimization: Agencies Need To Complete Plans 
To Address Inconsistencies In Reported Savings. GAO-17-388. May 
18, 2017.
    Telecommunications: Additional Action Needed To Address 
Significant Risks In FCC's Lifeline Program (Report). GAO-17-
538. May 30, 2017.
    Improper Payments: Additional Guidance Could Help Ensure 
More Consistent Compliance Determinations And Reporting By 
Inspectors General. GAO-17-484. May 31, 2017.
    Immigration Courts: Actions Needed To Reduce Case Backlog 
And Address Long-Standing Management And Operational 
Challenges. GAO-17-438. June 1, 2017.
    Refugees: Actions Needed By State Department And DHS To 
Further Strengthen Applicant Screening Process And Assess Fraud 
Risks. GAO-17-444SU. June 7, 2017.
    Refugees: State And Its Partners Have Implemented Several 
Antifraud Measures But Could Further Reduce The Risk Of Staff 
Fraud. GAO-17-446SU. June 7, 2017
    Open Innovation: executive branch Developed Resources To 
Support Implementation, But Guidance Could Better Reflect 
Leading Practices. GAO-17-507. June 8, 2017.
    U.S. Postal Service: Key Considerations For Potential 
Changes To USPS's Monopolies. GAO-17-543. June 22, 2017.
    Army Contracting: Leadership Lacks Information Needed To 
Effectively Evaluate And Improve Operations. GAO-17-457. June 
22, 2017.
    Critical Infrastructure Protection: DHS Has Fully 
Implemented Its Chemical Security Expedited Approval Program, 
And Participation To Date Has Been Limited. GAO-17-502. June 
29, 2017.
    Investigational New Drugs: FDA Has Taken Steps To Improve 
The Expanded Access Program But Should Further Clarify How 
Adverse Events Data Are Used. GAO-17-564. July 11, 2017.
    Management Export: Improvements Needed In Controls Over The 
Processes Used To Prepare The U.S. Consolidated Financial 
Statements. GAO-17-524. July 12, 2017.
    Federal Emergency Management Agency: Additional Actions 
Needed To Improve Handling Of Employee Misconduct Allegations. 
GAO-17-613. July 18, 2017.
    2020 Census: Bureau Needs To Better Leverage Information To 
Achieve Goals Of Reengineered Address Canvassing. GAO-17-622. 
July 20, 2017.
    Information Security: Control Deficiencies Continue To 
Limit IRS's Effectiveness In Protecting Sensitive Financial And 
Taxpayer Data (FOUO). GAO-17-394SU. July 26, 2017.
    Information Security: Control Deficiencies Continue To 
Limit IRS's Effectiveness In Protecting Sensitive Financial And 
Taxpayer Data (Public). GAO-17-395. July 26, 2017.
    2020 Census: Bureau Is Taking Steps To Address Limitations 
Of Administrative Records. GAO-17-664. July 26, 2017.
    Federal Contracting: Improvements Needed In How Some 
Agencies Report Personal Services Contracts. GAO-17-610. July 
27, 2017.
    Surface Transportation: A Comprehensive Plan Could 
Facilitate Implementation Of A National Performance Management 
Approach. GAO-17-638. July 27, 2017.
    Refugees: Actions Needed By State Department And DHS To 
Further Strengthen Applicant Screening Process And Assess Fraud 
Risks (Public Version). GAO-17-706. July 31, 2017.
    International Mail Security: Costs And Benefits Of Using 
Electronic Data To Screen Mail Need To Be Assessed. GAO-17-606. 
August 2, 2017.
    Aviation Security: Actions Needed To Systematically 
Evaluate Cost And Effectiveness Across Security 
Countermeasures. 
GAO-17-602C. August 16, 2017.
    Personnel Practices: Actions Needed To Improve 
Documentation Of OPM Decisions On Conversion Requests. GAO-17-
674. August 28, 2017.
    Aviation Security: TSA Has Made Progress Implementing 
Requirements In The Aviation Security Act Of 2016. GAO-17-662. 
September 7, 2017.
    Aviation Security: Actions Needed To Systematically 
Evaluate Cost And Effectiveness Across Security Countermeasures 
(Public Version). GAO-17-794. September 11, 2017.
    DHS Financial Management: Better Use Of Best Practices 
Could Help Manage System Modernization Project Risks. GAO-17-
799. September 26, 2017.
    Federal Contracting: Additional Management Attention And 
Action Needed To Close Contracts And Reduce Audit Backlog. 
GAO-17-738. September 28, 2017.
    Federal Programs: Information Architecture Offers A 
Potential Approach For Development Of An Inventory. GAO-17-739. 
September 28, 2017.
    Federal Information Security: Weaknesses Continue To 
Indicate Need For Effective Implementation Of Policies And 
Practices. GAO-17-549. September 28, 2017.
    Whistleblower Protection: Opportunities Exist For DOD To 
Improve The Timeliness And Quality Of Civilian And Contractor 
Reprisal Investigations. GAO-17-506. September 29, 2017.
    Managing For Results: Further Progress Made In Implementing 
The GPRA Modernization Act, But Additional Actions Needed To 
Address Pressing Governance Challenges. GAO-17-775. September 
29, 2017.
    Program Evaluation: Annual Agency-Wide Plans Could Enhance 
Leadership Support For Program Evaluations. GAO-17-743. 
September 29, 2017.
    Southwest Border Security: Actions Needed To Enhance CBP's 
Maintenance Of Roads Used For Its Operations. GAO-18-11. 
October 4, 2017.
    Biodefense: Federal Efforts To Develop Biological Threat 
Awareness. GAO-18-155. October 11, 2017.
    Federal Regulations: Key Considerations For Agency Design 
And Enforcement Decisions. GAO-18-22. October 19, 2017.
    DOD Financial Management: Additional Actions Needed To 
Complete The Army's Analyses Of Unsupported Accounting Entries 
For Its General Fund. GAO-18-27. October 20, 2017.
    Critical Infrastructure Protection: DHS Risk Assessments 
Inform Owner And Operator Protection Efforts And Strategic 
Planning. GAO-18-62. October 30, 2017.
    Border Patrol: Issues Related To Agent Deployment Strategy 
And Immigration Checkpoints. GAO-18-50. November 8, 2017.
    Disaster Assistance: Opportunities To Enhance 
Implementation Of The Redesigned Public Assistance Grant 
Program. GAO-18-30. November 8, 2017.
    Data Act: OMB, Treasury And Agencies Need To Improve 
Completeness And Accuracy Of Spending Data And Disclose 
Limitations. GAO-18-138. November 8, 2017.
    Financial Audit: IRS's Fiscal Years 2017 And 2016 Financial 
Statements. GAO-18-165. November 9, 2017.
    Financial Audit: Bureau Of The Fiscal Service's Fiscal 
Years 2017 And 2016 Schedules Of Federal Debt. GAO-18-134. 
November 9, 2017.
    Improper Payments: Most Selected Agencies Improved 
Procedures To Help Ensure Risk Assessments Of All Programs And 
Activities. GAO-18-36. November 16, 2017.
    Southwest Border: Border Patrol Is Deploying Surveillance 
Technologies But Needs To Improve Data Quality And Assess 
Effectiveness. GAO-18-119. November 30, 2017.
    Medicare And Medicaid: CMS Needs To Fully Align Its 
Antifraud Efforts With The Fraud Risk Framework. GAO-18-88. 
December 5, 2017.
    Personnel Security Clearances: Additional Actions Needed To 

Address Quality, Timeliness, And Investigation Backlog. GAO-18-
26SU. December 7, 2017.
    Medicaid: Further Action Needed To Expedite Use Of National 
Data For Program Oversight. GAO-18-70. December 8, 2017.
    Disaster Recovery: Additional Actions Would Improve Data 
Quality And Timeliness Of FEMA's Public Assistance Appeals 
Processing. GAO-18-143. December 15, 2017.
    Border Security: Actions Needed To Strengthen Performance 
Management And Planning For Expansion Of DHS's Visa Security 
Program. GAO-18-104SU. December 19, 2017.
    Transportation Security Administration: After Oversight 
Lapses, Compliance With Policy Governing Special Authority Has 
Been Strengthened. GAO-18-172. December 21, 2017.
    Federal Buildings: GSA Should Establish Goals And 
Performance Measures To Manage The Smart Buildings Program. 
GAO-18-200. January 30, 2018.
    Cybersecurity Workforce: Urgent Need For DHS To Take 
Actions To Identify Its Position And Critical Skill 
Requirements. GAO-18-175. February 6, 2018.
    Critical Infrastructure Protection: Electricity Suppliers 
Have Taken Actions To Address Electromagnetic Risks, And 
Additional Research Is Ongoing. GAO-18-67. February 7, 2018.
    Department Of Education: Resource And Achievement Trends. 
GAO-18-154. February 7, 2018.
    Federal Law Enforcement: DHS And DOJ Are Working To Enhance 
Responses To Incidents Involving Individuals With Mental 
Illness. GAO-18-229. February 8, 2018.
    Federal Personal Property: Opportunities Exist To Improve 
Identification Of Unneeded Property For Disposal. GAO-18-257. 
February 16, 2018.
    Railroad Retirement Board: Actions Needed To Improve The 
Effectiveness And Oversight Of Continuing Disability Reviews. 
GAO-18-287. February 21, 2018.
    2017 Disaster Contracting: Observations On Federal 
Contracting For Response And Recovery Efforts. GAO-18-335. 
February 28, 2018.
    NASA Contractor Whistleblowers: Steps Taken To Implement 
Program But Improvements To Timeliness And Guidance Needed. 
GAO-18-262. March 8, 2018.
    Federal Buildings: Agencies Focus On Space Utilization As 
They Reduce Office And Warehouse Space. GAO-18-304. March 8, 
2018.
    Inspectors General: Information On Vacancies And IG 
Community Views On Their Impact. GAO-18-270. March 9, 2018.
    Federal Rulemaking: OMB Should Work With Agencies To 
Improve congressional Review Act Compliance During And At The 
End Of Presidents' Terms. GAO-18-183. March 13, 2018.
    U.S. Ports Of Entry: CPB Public-Private Partnership 
Programs Have Benefits, But CBP Could Strengthen Evaluation 
Efforts. GAO-18-268. March 15, 2018.
    Border Security: Actions Needed To Strengthen Performance 
Management And Expansion Planning For DHS's Visa Security 
Program. GAO-18-314. March 20, 2018.
    Financial Technology: Additional Steps By Regulators Could 
Better Protect Consumers And Aid Regulatory Oversight. GAO-18-
254. March 22, 2018.
    Federal Real Property: Agencies Make Some Use Of Telework 
In Space Planning But Need Additional Guidance. GAO-18-319. 
March 22, 2018.
    Illicit Opioids: While Greater Attention Given To Synthetic 
Opioids, Agencies Need To Better Assess Their Efforts. GAO-18-
205. March 29, 2018.
    2017 Lobbying Disclosure: Observations On Lobbyists' 
Compliance With Disclosure Requirements. GAO-18-388. March 30, 
2018.
    DHS Program Costs: Reporting Program-Level Operations And 
Support Costs To Congress Would Improve Oversight. GAO-18-344. 
April 25, 2018.
    Emergency Communications: Increased Regional Collaboration 
Could Enhance Capabilities. GAO-18-379. April 26, 2018.
    2018 Annual Report: Additional Opportunities To Reduce 
Fragmentation, Overlap, And Duplication And Achieve Other 
Financial Benefits. GAO-18-371SP. April 26, 2018.
    DOD Financial Management: The Navy Needs To Improve 
Internal Control Over Its Buildings. GAO-18-289. May 10, 2018.
    Collegiate Aviation Schools: Stakeholders' Views On 
Challenges For Initial Pilot Training Programs. GAO-18-403. May 
15, 2018.
    Homeland Security Acquisitions: Leveraging Programs' 
Results Could Further DHS' Progress To Improve Portfolio 
Management. GAO-18-339SP. May 17, 2018.
    Federal Buildings: More Consideration Of Operations And 
Maintenance Costs Could Better Inform The Design Excellence 
Program. GAO-18-420. May 22, 2018.
    Data Center Optimization: Continued Agency Actions Needed 
To Meet Goals And Address Prior Recommendations. GAO-18-264. 
May 23, 2018.
    Foster Care: Additional Actions Could Help HHS Better 
Support States' Use Of Private Providers To Recruit And Retain 
Foster Families. GAO-18-376. May 30, 2018.
    Federal Judiciary: The Administrative Office Of The U.S. 
Courts Should Ensure Financial Disclosure Redaction Reports Are 
Submitted To Congress Annually. GAO-18-406. May 31, 2018.
    Nonimmigrant Visas: Outcomes Of Applications, Screening And 
Vetting Processes, And Changes In Response To 2017 Executive 
Actions. GAO-18-286SU. June 8, 2018.
    Southwest Border Security: CBP Is Evaluating Designs And 
Locations For Border Barriers But Is Proceeding Without Key 
Information (Sensitive). GAO-18-489SU. June 12, 2018.
    Border Security And Immigration: Initial Executive Order 
Actions And Resource Implications. GAO-18-470. June 12, 2018.
    Government Reorganization: Key Questions To Assess Agency 
Reform Efforts. GAO-18-427. June 13, 2018.
    Cybersecurity Workforce: Agencies Need To Improve Baseline 
Assessments And Procedures For Coding Positions. GAO-18-466. 
June 14, 2018.
    Office Of Special Counsel: Actions Needed To Improve 
Processing Of Prohibited Personnel Practice And Whistleblower 
Disclosure Cases. GAO-18-400. June 14, 2018.
    2020 Census: Actions Needed To Improve In-Field Address 
Canvassing Operation. GAO-18-414. June 14, 2018.
    U.S Customs And Border Protection: Progress And Challenges 
In Recruiting, Hiring, And Retaining Law Enforcement Personnel. 
GAO-18-487. June 27, 2018.
    U.S. Postal Service: Projected Capital Spending And 
Processes For addressing Uncertainties And Risks. GAO-18-515. 
June 28, 2018.
    Paperwork Reduction Act: Agencies Could Better Leverage 
Review Processes And Public Outreach To Improve Burden 
Estimates. GAO-18-381. July 11, 2018.
    Federal Employee Misconduct: Actions Needed To Ensure 
Agencies Have Tools To Effectively Address Misconduct. GAO-18-
48. July 16, 2018.
    Management Report: Continued Improvements Needed In 
Controls Over The Processes Used To Prepare The U.S. 
Consolidated Financial Statements. GAO-18-540. July 16, 2018.
    Federal Student Aid: Education's Postsecondary School 
Certification Process. GAO-18-481. July 17, 2018.
    Social Security Disability: Better Timeliness Metrics 
Needed To Assess Transfers Of Appeals Work. GAO-18-501. July 
19, 2018.
    Real Property: GSA Is Taking Steps To Improve Collection 
And Reporting Of Repair And Alteration Projects' Information. 
GAO-18-595. July 23, 2018.
    Data Act: Reported Quality Of Agencies' Spending Data 
Reviewed By OIGs Varied Because Of Government-Wide And Agency 
Issues. GAO-18-546. July 23, 2018.
    Medicaid Managed Care: Improvements Needed To Better 
Oversee Payment Risks. GAO-18-528. July 26, 2018.
    2020 Census: Bureau Has Made Progress With Its Scheduling, 
But Further Improvement Will Help Inform Management Decisions. 
GAO-18-589. July 26, 2018.
    2020 Census: Actions Needed To Address Challenges To 
Enumerating Hard-To-Count Groups. GAO-18-599. July 26, 2018.
    E-Commerce Portal: Assessment Of The E-Commerce Portal 
Implementation Plan. GAO-18-578. July 30, 2018.
    Southwest Border Security: CBP Is Evaluating Designs And 
Locations For Border Barriers But Is Proceeding Without Key 
Information. GAO-18-614. July 30, 2018.
    Department Of Homeland Security: Components Could Improve 
Monitoring Of The Employee Misconduct Process. GAO-18-405. July 
31, 2018.
    Information Security: IRS Needs To Rectify Control 
Deficiencies That Limit Its Effectiveness In Protecting 
Sensitive Financial And Taxpayer Data (LOUO). GAO-18-390SU. 
July 31, 2018.
    Information Security: IRS Needs To Rectify Control 
Deficiencies That Limit Its Effectiveness In Protecting 
Sensitive Financial And Taxpayer Data. GAO-18-391. July 31, 
2018.
    Nonimmigrant Visas: Outcomes Of Applications And Changes In 
Response To 2017 Executive Actions (Public Version). GAO-18-
608. August 7, 2018.
    DHS Acquisitions: Additional Practices Could Help 
Components Better Develop Operational Requirements. GAO-18-550. 
August 8, 2018.
    Critical Infrastructure Protection: DHS Should Take Actions 
To Measure Reduction In Chemical Facility Vulnerability And 
Share Information With First Responders. GAO-18-538. August 8, 
2018.
    2020 Census: Census Bureau Improved The Quality Of Its Cost 
Estimation But Additional Steps Are Needed To Ensure 
Reliability. GAO-18-635. August 17, 2018.
    Rural Hospital Closures: Number And Characteristics Of 
Affected Hospitals And Contributing Factors. GAO-18-634. August 
29, 2018.
    2020 Census: Continued Management Attention Needed To 
Address Challenges And Risks With Developing, Testing, And 
Securing It Systems. GAO-18-655. August 30, 2018.
    Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits: Unsustainable 
Finances Need To Be Addressed. GAO-18-602. August 31, 2018.
    Homeland Security Grant Program: Additional Actions Could 
Further Enhance FEMA's Risk-Based Grant Assessment Model. GAO-
18-354. September 6, 2018.
    Nuclear Nonproliferation: The Administration's 2018 Plan 
For Verification And Monitoring Met Most Reporting Requirements 
But Did Not Include Future Costs And Funding Needs. GAO-18-617. 
September 14, 2018.
    Grants Workforce: Actions Needed To Ensure Staff Have 
Skills To Administer And Oversee Federal Grants. GAO-18-491. 
September 20, 2018.
    Embassy Construction: Pace Is Slower Than Projected, And 
State Could Make Program Improvements. GAO-18-653. September 
25, 2018.
    Overseas Conflicts: U.S. Agencies Have Coordinated 
Stabilization Efforts But Need To Document Their Agreement. 
GAO-18-654. September 27, 2018.
    U.S. Postal Service: Enhancing Procedures Could Improve 
Product Scanning. GAO-18-638. September 28, 2018.
    Presidential Security: Vetting Of Individuals And Secure 
Areas At Mar-A-Lago. GAO-19-177SU. October 17, 2018.
    Financial Audit: Bureau Of The Fiscal Service's Fiscal 
Years 2018 And 2017 Schedules Of Federal Debt. GAO-19-113. 
November 8, 2018.
    Financial Audit: IRS's Fiscal Years 2018 And 2017 Financial 
Statements. GAO-19-150. November 9, 2018.
    U.S. Secret Service: Action Needed To Address Gaps In It 
Workforce Planning And Management Practices. GAO-19-60. 
November 15, 2018.
    Federal Personal Property: GSA And VA Have Opportunities To 
Improve The Exchange/Sale Process. GAO-19-33. November 16, 
2018.
    Federal Workforce: Opportunities Exist For OPM To Further 
Innovation In Performance Management. GAO-19-35. November 20, 
2018.
    Continuity Of Operations: Actions Needed To Strengthen 
FEMA's Oversight And Coordination Of executive branch 
Readiness. GAO-19-18SU. November 26, 2018.
    Orphan Drugs: FDA Could Improve Designation Review 
Consistency; Rare Disease Drug Development Challenges Continue. 
GAO-19-83. November 30, 2018
    Fraud Risk Management OMB Should Improve Guidelines And 
Working-Group Efforts To Support Agencies' Implementation Of 
The Fraud Reduction And Data Analytics Act. GAO-19-34. December 
4, 2018.
    Open Data: Treasury Could Better Align USASpending.Gov With 
Key Practices And Search Requirements. GAO-19-72. December 13, 
2018.
    Critical Infrastructure Protection: Actions Needed To 
Address Significant Weaknesses In TSA's Pipeline Security 
Program. GAO-19-48. December 18, 2018.
    Information Security: Agencies Need To Improve 
Implementation Of Federal Approach To Securing Systems And 
Protecting Against Intrusions. GAO-19-105. December 18, 2018.

                      VI. OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS

    During the 115th Congress, 944 official communications were 
referred to the Committee. Of these, 938 were Executive 
Communications, and 6 were Petitions or Memorials. Of the 
official communications, 332 dealt with the District of 
Columbia.

                        VII. LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

    During the 115th Congress, the Committee reported 
significant legislation that was approved by Congress and 
signed into law by the President.
    The following are brief legislative histories of measures 
to the Committee and, in some cases, drafted by the Committee, 
which (1) became public law or (2) were favorably reported from 
the Committee and passed by the Senate, but did not become law. 
In addition to the measures listed below, the Committee 
received during the 115th Congress numerous legislative 
proposals that were not considered or reported, or that were 
reported but not passed by the Senate. Additional information 
on these measures appears in the Committee's Legislative 
Calendar for the 115th Congress.

                      A. MEASURES ENACTED INTO LAW

    The following measures considered by the Committee were 
enacted into Public Law. The descriptions following the signing 
date of each measure note selected provisions of the text, and 
are not intended to serve as section-by-section summaries.
    H.R. 72.--GAO Access and Oversight Act of 2017. (Public Law 
115-3). January 31, 2017.
    (Sec. 2) This bill authorizes the Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) to obtain Federal agency records required to 
discharge the GAO's duties (including audit, evaluation, and 
investigative duties), including through bringing civil actions 
to require an agency to produce a record. No provision of the 
Social Security Act shall be construed to limit, amend, or 
supersede the GAO's authority to: (1) obtain information or 
inspect records about an agency's duties, powers, activities, 
organization, or financial transactions; or (2) obtain other 
agency records that the GAO requires to discharge its duties. 
Agency Statements on actions taken or planned in response to 
GAO recommendations must be submitted to: (1) the congressional 
committees with jurisdiction over the pertinent agency program 
or activity, and (2) the GAO.
    H.R. 194.--Federal Agency Mail Management Act of 2017. 
(Public Law 115-85). November 21, 2017.
    (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Presidential and Federal 
Records Act Amendments of 2014 to require the General Services 
Administration (GSA) to provide guidance and assistance to 
Federal agencies for effective mail processing. The GSA: (1) 
must promote economy and efficiency in the selection and 
utilization of space, staff, equipment, and supplies for 
Federal mail processing facilities; and (2) may inspect the 
mail processing practices and programs of Federal agencies for 
purposes of recommending improvements. The bill also provides 
authority for the GSA to set goals for the establishment and 
maintenance of Federal records management systems or 
techniques.
    H.R. 195.--Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 2017. 
(Public Law 115-120). January 22, 2018.\1\
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    \1\H.R. 195 was the vehicle for the Continuing Appropriations Act 
of 2018.
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       DIVISION A--FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017

    Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 2017
    (Sec. 2) This division bars the Government Publishing 
Office from furnishing a printed copy of the Federal Register 
without charge to any Member of Congress or any other office of 
the United States during a year unless the Member or office 
requests: (1) a printed copy of a specific issue of the Federal 
Register, or (2) a subscription to printed copies of the 
Federal Register for that year.

