[House Report 118-972]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Union Calendar No. 819
118th Congress } { Report
2d Session } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES { 118-972
======================================================================
ACTIVITIES
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
JANUARY 2, 2025
Pursuant to House rule XI, I(d)(1))
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
January 2, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
57-865 WASHINGTON : 2025
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
House of Representatives,
Committee on Oversight and Accountability,
Washington, DC, January 2, 2025.
Hon. Mike Johnson,
Speaker, House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: Under rule XI, clause 1(d)(1) of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, ``[n]ot later than
January 2, of each odd-numbered year, a committee shall submit
to the House a report on the activities of that committee.''
Pursuant to this rule, I respectfully submit the activities
report of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability for the
118th Congress. As required by the rule, a copy of this report
``has been available to each member of the [C]ommittee for . .
. seven calendar days.''
Sincerely,
James Comer,
Chairman.
C O N T E N T S
Page
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL............................................ (III)
I. INTRODUCTION......................................................1
II. OVERSIGHT HEARINGS................................................7
A. Full Committee.................................... 7
B. Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic... 11
C. Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and
Foreign Affairs.................................. 14
D. Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy,
and Regulatory Affairs........................... 17
E. Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information
Technology, and Government Innovation............ 20
F. Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services 23
G. Subcommittee on Government Operations and the
Federal Workforce................................ 24
III.BUSINESS MEETINGS................................................27
IV. MEMBER BRIEFINGS.................................................29
V. QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD.........................................30
VI. LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS......................................30
A. Business Meetings (Legislation)................... 30
B. Legislation Enacted Into Law...................... 32
C. Legislation Passed by the House................... 39
D. Legislation Approved by the Committee............. 48
E. Postal Naming Measures Enacted into Law........... 58
F. Postal Naming Measures Passed by the House........ 64
G. Postal Naming Measures Approved by the Committee.. 64
VII. SUMMARY OF OVERSIGHT PLAN AND CORRESPONDING ACTIONS.............65
A. Summary of Committee Oversight Plan............... 65
B. Full Committee.................................... 65
C. Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information
Technology, and Government Innovation............ 83
D. Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy,
and Regulatory Affairs........................... 88
E. Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services 90
F. Subcommittee on Government Operations and the
Federal Workforce................................ 92
G. Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and
Foreign Affairs.................................. 96
H. Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis..... 102
MINORITY VIEWS................................................... 106
Union Calendar No. 819
118th Congress } { Report
2d Session } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES { 118-972
======================================================================
ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY
_______
January 2, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Comer, from the Committee on Oversight and Accountability,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
I. INTRODUCTION
During the 118th Congress, the Committee on Oversight and
Accountability and its six subcommittees held 141 hearings with
115 government witnesses. The Committee issued over 50
subpoenas and sent nearly 700 investigative letters. In
addition, 71 bills were advanced by the Committee, not
including postal naming measures, and ultimately 50 bills were
passed by the House of Representatives and 19 were signed into
law. But it isn't about the numbers; it's about the results.
To carry out its duties as effectively as possible, at the
beginning of the 118th Congress, the Committee established the
following five subcommittees: Cybersecurity, Information
Technology, and Government Innovation; Economic Growth, Energy
Policy, and Regulatory Affairs; Government Operations and the
Federal Workforce; Health Care and Financial Services; and
National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs. On January
9, 2023, the House passed H. Res. 5, which established the
Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic as an
additional investigative subcommittee of the Committee on
Oversight and Accountability. The Select Subcommittee remained
in place throughout the 118th Congress.
Under the leadership of Chairman James Comer, the Committee
returned to its proper role of rooting out waste, fraud, abuse,
and mismanagement in the federal government and holding the
Executive Branch accountable. The Committee's effective,
targeted oversight led to transparency, accountability, and
solutions for the American people.
The Committee exposed President Joe Biden's
involvement in his family's multimillion-dollar
influence peddling racket and sent criminal referrals
to the Department of Justice recommending prosecution
of his son and brother for their lies to Congress to
protect Joe Biden.
The Committee investigated the
Biden family's domestic and international
business dealings revealing Joe Biden abused
his office and violated his oath of office as
Vice President by engaging in a conspiracy to
peddle influence to enrich his family. The
investigation exposed how President Biden
repeatedly lied to the American people about
his family's corrupt influence peddling
schemes. As President, Joe Biden and the Biden
Administration obstructed the House of
Representatives' impeachment inquiry and the
criminal investigation of President Biden's
son.
The House Committee on Oversight
and Accountability, Committee on the Judiciary,