      DIVISION B--EXTENSION OF CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018

    Extension of Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018
    (Sec. 2001) This division amends the Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2018 to provide continuing FY2018 
appropriations to Federal agencies through February 8, 2018 
(January 19, 2018, under current law).
    It ends the government shutdown that began when the 
existing continuing resolution (CR) expired because none of the 
12 FY2018 regular appropriations bills that fund the Federal 
Government have been enacted.
    This division also adds provisions to the Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2018 that:

     Lpermit funds appropriated by the Department of 
Defense Missile Defeat and Defense Enhancements Appropriations 
Act, 2018 to be obligated and expended notwithstanding a 
provision of the National Security Act of 1947 that requires a 
specific authorization of appropriations for intelligence 
activities;
     Lprovide the Department of Agriculture with 
funding flexibility to ensure that certain demonstration 
projects for providing meals to low-income children during the 
summer will be fully operational by May 2018;
     Lprovide the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration (NASA) with funding flexibility to maintain the 
planned launch capability schedules for the Space Launch System 
launch vehicle, Exploration Ground Systems, and Orion Multi-
Purpose Crew Vehicle programs;
     Lprovide the Department of Energy with funding 
flexibility to maintain the June 30, 2017, staffing levels of 
the Office of Inspector General;
     Lprovide the Small Business Administration with 
funding flexibility to accommodate increased demand for general 
business loans authorized under section 7(a) of the Small 
Business Act;
     Lpermit the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development to make certain adjustments to the Section 8 
housing choice voucher annual renewal funding allocations and 
administrative fee eligibility determinations for public 
housing agencies in an area for which the President declared a 
disaster in 2017 or 2018 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act;
     Lcompensate employees furloughed as a result of 
any lapse in appropriations which began on or about January 20, 
2018; and
     Lrequire certain States, Federal grantees, and 
furloughed State employees to be compensated or reimbursed for 
periods in which there is a lapse in FY2018 
appropriations.(Sec. 2002) This section amends the Further 
Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 to strike a 
provision that extended certain authorities provided by the 
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) through 
the duration of the CR. (The FISA Amendments Reauthorization 
Act of 2017 was signed into law on January 19, 2018.)

    (Sec. 2003) This section specifies that the time covered by 
the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 includes the period 
that began on or about January 20, 2018, during which there was 
a lapse in appropriations.

                      DIVISION C--HEALTHY KIDS ACT

    Helping Ensure Access for Little Ones, Toddlers, and 
Hopeful Youth by Keeping Insurance Delivery Stable Act or the 
HEALTHY KIDS Act
    (Sec. 101) This division extends funding through FY2023 for 
the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Child 
Enrollment Contingency Fund.
    In addition, the bill reauthorizes through FY2023:

     Lthe qualifying-States option (which allows States 
that provided coverage to now CHIP-eligible children prior to 
CHIP's enactment to continue to provide such coverage), and
     Lthe express-lane eligibility option (which allows 
States to use eligibility findings from other public benefit 
programs to determine children's eligibility for Medicaid and 
CHIP).

    Beginning in FY2020, the division allows State child-health 
plans to adopt more restrictive eligibility standards with 
respect to children in families whose income exceeds 300 
percent of the poverty line.
    (Sec. 102) The division extends funding through FY2023 for 
the Childhood Obesity Demonstration Project and the Pediatric 
Quality Measures Program.
    (Sec. 103) The division: (1) extends funding through FY2023 
for specified outreach and enrollment grants, and (2) makes 
eligible for such grants ``parent-mentors'' who are trained to 
assist families with children who have no health-insurance 
coverage. Any nominal amount received by an individual for 
participation as a parent-mentor shall be disregarded for 
purposes of determining the individual's income-based 
eligibility for Medicaid.
    (Sec. 104) Current law provides States with an enhanced 
Federal Matching Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for child-health 
assistance through FY2019. The division maintains the enhanced 
FMAP in FY2020, but halves the percentage-point increase.
    (Sec. 105) The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
shall make additional funding available to States for specified 
activities related to mechanized claims systems.

         DIVISION D--SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN HEALTH-RELATED TAXES

    (Sec. 4001) This section amends the Internal Revenue Code 
to extend for 2 years (2018 and 2019) the moratorium on the 2.3 
percent excise tax on the sale of medical devices. (Under 
current law, the moratorium expired at the end of 2017.)
    (Sec. 4002) This section amends the Patient Protection and 
Affordable Care Act to delay for 2 years the implementation of 
the excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored health coverage 
(commonly referred to as the Cadillac tax). Under the bill, the 
tax will go into effect in 2022 instead of 2020, as required 
under current law.
    (Sec. 4003) This section suspends for 2019 the annual fee 
imposed on certain health insurance providers based on market 
share.

                     DIVISION E--BUDGETARY EFFECTS

    (Sec. 5001) This division exempts the budgetary effects of 
division C and each succeeding division of this bill from Pay-
As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules and certain budget scorekeeping 
guidelines.
    H.R. 274.--Modernizing Government Travel Act. (Public Law 
115-34). May 16, 2017.
    (Sec. 2) This bill requires the General Services 
Administration (GSA) to prescribe regulations to provide for 
the reimbursement of Federal employees traveling on official 
business for the use of a transportation network company (e.g., 
Uber or Lyft) or an innovative mobility technology. The 
Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall 
prescribe such regulations with respect to judicial branch 
employees.
    An ``innovative mobility technology company'' is an entity 
that applies technology to expand and enhance available 
transportation choices, better manages demand for 
transportation services, or provides alternatives to driving 
alone.
    A ``transportation network company'' is an entity that uses 
a digital network to connect riders to drivers in order for a 
driver to transport the rider to a point chosen by the rider. 
This does not include a shared-expense carpool or vanpool 
arrangement that is not intended to generate profit for the 
driver.
    (Sec. 3) The bill revises the reporting requirements 
regarding payments pertaining to official travel.
    Each agency must annually submit to the GSA data on agency 
payments for travel and relocation and an analysis of 
transportation costs.
    The GSA shall make the data submitted publicly available 
upon receipt.
    The GSA shall annually submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget and to specified congressional committees an 
analysis of the data submitted for specified agencies and a 
description of any new regulations or changes to existing 
regulations.
    H.R. 366.--DHS SAVE Act (Public Law 115-38). June 6, 2017.
    (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
to make the Under Secretary for Management of the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for overseeing and managing 
vehicle fleets throughout DHS, including:

     Lensuring that DHS components are in compliance 
with Federal law, executive branch guidance, and DHS policy 
regarding fleet management and use of vehicles from home to 
work;
     Ldeveloping and distributing a standardized 
vehicle allocation methodology and fleet management plan;
     Lensuring that components formally document fleet 
management decisions; and
     Lapproving component fleet management plans, 
vehicle leases, and vehicle acquisitions.

    The bill lists responsibilities of component heads 
regarding vehicle fleets, including developing and annually 
submitting to the Under Secretary a vehicle allocation tool and 
fleet management plan.
    The Under Secretary shall:

     Lcollect, on a quarterly basis, information 
regarding component vehicle fleets;
     Lseek to achieve a capability to collect automated 
information regarding component vehicle fleets;
     Ltrack and monitor component information, and 
review each component's vehicle allocation tool and fleet 
management plan, to ensure that component vehicle fleets are 
the optimal size and are cost effective;
     Lprovide guidance on how component heads may 
achieve optimal fleet size; and
     Las part of the annual budget process, review and 
make determinations regarding annual component requests for 
vehicle fleet funding.

    Beginning with FY 2019, the Under Secretary and component 
heads may not approve a vehicle lease, acquisition, or 
replacement request, no DHS official with vehicle fleet 
management responsibilities may receive annual performance 
compensation in pay, and no senior executive service official 
of DHS whose office has a vehicle fleet may receive access to a 
car service, if such officials did not comply with vehicle 
allocation tool and fleet management plan requirements in the 
prior fiscal year. The Under Secretary may determine the 
feasibility of operating a vehicle motor pool to permit 
components to share vehicles to reduce the number of excess DHS 
vehicles. (Sec. 3) The Inspector General of DHS shall: (1) 
conduct a review of implementation of vehicle allocation tool 
and fleet management plan requirements for FY 2019, which shall 
include analysis of the effectiveness of such requirements with 
respect to cost avoidance, savings realized, and component 
operations; and (2) upon request, provide to specified 
congressional committees information regarding such review.
    H.R. 657.--Follow the Rule Act. (Public Law 115-40). June 
14, 2017.
    (Sec. 2) This bill extends the prohibition against a person 
taking, failing to take, or threatening to take or fail to take 
a personnel action against any employee or applicant for 
employment for refusing to obey an order that would require the 
individual to violate a law to personnel actions against such 
an individual for refusing to obey an order that would violate 
a rule or regulation.
    H.R. 1117.--To require the Administrator of the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency to submit a report regarding 
certain plans regarding assistance to applicants and grantees 
during the response to an emergency or disaster. (Public Law 
115-69). October 18, 2017.
    (Sec. 1) This bill directs the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) to report to Congress regarding its plans to 
provide: (1) consistent guidance to applicants on FEMA disaster 
funding procedures during the response to an emergency or 
disaster, (2) appropriate record maintenance and transfer of 
documents to new teams during staff transitions, and (3) 
accurate assistance to applicants and grantees to ease the 
administrative burden throughout the process of obtaining and 
monitoring assistance. The report must: (1) include a plan for 
implementing operating procedures and document retention 
requirements to ensure the maintenance of appropriate records 
throughout the life cycle of the emergency or disaster; and (2) 
identify new technologies to aid the disaster workforce in 
partnering with State, local, and tribal governments and 
private nonprofits in the wake of a disaster or emergency to 
educate, assist, and inform applicants on the status of their 
applications and projects.
    H.R. 1238.--Securing our Agriculture and Food Act. (Public 
Law 115-43). June 30, 2017.
    (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
to direct the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs for the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to carry out a program to 
coordinate DHS efforts related to defending the food, 
agriculture, and veterinary systems of the United States 
against terrorism and other high-consequence events that pose a 
high risk to homeland security.
    Such program shall:

     Lprovide oversight and management of DHS's 
responsibilities pursuant to Homeland Security Presidential 
Directive 9--Defense of United States Agriculture and Food;
     Lprovide oversight and integration of DHS 
activities related to veterinary public health, food defense, 
and agricultural security;
     L lead DHS policy initiatives related to food, 
animal, and agricultural incidents and to overall domestic 
preparedness for, and collective response to, agricultural 
terrorism;
     Lcoordinate with other DHS components on 
activities related to food and agriculture security and 
screening procedures for domestic and imported products; and
     Lcoordinate with appropriate Federal departments 
and agencies.

    H.R. 1370.--Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign 
Authorization Act of 2017. (Public Law 115-96). December 22, 
2017.

   DIVISION A--FURTHER ADDITIONAL CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018

    Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018
    (Sec. 1001) Amends the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 
to provide continuing FY2018 appropriations to Federal agencies 
through January 19, 2018 (December 22, 2017, under current 
law).
    (This provision prevents a government shutdown that would 
otherwise occur when the existing continuing resolution expires 
because the FY2018 appropriations bills have not been enacted.)
    Adds provisions to the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 
that:

     Lpermit funds provided to the Coast Guard to be 
used to carry out Retired Pay Reform, including continuation 
pay;
     Lprovide additional funding to the Indian Health 
Service for the costs of staffing and operating newly 
constructed facilities;
     Lpermit funds provided to the Department of Health 
and Human Services (HHS) to be apportioned up to the rate for 
operations necessary to maintain programs and activities 
related to: (1) the care of unaccompanied alien children, and 
(2) efforts to combat the trafficking of children;
     Lprovide additional funding for HHS to prepare for 
or respond to an influenza pandemic; and
     Lexempt security spending from sequestration 
(automatic spending cuts) for FY2018 and delay the 
sequestration for nonsecurity spending.
    (Sec. 1002) Extends certain authorities provided by the 
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) through 
the duration of the continuing resolution. Specifies that this 
section is repealed if legislation amending the dates included 
in section 403(b) of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 is 
enacted.

                      DIVISION B--MISSILE DEFENSE

    Department of Defense Missile Defeat and Defense 
Enhancements Appropriations Act, 2018
    Provides FY2018 emergency appropriations to the Department 
of Defense (DOD) for missile defense programs. (Emergency 
spending is exempt from discretionary spending limits and other 
budget enforcement rules.)

            TITLE I--MISSILE DEFEAT AND DEFENSE ENHANCEMENTS

    Provides Operation and Maintenance funds to DOD for 
necessary costs to repair damage to the USS John S. McCain and 
the USS Fitzgerald.
    Provides Operation and Maintenance; Procurement; and 
Research, Development, Test and Evaluation funds to DOD for 
necessary costs to detect, defeat, and defend against the use 
of ballistic missiles.

              TITLE II--MISSILE CONSTRUCTION ENHANCEMENTS

    Provides appropriations for Defense-Wide Military 
Construction for construction of a missile field in Alaska.

                     TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS

    (Sec. 2001) Specifies that the funds provided by this 
division are in addition to funds appropriated or otherwise 
made available to DOD for FY2018.
    (Sec. 2002) Requires funds provided by title I of this 
division to be allocated in accordance with the detailed 
congressional budget justifications submitted by DOD with the 
FY2018 budget amendments requested by the President on November 
6, 2017. Specifies that any changes to the allocation of funds 
are subject to reprogramming requirements.
    (Sec. 2003) Specifies that funds designated in this 
division as emergency requirements are available only if the 
President subsequently designates all of the amounts as 
emergency requirements and transmits the designations to 
Congress.

                     DIVISION C--HEALTH PROVISIONS

                    TITLE I--PUBLIC HEALTH EXTENDERS

    CHIP and Public Health Funding Extension Act
    (Sec. 3101) Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable 
Care Act to extend and make appropriations through the second 
quarter of FY2018 for community health centers and the National 
Health Service Corps.
    Amends the Public Health Service Act to make appropriations 
through the second quarter of FY2018 for a program that pays 
teaching health centers to establish or expand graduate medical 
residency training programs.
    (Sec. 3102) Makes appropriations through the second quarter 
of FY2018 for type I diabetes programs and diabetes programs 
for Native Americans.
    (Sec. 3103) Reduces FY2019-FY2022 for the Prevention and 
Public Health Fund.

          TITLE II--CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (CHIP)

    (Sec. 3201) Amends title XXI (Children's Health Insurance 
Program [CHIP]) of the Social Security Act to extend funding 
for CHIP through the first half of FY2018.
    Establishes a special rule, with respect to the first half 
of FY2018, for the redistribution of unused CHIP allotments to 
State child health plans experiencing emergency shortfalls. 
Requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), on 
a monthly basis, to redistribute unused allotments to each 
State in an amount that will eliminate the State's emergency 
shortfall before the CMS may distribute the allotments to any 
State that is experiencing a nonemergency shortfall. Requires 
the CMS to redistribute such allotments in the order in which 
States realize monthly emergency shortfalls, but only to the 
extent that amounts are available for redistribution.

                       DIVISION D--OTHER MATTERS

    (Sec. 4001) Provides $2.1 billion in mandatory funding for 
the Veterans Choice Program, which allows veterans to receive 
health care from providers outside of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs facilities.

                     DIVISION E--BUDGETARY EFFECTS

    (Sec. 5001) Exempts the budgetary effects of division C and 
each succeeding division of this bill from Pay-As-You-Go 
(PAYGO) rules and certain budget scorekeeping guidelines.
    (Sec. 5002) Exempts the budgetary effects of specified 
reconciliation legislation from PAYGO rules. (This provision 
applies to the tax legislation that was signed into law on 
December 22, 2017, and was considered pursuant to the 
reconciliation instructions included in the FY2018 
congressional budget resolution.)
    H.R. 1679.--FEMA Accountability, Modernization and 
Transparency Act of 2017. (Public Law 115-87). November 21, 
2017.
    (Sec. 2) This bill directs the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency (FEMA) to ensure that the ongoing modernization of the 
grant systems for the administration of assistance under the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
includes:

     Lan online interface for applicants to complete 
application forms, submit materials, and access the status of 
applications;
     Lmechanisms to eliminate duplication of benefits; 
and
     La means of sharing information among agencies and 
with State, local, and tribal governments to eliminate the need 
to file multiple applications and speed disaster recovery.

    FEMA shall deliver the system capabilities in increments or 
iterations as working components for applicant use.
    H.R. 2229.--All Circuit Review Act. (Public Law 115-195). 
July 7, 2018.
    (Sec. 2) This bill makes permanent the authority for a 
Federal employee (or applicant for Federal employment) or the 
Office of Personnel Management to appeal, in any Federal 
appeals court of competent jurisdiction, a final order or 
decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board on a claim 
alleging reprisal for making a protected disclosure (i.e., 
whistle-blowing) or for engaging in certain protected 
activities (e.g., refusing to obey an order that requires a 
violation of law). The bill applies retroactively to November 
26, 2017.
    H.R. 2454.--Department of Homeland Security Data Framework 
Act of 2018. (Public Law 115-331). December 19, 2018.
    (Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) to: (1) develop a data framework to integrate 
existing DHS datasets and systems for access by authorized 
personnel in a manner consistent with relevant legal 
authorities and privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties 
protections; (2) ensure that all information of a DHS office or 
component that falls within the scope of the information 
sharing environment, and any information or intelligence 
relevant to priority mission needs and capability requirements 
of the homeland security enterprise, is included; and (3) 
ensure that the framework is accessible to DHS employees who 
have an appropriate security clearance, who are assigned to 
perform a function that requires access, and who are trained in 
applicable standards for safeguarding and using such 
information.
    DHS shall: (1) issue guidance for DHS employees authorized 
to access and contribute to the framework that enforces a duty 
to share between DHS offices and components for mission needs; 
and (2) promulgate data standards and instruct DHS components 
to make available information through the framework in a 
machine-readable standard format.
    DHS may exclude information that may:

     Ljeopardize the protection of sources, methods, or 
activities;
     Lcompromise a criminal or national security 
investigation;
     Lbe inconsistent with the other Federal laws or 
regulations; or
     Lbe duplicative or not serve an operational 
purpose.

    DHS shall incorporate into such framework systems 
capabilities for auditing and ensuring the security of 
information. Such capabilities shall include: (1) mechanisms 
for identifying insider threats and security risks; and (2) 
safeguards for privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties.
    DHS shall ensure that, by 2 years after this bill's 
enactment, the framework has the ability to include appropriate 
information in existence within DHS to meet its critical 
mission operations.
    DHS shall: (1) submit to Congress regular updates on the 
status of the data framework until it is fully operational, and 
(2) annually brief Congress on component use of such framework 
to support operations that disrupt terrorist activities and 
incidents in the homeland.
    H.R. 3210.--SECRET Act of 2018. (Public Law 115-173). May 
22, 2018.
    (Sec. 3) This bill requires the National Background 
Investigations Bureau (NBIB) within the Office of Personnel 
Management (OPM) to report on its backlog of security clearance 
investigations. The report must include a backlog mitigation 
plan identifying the cause of, and making recommendations to 
remedy, the backlog.
    (Sec. 4) The Executive Office of the President must report 
on the process for conducting and adjudicating security 
clearance investigations for the President's staff.
    (Sec. 5) The OPM must report on the costs of maintaining 
comprehensive background investigations capability within both 
the NBIB and the Department of Defense, compared to the costs 
of sustaining a single governmentwide background investigations 
enterprise.
    (Sec. 6) The Office of the Director of National 
Intelligence (ODNI) must report on: (1) the status of 
implementing governmentwide continuous evaluation programs, (2) 
efforts by Federal agencies to meet requirements for reciprocal 
recognition to access classified information, and (3) whether 
the schedule for processing security clearances should be 
modified.
    (Sec. 7) The ODNI and the OPM must review and make 
recommendations to Congress and the President, as appropriate, 
to issue guidance to assist agencies in determining: (1) 
position sensitivity designation, and (2) the appropriate 
background investigation to initiate for each position 
designation. The President must report on any issues identified 
in, and the number of position designations revised as a result 
of, the review.
    H.R. 3359.--Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 
Agency Act of 2018. (Public Law 115-278). November 16, 2018.
    (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
to redesignate the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) 
National Protection and Programs Directorate as the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. It transfers 
resources and responsibilities of the directorate to the 
agency.
    The agency shall be headed by the Director of National 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security. Its responsibilities 
shall include: leading cybersecurity and critical 
infrastructure security programs, operations, and associated 
policy; and carrying out DHS's responsibilities concerning 
chemical facility antiterrorism standards.
    The bill details the organizational structure of the 
agency.
    (Sec. 3) The bill transfers within DHS the Office of 
Biometric Identity Management to the Management Directorate.
    It also requires DHS to transfer the Federal Protective 
Service to an appropriate DHS component, directorate, or office 
following the completion of an ongoing Government 
Accountability Office review.
    (Sec. 4) DHS shall report on its leadership role in cloud-
based cybersecurity deployments for civilian Federal 
departments and agencies.
    H.R. 3398.--REAL ID Act Modification for Freely Associated 
States Act. (Public Law 115-323). December 17, 2018.
    (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Real ID Act of 2005 to make a 
citizen of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 
States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau who has been 
admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant pursuant to a 
Compact of Free Association between the United States and the 
Republic or Federated States eligible for a driver's license or 
personal identification card. Under current law, a citizen of 
those countries is eligible for a temporary driver's license or 
personal identification card.
    H.R. 4174.--Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act 
of 2017. (Public Law 115-411). January 14, 2019.
    This bill requires departments and agencies identified in 
the Chief Financial Officers Act to submit annually to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Congress a plan for 
identifying and addressing policy questions relevant to the 
programs, policies, and regulations of such departments and 
agencies. The plan must include: (1) a list of policy-relevant 
questions for developing evidence to support policymaking, and 
(2) a list of data for facilitating the use of evidence in 
policymaking.
    The OMB shall consolidate such plans into a unified 
evidence building plan.
    The bill establishes an Interagency Council on Evaluation 
Policy to assist the OMB in supporting governmentwide 
evaluation activities and policies. The bill defines 
``evaluation'' to mean an assessment using systematic data 
collection and analysis of one or more programs, policies, and 
organizations intended to assess their effectiveness and 
efficiency.
    Each department or agency shall designate a Chief 
Evaluation Officer to coordinate evidence-building activities 
and an official with statistical expertise to advise on 
statistical policy, techniques, and procedures.
    The OMB shall establish an Advisory Committee on Data for 
Evidence Building to advise on expanding access to and use of 
Federal data for evidence building.
    Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary Government Data Act 
or the OPEN Government Data Act
    This bill requires open government data assets to be 
published as machine-readable data.
    Each agency shall: (1) develop and maintain a comprehensive 
data inventory for all data assets created by or collected by 
the agency, and (2) designate a Chief Data Officer who shall be 
responsible for lifecycle data management and other specified 
functions.
    The bill establishes in the OMB a Chief Data Officer 
Council for establishing governmentwide best practices for the 
use, protection, dissemination, and generation of data and for 
promoting data sharing agreements among agencies.
    Confidential Information Protection and Statistical 
Efficiency Act of 2017
    This bill codifies provisions relating to confidential 
information protection and statistical efficiency.
    H.R. 4227.--Vehicular Terrorism Prevention Act of 2018. 
(Public Law 115-400). December 31, 2018.
    (Sec. 2) This bill directs the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS): (1) to assess the activities that DHS is 
undertaking to support emergency response providers and the 
private sector to prevent, mitigate, and respond to the threat 
of vehicular terrorism; and (2) based on such assessment, to 
develop and submit to the congressional homeland security 
committees a strategy to improve its efforts to support such 
providers and the private sector in that regard.
    The strategy shall include:

     Lan examination of the current threat of vehicular 
terrorism;
     Lmethods to improve DHS information sharing 
activities with such providers and the private sector regarding 
best practices to prevent, mitigate, and respond to the 
increasing threat of vehicular terrorism; and
     Ltraining activities that DHS can provide for such 
providers to prevent and respond to such threat.

    H.R. 4431.--Correcting Miscalculations in Veterans' 
Pensions Act. (Public Law 115-352). December 21, 2018.
    H.R. 6160.--To amend title 5, United States Code, to 
clarify the sources of the authority to issue regulations 
regarding certifications and other criteria applicable to 
legislative branch employees under Wounded Warriors Federal 
Leave Act. (Public Law 115-364). December 21, 2018.
    (Sec. 1) This bill modifies the self-certification 
requirements for Federal employees who use disabled veteran 
leave.
    Currently, a Federal employee who uses disabled veteran 
leave must certify that the leave was used to undergo medical 
treatment for a service-connected disability. The Office of 
Personnel Management is authorized to prescribe the form and 
manner of such certification.
    This bill adds a new provision to specify, in the case of a 
legislative branch employee, which office is authorized to 
prescribe the form and manner of the certification.
    H.R. 6400.--United States Ports of Entry Threat and 
Operational Review Act. (Public Law 115-372). December 21, 
2018.
    (Sec. 2) This bill directs U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) to submit to the congressional homeland 
security and tax committees a threat and operational analysis 
of U.S. air, land, and sea ports of entry.
    Such analysis shall include an assessment of:

     Lcurrent and potential threats posed by 
individuals and organized groups seeking to exploit security 
vulnerabilities at ports of entry or to unlawfully enter the 
United States through such ports of entry;
     Lmethods and pathways used to exploit security 
vulnerabilities at ports of entry;
     Limprovements needed at ports of entry to prevent 
the unlawful movement of people, illicit drugs, and other 
contraband across U.S. borders;
     Limprovements needed to enhance travel and trade 
facilitation and reduce wait times at ports of entry; and
     Lprocesses conducted at ports of entry that do not 
require law enforcement training and could be filled with non-
law enforcement staff or by the private sector, or be 
automated.

    In compiling such analysis, CBP shall consider and examine: 
(1) personnel needs, including K-9 Units, and estimated costs, 
at each port of entry; (2) technology needs, including 
radiation portal monitors and non-intrusive inspection 
technology, and estimated costs at each port of entry; and (3) 
infrastructure needs and estimated costs at each port of entry.
    CBP shall, at specified intervals, provide to the 
committees a ports of entry strategy and implementation plan.
    H.R. 6870.--To rename the Stop Trading on congressional 
Knowledge Act of 2012 in honor of Representative Louise 
McIntosh Slaughter. (Public Law 115-277). November 3, 2018.
    (Sec. 1) This bill changes the title of the Stop Trading on 
congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 to the ``Representative 
Louise McIntosh Slaughter Stop Trading on congressional 
Knowledge Act.''
    S. 188.--EGO Act. (Public Law 115-158). (Public Law 115-
158). March 27, 2018.
    (Sec. 2) This bill prohibits the use of funds appropriated 
or otherwise made available to the Federal Government to pay 
for an official 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.
    S. 504.--Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel 
Cards Act of 2017. (Public Law 115-79). November 2, 2017.
    (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
to authorize U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to issue 
an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Card (ABT 
Card) to an individual who: (1) is a U.S. citizen, (2) has been 
approved and is in good standing in an existing Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS) international trusted traveler program, 
and (3) is engaged in business in the Asia-Pacific region or is 
a U.S. Government official engaged in Asia-Pacific Economic 
Cooperation business.
    The bill: (1) transfers card program authority from the the 
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Cards Act of 
2011 (APECBTC Act) to the Homeland Security Act of 2002; and 
(2) makes the program, which is scheduled to end on September 
30, 2018, permanent.
    The CBP shall: (1) integrate application procedures for, 
and issuance, renewal, and revocation of, ABT cards with 
existing DHS international trusted traveler programs; (2) 
prescribe and collect a fee for card issuance and renewal, and 
(3) notify Congress if card program expenditures exceed 
collected amounts.
    The bill establishes in the Treasury an Asia-Pacific 
Economic Cooperation Business Travel Card Account (Account).
    (Sec. 3) Amounts in the travel card account under the 
APECBTC Act are transferred to the Account and shall be 
available for expenses incurred with any card, and such Act is 
repealed. A card issued pursuant to such Act before the date of 
enactment of this bill shall remain valid until it expires.
    S. 585.--Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act 
of 2017. (Public Law 115-73). October 26, 2017.
    (Sec. 102) This bill directs Federal agencies (excluding 
any entity that is an element of the intelligence community) to 
give priority to an employee transfer request if the Merit 
Systems Protections Board (MSPB) grants a stay of a personnel 
action at the request of: (1) the Office of Special Counsel 
(OSC) if the OSC determines the personnel action was taken, or 
is to be taken, as a result of a prohibited personnel practice; 
or (2) the employee if the individual is in probationary status 
and seeks corrective action.
    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) shall report to 
Congress on retaliation against employees in probationary 
status.
    (Sec. 103) The bill: (1) prohibits any employee who has the 
authority to take a personnel action to access the medical 
records of another employee or applicant for employment, (2) 
authorizes disciplinary action against supervisors for 
retaliation against whistleblowers.
    (Sec. 105) Agencies must: (1) refer information about 
employee suicides to the OSC, (2) train supervisors on 
responding to complaints alleging whistleblower protections 
violations, (3) provide information regarding whistleblower 
protections to new employees during probationary periods, (4) 
inform employees of the role of the OSC and the MSPB with 
regard to whistleblower protection, and (5) make information 
about such protections available on agency websites.

           TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEES

    (Sec. 201) The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) must: 
(1) submit a plan to prevent unauthorized access to the medical 
records of VA employees; (2) conduct an outreach program to 
inform its employees of available mental health services, 
including telemedicine options; and (3) ensure protocols are in 
effect to address threats against VA employees providing health 
care.
    (Sec. 204) The GAO shall assess the reporting, staffing, 
accountability, and chain of command structure of the VA police 
officers at VA medical centers.
    S. 1083.--A bill to amend section 1214 of title 5, United 
States Code, to provide for stays during a period that the 
Merit Systems Protection Board lacks a quorum. (Public Law 115-
42). June 27, 2017.
    This bill provides that if the Merit Systems Protection 
Board lacks the number of members required to constitute a 
quorum, any remaining member of the board may, upon request by 
the Special Counsel, extend the period of any stay of any 
personnel action granted.
    S. 1617.--Javier Vega, Jr. Memorial Act of 2017. (Public 
Law 115-81). November 2, 2017.
    (Sec. 3) This bill designates the checkpoint of the U.S. 
Border Patrol located on U.S. Highway 77 North in Sarita, 
Texas, as the ``Javier Vega, Jr. Border Patrol Checkpoint.''
    S. 1869.--Whistleblower Protection Coordination Act. 
(Public Law 115-192) June 25, 2018.
    This bill reauthorizes and renames the position of 
Whistleblower Ombudsman to be the Whistleblower Protection 
Coordinator.
    S. 2276.--GAO-IG Act. (Public Law 115-414). January 3, 
2019.
    This bill requires each Federal agency, in its annual 
budget justification, to include a report on: (1) each public 
recommendation of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
that is classified as ``open'' or ``closed, unimplemented''; 
(2) each public recommendation for corrective action from the 
agency's office of the inspector general (OIG) for which no 
final action has been taken; and (3) the implementation status 
of each such recommendation.
    Each agency shall also provide a copy of this information 
to its OIG and to the GAO.
    S. 2896.--JACK Act. (Public Law 115-418). January 3, 2019.
    This bill amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995.
    S. 3031.--Federal Personal Property Management Act of 2018. 
(Public Law 115-419). January 3, 2019.
    This bill requires the executive agencies and the General 
Services Administration (GSA) to carry out the following 
activities with respect to Federal personal property 
management.
    Each executive agency, in accordance with guidance from the 
GSA, must annually inventory and assess capitalized personal 
property in identifying excess property under the agency's 
control. Capitalized personal property items include those 
recorded on an agency's general ledger records as major 
investments or assets.
    Each agency must also regularly inventory and assess 
accountable personal property under its control.
    GSA may establish separate thresholds for acquisitions of 
personal property for which affected agencies shall capitalize 
and for which they shall establish and maintain property 
records in a centralized system.
    S. 3191.--Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 
2018. (Public Law 115-426). January 8, 2019.
    This bill requires the National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA) to: (1) commence establishing a 
collection of civil rights cold case records, (2) commence 
preparing and publishing the subject guidebook and index to the 
collection, and (3) establish criteria for transmitting copies 
of civil rights cold case records to NARA, to include required 
metadata.
    All civil rights cold case records transmitted to NARA for 
disclosure to the public shall be included in the collection, 
available to the public for inspection and copying by 60 days 
after the record's transmission to NARA, and prioritized for 
digitization by NARA.
    The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board is 
established as an independent agency of impartial private 
citizens. The records of the review board shall not be 
destroyed, with an exception.

                         B. POSTAL NAMING BILLS

    H.R. 294--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 2700 Cullen Boulevard in Pearland, 
Texas, as the ``Endy Nddiobong Ekpanya Post Office Building''. 
(Public Law 115-133). March 16, 2018.
    H.R. 452--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 324 West Saint Louis Street in 
Pacific, Missouri, as the ``Specialist Jeffrey L. White, Jr. 
Post Office''. (Public Law 115-134). March 16, 2018.
    H.R. 606--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1025 Nevin Avenue in Richmond, 
California, as the ``Harold D. McCraw, Sr., Post Office 
Building''. (Public Law 115-283). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 1207--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 306 River Street in Tilden, Texas, as 
the ``Tilden Veterans Post Office''. (Public Law 115-311). 
December 13, 2018.
    H.R. 1208--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 9155 Schaefer Road, Converse, Texas, 
as the ``Converse Veterans Post Office Building''. (Public Law 
115-138). March 20, 2018.
    H.R. 1209--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 901 N. Francisco Avenue, Mission, 
Texas, as the ``Mission Veterans Post Office Building''. 
(Public Law 115-284). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 1496--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 3585 South Vermont Avenue in Los 
Angeles, California, as the ``Marvin Gaye Post Office''. 
(Public Law 115-207). July 24, 2018.
    H.R. 1858--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 4514 Williamson Trail in Liberty, 
Pennsylvania, as the ``Staff Sergeant Ryan Scott Ostrom Post 
Office''. (Public Law 115-139). March 20, 2018.
    H.R. 1988--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1730 18th Street in Bakersfield, 
California, as the ``Merle Haggard Post Office Building''. 
(Public Law 115-140). March 20, 2018.
    H.R. 2254--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 2635 Napa Street in Vallejo, 
California, as the ``Janet Capello Post Office Building''. 
(Public Law 115-142). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 2302--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 259 Nassau Street, Suite 2 in 
Princeton, New Jersey, as the ``Dr. John F. Nash, Jr. Post 
Office''. (Public Law 115-143). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 2464--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 25 New Chardon Street Lobby in 
Boston, Massachusetts, as the ``John Fitzgerald Kennedy Post 
Office''. (Public Law 115-144). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 2672--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 520 Carter Street in Fairview, 
Illinois, as the ``Sgt. Douglas J. Riney Post Office''. (Public 
Law 115-145). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 2673--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 514 Broadway Street in Pekin, 
Illinois, as the ``Lance Corporal Jordan S. Bastean Post 
Office''. (Public Law 115-208). July 24, 2018.
    H.R. 2815--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 30 East Somerset Street in Raritan, 
New Jersey, as the ``Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone Post 
Office''. (Public Law 115-146). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 2873--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 207 Glenside Avenue in Wyncote, 
Pennsylvania, as the ``Staff Sergeant Peter Taub Post Office 
Building''. (Public Law 115-147). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 2979--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 390 West 5th Street in San 
Bernardino, California, as the ``Jack H. Brown Post Office 
Building''. (Public Law 115-285). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 3109--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1114 North 2d Street in Chillicothe, 
Illinois, as the ``Sr. Chief Ryan Owens Post Office Building''. 
(Public Law 115-148). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 3183--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 13683 James Madison Highway in 
Palmyra, Virginia, as the ``U.S. Navy Seaman Dakota Kyle Rigsby 
Post Office''. (Public Law 115-209). July 24, 2018.
    H.R. 3230--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 915 Center Avenue in Payette, Idaho, 
as the ``Harmon Killebrew Post Office Building''. (Public Law 
115-286). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 3369--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 225 North Main Street in Spring Lake, 
North Carolina, as the ``Howard B. Pate, Jr. Post Office''. 
(Public Law 115-149). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 3460--To designate the United States courthouse 
located at 323 East Chapel Hill Street in Durham, North 
Carolina, as the ``John Hervey Wheeler United States 
Courthouse''. (Public Law 115-412). January 3, 2019.
    H.R. 3638--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1100 Kings Road in Jacksonville, 
Florida, as the ``Rutledge Pearson Post Office Building''. 
(Public Law 115-150). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 3655--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1300 Main Street in Belmar, New 
Jersey, as the ``Dr. Walter S. McAfee Post Office Building''. 
(Public Law 115-151). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 3821--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 430 Main Street in Clermont, Georgia, 
as the ``Zack T. Addington Post Office''. (Public Law 115-152). 
March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 3893--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 100 Mathe Avenue in Interlachen, 
Florida, as the ``Robert H. Jenkins, Jr. Post Office''. (Public 
Law 115-153). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 4042--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1415 West Oak Street, in Kissimmee, 
Florida, as the ``Borinqueneers Post Office Building''. (Public 
Law 115-154). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 4285--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 123 Bridgeton Pike in Mullica Hill, 
New Jersey, as the ``James C. 'Billy' Johnson Post Office 
Building''. (Public Law 115-155). March 23, 2018.
    H.R. 4301--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 201 Tom Hall Street in Fort Mill, 
South Carolina, as the ``J. Elliott Williams Post Office 
Building''. (Public Law 115-210). July 24, 2018.
    H.R. 4406--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 99 Macombs Place in New York, New 
York, as the ``Tuskegee Airmen Post Office Building''. (Public 
Law 115-211). July 24, 2018.
    H.R. 4407--An act to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 3s101 Rockwell Street in 
Warrenville, Illinois, as the ``Corporal Jeffrey Allen Williams 
Post Office Building''. (Public Law 115-316). December 14, 
2018.
    H.R. 4463--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 6 Doyers Street in New York, New 
York, as the ``Mabel Lee Memorial Post Office''. (Public Law 
115-212). July 24, 2018.
    H.R. 4574--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 108 West Schick Road in Bloomingdale, 
Illinois, as the ``Bloomingdale Veterans Memorial Post Office 
Building''. (Public Law 115-213). July 24, 2018.
    H.R. 4646--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1900 Corporate Drive in Birmingham, 
Alabama, as the ``Lance Corporal Thomas E. Rivers, Jr. Post 
Office Building''. (Public Law 115-214). July 24, 2018.
    H.R. 4685--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 515 Hope Street in Bristol, Rhode 
Island, as the ``First Sergeant P. Andrew McKenna Jr. Post 
Office''. (Public Law 115-215). July 24, 2018.
    H.R. 4722--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 111 Market Street in Saugerties, New 
York, as the ``Maurice D. Hinchey Post Office Building''. 
(Public Law 115-216). July 24, 2018.
    H.R. 4840--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 567 East Franklin Street in Oviedo, 
Florida, as the ``Sergeant First Class Alwyn Crendall Cashe 
Post Office Building''. (Public Law 115-217). July 24, 2018.
    H.R. 4890--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 9801 Apollo Drive in Upper Marlboro, 
Maryland, as the ``Wayne K. Curry Post Office Building''. 
(Public Law 115-287). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 4913--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 816 East Salisbury Parkway in 
Salisbury, Maryland, as the ``Sgt. Maj. Wardell B. Turner Post 
Office Building''. (Public Law 115-288). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 4946--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1075 North Tustin Street in Orange, 
California, as the ``Specialist Trevor A. Win'E Post Office''. 
(Public Law 115-289). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 4960--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 511 East Walnut Street in Columbia, 
Missouri, as the ``Spc. Sterling William Wyatt Post Office 
Building''. (Public Law 115-290). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 5238--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1234 Saint John's Place in Brooklyn, 
New York, as the ``Major Robert Odell Owens Post Office''. 
(Public Law 115-317). December 14, 2018.
    H.R. 5349--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1325 Autumn Avenue in Memphis, 
Tennessee, as the ``Judge Russell B. Sugarmon Post Office 
Building''. (Public Law 115-291). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 5504--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 4801 West Van Giesen Street in West 
Richland, Washington, as the ``Sergeant Dietrich Schmieman Post 
Office Building''. (Public Law 115-292). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 5737--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 108 West D Street in Alpha, Illinois, 
as the ``Captain Joshua E. Steele Post Office''. (Public Law 
115-293). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 5784--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 2650 North Doctor Martin Luther King 
Jr. Drive in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shall be known and 
designated as the ``Vel R. Phillips Post Office Building''. 
(Public Law 115-294). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 5791--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 9609 South University Boulevard in 
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, as the ``Deputy Sheriff Zackari 
Spurlock Parrish, III, Post Office Building''. (Public Law 115-
359). December 21, 2018.
    H.R. 5792.--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 90 North 4th Avenue in Brighton, 
Colorado, as the ``Detective Heath McDonald Gumm Post Office''. 
(Public Law 115-360). December 21, 2018.
    H.R. 5868--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 530 Claremont Avenue in Ashland, 
Ohio, as the ``Bill Harris Post Office''. (Public Law 115-295). 
December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 5935--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 1355 North Meridian Road in 
Harristown, Illinois, as the ``Logan S. Palmer Post Office''. 
(Public Law 115-296). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 6020--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 325 South Michigan Avenue in Howell, 
Michigan, as the ``Sergeant Donald Burgett Post Office 
Building''. (Public Law 115-362). December 21, 2018.
    H.R. 6116--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 362 North Ross Street in Beaverton, 
Michigan, as the ``Colonel Alfred Asch Post Office''. (Public 
Law 115-297). December 6, 2018.
    H.R. 6591--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 501 South Kirkman Road in Orlando, 
Florida, as the ``Napoleon 'Nap' Ford Post Office Building''. 
(Public Law 115-376). December 21, 2018.
    H.R. 6780--To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 7521 Paula Drive in Tampa, Florida, 
as the ``Major Andreas O'Keeffe Post Office Building''. (Public 
Law 115-381). December 21, 2018.
    S. 831--A bill to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 120 West Pike Street in 
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, as the ``Police Officer Scott 
Bashioum Post Office Building''. (Public Law 115-137). March 
16, 2018.
    S. 931--A bill to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 4910 Brighton Boulevard in 
Denver, Colorado, as the ``George Sakato Post Office''. (Public 
Law 115-220). July 27, 2018.
    S. 2040--A bill to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 621 Kansas Avenue in Atchison, 
Kansas, as the ``Amelia Earhart Post Office Building''. (Public 
Law 115-162). April 3, 2018.
    S. 2692--A bill to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 4558 Broadway in New York, New 
York, as the ``Stanley Michels Post Office Building''. (Public 
Law 115-223). July 30, 2018.
    S. 3209--A bill to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 413 Washington Avenue in 
Belleville, New Jersey, as the ``Private Henry Svehla Post 
Office Building''. (Public Law 115-318) December 14, 2018.
    S. 3237--A bill to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 120 12th Street Lobby in 
Columbus, Georgia, as the ``Richard W. Williams, Jr., Chapter 
of the Triple Nickles (555th P.I.A.) Post Office''. (Public Law 
115-319). December 14, 2018.
    S. 3414--A bill to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 20 Ferry Road in Saunderstown, 
Rhode Island, as the ``Captain Matthew J. August Post Office''. 
(Public Law 115-313). December 13, 2018.
    S. 3442--A bill to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 105 Duff Street in Macon, 
Missouri, as the ``Arla W. Harrell Post Office''. (Public Law 
115-314). December 13, 2018.
                PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS


                        Chairman: Robert Portman


               Ranking Minority Member: Thomas R. Carper

    The following is the Activities Report of the Permanent 
Subcommittee on Investigations for the 115th Congress.

                        I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND


                      A. Subcommittee Jurisdiction

    The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations was originally 
authorized by Senate Resolution 189 on January 28, 1948. At its 
creation in 1948, the Subcommittee was part of the Committee on 
Expenditures in the Executive Departments. The Subcommittee's 
records and broad investigative jurisdiction over government 
operations and national security issues, however, actually 
antedate its creation, since it was given custody of the 
jurisdiction of the former Special Committee to Investigate the 
National Defense Program (the so-called ``War Investigating 
Committee'' or ``Truman Committee''), chaired by Senator Harry 
S. Truman during the Second World War and charged with exposing 
waste, fraud, and abuse in the war effort and war profiteering. 
Today, the Subcommittee is part of the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs.\1\
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    \1\In 1952, the parent committee's name was changed to the 
Committee on Government Operations. It was changed again in early 1977, 
to the Committee on Governmental Affairs, and again in 2005, to the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, its present 
title.
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    The Subcommittee has had ten chairmen: Senators Homer 
Ferguson of Michigan (1948), Clyde R. Hoey of North Carolina 
(1949-1952), Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin (1953-1954), John 
L. McClellan of Arkansas (1955-1972), Henry M. Jackson of 
Washington (1973-1978), Sam Nunn of Georgia (1979-1980 
and 1987-1994), William V. Roth of Delaware (1981-1986 and 
1995-1996), Susan M. Collins of Maine (1997-2001); Norman B. 
Coleman of Minnesota (2003-2007); and Carl Levin of Michigan 
(2001-2002 and 2007-2014); and Robert J. Portman of Ohio (2015-
present).
    Until 1957, the Subcommittee's jurisdiction focused 
principally on waste, inefficiency, impropriety, and illegality 
in government operations. Its jurisdiction then expanded over 
time, today encompassing investigations within the broad ambit 
of the parent committee's responsibility for matters relating 
to the efficiency and economy of operations of all branches of 
the government, including matters related to: (a) waste, fraud, 
abuse, malfeasance, and unethical practices in government 
contracting and operations; (b) organized criminal activities 
affecting interstate or international commerce; (c) criminal 
activity affecting the national health, welfare, or safety, 
including investment fraud, commodity and securities fraud, 
computer fraud, and offshore abuses; (d) criminality or 
improper practices in labor-management relations; (e) the 
effectiveness of present national security methods, staffing 
and procedures, and U.S. relationships with international 
organizations concerned with national security; (f) energy 
shortages, energy pricing, management of government-owned or 
controlled energy supplies; and relationships with oil 
producing and consuming countries; and (g) the operations and 
management of Federal regulatory policies and programs. While 
retaining the status of a subcommittee of a standing committee, 
the Subcommittee has long exercised its authority on an 
independent basis, selecting its own staff, issuing its own 
subpoenas, and determining its own investigatory agenda.
    The Subcommittee acquired its sweeping jurisdiction in 
several successive stages. In 1957--based on information 
developed by the Subcommittee--the Senate passed a Resolution 
establishing a Select Committee on Improper Activities in the 
Labor or Management Field. Chaired by Senator McClellan, who 
also chaired the Subcommittee at that time, the Select 
Committee was composed of eight Senators--four of whom were 
drawn from the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and 
four from the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. The Select 
Committee operated for 3 years, sharing office space, 
personnel, and other facilities with the Permanent 
Subcommittee. Upon its expiration in early 1960, the Select 
Committee's jurisdiction and files were transferred to the 
Permanent Subcommittee, greatly enlarging the latter body's 
investigative authority in the labor-management area.
    The Subcommittee's jurisdiction expanded further during the 
1960s and 1970s. In 1961, for example, it received authority to 
make inquiries into matters pertaining to organized crime and, 
in 1963, held the famous Valachi hearings examining the inner 
workings of the Italian Mafia. In 1967, following a summer of 
riots and other civil disturbances, the Senate approved a 
Resolution directing the Subcommittee to investigate the causes 
of this disorder and to recommend corrective action. In January 
1973, the Subcommittee acquired its national security mandate 
when it merged with the National Security Subcommittee. With 
this merger, the Subcommittee's jurisdiction was broadened to 
include inquiries concerning the adequacy of national security 
staffing and procedures, relations with international 
organizations, technology transfer issues, and related matters. 
In 1974, in reaction to the gasoline shortages precipitated by 
the Arab-Israeli war of October 1973, the Subcommittee acquired 
jurisdiction to investigate the control and management of 
energy resources and supplies as well as energy pricing issues.
    In 1997, the full Committee on Governmental Affairs was 
charged by the Senate to conduct a special examination into 
illegal or improper activities in connection with Federal 
election campaigns during the 1996 election cycle. The 
Permanent Subcommittee provided substantial resources and 
assistance to this investigation, contributing to a greater 
public understanding of what happened, to subsequent criminal 
and civil legal actions taken against wrongdoers, and to 
enactment of campaign finance reforms in 2001.
    In 1998, the Subcommittee marked the fiftieth anniversary 
of the Truman Committee's conversion into a permanent 
subcommittee of the U.S. Senate.\2\ Since then, the 
Subcommittee has developed particular expertise in complex 
financial matters, examining the collapse of Enron Corporation 
in 2001, the key causes of the 2008 financial crisis, 
structured finance abuses, financial fraud, unfair credit 
practices, money laundering, commodity speculation, and a wide 
range of offshore and tax haven abuses. It has also focused on 
issues involving health care fraud, foreign corruption, and 
waste, fraud and abuse in government programs. In the half-
century of its existence, the Subcommittee's many successful 
investigations have made clear to the Senate the importance of 
retaining a standing investigatory body devoted to keeping 
government not only efficient and effective, but also honest 
and accountable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\This anniversary also marked the first date upon which internal 
Subcommittee records generally began to become available to the public. 
Unlike most standing committees of the Senate whose previously 
unpublished records open after a period of 20 years has elapsed, the 
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, as an investigatory body, may 
close its records for 50 years to protect personal privacy and the 
integrity of the investigatory process. With this 50th anniversary, the 
Subcommittee's earliest records, housed in the Center for Legislative 
Archives at the National Archives and Records Administration, began to 
open seriatim. The records of the predecessor committee--the Truman 
Committee--were opened by Senator Nunn in 1980.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                     B. Subcommittee Investigations

    Armed with its broad jurisdictional mandate, the 
Subcommittee has conducted investigations into a wide variety 
of topics of public concern, ranging from financial misconduct, 
to commodities speculation, predatory lending, and tax evasion. 
Over the years, the Subcommittee has also conducted 
investigations into criminal wrongdoing, including money 
laundering, the narcotics trade, child pornography, labor 
racketeering, human trafficking, the opioid crisis, and 
organized crime activities. In addition, the Subcommittee has 
investigated a wide range of allegations of waste, fraud, and 
abuse in government programs and consumer protection issues, 
addressing problems ranging from unfair credit card practices 
to health care fraud. In the 115th Congress, the Subcommittee 
held six hearings and issued six reports on a wide range of 
issues, including online sex trafficking; the shipment of 
illicit opioids through U.S. postal mail; the Department of 
Health and Human Services' care of unaccompanied alien 
children; the Federal infrastructure permitting process; 
sanctions compliance and the nuclear agreement with Iran; and 
the pricing of prescription drugs.

(1) Historical Highlights

    The Subcommittee's investigatory record as a permanent 
Senate body began under the Chairmanship of Republican Senator 
Homer Ferguson and his Chief Counsel (and future Attorney 
General and Secretary of State) William P. Rogers, as the 
Subcommittee inherited the Truman Committee's role in 
investigating fraud and waste in U.S. Government operations. 
This investigative work became particularly colorful under the 
chairmanship of Senator Clyde Hoey, a North Carolina Democrat 
who took the chair from Senator Ferguson after the 1948 
elections. Under Senator Hoey's leadership, the Subcommittee 
won national attention for its investigation of the so-called 
``five percenters,'' notorious Washington lobbyists who charged 
their clients five percent of the profits from any Federal 
contracts they obtained on the client's behalf. Given the 
Subcommittee's jurisdictional inheritance from the Truman 
Committee, it is perhaps ironic that the ``five percenters'' 
investigation raised allegations of bribery and influence-
peddling that reached right into the White House and implicated 
members of President Truman's staff. In any event, the 
fledgling Subcommittee was off to a rapid start.
    What began as colorful soon became contentious. When 
Republicans returned to the Majority in the Senate in 1953, 
Wisconsin's junior Senator, Joseph R. McCarthy, became the 
Subcommittee's Chairman. Two years earlier, as Ranking Minority 
Member, Senator McCarthy had arranged for another Republican 
Senator, Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, to be removed from the 
Subcommittee. Senator Smith's offense, in Senator McCarthy's 
eyes, was her issuance of a ``Declaration of Conscience'' 
repudiating those who made unfounded charges and used character 
assassination against their political opponents. Although 
Senator Smith had carefully declined to name any specific 
offender, her remarks were universally recognized as criticism 
of Senator McCarthy's accusations that communists had 
infiltrated the State Department and other government agencies. 
Senator McCarthy retaliated by engineering Senator Smith's 
removal, replacing her with the newly-elected Senator from 
California, Richard Nixon.
    Upon becoming Subcommittee Chairman, Senator McCarthy 
staged a series of highly publicized anti-Communist 
investigations, culminating in an inquiry into Communism within 
the U.S. Army, which became known as the Army-McCarthy 
hearings. During the latter portion of those hearings, in which 
the parent Committee examined the Wisconsin Senator's attacks 
on the Army, Senator McCarthy recused himself, leaving South 
Dakota Senator Karl Mundt to serve as Acting Chairman of the 
Subcommittee. Gavel-to-gavel television coverage of the 
hearings helped turn the tide against Senator McCarthy by 
raising public concern about his treatment of witnesses and 
cavalier use of evidence. In December 1954, the Senate censured 
Senator McCarthy for unbecoming conduct. In the following year, 
the Subcommittee adopted new rules of procedure that better 
protected the rights of witnesses. The Subcommittee also 
strengthened the rules ensuring the right of both parties on 
the Subcommittee to appoint staff, initiate and approve 
investigations, and review all information in the 
Subcommittee's possession.
    In 1955, Senator John McClellan of Arkansas began 18 years 
of service as Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on 
Investigations. Senator McClellan appointed a young Robert F. 
Kennedy as the Subcommittee's Chief Counsel. That same year, 
Members of the Subcommittee were joined by Members of the 
Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee on a special 
committee to investigate labor racketeering. Chaired by Senator 
McClellan and staffed by Robert Kennedy and other Subcommittee 
staff members, this special committee directed much of its 
attention to criminal influence over the Teamsters Union, most 
famously calling Teamsters' leaders Dave Beck and Jimmy Hoffa 
to testify. The televised hearings of the special committee 
also introduced Senators Barry Goldwater and John F. Kennedy to 
the nation, as well as led to passage of the Landrum-Griffin 
Labor Act.
    After the special committee completed its work, the 
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations continued to 
investigate organized crime. In 1962, the Subcommittee held 
hearings during which Joseph Valachi outlined the activities of 
La Cosa Nostra, or the Mafia. Former Subcommittee staffer 
Robert Kennedy--who 
had by then become Attorney General in his brother's 
Administration--used this information to prosecute prominent 
mob leaders and their accomplices. The Subcommittee's 
investigations also led to passage of major legislation against 
organized crime, most notably the Racketeer Influenced and 
Corrupt Organizations (RICO) provisions of the Crime Control 
Act of 1970. Under Chairman McClellan, the Subcommittee also 
investigated fraud in the purchase of military uniforms, 
corruption in the Department of Agriculture's grain storage 
program, securities fraud, and civil disorders and acts of 
terrorism. In addition, from 1962 to 1970, the Subcommittee 
conducted an extensive probe of political interference in the 
awarding of government contracts for the Pentagon's ill-fated 
TFX (``tactical fighter, experimental'') aircraft. In 1968, the 
Subcommittee also examined charges of corruption in U.S. 
servicemen's clubs in Vietnam and elsewhere around the world.
    In 1973, Senator Henry ``Scoop'' Jackson, a Democrat from 
Washington, replaced Senator McClellan as the Subcommittee's 
Chairman. During his tenure, recalled Chief Clerk Ruth Young 
Watt--who served in this position from the Subcommittee's 
founding until her retirement in 1979--Ranking Minority Member 
Charles Percy, an Illinois Republican, became more active on 
the Subcommittee than Chairman Jackson, who was often 
distracted by his Chairmanship of the Interior Committee and 
his active role on the Armed Services Committee.\3\ Senator 
Percy also worked closely with Georgia Democrat Sam Nunn, a 
Subcommittee member who subsequently succeeded Senator Jackson 
as Subcommittee Chairman in 1979. As Chairman, Senator Nunn 
continued the Subcommittee's investigations into the role of 
organized crime in labor-management relations and also 
investigated pension fraud.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\It had not been uncommon in the Subcommittee's history for the 
Chairman and Ranking Minority Member to work together closely despite 
partisan differences, but Senator Percy was unusually active while in 
the Minority--a role that included his chairing an investigation of the 
hearing aid industry.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Regular reversals of political fortunes in the Senate 
during the 1980s and 1990s saw Senator Nunn trade the 
chairmanship three times with Delaware Republican William Roth. 
Senator Nunn served from 1979 to 1980 and again from 1987 to 
1995, while Senator Roth served from 1981 to 1986, and again 
from 1995 to 1996. These 15 years saw a strengthening of the 
Subcommittee's bipartisan tradition in which investigations 
were initiated by either the Majority or Minority and fully 
supported by the entire Subcommittee. For his part, Senator 
Roth led a wide range of investigations into commodity 
investment fraud, offshore banking schemes, money laundering, 
and child pornography. Senator Nunn led inquiries into Federal 
drug policy, the global spread of chemical and biological 
weapons, abuses in Federal student aid programs, computer 
security, airline safety, and health care fraud. Senator Nunn 
also appointed the Subcommittee's first female counsel, 
Eleanore Hill, who served as Chief Counsel to the Minority from 
1982 to 1986 and then as Chief Counsel from 1987 to 1995.
    Strong bipartisan traditions continued in the 105th 
Congress when, in January 1997, Republican Senator Susan 
Collins of Maine became the first woman to chair the Permanent 
Subcommittee on Investigations. Senator John Glenn of Ohio 
became the Ranking Minority Member, while also serving as 
Ranking Minority Member of the full Committee. Two years later, 
in the 106th Congress, after Senator Glenn's retirement, 
Michigan Democrat Carl Levin succeeded him as the 
Subcommittee's Ranking Minority Member. During Senator Collins' 
chairmanship, the Subcommittee conducted investigations into 
issues affecting Americans in their day-to-day lives, including 
mortgage fraud, deceptive mailings and sweepstakes promotions, 
phony credentials obtained through the Internet, day trading of 
securities, and securities fraud on the Internet. Senator Levin 
initiated an investigation into money laundering. At his 
request, in 1999, the Subcommittee held hearings on money 
laundering issues affecting private banking services provided 
to wealthy individuals, and, in 2001, on how major U.S. banks 
providing correspondent accounts to offshore banks were being 
used to advance money laundering and other criminal schemes.
    During the 107th Congress, both Senator Collins and Senator 
Levin chaired the Subcommittee. Senator Collins served as 
chairman until June 2001, when the Senate Majority changed 
hands; at that point, Senator Levin assumed the chairmanship 
and Senator Collins, in turn, became the Ranking Minority 
Member. In her first six months chairing the Subcommittee at 
the start of the 107th Congress, Senator Collins held hearings 
examining issues related to cross border fraud, the improper 
operation of tissue banks, and Federal programs designed to 
fight diabetes. When Senator Levin assumed the chairmanship, as 
his first major effort, the Subcommittee initiated an 18-month 
bipartisan investigation into the Enron Corporation, which had 
collapsed into bankruptcy. As part of that investigation, the 
Subcommittee reviewed over 2 million pages of documents, 
conducted more than 100 interviews, held four hearings, and 
issued three bipartisan reports focusing on the role played by 
Enron's Board of Directors, Enron's use of tax shelters and 
structured financial instruments, and how major U.S. financial 
institutions contributed to Enron's accounting deceptions, 
corporate abuses, and ultimate collapse. The Subcommittee's 
investigative work contributed to passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley 
Act which enacted accounting and corporate reforms in July 
2002. In addition, Senator Levin continued the money laundering 
investigation initiated while he was the Ranking Minority 
Member, and the Subcommittee's work contributed to enactment of 
major reforms strengthening U.S. anti-money laundering laws in 
the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act (Patriot Act). Also during the 107th 
Congress, the Subcommittee opened new investigations into 
offshore tax abuses, border security, and abusive practices 
related to the pricing of gasoline and other fuels.
    In January 2003, at the start of the 108th Congress, after 
the Senate Majority party again changed hands, Senator Collins 
was elevated to Chairman of the full Committee on Governmental 
Affairs, and Republican Senator Norman Coleman of Minnesota 
became Chairman of the Subcommittee. Over the next two years, 
Senator Coleman held hearings on topics of national and global 
concern including illegal file sharing on peer-to-peer 
networks, abusive practices in the credit counseling industry, 
the dangers of purchasing pharmaceuticals over the Internet, 
SARS preparedness, border security, and how former Iraqi 
President Saddam Hussein had abused the United Nations Oil-for-
Food Program. At the request of Senator Levin, then Ranking 
Minority Member, the Subcommittee examined how some U.S. 
accounting firms, banks, investment firms, and tax lawyers were 
designing, promoting, and implementing abusive tax shelters 
across the country. Also at Senator Levin's request, the 
Subcommittee investigated how some U.S. financial institutions 
were failing to comply with anti-money laundering controls 
mandated by the Patriot Act, using as a case history Riggs Bank 
accounts involving Augusto Pinochet, the former President of 
Chile, and Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich country in Africa.
    During the 109th Congress, Senator Coleman held additional 
hearings on abuses associated with the United Nation's Oil-for-
Food Program, and initiated a series of hearings on Federal 
contractors who were paid with taxpayer dollars but failed to 
meet their own tax obligations, resulting in billions of 
dollars in unpaid taxes. He also held hearings on border 
security issues, securing the global supply chain, Federal 
travel abuses, abusive tax refund loans, and unfair energy 
pricing. At Senator Levin's request, the Subcommittee held 
hearings on offshore tax abuses responsible for $100 billion in 
unpaid taxes each year, and on U.S. vulnerabilities caused by 
States forming 2 million companies each year with hidden 
owners.

    During the 110th Congress, in January 2007, after the 
Senate majority shifted, Senator Levin once again became 
Subcommittee Chairman, while Senator Coleman became the Ranking 
Minority Member. Senator Levin chaired the Subcommittee for the 
next seven years. He focused the Subcommittee on investigations 
into complex financial and tax matters, including unfair credit 
card practices, executive stock option abuses, excessive 
speculation in the natural gas and crude oil markets, and 
offshore tax abuses involving tax haven banks and non-U.S. 
persons dodging payment of U.S. taxes on U.S. stock dividends. 
The Subcommittee's work contributed to enactment of two 
landmark bills, the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility 
and Disclosure Act (Credit CARD Act), which reformed credit 
card practices, and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act 
(FATCA), which tackled the problem of hidden offshore bank 
accounts used by U.S. persons to dodge U.S. taxes. At the 
request of Senator Coleman, the Subcommittee also conducted 
bipartisan investigations into Medicare and Medicaid health 
care providers who cheat on their taxes, fraudulent Medicare 
claims involving deceased doctors or inappropriate diagnosis 
codes, U.S. dirty bomb vulnerabilities, Federal payroll tax 
abuses, abusive practices involving transit benefits, and 
problems involving the United Nations Development Program.

(2) More Recent Investigations

    During the 111th Congress, Senator Levin continued as 
Subcommittee Chairman, while Senator Tom Coburn joined the 
Subcommittee as its Ranking Minority Member. Under their 
leadership, the Subcommittee dedicated much of its resources to 
a bipartisan investigation into key causes of the 2008 
financial crisis, looking in particular at the role of high-
risk home loans, regulatory failures, inflated credit ratings, 
and high-risk, conflicts-ridden financial products designed and 
sold by investment banks. The Subcommittee held four hearings 
and released thousands of documents. The Subcommittee's work 
contributed to passage of another landmark financial reform 
bill, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection 
Act of 2010. In addition, the Subcommittee held hearings on 
excessive speculation in the wheat market, tax haven banks that 
helped U.S. clients evade U.S. taxes, how to keep foreign 
corruption out of the United States, and Social Security 
disability fraud.
    During the 112th Congress, Senator Levin and Senator Coburn 
continued in their respective roles as Chairman and Ranking 
Minority Member of the Subcommittee. In a series of bipartisan 
investigations, the Subcommittee examined how a global banking 
giant, HSBC, exposed the U.S. financial system to an array of 
money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorist financing 
risks due to poor anti-money laundering controls; how two U.S. 
multinational corporations, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard 
engaged in offshore tax abuses; and how excessive commodity 
speculation by mutual funds and others were taking place 
without Dodd-Frank safeguards such as position limits being put 
into effect. At the request of Senator Coburn, the Subcommittee 
also conducted bipartisan investigations into problems with 
Social Security disability determinations that, due to poor 
procedures, perfunctory hearings, and poor quality decisions, 
resulted in over one in five disability cases containing errors 
or inadequate justifications; how Department of Homeland 
Security State and local intelligence fusion centers failed to 
yield significant, useful information to support Federal 
counterterrorism efforts; and how certain Federal contractors 
that received taxpayer dollars through stimulus funding failed 
to pay their Federal taxes.
    During the 113th Congress, Senator Levin continued as 
Chairman, while Senator John McCain joined the Subcommittee as 
its Ranking Minority Member. They continued to strengthen the 
Subcommittee's strong bipartisan traditions, conducting all 
investigations in a bipartisan manner. During the 113th 
Congress, the Subcommittee held eight hearings and released ten 
reports on a variety of investigations. The investigations 
examined high risk credit derivatives trades at JPMorgan; 
hidden offshore accounts opened for U.S. clients by Credit 
Suisse in Switzerland; corporate tax avoidance in case studies 
involving Apple, Caterpillar, and a structured financial 
product known as basket options; online advertising abuses; 
conflicts of interest affecting the stock market and high speed 
trading; IRS processing of 501(c)(4) applications; defense 
acquisition reforms; and bank involvement with physical 
commodities. At the end of the 113th Congress, Senator Levin 
retired from the Senate.
    During the 114th Congress, Senator Rob Portman became 
Subcommittee Chairman with Senator Claire McCaskill serving as 
Ranking Minority Member. Under the Chairman and Ranking 
Member's leadership, the Subcommittee held six hearings and 
issued eight reports addressing range of public policy 
concerns. Investigations examined the impact of the U.S. 
corporate tax code on cross-border mergers acquisitions; online 
sex trafficking; the Federal Government's efforts to protect 
unaccompanied migrant children from human trafficking; consumer 
protection in the cable and satellite television industry; 
terrorist networks' use of the Internet and social media to 
radicalize and recruit; the U.S. State Department's oversight 
of a grantee involved in political activities in Israel; and 
efforts by Medicare and private health insurance systems to 
combat the opioid epidemic. The Subcommittee also initiated the 
first successful civil contempt proceedings to enforce a Senate 
subpoena in twenty years. The Subcommittee's long-term 
investigation of online sex trafficking culminated in a final 
report and hearing on January 10, 2017, at the start of the 
115th Congress.

          II. SUBCOMMITTEE HEARINGS DURING THE 115TH CONGRESS

    During the 115th Congress, Senator Rob Portman remained 
Subcommittee Chairman with Senator Tom Carper serving as 
Ranking Minority Member.

A. Backpage.com's Knowing Facilitation of Online Sex Trafficking. 
        January 10, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-6)

    The Subcommittee's first hearing and report of the 115th 
Congress concluded its investigation from the 114th Congress 
regarding how Backpage.com knowingly facilitated the online sex 
trafficking of children. The hearing featured two panels of 
witnesses. The first panel was composed of Carl Ferrer, Chief 
Executive Officer of Backpage.com; Michael Lacey, former owner 
of Backpage.com; James Larkin, former owner of Backpage.com; 
Elizabeth McDougall, General Counsel of Backpage.com; and 
Andrew Padilla, Chief Operations Officer of Backpage.com. The 
second panel of witnesses featured parents of victims of 
Backpage.com's practices: Nacole S., mother of Jane Doe 1; 
Thomas S., father of Jane Doe 1; and Kubiiki P., mother of Jane 
Doe 2. The Backpage.com witnesses asserted their rights not to 
testify under the Fifth Amendment.
    As a result of the Subcommittee's work, Congress passed the 
Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (Pub, L. No. 115-164), which 
became law on April 11, 2018. The law prohibits knowingly 
assisting, facilitating, or supporting sex trafficking, and it 
allows online services to be prosecuted by State attorneys 
general for those violations.

B. Stopping the Shipment of Synthetic Opioids: Oversight of U.S. 
        Strategy to Combat Illicit Drugs. May 25, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-
        193)

    The Subcommittee's second hearing concerned how the U.S. 
Postal Service, private mail and package carriers, U.S. Customs 
and Border Patrol, and the State Department were addressing the 
use of the international postal system to ship illicit opioids 
into the United States and fuel the opioid crisis currently 
gripping the country.
    The hearing featured testimony from two panels of 
witnesses. The first panel included: Hon. Gregory Thome, 
Director, Office of Specialized and Technical Agencies, Bureau 
of International Organization Affairs, U.S. Department of 
State; Robert Cintron, Vice President, Network Operations 
Management, United States Postal Service; Robert Perez, Acting 
Executive Assistant Commissioner, Operations Support, U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security; Tammy L. Whitcomb, Acting Inspector General, Office 
of the Inspector General, United States Postal Service; and 
Norman T. Schenk, Vice President, Global Customs Policy and 
Public Affairs, United Parcel Service. The second panel was 
comprised of: Hon. Michael Botticelli, Executive Director, 
Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine, Boston Medical Center; 
Thomas Synan Jr., Chief of Police, Newtown, Ohio Police 
Department; Thomas P. Gilson, Medical Examiner, Cuyahoga County 
Medical Examiner, Cleveland, Ohio; and Terry L. Horton, Chief, 
Division of Addiction Medicine and Medical Director, Project 
Engage, Christiana Care Health Services, Wilmington, DE.

C. Cutting Through the Red Tape: Oversight of Federal Infrastructure 
        Permitting and the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering 
        Council. September 7, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-194)

    The Subcommittee's third hearing reviewed the process for 
Federal agency permitting of the largest Federal infrastructure 
projects. In 2015, Congress enacted the Fixing America's 
Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. No. 114-94), Title 
41 of which was the Federal Permitting Improvement Act. FAST-
41, as it became known, created the Federal Permitting 
Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council). Under FAST-
41, the Permitting Council is responsible for coordinating the 
permitting process for those projects designated as ``covered 
projects''-which must cost at least $200 million and involve 
multiple Federal agencies in the permitting process. The 
hearing examined the Permitting Council's progress in improving 
the frequently lengthy process for permitting these projects.
    The Subcommittee heard from two panels of witnesses. The 
first panel included Mark S. Gerken, Chief Executive Officer, 
American Municipal Power; Brent Booker, Secretary-Treasurer, 
North America's Building Trades Unions; William L. Kovacs, 
Senior Vice President, Environment, Technology, and Regulatory 
Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Scott Slesinger, 
Legislative Director, Natural Resources Defense Council. The 
second panel was comprised of Janet Pfleeger, Acting Executive 
Director, Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council; 
Terry Turpin, Director, Office of Energy Projects, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission; Robyn S. Colosimo, Assistant for 
Water Resources Policy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Gary 
Frazer, Assistant Director, Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service.

D. Combatting the Opioid Crisis: Exploiting Vulnerabilities in 
        International Mail. January 25, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-317)

    The Subcommittee's fourth hearing of the 115th Congress and 
its second report examined how Chinese online drug dealers and 
others exploit the international mail system to ship illicit 
opioids. While Federal law requires common carriers such as 
FedEx and the United Parcel Service to collect advanced 
electronic data (AED) before shipping a package into the United 
States, the Postal Service is not required to collect AED. The 
Subcommittee described in its report how simple it is to 
contact drug manufacturers in China on the Internet and request 
that they ship opioids to the United States. Almost uniformly, 
the drug manufacturers told undercover Subcommittee staff that 
they would prefer to use the U.S. Postal Service to ship the 
drugs to the United States than any other form of shipment.
    The Subcommittee heard from one panel of witnesses 
comprised of: Joseph P. Murphy, Chief, International Postal 
Affairs, Office of Specialized and Technical Agencies, Bureau 
of International Organizations, U.S. Department of State; 
Robert Cintron, Vice President, Network Operations, United 
States Postal Service; Todd C. Owen, Executive Assistant 
Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; 
William Siemer, Acting Deputy Inspector General, Office of the 
Inspector General, United States Postal Service; Daniel D. 
Baldwin, Section Chief, Office of Global Enforcement, Drug 
Enforcement Administration, U.S. Department of Justice; and 
Gregory C. Nevano, Deputy Assistant Director, Illicit Trade, 
Travel, and Finance Division, Homeland Security Investigations, 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security.
    As a result of the Subcommittee's demonstration of how 
easily drug traffickers were able to ship drugs through the 
U.S. mail, Congress passed the Synthetics Trafficking and 
Overdose Protection (STOP) Act, which became law on October 24, 
2018. The STOP Act requires the Postal Service to collect the 
same shipment information other carriers collect to help 
prevent drug traffickers from shipping illicit drugs into the 
United States through mail and packages entering the country.

E. Oversight of HHS and DHS Efforts to Protect Unaccompanied Alien 
        Children from Human Trafficking and Abuse. April 26, 2018.

    The Subcommittee's fifth hearing of the 115th Congress 
followed up on its efforts from the 114th Congress to examine 
how the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of 
Health and Human Services are ensuring that unaccompanied alien 
children (UACS) are protected from human trafficking and abuse. 
The Subcommittee previously learned that, in 2014, HHS placed 
eight UACs with sponsors who turned out to be human 
traffickers. The traffickers placed the children into forced 
labor on an egg farm in Marion, Ohio. After the Subcommittee's 
hearing and report on January 28, 2016, HHS and DHS agreed to 
enter into a Joint Concept of Operations (JCO) by February 2017 
to set out each of their responsibilities with regard to UACs. 
The Subcommittee learned that the agencies failed to enter the 
JCO and held this hearing hold the agencies accountable for 
this failure. At the hearing, HHS testified that it had been 
conducting 30-day follow-up telephone calls with each UAC it 
places with a sponsor. HHS reported, however, that based on 
three months' worth of data, it could not ``determine with 
certainty the whereabouts of 1,475 UAC.''
    Two panels of witnesses testified at the hearing. The first 
panel included James W. McCament, Deputy Under Secretary, 
Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security; Steven Wagner, Acting Assistant Secretary, 
Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services; Kathryn A. Larin, Director, 
Education, Workforce, and Income Security Team, U.S. Government 
Accountability Office. The second panel of witnesses included: 
Allison E. Herre, Immigration Legal Services Director, Catholic 
Charities Southwestern Ohio; Jessica A. Ramos, Staff Attorney, 
Advocates for Basic Legal Equality; Kelsey R. Wong, Program 
Director and Project Director, Shenandoah Valley Juvenile 
Center; Pattiva M. Cathell, ELL School Counselor, Sussex 
Central High School; and Laura Graham, Deputy Director and 
Managing Attorney, Delaware Medical-Legal Partnership and 
Immigration Program, Community Legal Aid Society, Inc.
    As a result of the Subcommittee's oversight, the agencies 
entered into an information-sharing memorandum of agreement, 
which the agencies provided to the Subcommittee at midnight 
before the hearing, improving their background check procedures 
for sponsors.

F. Oversight of Efforts to Protect Unaccompanied Alien Children from 
        Human Trafficking and Abuse. August 16, 2018.

    The Subcommittee's sixth hearing and third report of the 
115th Congress followed up on its hearing from April 26, 2018, 
to oversee the Federal government's efforts to protect UACs 
from trafficking and abuse. Between the two hearings, DHS and 
HHS entered into the Joint Concept of Operations, more than 19 
months after its original due date. In addition to DHS and HHS 
efforts to protect UACs, this hearing also examined DOJ's role 
in the immigration process and found that, at that time, 
732,730 immigration cases were pending before immigration 
courts around the country, 80,266 of which were UAC cases. More 
than 8,000 UAC cases had been pending for more than three 
years.
    At the hearing, the Subcommittee heard testimony from one 
panel of witnesses: Richard M. Hudson, Acting Chief, Law 
Enforcement Operations Directorate, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security; Robert Guadian, Acting Deputy Assistant Director for 
Field Operations West, U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Commander 
Jonathan D. White, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned 
Corps, Federal Health Coordinating Official for the 2018 UAC 
Reunification Effort, U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services; and James R. McHenry, Director, Executive Office for 
Immigration Review, U.S. Department of Justice.

         III. LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES DURING THE 115TH CONGRESS

    The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations does not have 
legislative authority, but because its investigations play an 
important role in bringing issues to the attention of Congress 
and the public, the Subcommittee's work contributes to the 
development of legislative initiatives. The Subcommittee's 
activity during the 115th Congress was no exception, with 
Subcommittee hearings and Members playing prominent roles in 
several legislative initiatives.

A. Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (S. 1693)

    Based on the Subcommittee's investigation into Backpage.com 
and online sex trafficking, Senator Portman introduced the Stop 
Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA). The House passed the bill 
as part of a larger trafficking bill by an overwhelming 388 to 
25 vote, and the Senate passed it by a similarly large margin 
of 92 to 2. The President signed it into law on April 11, 2018.
    The bill amended the Communications Decency Act (CDA) to 
specify that communications decency provisions protecting 
Internet providers from liability for the private blocking or 
screening of offensive material shall not be construed to 
impair or limit civil action or criminal prosecution under 
State or Federal criminal or civil laws relating to sex 
trafficking of children or sex trafficking by force, fraud, or 
coercion. Over the years, much of the CDA as originally enacted 
has been struck down in court on freedom of speech grounds, but 
Section 230 and its liability protections remain. Many have 
argued that this section provides an essential underpinning of 
the modern Internet and is critical to the explosive growth of 
websites that facilitate user-generated content. At the same 
time, however, those protections have been held by courts to 
shield from civil liability and state criminal prosecution 
nefarious actors, such as the website Backpage.com, that are 
accused of knowingly facilitating sex trafficking. SESTA 
eliminates section 230 as a defense for websites that knowingly 
facilitate sex trafficking. It also empowers State law 
enforcement to enforce criminal statutes against websites, and 
introduce new civil liabilities for violations of Federal 
criminal laws relating to sex trafficking.
    It also amended the Federal criminal code to specify that 
the violation for benefiting from ``participation in a 
venture'' engaged in sex trafficking of children, or sex 
trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, includes knowingly 
assisting, supporting, or facilitating the violation. Finally, 
it allows State attorneys general to bring a civil action in 
U.S. district court on behalf of a State's residents if the 
attorney general believes the residents have been threatened or 
adversely affected by anyone who knowingly participates in the 
sex trafficking of children or sex trafficking by force, fraud, 
or coercion.

B. Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act of 2017 (S. 372)

    The Subcommittee's investigation of the shipment of illicit 
opioids through the U.S. mail prompted Congress to pass the 
Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevent (STOP) Act of 2017 
(Pub. L. No. 115-271). Senator Portman introduced the STOP Act 
on February 14, 2017. On June 22, 2018, the House passed the 
bill by a 396 to 14 vote. On October 3, 2018, the Senate passed 
the bill 99 to 1. The President signed it into law on October 
24, 2018.
    The STOP Act requires the U.S. Postal Service to collect 
AED on all international packages by December 31, 2020. 
Starting on January 1, 2021, any packages sent to the United 
States will not be accepted by the U.S. Postal Service unless 
an exception applies. The requirement mirrors the information 
the Trade Act of 2002 required private carriers like FedEx and 
UPS to collect and provide to Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP). CBP uses the information it collects from private 
carriers to determine if the package should be targeted and 
inspected. The STOP was designed to provide information to law 
enforcement to stop dangerous synthetic drugs, like fentanyl, 
from being shipped into the United States through the 
international mail system associated with the U.S. Postal 
Service.

C. Responsibility for Unaccompanied Minors Act (S. 3474)

    Based on the Subcommittee's oversight of the Federal 
Government's failure to care for unaccompanied alien children 
appropriately, Senator Portman, along with Senators Blumenthal, 
Lankford, and Carper, introduced the Responsibility for 
Unaccompanied Minors Act on September 18, 2018. The bill was 
referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The bill 
would require HHS to ensure that sponsors comply with their 
sponsor care agreement and allow HHS to take back custody of 
children whose non-parental sponsors fail to provide for their 
mental and physical wellbeing or ensure they appear at their 
immigration court proceedings. It would also require HHS to 
conduct background checks on sponsors and require HHS to notify 
sponsors' state of residence before placing a child with a 
sponsor in that State. The bill also would direct the Attorney 
General to increase the number of immigration judge teams by at 
least 225.

D. Federal Permitting Reform and Jobs Act (S. 3017)

    As a result of the Subcommittee's oversight of the Federal 
Permitting Improvement Steering Council, Senators Portman and 
McCaskill introduced the Federal Permitting Reform and Jobs 
Act. The bill would eliminate the seven-year sunset on FAST-41; 
give the Permitting Council Executive Director more authority 
to facilitate disputes between agencies; and give agencies a 
two-year goal for making permitting decisions for covered 
projects.

                    IV. REPORTS, PRINTS, AND STUDIES

    In connection with its investigations, the Subcommittee 
often issues lengthy and detailed reports. During the 115th 
Congress, the Subcommittee released six such reports, listed 
below.

A. Backpage.com's Knowing Facilitation of Online Sex Trafficking, 
        January 10, 2017 (Report Prepared by the Majority and Minority 
        Staff of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and 
        released in conjunction with the Subcommittee's hearing on 
        January 10, 2017)

    At the start of the 115th Congress, the Subcommittee 
released a major, 55-page report culminating its investigation 
into online sex trafficking. For more than 20 months, the 
Subcommittee investigated the problem of online sex 
trafficking. The investigation led the Subcommittee to focus on 
Backpage.com, the leading online marketplace for commercial 
sex. Operating in 97 countries and 943 locations worldwide-and 
last valued at more than a half-billion dollars-Backpage was 
the world's second-largest classified advertising website. 
Backpage is involved in 73 percent of all child trafficking 
reports that the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children (NCMEC) received from the general public (excluding 
reports by Backpage itself). The National Association of 
Attorneys General aptly described Backpage as a ``hub'' of 
``human trafficking, especially the trafficking of minors.''
    Backpage did not deny that its site is used for criminal 
activity, including the sale of children for sex. Instead, the 
company long claimed that it is a mere host of content created 
by others and therefore immune from liability under the 
Communications Decency Act (CDA). Backpage executives also 
repeatedly touted their process for screening adult 
advertisements as an industry-leading effort to protect against 
criminal abuse. Since June 2015, the Subcommittee sought 
information from Backpage-first through a voluntary request, 
then by subpoena-about those screening measures. Backpage 
refused to comply, and the Subcommittee was forced to initiate 
the first civil contempt action authorized by the Senate in 
more than 20 years. In August 2016, the Subcommittee prevailed 
and secured a Federal court order compelling Backpage to 
produce the subpoenaed documents.
    The internal company documents obtained by the Subcommittee 
conclusively demonstrated that Backpage's public defense is a 
fiction. Backpage maintained a practice of altering ads before 
publication by deleting words, phrases, and images indicative 
of criminality, including child sex trafficking. Backpage 
avoided revealing this information. On July 28, 2011, for 
example, Backpage co-founder James Larkin cautioned Backpage 
CEO Carl Ferrer against publicizing Backpage's moderation 
practices, explaining that ``[w]e need to stay away from the 
very idea of `editing' the posts, as you know.'' Backpage had 
good reason to conceal its editing practices: Those practices 
served to sanitize the content of innumerable advertisements 
for illegal transactions-even as Backpage represented to the 
public and the courts that it merely hosted content others had 
created.
    This report contained three principal findings. First, 
Backpage knowingly concealed evidence of criminality by 
systematically editing its ``adult'' ads. As early as 2006, 
Backpage executives began instructing staff responsible for 
screening ads (known as ``moderators'') to edit the text of 
adult ads to conceal the true nature of the underlying 
transaction. By October 2010, Backpage executives formalized a 
process of both manual and automated deletion of incriminating 
words and phrases, primarily through a feature called the 
``Strip Term From Ad Filter.'' At the direction of CEO Carl 
Ferrer, the company programmed this electronic filter to 
``strip''-that is, delete-hundreds of words indicative of sex 
trafficking (including child sex trafficking) or prostitution 
from ads before their publication. The terms that Backpage 
automatically deleted from ads before publication include 
``lolita,'' ``teenage,'' ``rape,'' ``young,'' ``amber alert,'' 
``little girl,'' ``teen,'' ``fresh,'' ``innocent,'' and 
``school girl.'' When a user submitted an adult ad containing 
one of these ``stripped'' words, Backpage's Strip Term From Ad 
filter would immediately delete the discrete word and the 
remainder of the ad would be published.
    While the Strip Term From Ad filter changed nothing about 
the true nature of the advertised transaction or the real age 
of the person being sold for sex, thanks to the filter, 
Backpage's adult ads looked ``cleaner than ever.'' Manual 
editing entailed the deletion of language similar to the words 
and phrases that the Strip Term From Ad filter automatically 
deleted-including terms indicative of criminality. By 
Backpage's own internal estimate, by late-2010, the company was 
editing ``70 to 80 percent of ads'' in the adult section either 
manually or automatically.
    Over time, Backpage reprogrammed its electronic filters to 
reject an ad in its entirety if it contained certain egregious 
words suggestive of sex trafficking. But the company 
implemented this change by coaching its customers on how to 
post ``clean'' ads for illegal transactions. When a user 
attempted to post an ad with a forbidden word, the user would 
receive an error message identifying the problematic word 
choice to ``help'' the user, as Ferrer put it. For example, in 
2012, a user advertising sex with a ``teen'' would get the 
error message: ``Sorry, `teen' is a banned term.'' Through 
simply redrafting the ad, the user would be permitted to post a 
sanitized version. Documents from as recently as 2014 confirm 
the continued use of these error messages. Backpage employed a 
similarly helpful error message in its ``age verification'' 
process for adult ads. In October 2011, Ferrer directed his 
technology consultant to create an error message when a user 
supplied an age under 18. He stated that, ``An error could pop 
up on the page: `Oops! Sorry, the ad poster must be over 18 
years of age.''' With a quick adjustment to the poster's 
putative age, the ad would post.
    In addition to the evidence of systematic editing described 
above, additional evidence showed that Backpage was aware that 
its website facilitated prostitution and child sex trafficking. 
Backpage moderators told the Subcommittee that everyone at the 
company knew the adult-section ads were for prostitution and 
that their job was to ``put[] lipstick on a pig'' by sanitizing 
them. Backpage also knows that advertisers use its site 
extensively for child sex trafficking, but the company often 
refused to act swiftly in response to complaints about 
particular underage users-preferring in some cases to interpret 
these complaints as the tactics of a competing escort. Backpage 
may also have tried to manipulate the number of child-
exploitation reports it forwards to the National Center for 
Missing and Exploited Children.
    Finally, despite the reported sale of Backpage to an 
undisclosed foreign company in 2014, the true beneficial owners 
of the company were found to be James Larkin, Michael Lacey, 
and Carl Ferrer. Acting through a complex chain of domestic and 
international shell companies, Lacey and Larkin lent Ferrer 
over $600 million to purchase Backpage from them. But as a 
result of this deal, Lacey and Larkin retained significant 
financial and operational control, holding almost complete debt 
equity in the company, and still receive large distributions of 
company profits. According to the consultant who structured the 
deal, moreover, this transaction appeared to provide no tax 
benefits. Instead, it served only to obscure Ferrer's U.S.-
based ownership and conceal Lacey and Larkin's continued 
beneficial ownership.
    After the hearing and report, the Department of Justice 
criminally prosecuted Backpage.com CEO Carl Ferrer and at least 
six other Backpage.com owners or operators. Backpage was seized 
by Federal law enforcement.

B. Combatting the Opioid Crisis: Exploiting Vulnerabilities in 
        International Mail, January 25, 2018 (Report Prepared by the 
        Majority and Minority Staffs of the Permanent Subcommittee on 
        Investigations and released in conjunction with the 
        Subcommittee's hearing on January 25, 2018)

    In January 2018, the Subcommittee released a 100-page 
report detailing how drug traffickers exploit vulnerabilities 
in the postal system to ship illegal opioids and other drugs 
through the U.S. mail. The number of Americans dying due to 
opioid overdose is staggering. According to the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 63,600 
Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016. Sixty-six percent 
of those deaths were caused by opioids, including fentanyl and 
its many analogues. According to the Drug Enforcement 
Administration (DEA), China is the primary source of supply for 
fentanyl and its underlying chemical substances (or precursors) 
headed for the United States. It is widely known how illicit 
fentanyl enters the United States. According to the DEA, 
``[c]ustomers can purchase fentanyl products from Chinese 
laboratories online'' and ``powdered fentanyls and pill 
presses'' are shipped via mail services.
    As documented in the report, the Subcommittee learned just 
how easy it is to find fentanyl advertised online, pay for it 
using digital currency or other means, and have it shipped to 
the United States through international mail and packages. As 
such, the Subcommittee conducted an investigation into measures 
used to prevent illicit fentanyl from entering the United 
States by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the 
U.S. Postal Service (Postal Service), and the U.S. Department 
of State (State Department). The Subcommittee also reviewed 
efforts taken by the three largest express consignment 
operators (ECO) operating in the United States: DHL Express 
U.S. (DHL); FedEx Corporation (FedEx); and United Parcel 
Service (UPS).
    Online Fentanyl Sellers. The Subcommittee sought to 
determine how easy it is to purchase fentanyl from an online 
seller and arrange to have it delivered to the United States. A 
simple Google search of ``fentanyl for sale'' returned a number 
of potential sellers. Over the course of 3 months, the 
Subcommittee communicated with representatives from six online 
sellers, posing as a first-time fentanyl purchaser. All of the 
online sellers actively sought to induce a purchase of fentanyl 
or other illicit opioid. Their sales pitches made it sound easy 
to purchase fentanyl, and each preferred to ship any purchases 
to the United States through the the Postal Service. The online 
sellers preferred to be paid through cryptocurrencies such as 
bitcoin, which offers a certain level of anonymity. They also 
accepted other common payment options, such as Western Union, 
MoneyGram, PayPal, credit cards, and prepaid gift cards. The 
online sellers actively negotiated with the Subcommittee to 
complete a deal by offering flash sales on certain illicit 
opioids and discounted prices for bulk purchases. When the 
Subcommittee failed to immediately respond to an offer, the 
online sellers proactively followed up, sometimes offering 
deeper discounts to entice a sale.
    While the Subcommittee posed as a first-time online 
purchaser of fentanyl, it never finalized an order or provided 
payment. Rather, the Subcommittee used information the online 
sellers provided-such as payment information and shipping 
addresses-to investigate the extent to which other persons in 
the United States were conducting business with the online 
sellers.
    Americans Buy Fentanyl Online and Receive it in the Mail. 
The Subcommittee's investigation confirmed that many Americans 
are purchasing fentanyl and other illicit opioids online and 
having them shipped here through the international mail system. 
The preferred method of the international online sellers is 
Express Mail Service (EMS), a global delivery service for 
documents and merchandise contained in letters and packages. 
The EMS network delivers letters and packages worldwide through 
each member country's postal operations, including the Postal 
Service in the United States. Through payment information, the 
Subcommittee identified more than 500 financial transactions by 
more than 300 U.S.-based individuals totaling $230,000 to the 
six online sellers. These 300 individuals were located in 43 
States, with those in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida making 
the highest number of purchases.
    Through shipment data, the Subcommittee tracked many 
shipments to individuals who sent money to the six online 
sellers. This review led to several alarming findings. Most 
troubling, the Subcommittee identified seven individuals who 
died from fentanyl-related overdoses after sending money and 
receiving packages from one of the online sellers, including a 
49-year-old Ohioan who sent roughly $2,500 to an online seller 
over the course of 10 months-from May 2016 to February 2017. 
Over that time period, he received 15 packages through the 
Postal Service on dates that closely corresponded to payments 
he made to an online seller. He died in early 2017 from ``acute 
fentanyl intoxication.'' He had received a package from an 
online seller just 30 days before his death.
    The Subcommittee also identified a likely distributor for 
one of the online sellers based in Pennsylvania. The 
Subcommittee identified 120 instances of an individual sending 
a payment to an online seller and then receiving a package 
within one to two days from the Pennsylvania address. The 
Ohioan identified above, for example, received seven packages 
from the Pennsylvania address, including the package he 
received a month prior to his death. Analysis of payment and 
shipping information further identified two additional 
individuals who were likely distributing illicit opioids.
    Inbound International Mail Volume. The Subcommittee also 
examined the Federal agencies' and private shippers' response 
to the country's opioid crisis. CBP is the Federal agency 
responsible for identifying suspicious packages sent through 
the international mail stream that contain illegal items, 
including fentanyl and other illicit drugs. The Postal Service 
and ECOs are required to support CBP's efforts by locating and 
physically handing over or presenting targeted packages to CBP 
for inspection, a process is known as ``presentment.'' The 
volume difference for inbound international packages handled by 
the Postal Service compared to ECOs is staggering. The three 
major ECOs examined by the Subcommittee together handled 
approximately 65.7 million international packages in 2016, 
while the Postal Service alone handled more than 275 million in 
the same year, over four times the amount handled by the ECOs. 
The Postal Service's inbound international mail volume 
increased by 232 percent between fiscal year 2013 and calendar 
year 2017. However, the Postal Service failed to forecast this 
growth in inbound international mail volume, which could have 
helped to ensure some operational measures were in place to 
handle the growth.
    Interdicting Illicit Opioids and Other Contraband in 
International Mail. International mail packages shipped through 
the Postal Service primarily enter the United States through 
one of five International Service Centers (ISC) located at the 
following airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) 
in New York; O'Hare International Airport in Chicago (ORD); Los 
Angeles International Airport (LAX); San Francisco 
International Airport (SFO); and Miami International Airport 
(MIA). In years past, CBP would locate suspicious packages at 
the ISCs by providing the Postal Service with a list of 
``countries of interest.'' The Postal Service would then 
present all the packages from those countries to CBP. CBP would 
then manually sort through and inspect millions of packages 
looking for illegal items. Although both agencies agreed that 
the process was inefficient and sought ways to improve it, they 
are guided by different missions that hinder those efforts. The 
Postal Service's mission is the speedy processing and delivery 
of the mail, while CBP's mission is to protect the U.S. border 
and prevent illicit items from entering the United States.
    CBP and Postal Service Pilot Program. In 2015, CBP and the 
Postal Service implemented a pilot program to improve the 
identification, inspection, and interdiction process for 
international packages arriving in the United States. The pilot 
program leveraged advanced electronic data (AED) that the 
Postal Service received from certain foreign postal operators. 
Under the pilot program, CBP would use the data to specifically 
target small packages under 4.4 pounds (called ``ePackets'') 
coming from China through the JFK ISC. The Postal Service would 
then be responsible for locating and presenting the targeted 
packages to CBP. Although the pilot program was a positive 
development, its execution suffered from lack of forethought 
and cooperation, conflicting missions, and interagency 
personality conflicts.
    The Universal Postal Union. International mail delivery is 
governed by a treaty signed in 1874 that created the Universal 
Postal Union (UPU). The United States is one of the 192 members 
of the UPU. For close to a decade, the United States (through 
the State Department) advocated that UPU members adopt the 
requirement of collecting and exchanging AED for all packages, 
but little progress has been made. The amount of AED currently 
transmitted to the Postal Service on international packages is 
low. From January 2017 through the end of 2017, only 36 percent 
(on average) of packages sent to the United States included 
AED.
    Express Consignment Operators. In the Trade Act of 2002, 
Congress required ECOs to collect certain information on all 
packages shipped through their networks for security purposes 
following the September 11 terrorist attacks. As a result, all 
packages shipped by ECOs have AED, including sender name and 
address, recipient name and address, and a description of the 
item contained in the package. CBP uses this information to 
target suspicious packages shipped through the ECOs, just as it 
uses the AED in the JFK pilot program with the Postal Service. 
While ECOs are highly efficient at using AED to provide CBP 
with targeted packages, differences exists between the ECOs and 
the Postal Service. ECOs control packages in their networks 
from acceptance to delivery, even for international packages. 
In contrast, the Postal Service must rely on foreign postal 
operators to collect AED on internationally shipped packages 
that are delivered domestically by the Postal Service. ECOs 
also handle fewer packages than the Postal Service.

C. Review of U.S. Treasury Department's License to Convert Iranian 
        Assets Using the U.S. Financial System, June 6, 2018 (Report 
        Prepared by the Majority Staff of the Permanent Subcommittee on 
        Investigations)

    In June 2018, the Subcommittee's Majority Staff released a 
53-page report reviewing the Obama Administration's 
negotiations with Iran to relieve sanctions in exchange for 
concessions. As the United States negotiated with Iran, one 
important U.S. interest consistently remained off-limits: Iran 
would not be granted access to either the U.S. financial system 
or the U.S. dollar. Foreign financial institutions were free to 
conduct business with the government of Iran and Iranian 
entities, but U.S. financial institutions continued to be 
barred from engaging Iran. Senior U.S. government officials 
repeatedly testified to Congress that Iranian access to the 
U.S. financial system was not on the table or part of any deal. 
This notwithstanding, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, at 
the direction of the U.S. State Department, granted a specific 
license that authorized a conversion of Iranian assets worth 
billions of U.S. dollars using the U.S. financial system. Even 
after the specific license was issued, U.S. government 
officials maintained in congressional testimony that Iran would 
not be granted access to the U.S. financial system.
    Joint Plan of Action. In November 2013, the United States, 
along with the permanent members of the United Nations Security 
Council (Security Council) China, France, Russia, and the 
United Kingdom, plus Germany (collectively known as the ``P5 
+1'') signed the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) with Iran in 
Geneva, Switzerland. The JPOA was a temporary measure that 
lifted limited economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iran 
suspending portions of its nuclear program while working 
towards a permanent solution. The JPOA went into effect in 
January 2014 as the parties negotiated the terms of a permanent 
deal.
    Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. In July 2015, Iran and 
the P5+1 signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), 
which replaced the JPOA. The Security Council adopted the JCPOA 
on October 18, 2015, and the JCPOA went into effect on January 
16, 2016 (Implementation Day). Iran agreed to several nuclear-
related limitations, including limiting the production of 
enriched uranium for 15 years and granting the International 
Atomic Energy Agency access to certain facilities to monitor 
compliance with the agreement. In exchange, the United States 
committed to lifting some economic sanctions on Iran, including 
sanctions by the United States on foreign entities and 
countries that conducted business with Iran outside of the 
United States (commonly referred to as ``secondary 
sanctions''). Iran was also allowed to access assets previously 
frozen abroad. On Implementation Day, Iran had $5.7 billion in 
assets at Bank Muscat in Muscat, Oman in Omani rials.
    Notwithstanding this relief, primary U.S. sanctions 
impacting Iran generally remained in place. It remained illegal 
for U.S. persons, entities, and financial institutions to do 
business with Iran or parties on behalf of Iran. This ban also 
included any ``U-Turn'' transactions-which are transactions by 
or on behalf of an Iranian bank in which a U.S. bank acted 
solely as an intermediary to convert one foreign currency into 
dollars and then to another foreign currency.
    U.S. government officials testified before Congress that 
Iran would not have access to the U.S. financial system. 
Members of Congress raised concerns about Iran's ability to 
access the dollar and the U.S. financial system under the 
JCPOA. The primary agencies responsible for administering and 
policing the United States' sanctions program are the 
Departments of State and Treasury. Several State and Treasury 
Department officials testified before congressional committees 
concerning the relief provided under the JCPOA.
    U.S. government officials encouraged other countries to do 
business with Iran. Shortly after the P5+1 reached a deal with 
Iran in July 2015, officials from the Departments of State and 
Treasury traveled the globe meeting with foreign financial 
institutions to encourage business with Iran. Their purpose was 
to make clear that other countries could conduct transactions 
with Iran, as long as they avoided U.S. persons, the U.S. 
financial system, and U.S. sanctioned Iranians. In total, U.S. 
officials participated in over 200 of these ``roadshows'' in 
major cities such as London, Geneva, Tokyo, Berlin, Rome, and 
Paris. The roadshows amounted to the U.S. government telling 
the world that Iran was open for business, as long as the rest 
of the world left the United States out of it. During these 
roadshows, U.S. officials also signaled that it would not 
aggressively enforce violations of the new sanctions regime.
    Iran requested access to the U.S. dollar. Foreign banks had 
problems converting Iran's assets. Just days after 
Implementation Day, Bank Muscat contacted OFAC seeking access 
to the U.S. dollar. The request related to the Central Bank of 
Iran's (CBI) desire to convert the $5.7 billion in assets held 
by Bank Muscat in Omani rials to euros. Because the Omani 
rial's value is pegged to the U.S. dollar, the conversion 
through the U.S. financial system required two steps. First, 
the Omani rials had to be converted to U.S. dollars, and, 
second, the U.S. dollars would be converted to euros. But a 
conversion to U.S. dollars on behalf of the CBI was prohibited 
under U.S. sanctions. Other options existed to convert the 
funds from rials to euros without using the U.S. financial 
system. But using the U.S. dollar as an intermediary step was 
the most efficient means, even though U.S. sanctions prohibited 
it.
    The inability to convert the funds held at Bank Muscat 
through the U.S. financial system frustrated key Iranian 
officials. On January 24, 2016, a lead Iranian negotiator, 
wrote to his U.S. State Department counterpart, complaining 
that Iran could not convert its assets as it requested. 
Confused by Iran's frustration, Treasury officials reviewed the 
JCPOA and determined it was consistent with Iran's position, 
allowing the Government of Iran to engage in ``transfers,'' 
``foreign exchange (including Rial related transactions),'' and 
the ``purchase or acquisition by the Government of Iran of U.S. 
bank notes.'' After reviewing the JCPOA's relevant provisions, 
one Treasury official wrote in an email, ``Yikes. It looks like 
we committed to a whole lot beyond just allowing the 
immobilized funds to settle out.''
    The Treasury Department issued a specific license granting 
Iran access to the U.S. financial system. Treasury Department 
officials began working on a specific license authorizing Bank 
Muscat's transaction. A specific license allows specified 
transactions to occur that would otherwise violate U.S. 
sanctions. On February 24, 2016, the Treasury Department issued 
a specific license to Bank Muscat to authorize the conversion 
of Iran's rials to euros through ``any United States depository 
institution . . . involved as a correspondent bank . . . where 
such foreign exchange conversion provides an indirect benefit 
to persons subject to the jurisdiction of the Government of 
Iran.'' Iran was then free to use a U.S. bank to act as the 
intermediary (called a ``correspondent bank'') to convert its 
assets at Bank Muscat (Omani rials) through the correspondent 
bank account in the United States (U.S. dollars) to a 
designated bank in Europe (euros).
    OFAC encouraged two U.S. correspondent banks to convert the 
funds. Even with the license, Iran needed a willing U.S. 
correspondent bank to convert the Omani rials. Bank Muscat 
maintained correspondent relationships with at least two U.S. 
banks. U.S. officials at OFAC contacted both of the banks to 
encourage them to convert the funds. Convincing a U.S. bank to 
convert the funds was crucial. Both U.S. banks eventually 
declined, primarily due to the unwillingness to take on the 
legal and compliance risk posed by the complex conversion, but 
also reputational concerns in doing business with a 
comprehensively sanction country like Iran. Without a willing 
U.S. correspondent bank, Iran's assets remained at Bank Muscat.
    The funds remained at Bank Muscat; Iranian officials 
remained frustrated. Iranian officials continued to express 
great frustration that funds could not be converted as 
requested. In March 2016, one Iranian official wrote to a 
Senior State Department Official that ``OFAC is almost all the 
time invoked as the reason for other countries' unwillingness 
to let us have unhindered access to our funds abroad.'' That 
same Iranian official also wrote, ``Please note that our 
inability to convert and use our bank deposits is causing 
challenges, particularly after the [Implementation Day] when we 
have expected free access and use of our funds abroad.'' In 
defense, the Senior State Department Official responded that 
the United States ``exceeded our JCPOA commitments by OFAC's 
issuing a license to enable Bank Muscat to work with any U.S. 
financial institution to facilitate the conversation of assets 
in the banks from rials to other non-dollar currencies.'' That 
same Senior State Department Official also explained that the 
Bank Muscat transaction was ``prohibited by U.S. sanctions that 
are still in place, and which we were clear we would not be 
removing as part of the JCPOA.''
    U.S. officials continued to assure Congress that Iran would 
not be able to access the U.S. financial system. As the 
Treasury and State Department worked behind the scenes to help 
Iran access the dollar, the message to Congress remained the 
same: The JCPOA did not allow Iran to access the U.S. financial 
system. In March 2016, Senators Marco Rubio and Mark Kirk wrote 
to the Treasury Department to seek clarity on ``new reports 
suggesting the Administration is working to give Iran access to 
the U.S. financial system or to dollar transactions outside of 
the U.S. financial system.'' The Treasury Department responded 
in June 2016:

      To be clear, the U.S. Department of Treasury is 
not working on behalf of Iran to enable Iranian access to U.S. 
dollars elsewhere in the international financial system, nor 
are we assisting Iran in gaining access to dollar payment 
systems outside the U.S. financial system. The Administration 
has not been and is not planning to grant Iran access to the 
U.S. financial system.

    Just three months earlier, the same agency issued a 
specific license for Iran to access to the U.S. financial 
system and the U.S. dollar. Eventually, Iranian officials 
stopped complaining to the State Department about the inability 
to convert their rials into dollars. In the end, State 
Department officials believed Iran moved the money slowly over 
time by converting small amounts of rials directly to euros 
without using the U.S. financial system. A January 2017 State 
Department email indicated that Iran still ``expressed 
concern'' that the Iranian fund issue remained fully 
unresolved.

D. Federal Agency Compliance with the DATA Act, July 24, 2018 (Report 
        Prepared by the Majority and Minority Staffs of the Permanent 
        Subcommittee on Investigations)

    On July 24, 2018, the Subcommittee released a 46-page 
bipartisan report regarding agency compliance with the Digital 
Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) of 2014 (Pub. L. 
No. 113-101). The DATA Act requires Federal agencies to report 
their spending data to U.S. Department of the Treasury, which 
Treasury will then report publicly on USASpending.gov.
    In May 2017, the Treasury Department compiled the first-
ever single, unified data set containing information that, in 
theory, would present a complete picture of Federal Government 
spending. Efforts in recent years to make this information 
publicly available were built on the idea that transparency 
encourages effective and efficient government spending, and 
that taxpayers are entitled to fully understand the Federal 
Government they fund through their tax dollars. While Federal 
agencies have made positive strides in collecting and 
presenting their spending data, in practice, a great deal of 
work remains to ensure the information is complete, accurate, 
and timely.
    A number of factors continue to hinder the Federal 
Government's ability to uniformly report spending data-in 
particular, the amount of spending and the complexity of the 
Federal Government. In fiscal year 2017, for example, the 
government spent $3.98 trillion across the 96 agencies that 
comprise the Executive Branch. Further complicating the ability 
to uniformly report spending data, each agency operates 
independently with its own systems, metrics, and standards to 
track and publish spending data. While the White House and 
Congress make decisions about and track spending government-
wide through the annual budget and appropriations process, each 
Federal agency tracks what they spend internally through 
individualized and complex accounting methods and systems. 
Recent attempts to track and standardize reporting reveal 
issues with data inaccuracy and completeness across nearly 
every Federal agency. And with spending at historic levels, the 
need to track spending data across the Federal Government is 
more important than ever.
    Congress embarked on its first attempt at standardizing 
spending data in 2002 with the E-government Act that intended 
to ``enhance the access to and delivery of government 
information and services.'' Later, in 2006, Congress took 
additional steps with the Federal Funding Accountability and 
Transparency Act (FFATA) to standardize the reporting of more 
comprehensive Federal spending data to provide accurate and 
transparent information on a publicly-available website, 
USAspending.gov. And more recently, under the DATA Act, 
Congress directed Federal agencies to start reporting data in a 
cohesive and manageable way to the Treasury Department. The 
DATA Act required Federal agencies to report spending in real 
time down to the location by congressional district by May 9, 
2017. The intended result would be a central depository for 
government-wide spending readily available for the public to 
review.
    As Federal agencies implemented the DATA Act, most 
experienced significant complications in providing accurate 
data for just one snapshot in time: spending data for fiscal 
year 2017's second quarter (Q2 2017). The Subcommittee examined 
25 Federal agencies, representing roughly 77 percent of all 
Federal spending for FY 2017, responsible for submitting 
complete, accurate, and timely spending data to the Treasury 
Department for display on USAspending.gov. Based on the 
Subcommittee's review of Inspector General (IG) reports for 
these 25 Federal agencies, at least 55 percent of the spending 
data submitted to USAspending.gov-submissions representing 
roughly $240 billion (out of $779 billion)-was incomplete, 
inaccurate, or both. Inaccurate spending data frustrates the 
purpose of the DATA Act: a user friendly search engine 
detailing government-wide spending.
    The chart below shows each agency's error rate for its Q2 
2017 data submissions, and the Subcommittee's determination of 
the incorrectly reported data to USAspending.gov.

 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                           Q2 2017 Financial       Total Incorrectly
                     Agency                                              Error Rate                   and     Award Data\1\           Reported to
                                                                                                                                  AUSAspending.gov\2\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSA............................................                               36.9%                          $248,077,220,903            $91,540,494,513
HUD............................................                   Could not test\3\                           $39,600,000,000            $39,600,000,000
Agriculture....................................                               97.1%                           $38,964,000,000            $37,834,044,000
VA.............................................                                 60%                           $61,354,996,332            $36,812,997,799
DOT............................................                   Could not test\4\                            $5,182,810,992             $5,182,810,992
Energy.........................................                                100%                            $4,101,229,733             $4,101,229,733
DHS............................................                                 64%                            $5,313,193,672             $3,400,443,950
State..........................................                               83.6%                            $3,795,080,336             $3,172,687,161
NASA...........................................                                 57%                            $3,692,766,298             $2,104,876,790
Justice........................................                               89.6%                         $9,400,000,000\5\             $8,422,400,000
GSA............................................                               54.6%                            $2,657,055,023             $1,450,752,043
OPM............................................                                1.3%                      Could not provide\6\     Could not calculate\7\
Interior.......................................                               37.6%                            $2,745,131,731             $1,032,169,530
HHS............................................                                 .3%                          $333,000,000,000               $999,000,000
Defense........................................                                100%                              $990,100,000               $990,100,000
Treasury.......................................                               96.2%                              $711,803,354               $684,754,827
Commerce.......................................                               64.3%                              $936,175,503               $601,960,848
Science Foundation.............................                               62.2%                              $930,008,596               $578,465,347
Labor..........................................                               76.8%                              $571,390,543               $438,827,937
Education......................................                                2.8%                           $12,035,006,875               $336,980,193
IRS............................................                                 97%                              $332,607,474               $322,629,250
USAID..........................................                                8.3%                            $3,816,398,303               $316,761,059
Nuclear Regulatory Commission..................                                 54%                              $477,775,111               $257,998,560
SBA............................................                               32.3%                               $66,307,161                $21,417,213
EPA............................................                                  0%                              $628,478,907                         $0
                                                ========================================================================================================
    Totals.....................................                              55%\8\                          $779,379,536,847           $240,203,801,745
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Q2 2017 spending figures were produced to the Subcommitee by the agencies and IGs or taken from IG DATA Act reports. Following the FAEC DATA Act
  Working Group: Inspectors General Guide to Compliance Under the DATA Act, the Subcommittee relied on files D1 and D2 when an IG could not provide a
  File C figure.
\2\The Subcommittee obtained agency error rate based on IG reporting of statistically valid samples from agency DATA Act submissions. Multiplying the
  agency's error rate by the agency's Q2 2017 spending produced the amount each agency incorrectly reported to USAspending.gov.
\3\Email from Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, to Subcommittee staff, (Apr. 6, 2018) (On file with
  Subcommittee)(The HUD IG ``did not report error percentages because the audit scope limitation.'')
\4\Email from Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Transportation, to Subcommittee staff (April 10, 2018)(On file with the
  Subcommittee)(The DOT IG ``could not assess the accuracy rate because of unresolved data reliability issues associated with a primary system we were
  using to assess the data.'')
\5\Email from Office of Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice, (July 19, 2018).
\6\Email from Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, to Subcommittee staff (June 25, 2018)(on file
  with Subcommittee)(``The DATA Act reporting did not provide a breakdown of Q1 2017 and Q2 2017 spending. Thus, OPM does not have the spending number
  for only Q2 2017'').
\7\Because OPM could not provide a spending total for only Q2 2017, the Subcommittee could not calculate the figure inaccurately reported to
  USAspending.gov.
\8\Percentage was calculated by averaging the percentage errors rates calculated by the various IG offices. This average does not account for HUD and
  DOT.

    There are also problems with the USAspending.gov website. 
The website is internally inconsistent with users getting 
different results depending on how they conduct their search. 
Spending data searched and reviewed through the ``Spending 
Explorer'' section can be different from spending data a user 
finds using the ``Award'' section of the website.
    Given these issues with the website and that the IGs found 
that over half of the data submitted to USAspending.gov was 
inaccurate, the Subcommittee finds the website does not 
currently fulfill its legislative mandate as a reliable source 
of government-wide spending. The Executive Branch, and 
specifically the Treasury Department, must work to ensure the 
spending information found on USAspending.gov is both accurate 
and reliable.
E. Oversight of the Care of Unaccompanied Alien Children, August 16, 
        2018 (Report Prepared by the Majority and Minority Staffs of 
        the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and released in 
        conjunction with the Subcommittee's hearing on August 16, 2018)
    In August 2018, the Subcommittee released a 55-page 
bipartisan staff report following up on its report and hearing 
from January 2016 regarding how the Federal Government fails to 
protect unaccompanied alien children (UACs) once the Department 
of Health and Human Services places them with sponsors in the 
United States. The Subcommittee's initially began investigating 
HHS's failures to protect these children after HHS placed eight 
UACs into the hands of a ring of human traffickers who forced 
them to work on egg farms in and around Marion, Ohio, leading 
to a Federal criminal indictment. According to the indictment, 
the minor victims were forced to work 6 or 7 days a week, 12 
hours per day. The traffickers repeatedly threatened the 
victims and their families with physical harm, and even death, 
if they did not work or surrender their entire paychecks.
    In its August 2018 follow-up report, the Subcommittee found 
that, although HHS had made some improvements, the Federal 
Government still failed to protect these children in many ways. 
Specifically, the report found:
    No Federal agency claims legal responsibility or authority 
to ensure UACs are not being trafficked or abused once the HHS 
Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) places a child with a 
sponsor. HHS officials offered conflicting testimony on this 
issue. HHS Director of the Administration for Children and 
Families Steven Wagner testified that that HHS is reviewing its 
policy. HHS Secretary Alex Azar testified that HHS's previous 
interpretation-that the department has no authority-stands. 
Current ORR leadership told the Subcommittee staff they 
recognize that prior administrations' interpretation of HHS's 
legal authority places these children in a ``legal no man's 
land.''
    DHS and HHS took 29 months to create a JCO governing their 
responsibilities for the care and safety of UACs and missed 
their own deadline by 17 months. Moreover, one senior DHS 
official questioned why Subcommittee staff believed the JCO was 
important, implying that he did not see value in completing the 
JCO and committing DHS and HHS processes to paper.
    The JCO reflects the status quo. It did not address any of 
the recommendations offered by the Subcommittee or the GAO. The 
JCO offered no clarification of the Federal Government's 
responsibility for UACs once HHS places them with sponsors.
    No Federal agency tracks UACs after ORR places them with 
sponsors. Without a method to track UACs after placement, the 
Federal Government has few means to determine whether the 
children are safe or to ensure they appear at their immigration 
court proceedings.
    HHS's follow-up telephone calls to UACs placed with 
sponsors from October to December 2017 demonstrate that HHS 
does not know with certainty where approximately 20 percent of 
UACs are three months after placement. ORR found that out of 
7,635 attempted telephone calls, 28 UACs ``had run away'' and 
``ORR was unable to determine with certainty the whereabouts of 
1,475 UAC.'' In response to those findings, HHS took no further 
action to determine their whereabouts.
    HHS has directed its legal service grantees to cease 
providing legal representation to new UACs placed with 
sponsors. HHS told the Subcommittee it believes its authority 
to provide such services is ``shaky.'' According to UAC legal 
service providers, UACs represented by attorneys are 
significantly more likely to appear at their immigration court 
proceedings.
    No agency ensures UACs placed with sponsors appear at their 
immigration court proceedings or enforces the sponsorship 
agreement requiring sponsors to ensure the children's 
appearance at the proceedings. If UACs fail to appear at their 
immigration court proceedings, the court typically will enter 
an in absentia removal order. Those children lose their 
opportunity to present a case for staying in the United States 
unless they petition to re-open their case, and if they leave 
the country, they likely will be barred from future entry.
    UACs are failing to appear for their immigration court 
proceedings at increased rates. The percentage of UACs ordered 
removed in absentia increased from 41 percent in 2016 (6,089 
out of 15,016 completed cases) to 48 percent in 2017 (6,634 out 
of 13,758 completed cases). According to UAC legal service 
providers, many UACs fail to appear for their immigration court 
proceedings because the courts are located far from where they 
live and they have no means to get to court. Some UACs also 
fail to appear because their sponsors do not realize they need 
to file for a change of venue if they move.
    The backlog of immigration court cases, including UAC 
cases, is significant, and DOJ does not have enough immigration 
court judges to process the cases. Currently, 732,730 
immigration cases total are pending; of those, 80,266 are UAC 
cases. More than 8,000 UAC cases have been pending for more 
than 3 years. Further, DOJ has not hired its full allotted 
complement of immigration court judges. Currently, 355 
immigration judges handle all immigration court cases, 
including 29 judges invested on August 10, 2018. DOJ has 
authority to hire 129 additional judges. The median length of 
time UAC cases currently have been pending since the filing of 
a notice to appear is 480 days. This significant lapse of time 
makes it less likely UACs will appear for their immigration 
proceedings.
    HHS does not notify State governments before placing UACs 
with sponsors in those States. Without State notification, 
States are hamstrung in providing welfare and other services to 
the children or to ensure they attend public school. HHS has a 
plan to notify State governments before placing UACs previously 
held in secure facilities, but HHS has failed to implement that 
plan. HHS explained it cannot implement the plan because it 
cannot determine whom to notify in the State governments.
    HHS regularly fails to submit required post-placement plans 
to DHS for UACs who turn age 18 while in HHS's care. These 
plans are supposed to inform DHS about each UAC and recommend 
whether DHS should detain the UAC or release the UAC into the 
community.
    HHS does not contract with appropriate facilities to house 
UACs who must be held in a secure facility and who also have 
significant mental health or emotional issues. Housing UACs who 
have significant mental health or emotional issues with the 
general population in secure facilities exposes those UACs, the 
facility staff, and other children to an increased risk of 
harm. Due to delays in ORR's internal review processes, some 
UACs are spending more time than necessary in secure 
facilities. This is contrary to the statutory mandate that UACs 
should be placed in the least restrictive setting that is in 
the best interests of the child.
    In October 2018, Senator Portman, along with Senators 
Blumenthal, Lankford, and Carper, introduced the Responsibility 
for Unaccompanied Minors Act to hold HHS accountable for 
ensuring the welfare of UACs after placing them with sponsors 
and to ensure they appear for their immigration court 
proceedings.
F. Combatting the Opioid Crisis: The Price Increase of an Opioid 
        Overdose Reversal Drug and the Cost to the U.S. Health Care 
        System, November 18, 2018 (Report Prepared by the Majority and 
        Minority Staffs of the Permanent Subcommittee on 
        Investigations)
    In November 2018, the Subcommittee released an 85-page 
report regarding pharmaceutical company kaleo's 600 percent 
increase in the cost of a lifesaving drug, EVZIO, a device that 
injects naloxone to counteract opioid overdoses.
    The FDA Approved Naloxone. The need to reverse opioid-
related overdoses and save lives has never been more important. 
The Food and Drug Administration approved a drug called 
naloxone in 1971 to counteract the effects of an opioid 
overdose. Naloxone is administered three ways: (1) 
intravenously by a medical professional; (2) via an intranasal 
plunger delivered into one of the patient's nostrils; or (3) 
via a needle injection into the patient's muscle or fat. The 
more quickly an overdose victim receives naloxone, the more 
effective the drug is in countering the effects of the 
overdose. While naloxone is available in generic form, two 
branded products exist for take-home use by untrained 
individuals in the case of an overdose: (1) Adapt's nasal spray 
branded as ``Narcan'' and (2) kaleo's auto-injector branded as 
``EVZIO.''
    EVZIO is an auto-injector device that provides verbal 
instructions that talk the user through using EVZIO on an 
overdose victim. EVZIO went to market in July 2014 at $575 per 
unit, which includes two auto-injectors and a training device. 
Since its introduction, kaleo has increased EVZIO's price to 
$750 in November of 2015; $3,750 in February of 2016; and 
finally to its current cost of $4,100 in January 2017 for an 
increased dosage of naloxone. Narcan is available at a cost of 
$125, which also includes two doses.
    Despite Advice to Price EVZIO Lower, Kaleo Set the 
Wholesale Acquisition Cost at $575. In July 2014, kaleo took 
EVZIO to market with a Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) of 
$575. The WAC is the price of a drug prior to any discounts, 
rebates, or other price reductions the manufacturer agrees to 
with purchasers. Kaleo set the price at $575 despite two drug-
pricing consultants recommending an initial WAC between $250 to 
$300. In that price range, one consultant believed EVZIO could 
``own the naloxone market.'' That consultant went on to work 
with Adapt to price Narcan at $125 per unit. At that price, 
Narcan replaced EVZIO on at least two pharmacy benefit manager 
(PBM) formularies as the preferred take-home naloxone product.
    Another study commissioned by kaleo about market access 
found that the medical industry responded favorably to EVZIO 
due to its life-saving potential, but had public health 
concerns about the drug regarding overuse and misuse. These 
concerns and the availability of a generic for $16 would likely 
lead to health insurance plans requiring prior authorizations 
before a plan would approve a patient receiving EVZIO. Prior 
authorizations meant fewer patients filling prescriptions. 
Instead of heeding the advice of industry experts, kaleo took 
the drug to market at $575. At that price, despite being a 
seemingly innovative product, EVZIO failed to develop a market.
    Kaleo Hired Consultant Todd Smith. The traditional 
pharmaceutical distribution model through PBMs and health plans 
was not working for EVZIO. In an effort to circumvent the 
traditional pharmaceutical market and go directly to the 
patient, kaleo contacted consultant Todd Smith. Mr. Smith and 
his partner Ben Bove were known for taking drugs to market 
outside the traditional model of contracting with PBMs and 
insurance plans. The distribution model Mr. Smith used involved 
dramatically increasing the WAC of a drug-something he had a 
track-record for doing. For example, at Horizon Pharma, Mr. 
Smith raised the price of an arthritis medication called Duexis 
that combined ibuprofen and an acid reducer from $140 for a 
bottle of 90 pills to $2,400 a bottle in 2013. Mr. Smith's new 
distribution model worked. Horizon earned $290 million in 
revenue in 2014 following its implementation.
    Kaleo worked with Mr. Smith to implement his model for 
EVZIO. Following a successful pilot program, kaleo put the new 
distribution model into effect and raised the price of EVZIO to 
$3,750 in February 2016. Kaleo launched the new model planning 
to ``[c]apitalize on the opportunity'' of ``[o]pioid overdose 
at epidemic levels'' and ``a well established public health 
crisis.''
    Kaleo Increased the Price of EVZIO More Than 600 Percent 
Under New Distribution Model. As part of the new distribution 
model, the company's sales force focused on ensuring physician 
offices signed any necessary paperwork or prior authorizations 
for the EVZIO prescription to be filled by the pharmacist and 
covered by a health plan. This included paperwork indicating 
that EVZIO was medically necessary, triggering coverage without 
first trying a cheaper option (called a ``step edit'') for 
commercial plans and coverage by government programs like 
Medicare and Medicaid for the WAC, less any patient copays. 
Kaleo asserted the model expanded access since a patient 
received EVZIO whether their insurance covered it or not. Kaleo 
self-insured prescriptions not covered by health plans giving 
the patient the EVZIO at no cost. For these patients, kaleo 
paid the cost of goods and any associated fees. The cost of a 
unit of EVZIO (two auto-injectors and a training device) 
amounted to roughly $174, which included $52 in manufacturing, 
$29 in overhead, and $93 in ``obsolescence.'' For commercial 
the commercial patient received EVZIO for $0.
    The model relied on patients with insurance coverage to 
subsidize patients without coverage. Thus, the need to raise 
the price to $3,750 and, eventually, 11 months later to $4,100. 
Kaleo said insurance covers around 26 percent of EVZIO 
prescriptions for commercial patients and they give away the 
remaining 74 percent.
    The Plan Worked. Kaleo saw a noticeable increase in the 
number of prescriptions filled. From July 2014 to June 2015, 
working through PBMs, only 4,769 prescriptions were filled. 
Following the implementation of the new distribution model and 
price increase to $3,750, the company reported 66,327 
prescriptions filled from February 2016 to January 2017. 
Overall, the fill rate for EVZIO went from 40 percent to up to 
81 percent. The distribution model also included kaleo ending 
its contracts with PBMs and health plans for both commercial 
and Medicare Part D drug coverage. This ended any 
administrative fees paid by kaleo, but also any rebates kaleo 
paid that reduced the cost of EVZIO. Kaleo also ended its 
participation in the Medicaid program on March 31, 2017. The 
effect of ending these contracts resulted in both Medicare and 
Medicaid paying more for EVZIO.
    The Cost to Taxpayers under Medicare and Medicaid 
Skyrocketed. The sales for EVZIO in the first quarter of 2017 
showed kaleo's dependency on government health care programs. 
While Medicare and Medicaid were only 24 percent of the units 
sold that quarter (2,522 units), the two programs were 75 
percent of net sales ($7.94 million). Commercial plans were 66 
percent of units sold (7,127 units) with net sales of $2.61 
million. The Medicare program was paying an average of $3,522 
per EVZIO unit with Medicaid paying an average of $2,412. At 
the same time, the commercial plans were only paying an average 
of $367 per EVZIO. Government health care programs were 
subsidizing the broader distribution of EVZIO.
    With kaleo's new distribution model in place, the cost to 
Medicare continued to skyrocket. Under the traditional pricing 
model in 2015, Medicare Part D paid $1.9 million for 3,162 
units of EVZIO-for an average of $609 per unit. When kaleo 
switched to Mr. Smith's model in 2016, Medicare Part D paid 
$37.6 million for 11,360 units of EVZIO-for an average of 
$3,310 per unit. In 2017, the cost to the program for EVZIO 
rose to $57.2 million for 14,861 units with an average cost of 
$3,852 per unit. By taking EVZIO out of the traditional 
pharmaceutical market, kaleo capitalized on Medicare Part D's 
market-based design to control costs through competition. 
Despite Medicare paying over $142 million for EVZIO since July 
2014, kaleo claimed it still has not earned a profit in over 4 
years of the drug being on the market.
    While kaleo ended its participation in Medicaid, the 
program continued to be charged for EVZIO, but outside the 
program's statutory savings mechanisms. Medicaid claims for 
EVZIO processed in 2018 by two of the country's biggest PBMs 
were on average above the WAC ($4,368 for CVS and $4,145 for 
Express Scripts). Kaleo stated it created its patient 
assistance program to replace its Medicaid participation, which 
provides EVZIO at no cost to qualifying patients.
    Kaleo paid Mr. Smith's consulting firm over $10.2 million 
for around two years of work to install this new distribution 
system. The rate was based on revenue generated by the new 
distribution model. Kaleo's more than 600 percent price 
increase of EVZIO not only exploited a country in the middle of 
an opioid crisis, but also American taxpayers who fund 
government-run health care programs designed to be a safety net 
for our country's elderly and most vulnerable.
    Kaleo Lowered the Price of its Drug. In response to the 
Subcommittee's report, kaleo announced that it planned to 
introduce an authorized generic version of EVZIO at a cost of 
$178 for a carton of two auto-injectors. Kaleo stated the 
authorized generic would be available to government agencies 
and first responders immediately. The drug manufacturer said it 
planned to make the authorized generic available to consumers 
in mid-2019. The authorized generic will be the same 
formulation and design as the EVZIO branded product.
  SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL SPENDING OVERSIGHT AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT


                       Chairman: Rand Paul (R-KY)


                 Ranking Member: Gary C. Peters (D-MI)


                              I. AUTHORITY

    The Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and 
Emergency Management focuses on the effectiveness and 
efficiency of Federal financial management; agency policies to 
promote program integrity and the prevention of waste, fraud, 
and abuse; policies and procedures related to Federal 
contracting and procurement, including Federal Acquisition 
Regulation; and the acquisition functions of the General 
Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of the Federal 
Procurement Policy. The Subcommittee also examines the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Government's 
efforts to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural 
and man-made disasters, including State and local grant 
programs; activities under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; and activities related to 
the National Capital Region; the relationship between the 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and States and 
localities, including in preparing for, responding to, and 
recovering from natural and man-made disasters; and activities 
relating to the Office of the Private Sector and the 
integration of the private sector into the Nation's emergency 
preparedness, resilience, and response matters.

                              II. ACTIVITY

    During the 115th Congress, the Subcommittee on Federal 
Spending Oversight and Emergency Management held eight hearings 
and one minority field summit; released two stand-alone 
reports, and three compilation reports cataloging hundreds of 
examples of wasteful Federal spending practices, highlighting 
more than $3 billion in wasted taxpayer money; produced and 
introduced a budget resolution and accompanying report; and 
introduced five related pieces of legislation.

                              A. Hearings


The Effect of Borrowing on Federal Spending. March 29, 2017. 
        (S. Hrg. 115-22).

    One week prior to this hearing, the Federal Debt Limit 
suspension expired and the Treasury was undertaking 
extraordinary measures. Later in the year, Congress again 
suspending the debt limit. While some argue this should be 
routine, at the time, debt was over $20 trillion and servicing 
that debt was estimated to be $295 billion. The situation has 
worsened since then and both then and now there is a real 
concern that if interest rates return to historic norms, 
interest could crowd out other sending in the budget, if it is 
not already.
    This hearing examined the extent to which debt is affecting 
the Federal budget and how the current trajectory will affect 
it in the future. Additionally, the hearing examined the debt 
limit as an action forcing mechanism for fiscal and budgetary 
reform, and the consequences and strategies (such as 
prioritization) of not raising the debt limit.
    Witnesses: Hon. David M. Walker, Former Comptroller General 
of the United States, U.S. Government Accountability Office; 
Dr. Veronique de Rugy, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, The 
Mercatus Center, George Mason University; Dr. Mark M. Zandi, 
Ph.D., Chief Economist, Moody's Analytics.

Prudent Planning or Wasteful Binge? Another Look at End of the Year 
        Spending. September 20, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-202).

    This was a follow up hearing to a previous hearing from the 
114th Congress to assess if any improvements had be made. The 
purpose of the hearing was to examine the dynamics of end-of-
year spending, often referred to as ``use it or lose it.'' This 
practice of rushing to obligate all remaining funds in an 
agency budget before those funds expire at the end of the year 
is known and practiced in virtually every government agency. 
The hearing explored this sometimes wasteful practice at the 
Federal level; to what magnitude it exists; and examined 
possible solutions.
    Witnesses: Hon. Allan V. Burman, Ph.D., Commissioner, 
Section 809 Panel; Jason J. Fichtner, Ph.D., Senior Research 
Fellow, The Mercatus Center, George Mason University; Heather 
Krause, Director, Strategic Issues, U.S. Government 
Accountability Office.

Broken Beakers: Federal Support for Research. October 18, 2017. (S. 
        Hrg. 115-203).

    Milton Friedman famously asked the National Science 
Foundation itself, ``What ethical justification is there for 
imposing taxes on people to finance scientific research for 
which they would not voluntarily contribute?''
    This hearing sought, in part, an answer to that question 
and explored the disjointed and fragmented Federal research 
grant making apparatus. This hearing looked at the bureaucratic 
morass that researchers must go through to get and manage 
research grants from the Federal Government. Moreover, the 
hearing explored the Federal Government's influence over 
scientific outcomes of the research they fund.
    Witnesses: Brian Nosek, Ph.D., Executive Director, Center 
for Open Science, University of Virginia; Terence Kealey, 
Ph.D., Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute; Rebecca Cunningham, 
M.D., Associate Vice President for Research-Health Sciences, 
University of Michigan Office of Research.

 Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Ways of Funding Government: Exploring the 
        Cost to Taxpayers of Spending Uncertainty caused by Governing 
        through Continuing Resolutions, Giant Omnibus Spending Bills, 
        and Shutdown Crises. February 6, 2018. 
        (S. Hrg. 115-204).

    This hearing occurred after the fourth continuing 
resolution of fiscal year 2018 and was intended to examine the 
impact of spend uncertainty on Federal agencies. At the time of 
this hearing, the Federal Government was one third of the way 
through the fiscal year and had not passed yet passed full year 
funding. Moreover, it has been two decades since Congress 
successfully passed all appropriations bills on time.
    Agencies have reported how delayed appropriations actually 
result in higher cost as contracts get delayed and agencies are 
not able to implement directives and adjust missions to the 
coming (or really at that point the current) fiscal year. The 
Subcommittee previously heard testimony in our end-of-year 
spending hearings that dysfunction in the budget and 
appropriations process may in part cause this wasteful rush to 
spend. Of course, these problems are exacerbated by government 
shutdowns.
    Several members have proposed legislation to combat 
spending lapses (including Chairman Paul).
    Witnesses: Alice M. Rivlin, Ph.D., Senior Fellow in 
Economics Studies, The Brookings Institution; Maya MacGuineas, 
President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget; Clinton 
T. Brass, Specialist, Government Organization and Management, 
congressional Research Service; Heather Krause, Director, 
Strategic Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Afghanistan in Review: Oversight of U.S. Spending in Afghanistan. May 
        9, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-324).

    This hearing followed up on an April 13-18th STAFFDEL to 
Afghanistan to investigate wasteful spending there and more 
broadly on reconstruction in Afghanistan. The first panel of 
witnesses included the Special Inspector General for Afghan 
Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko and Laurel E. Miller of 
Rand Corporation who spoke to the broad scope and significant 
challenges of reconstruction activities in Afghanistan.
    The second panel was a staff report on the STAFFDEL, and 
included testimony related to: 1) A site visit to the Afghan 
Department of Interior where the U.S. taxpayer has funded 
construction and renovations that SIGAR has found deficient and 
wasteful; 2) A meeting with a local Afghan watchdog group that 
assists SIGAR and is seeking to combat corruption in their 
country; 3) A site visit to the Kabul ``Marriott'' directly 
adjacent to the U.S. Embassy. This project was never completed 
and turned over to Marriott who as a result pulled out of the 
project. It now poses a security risk and will have to be 
demolished at taxpayer expense; 4) A meeting with U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers who have funded several projects identified 
by SIGAR as wasteful. They dispute that finding; 5) A visit to 
a Defense Logistics Agency to observe the demilitarization and 
disposal of equipment.
    Witnesses: Panel I--John F. Sopko, Special Inspector 
General for Afghanistan Reconstruction; Laurel E. Miller, 
Senior Political Scientist, Rand Corporation.
    Panel II--Gregory E. McNeill, Majority Staff Director, 
Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency 
Management; Sergio Gor, Deputy Chief of Staff for 
Communications, Office of Senator Rand Paul.

War Powers and the Effects of Unauthorized Military Engagements on 
        Federal Spending. June 6, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-446).

    This hearing examined the intersection of the executive 
branch's war powers and Federal spending. Given that the War 
Powers Act allows the president to station troops to a theater 
for a period of time without congressional approval, and the 
open ended nature of the War on Terror, the President has a 
vast and growing capacity to commit the U.S. to a military 
operation.
    While some may argue these latitudes in war making 
authority are necessary to address threats around the world, 
funding for such ventures is often an afterthought. It is 
difficult to oppose funding for troops actively engaged in 
theaters of war, even if Congress disagrees with their 
engagement in the first place. Thus, the President's capacity 
to engage in conflict directly drives new spending. This 
hearing explored that relationship and the constitutionality of 
the President's capacity to prosecute the War on Terror.
    Witnesses: Hon. Andrew P. Napolitano, Senior Judicial 
Analyst, Fox News Channel; Jonathan Turley, Shapiro Chair of 
Public Interest Law, George Washington University; Christopher 
Anders, Deputy Director, Washington Legislative Office, 
American Civil Liberties Union.

Examining Warrantless Smartphone Searches at the Border. July 11, 2018. 
        (S. Hrg. 115-365).

    The purpose of this hearing was to assess the suitability 
of Department of Homeland Security policies for searching the 
electronic devices of travelers at the border and U.S. ports of 
entry. Current DHS guidance permits customs and border 
officials to seize and search the digital devices of 
international travelers without individualized suspicion and 
without a warrant. The far-reaching privacy implications of 
this approach--which is based in large part on the so-called 
``border search exception'' to the warrant requirement of the 
Fourth Amendment--demands particular scrutiny in the age of the 
ubiquitous smartphone. At the hearing, Senators received an 
overview of the border search exception's historical origins 
and jurisprudence, its suitability in the digital age, and 
discussed the myriad problems associated with allowing Federal 
law enforcement agencies to apply the border search exception 
to electronic devices. Moreover, Senators gained additional 
clarity on the existing Circuit Court split over the 
government's Fourth Amendment obligations prior to searching 
travelers' devices at ports of entry, and discussed proposed 
legislative reforms and policy options.
    Witnesses: Laura K. Donohue, J.D., Ph.D.; Neema Singh 
Guliani, Senior Legislative Counsel, American Civil Liberties 
Union; Matthew Feeney, Director, Project on Emerging 
Technologies, Cato Institute.

The Federal Role in the Toxic PFAS Chemical Crisis. September, 26, 
        2018. (S. Hrg. 115-461).

    The purpose of this hearing was to explore potential 
Federal liability for PFAS (per-and polyflouroalkyl 
substances), particularly given that much of the water 
infiltration of PFAS is dues to the use of firefighting foams 
used at military based. DOD has already spent several hundreds 
of millions of dollars on the study, mitigation, and 
remediation of PFAS.
    PFAS have been in use in the United States since the 1940's 
and do not break down, thus long term exposure causes them to 
buildup in the environment and human body. PFAS exposure comes 
through foods which have been packaged or processed in 
materials containing the chemical as well as food grown in soil 
with PFAS in it. Many commercial household products, including 
polishes and waxes, paint, stain and water repellant fabrics 
and non-stick (Teflon) products contain PFAS. Firefighting foam 
also contains PFAS and is the major cause of its infiltration 
into water supplies.
    Research has shown that PFAS (PFOA and PFOS specifically 
under the broader PFAS umbrella) can cause significant health 
risks. The most common and constantly found is increased 
cholesterol levels. However, PFAS in general can also 
contribute to low birth weight and immune deficiencies. 
Moreover, research has found that PFAS can have more serious 
health risks such as causing cancer, thyroid hormone 
disruption, and liver complications.
    Overall, research has not found a cause and effect between 
PFAS and significant negative human health conditions. PFAS has 
shown to cause cancer in lower order animals (infant mice), but 
such an effect has not been found in higher order animals or 
humans.
    Witnesses: Panel I: Peter C. Grevatt, Ph.D., Office of 
Groundwater and Drinking Water, Office of Water, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency; Maureen Sullivan, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary of Defense, Environment, Safety and 
Occupational Health, Office of the Assistant Secretary of 
Defense, Energy, Installations and Environment, U.S. Department 
of Defense; Linda S. Birnbaum, Ph.D., D.A.B.T., A.T.S., 
Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 
and National Toxicology Program, National Institutes of Health, 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
    Panel II--Andrea Amico, Co-Founder, Testing for Pease; 
Arnold Leriche, Community Co-Chair, Wurtsmith Restoration 
Advisory Board; Timothy Putnam JR., Vice President, Tidewater 
Federal Firefighters Local F-25, International Association of 
Fire Fighters.

The Local, State, and Federal Response to the PFAS Crisis in Michigan. 
        November 13, 2018. (Minority Field Summit--Grand Rapids, 
        Michigan).

    On November 13, 2018, Senator Peters convened a Field 
Summit entitled, ``The Local, State, and Federal Response to 
the PFAS Crisis in Michigan,'' in his capacity as FSO Ranking 
Member. The Summit was held at the Loosemore Auditorium on the 
campus of Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, MI. 
Approximately 100 people attended the summit including 
concerned citizens, activists, and students. There was a 
significant State and local media presence. Both panels were 
substantive and hit the major issues that were identified for 
the event, including:

      The impact of PFAS contamination on the 
community, including residents, anglers, and hunters;
      Gaps in State and local resources needed to 
respond to the crisis, notably the lack of comprehensive health 
surveillance;
      The Federal role in PFAS response, where it has 
been lacking, and necessary next steps;
      The challenge of regulating a class of chemicals 
and the need to be proactive with respect to short-chain PFAS;
      The challenge of addressing the immediate needs 
of impacted residents in the context of a protracted data-
driven regulatory process.

    Senator Peters stressed his three top takeaways from the 
summit and highlighted actions that would be associated with 
each priority including: (1) A Federal regulatory standard for 
the class of PFAS chemicals including both long and short chain 
PFAS; (2) Transparency, reliable data, and accountable State 
and Federal agencies; and (3) Firm Federal commitments to safe 
and effective alternatives to PFAS-laden resources.
    Witnesses: Patrick Breysse, Ph.D., CIH, Director, National 
Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances 
and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 
Robert Delaney, Environmental Specialist, Michigan Department 
of Environmental Quality; Carol Isaacs, Director, Michigan PFAS 
Action Response Team; Adam London, RS, MPA, Administrative 
Health Officer. Kent County Health Department; Richard R. 
Rediske, Ph.D., Senior Program Manager and Professor, Grand 
Valley State University Robert B. Annis Water Resources 
Institute; Sandy Wynn-Stelt, Resident of Belmont, Michigan; 
Drew Younge Dyke, Communications Coordinator, Great Lakes 
Regional Center, National Wildlife Federation.

                               B. Reports

    In his capacity of Chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal 
Spending Oversight and Emergency Management, Senator Paul 
released one investigative oversight report and three 
compilation reports, detailing various wasteful programs, 
grants, and practices that have cost taxpayers billions. 
Additionally, Chairman Paul issued a report from the 
subcommittee that accompanied his Fiscal Year Budget 
Resolution.

Worldwide Wa$te: How the Government Is Using and Losing Your Money 
        Abroad. (February 2017)

    This report cataloged more than 120 examples of the Federal 
Government spending more than $3 billion on wasteful projects 
in foreign countries. The report focused on eight specific 
categories of waste: Foreign Economic Development, Foreign 
``Green'' Economic Development, Foreign Infrastructure 
Development, Foreign Institutional Development, Foreign Tourism 
Promotion, Foreign Cultural Promotion, the Inter-American 
Foundation, and Wasteful End-of-Year Spending. In these areas 
the report cataloged examples of waste such as:

      Trying to jump start the Haitian film industry;
      Argentinian clown training, country music 
festivals in Israel;
      Ultimate Frisbee in China, Pagan tourism in 
Belarus;
      Developing a phone app to teach Kenyan farmers 
how to use Google and Facebook;
      Financing State run health insurance in Cambodia;
      $200 million highway in Afghanistan;
      Training Wal-Mart cashiers in Mexico; and
      Building national parks in Russia.

Festivus 2017. (December 2017)

    This is Chairman Paul's annual compilation report of 
wasteful government spending. This edition of the Festivus 
Report cataloged over $550 million in wasteful spending 
including:

      1. The Department of Commerce developing a digital down 
marker for football games;
      2. The Department of Transpiration building a bathroom at 
a park in Queens, NY;
      3. USDA Installing solar panels at a golf resort in the 
Virgin Islands as part of rural development; and
      4. NSF studying how to make tomatoes taste better.

Afghanistan in Review: Oversight of U.S. Spending in Afghanistan. (May 
        9, 2018)

    This report was the result of a STAFFDEL to Afghanistan to 
do a broad oversight investigation. In the report the 
subcommittee (majority) documented wasteful spending, including 
disposal/destruction of new (in the packaging) materials and 
equipment, violation of property rights, incomplete buildings 
and building errors. In addition the report discusses private 
organizations in Afghanistan working to combat corruption in 
that country.

Penny Plan Budget: A Budget for Fiscal Year 2019. (April 2018)

    As leader of the global economy, the United States should 
serve as an example of how to reduce the pressures and 
fragility of massive public debts and how to initiate internal 
structural and fiscally responsible reforms. In so doing, we 
can help ensure the integrity of the interconnected, global 
free-market economic system. Though the Federal budget has long 
diverged from these principles, this budget resolution defies 
those trends, providing a strong fiscal basis from which the 
U.S. economy can continue to grow and flourish.
    An important part of any budget resolution is its bottom 
line: Does it balance? This budget balances in just 5 years 
without touching Social Security. Congress can achieve these 
savings by repealing the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 and 
using the Penny Plan, which States that for every dollar the 
Federal Government spends in on budget spending in a fiscal 
year, it must spend one penny less the next year.
    This budget is a particularly effective implementation of 
the Penny Plan, because rather than making nebulous policy 
assumptions that will never happen, it sets out one common 
goal: balance. That is the one key assumption in this budget. 
Above all, the fiscal goal of each lawmaker should be a 
balanced budget. In order to achieve this goal, this budget 
simply requires Congress to make a 1-percent cut to on budget 
spending for 5 years. Rather than holding hands and agreeing to 
the common gluttony, this plan requires Congress to do the 
opposite: hold hands and sacrifice for the common good.

Festivus 2018. (December 2018)

    This is Chairman Paul's annual compilation report of 
wasteful government spending. This edition of the Festivus 
Report cataloged over $110 million in wasteful spending 
including:

      NIH studying daydreaming;
      Teaching special interest groups in Rwanda how to 
lobby;
      Paid salaries for the Somali National Army; and
      Tired to combat homelessness with theater.

                            III. LEGISLATION

    Since the Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and 
Emergency Management's hearings play an important role in 
bringing issues to the attention of Congress and the public, 
its work frequently contributes to the development of 
legislative initiatives. During the 115th Congress, Chairman 
Paul introduced the following legislative proposals in his 
capacity as a Senator:
    1. S. 1830--Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act--Expands existing 
agency Inspector General programs that pursue waste, fraud, and 
abuse to also include surplus funds that are not needed to 
accomplish an Executive agency's duties and responsibilities. 
Under this program, executive branch employees could propose 
savings and, if confirmed by their agency's Inspector General 
and Chief Financial Officer, extra funds may be returned to the 
Treasury at the end of the year. Consistent with the existing 
Inspector General authority, if such savings are realized, the 
employee that made the suggestion would also be eligible for a 
performance bonus of 1 percent of the amount saved, capped at 
$10,000.
    2. S. 1740--Default Prevention Act--This bill requires the 
following obligations to be granted priority over all other 
U.S. obligations if the public debt reaches the statutory 
limit:

      Principal and interest on debt held by the 
public;
      Compensations, allowances, and benefits for 
members of the Armed Forces on active duty;
      Social Security benefits;
      Medicare benefits; and
      Obligations under any program administered by the 
Department of Veterans Affairs.

    If Congress is notified, the Department of the Treasury may 
issue additional debt for the priority obligations in excess of 
the debt limit. Treasury may issue the additional debt during 
the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the United 
States is unable to use revenues or extraordinary measures to 
fully pay the priority obligations at the time they are due.
    (The term ``extraordinary measures'' refers to a series of 
actions that the Department of Treasury may implement to allow 
the United States to borrow additional funds without exceeding 
the debt limit. The measures generally include suspensions or 
delays of debt sales and suspensions or redemptions of 
investments in certain government funds.)
    3. S. 2339--Shutdown Prevention Act--This bill provides 
specified continuing appropriations to prevent a government 
shutdown if any appropriations measure for a fiscal year has 
not been enacted or a joint resolution making continuing 
appropriations is not in effect after the fiscal year begins. 
The appropriations are provided to continue to fund programs, 
projects, and activities for which funds were provided in the 
preceding fiscal year.
    4. S. 1583--Legislative Performance Review Act--Limits all 
authorizations of appropriations to 4 years and creates a new 
surgical point of order against appropriating for a program 
that is unauthorized. Provides an implementation period to 
allow Congress to reauthorize programs currently unauthorized 
or that have been authorized in law for more than 4 years. The 
legislation further provides a process for authorizing 
committees to seek a waiver of the 4-year limitation. The bill 
also requires that committee reports accompanying legislation 
passed out of committee include a discussion of why the program 
being authorized (or reauthorized) will address a specific need 
and how existing programs are inadequate to meet such need. The 
bill also creates a process for the orderly winding down of 
expired programs.
    5. S. 1973--BASIC Research Act--This bill requires each 
review panel for a Federal research grant to include: (1) at 
least one individual who is not professionally affiliated with 
any academic or research institution, has not been 
professionally affiliated in the preceding 10 years, and is an 
expert in a field unrelated to that under which the grant 
proposal was submitted; and (2) at least one individual who 
shall serve primarily as a taxpayer advocate. Each agency that 
awards such a grant shall not accept recommendations from an 
applicant as to who should be on the panel or disclose the 
identity of any panel member to an applicant.
    The bill: (1) establishes an Office of the Special 
Inspector General and Taxpayer Advocate for Research (OSIGTA), 
which shall randomly select grants for review to determine if 
the research will deliver value to the taxpayers; and (2) 
transfers to the OSIGTA all functions which the Office of 
Inspector General of the National Science Foundation previously 
exercised. A grant must have OSIGTA's support to receive funds.
    Each agency with annual extramural research expenditures of 
over $100 million must develop a Federal research public access 
policy that is consistent with and advances the purposes of the 
agency and that meets specified requirements.
    Any person or institution awarded a grant shall submit a 
statement to the agency that awarded the grant certifying that: 
(1) no funds derived from the grant will be made available 
through a subgrant or subsequent grant unless the recipient's 
name, its organization of affiliation, the intended uses and 
purposes of funds, and specific amounts subgranted or 
subsequently granted funds are disclosed to the agency for 
publication on a publicly accessible website; and (2) each 
subgrant or subsequent grant award funded is within the scope 
of the grant award.
    Each grant application shall be made publicly available. 
Each agency, in awarding grants for scientific research, shall 
be impartial and shall not seek to advance any political 
position or fund a grant to reach a predetermined conclusion.
    6. S. Con. Res. 36--Penny Plan Balanced Budget--Establishes 
the congressional budget for the Federal Government for FY2019 
and sets forth budgetary levels for FY2020-FY2028. This Budget 
Balances in 5 years by implementing a 1-percent year over year 
cut for the first 5 years and then grows at 1 percent 
thereafter.
    Recommends levels and amounts for FY2019-FY2028 in both 
houses of Congress for:

      Federal revenues;
      New budget authority;
      Budget outlays:
      Deficits;
      Public debt;
      Debt held by the public; and
      The major functional categories of spending.

    Recommends levels and amounts for FY2019-FY2028 in the 
Senate for Social Security and Postal Service discretionary 
administrative expenses.
    Includes reconciliation instructions directing: (1) several 
Senate authorizing committees to report and submit to the 
Senate Budget Committee legislation to reduce the deficit, and 
(2) the Senate Finance Committee to report and submit to the 
Senate Budget Committee legislation to reduce the deficit and 
legislation to reduce revenues.
    (Under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, reconciliation 
bills are considered by Congress using expedited legislative 
procedures that prevent a filibuster and restrict amendments in 
the Senate.)
    Establishes reserve funds that provide flexibility in 
applying budget enforcement rules to legislation relating to 
efficiencies, consolidations, and other savings; or health 
savings accounts.
    Sets forth budget enforcement procedures for legislation 
considered in the Senate.
    7. S. 3031 (Became PL 115-419) Federal Personal Property 
Management Act of 2018 (Sponsored by Ranking Member Peters with 
Chairman Paul Cosponsoring)--Signed into law 1/03/2019
    This bill requires the executive agencies and the General 
Services Administration to carry out the following activities 
with respect to Federal personal property management.
    Each executive agency, in accordance with guidance from the 
GSA, must annually inventory and assess capitalized personal 
property in identifying excess property under the agency's 
control. Capitalized personal property items include those 
recorded on an agency's general ledger records as major 
investments or assets.
    Each agency must also regularly inventory and assess 
accountable personal property under its control.
    GSA may establish separate thresholds for acquisitions of 
personal property for which affected agencies shall capitalize 
and for which they shall establish and maintain property 
records in a centralized system.
                 VIII. ACTIVITIES OF THE SUBCOMMITTEES


                 SUBCOMMITTEE ON REGULATORY AFFAIRS AND


                           FEDERAL MANAGEMENT


                    Chairman: James Lankford (R-OK)


                 Ranking Member: Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)


                              I. AUTHORITY

    The Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal 
Management oversees the management, efficiency, effectiveness, 
and economy of all government agencies, departments, and 
programs. The Subcommittee has broad oversight over the Federal 
regulatory regime, including the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). In addition, the Subcommittee is 
responsible for exploring policies that promote a skilled, 
efficient, and effective Federal workforce that will work to 
ensure efficient and effective management of Federal programs.

                              II. ACTIVITY


    During the 115th Congress, the Subcommittee on Regulatory 
Affairs and Federal Management held 11 hearings or roundtables.

                              A. Hearings


Improving Small Business Input on Federal Regulations: Ideas for 
        Congress and a New Administration. January 19, 2017. 
        (S. Hrg. 115-87)

    The purpose of this hearing was to examine how agencies 
consider the impact of regulations on small business, whether 
the requirements contained in the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
and the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act are 
adequate to address small business concerns, and steps that 
Congress and the new Administration should take to ensure that 
small businesses are able to contribute to the rulemaking 
process in a meaningful way.
    Witnesses: Rosario Palmieri, Vice President for Labor, 
Legal, and Regulatory Policy, National Association of 
Manufacturers; Jerry Hietpas, President, Action Safety Supply 
Company; LaJuanna Russell, President and Founder, Business 
Management Associates, Inc. and Member of the Board, Small 
Business Majority; Karen Harned, Executive Director, Small 
Business Legal Center National Federation of Independent 
Business.

Empowering Managers: Ideas for a More Effective Federal Workforce. 
        February 9, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-11)

    The purpose of this hearing was to provide a forum to 
discuss government-wide ideas for improving the effectiveness 
and efficiency of the civil service. During the 114th Congress, 
the Subcommittee identified a number of challenges that Federal 
managers face as they oversaw employees and worked to achieve 
their agencies' missions. The 2016 Federal Employee Viewpoint 
Survey (FEVS) highlighted a number of these same challenges 
while it also revealed areas of strength. The Subcommittee 
explored common sense Federal workforce reform ideas to solve 
workforce challenges. The Subcommittee discussed topics for 
which Federal managers are responsible including the processes 
of hiring and termination, training, and other management 
issues.
    Witnesses: J. David Cox, Sr., National President, American 
Federation of Government Employees; Robert E. Corsi, Jr., 
Former Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel 
and Services, United States Air Force; Bill Valdez, President, 
Senior Executives Association; Renee M. Johnson, National 
President, Federal managers Association.

Agency Use of Science in the Rulemaking Process: Proposals for 
        Improving Transparency and Accountability. March 9, 2017. 
        (S. Hrg. 115-18)

    Agencies frequently rely on scientific studies and 
information when making regulatory decisions. The purpose of 
this hearing was to focus on how agencies use scientific 
information in the rulemaking process and what steps Congress 
and the new Administration should take to ensure agencies base 
regulatory decisions on the weight of the best available 
evidence, while meeting the regulatory objective, and that 
agencies consider scientific information in an accountable and 
transparent manner.
    Witnesses: Hon. Susan Dudley, Director, Regulatory Studies 
Center, The George Washington University; Andrew A. Rosenberg, 
Ph.D., Director, Center for Science and Democracy, Union of 
Concerned Scientists; Nancy Beck, Ph.D., Senior Director, 
Regulatory Science Policy, American Chemistry Council.

Roundtable: Case Studies in Personnel Management Reform in Federal 
        Agencies. April 6, 2017.

    Across the Federal government, agencies face challenges in 
recruiting, retaining and managing their workforces. The 
National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) has described 
specific cases in which communication has broken down between 
frontline agency component management and their respective 
human resources (HR) offices to such a degree that critical 
needs go unfilled. These problems raised concerns about 
strategic personnel management issues across the Federal 
government and required appropriate oversight to ensure Federal 
agencies are pursuing effective personnel management policies. 
This roundtable was to explore two specific NAPA case studies 
for the Federal Aviation Administration and Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention that have resulted in improved personnel 
management performance. The panel was to shed light both on the 
lessons from these success stories, and also on ways to apply 
best practices across the government
    Witnesses: Robert Goldentkoff, Director, Strategic Issues, 
Government Accountability Office; Dia Taylor, Chief Human 
Capital Officer, Office of Human Resources, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention; Rear Admiral Annie B. Andrews, USN 
(Ret.), Assistant Administrator Human Resource Management, 
Federal Aviation Administration; Terry Gerton, President, 
National Academy of Public Administration; Kristine Simmons, 
Vice President of Government Affairs, Partnership for Public 
Service.

Agency Approaches to Reorganization: Examining OMB's Memorandum on the 
        Federal Workforce. June 15, 2017. (S. Hrg. 
        115-165).

    Following the President's March 13, 2017 Presidential 
Executive Order on a Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the 
Executive Branch, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
Director Mulvaney issued a memorandum on April 12, 2017 for 
agencies titled ``Comprehensive Plan for Reforming the Federal 
Government and Reducing the Federal Civilian Workforce'' 
(memorandum). The memorandum directed agencies to submit plans 
to ``maximize employee performance,'' ``high-level drafts'' of 
Agency Reform Plans to reorganize programs and organizational 
charts to eliminate duplication and inefficiencies, and 
progress reports on ``near-term workforce reduction actions'' 
to OMB by June 30, 2017. In this hearing, the Subcommittee 
examined the processes agencies are pursuing to reorganize, 
streamline, and make their operations and organizational 
structures more effective. Agencies were encouraged to provide 
the subcommittee with an update on their plans to achieve the 
memorandum's requirements and suggest any ways Congress can 
help agencies more effectively and efficiently serve the public
    Witnesses: Hon. Ellen Herbst, Chief Financial Officer and 
Assistant Secretary for Administration, Department of Commerce; 
Lee Lofthus, Assistant Attorney General for Administration 
Justice Management Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Don 
Bice, Associate Director, Office of Budget and Program 
Analysis, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Michael Stough, 
Director, Program Analysis and Evaluation Division, office of 
the Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland 
Security.

Examining OMB's Memorandum on the Federal Workforce, Part II: Expert 
        Views on OMB's Ongoing Government-wide Reorganization. 
        September 13, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-177).

    The purpose of this hearing was the second hearing on the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reorganization effort, 
which explored unique perspectives on reorganization from a 
number of stakeholders. This hearing was about the successes 
and failures of past reorganization efforts, as well as the 
best ways for OMB to work with Congress during reorganization. 
Witnesses recommended the most effective means by which OMB 
could be successful in pursuing reorganization by including 
Congress and the greater public in its development and eventual 
implementation of the reorganization.
    Witnesses: Robert Shea, Public Sector Principle, Grant 
Thornton, LLP; Rachel Greszler, Research Fellow, Heritage 
Foundation; Christopher Edwards, Director of Tax Policy 
Studies, CATO Institute; Tony Reardon, National President, 
National Treasury Employees Union.

Improving Oversight of the Regulatory Process: Lessons from State 
        Legislatures. October 26, 2017. (S. Hrg. 115-188).

    Many state legislatures approach regulatory oversight with 
the goal of working with state agencies throughout the 
regulatory process to achieve a culture of cooperation that has 
led to more efficient and effective final rules. Whether it is 
through one specific committee or the legislative body as a 
whole, several states have a proven track record of working 
with regulators to develop and approve final regulations before 
they impact citizens and businesses. This hearing focused on 
how specific states conduct regulatory oversight and what 
lessons Congress can learn from these systems.
    Witnesses: Hon. Scott Bedke, Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, State of Idaho; Hon. Joshua A. Boschee, Member 
of the House of Representatives, legislative Assembly, State of 
North Dakota; Hon. Arthur O'Neill, Member of the House of 
Representatives, General Assembly, State of Connecticut.

Examining Federal Managers' Role in Hiring. March 1, 2018. 
        (S. Hrg. 115-257).

    Federal agencies continue to face a prolonged hiring 
crisis. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated 
that by the end of 2017, nearly 600,000 Federal employees, 
making up around 31 percent of the Federal workforce, were 
eligible to retire. GAO and the Chief Human Capital Officer 
Council Working Group have also identified critical skills gaps 
in cybersecurity, auditor, human resources specialist, contract 
specialist, economist, and, generally, in the science, 
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. 
Meanwhile, the government-wide average time-to-hire a Federal 
employee across 24 CFO Act agencies increased from 90 days in 
fiscal year 2013--105.8 days in fiscal year 2017.
    This hearing examined the central role that Federal 
managers played in the hiring process. The witnesses addressed 
time-to-hire data and proposed both legislative and 
administrative changes that can reverse the negative trend. 
They also evaluated the state of Federal manager training and 
the current management training system.
    Witnesses: Mark Reinhold, Associate Director Employee 
Services, Office of Personnel Management; Angela Bailey, Chief 
Human Capital Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; 
Kevin Mahoney, Chief Human Capital Officer, U.S. Department of 
Commerce.

Reviewing the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. April 12, 
        2018. (S. Hrg. 115-275).

    This hearing reviewed OIRA and agency progress under the 
new administration and covered multiple topics, including 
adherence to both new and longstanding executive orders and 
internal memorandums. The Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs (OIRA) is essential to ensure that the Federal 
regulatory process functions appropriately. Across both 
Democratic and Republican administrations, OIRA has served as 
the ``gatekeeper'' in reviewing draft regulations before they 
become legally binding. Due to this vital oversight role, 
Congress seeks to ensure OIRA is appropriately discharging its 
duties.
    Witnesses: Hon. Neomi Rao, Administrator, Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget; Hon. Brent McIntosh, General Counsel, U.S. Department 
of the Treasury.

The Challenges and Opportunities of the Proposed Government 
        Reorganization on OPM and GSA. July 26, 2018. (S. Hrg. 
        115-451).

    The Administration's Government-wide reorganization plan, 
titled ``Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century,'' 
proposes that OPM realign and transfer its current functions to 
other agencies. One of the plan's proposals, title 
``Reorganizing the U.S. Office of Personnel Management,'' calls 
for OPM to transfer some of its services to the General 
Services Administration and form a new entity, called 
``Government Services Administration.''
    This hearing asked witnesses to address how OPM and GSA 
could implement any proposed reorganization changes smoothly 
and without service interruption for Federal employees, 
beneficiaries, and other Federal agencies. Additionally, 
witnesses addressed the feasibility of all proposals and the 
ability of the proposals to save taxpayer dollars to improve 
government effectiveness and efficiency.
    Witnesses: Hon. Emily W. Murphy, Administrator, General 
Services Administration; Hon. Jeff T.H. Pon, Ph.D., Director, 
Office of Personnel Management.

Examination of the Effects of Regulatory Policy on the Economy and 
        Business Growth. September 27, 2018. (S. Hrg. 115-393).

    In one of his first actions after taking office, President 
Trump issued Executive Order 13771, which required agencies to 
remove two existing regulations before finalizing any one new 
regulation. The Executive Order also prohibits the addition of 
any new regulatory cost. This shift in regulatory policy from 
previous administrations provides opportunity to examine the 
impact of regulatory priorities on the economy. This hearing 
focused on the effects of this administration's regulatory 
policy on the economy.
    Witnesses: Hon. Howard Shelanski, Georgetown University Law 
Center; Dustin Chambers, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, 
Department of Economics and Finance, Franklin P. Perdue School 
of Business, Salisbury University; Karen Kerrigan, President 
and CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council; Maria 
Ghazal, Senior Vice President and Counsel, Business Roundtable.

                            III. LEGISLATION

    Since the Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal 
Management's hearings play an important role in bringing issues 
to the attention of Congress and the public, its work 
frequently contributes to the development of legislative 
initiatives. During the 115th Congress, Chairman Lankford 
introduced the following legislative proposals in his capacity 
as a Senator:
    1. S. 577--Providing Accountability Through Transparency 
Act--Requires the general notice of proposed rule making by a 
Federal agency to include the Internet address of a plain-
language summary, not exceeding 100 words, of the proposed 
rule, which shall be posted on the regulations.gov website.
    2. S. 578--Better Evaluation of Science and Technology Act 
or the BEST Act--Requires agencies, to the extent it is making 
a decision based on science when issuing a rule, to use the 
best available public scientific information.
    3. S. 579--The Early Participation in Regulations Act--
Requires agencies to publish an advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking for major rules.
    4. S. 580--Truth in Regulations Act--Establishes procedures 
for the issuance of guidance documents.
    5. S. 584--Small Business Regulatory Flexibility 
Improvements Act--Ensures complete analysis of potential 
impacts on small entities of regulations.
    6. S. 1886--Temporary and Term Appointments--Authorizes 
agencies to make noncompetitive temporary and term appointments 
in the competitive service.
    7. S. 1887--Direct Hires of Students and Recent Graduates 
Act--Grants expedited hiring authority to the head of an agency 
to appoint college graduates and post-secondary students.
    8. S. 1888--Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment 
Adjustment Act--Increases the maximum amount of a Voluntary 
Separation Incentive Payment and to include an annual 
adjustment in accordance with the Consumer Price Index.

                            IV. GAO Reports

    During the 115th Congress, the Government Accountability 
Office (GAO) issued 19 reports at the request of the 
Subcommittee. Reports are listed here by title, GAO number, and 
release date.
    1. Grants Management: Selected Agencies Should Clarify 
Merit-based Award Criteria and Provide Guidance for Reviewing 
Potentially Duplicative Awards. GAO-17-113. January 12, 2017.
    2. Federal Real Property: Government-Wide Building Disposal 
Data Generally Reliable, but Opportunities for Further 
Improvements Exist. GAO-17-321. March 2, 2017.
    3. Performance Partnerships: Agencies Need to Better 
Identify Resource Contributions to Sustain Disconnected Youth 
Pilot Programs and Data to Assess Pilot Results. GAO-17-208. 
April 18, 2017.
    4. Open Innovation: Executive Branch Developed Resources to 
Support Implementation, but Guidance Could Better Reflect 
Leading Practices. GAO-17-507. June 8, 2017.
    5. Federal Programs: Information Architecture Offers a 
Potential Approach for Development of an Inventory. GAO-17-739. 
September 28, 2017.
    6. Program Evaluation: Annual Agency-Wide Plans Could 
Enhance Leadership Support for Program Evaluations. GAO-17-743. 
September 29, 2017.
    7. Federal Regulations: Key Considerations for Agency 
Design and Enforcement Decisions. GAO-18-22. October 19, 2017.
    8. Federal Buildings: GSA Should Establish Goals and 
Performance Measures to Manage the Smart Buildings Program. 
GAO-18-200. January 30, 2018.
    9. Federal Buildings: Agencies Focus on Space Utilization 
as they Reduce Office and Warehouse Space. GAO-18-304. March 8, 
2018.
    10. Federal Real Property: Agencies Make Some Use of 
Telework in Space Planning but Need Additional Guidance. GAO-
18-319. March 22, 2018.
    11. Federal Buildings: More Consideration of Operations and 
Maintenance Costs Could Better Inform the Design Excellence 
Program. GAO-18-420. May 22, 2018.
    12. Government Reorganization: Key Questions to Assess 
Agency Reform Efforts. GAO-18-427. June 13, 2018.
    13. Paperwork Reduction Act: Agencies Could Better Leverage 
Review Processes and Public Outreach to Improve Burden 
Estimates. GAO-18-381. July 11, 2018.
    14. Federal Employee Misconduct: Actions Needed to Ensure 
Agencies Have Tools to Effectively Address Misconduct. 
GAO-18-48. July 16, 2018.
    15. Real Property: GSA is Taking Steps to Improve 
Collection and Reporting of Repair and Alteration Projects' 
Information. GAO-18-595. July 23, 2018.
    16. Grants Workforce: Actions Needed to Ensure Staff Have 
Skills to Administer and Oversee Federal Grants. GAO-18-491. 
September 20, 2018.
    17. Overseas Conflicts: U.S. Agencies Have Coordinated 
Stabilization Efforts but Need to Document their Agreement. 
GAO-18-654. September 27, 2018.
    18. U.S. Postal Service: Enhancing Procedures Could Improve 
Product Scanning. GAO-18-638. September 28, 2018.
    19. Fraud Risk Management OMB Should Improve guidelines and 
Working-Group Efforts to Support Agencies' Implementation of 
the Fraud Reduction and Data Analytics Act. GAO-19-34. December 
4, 2018.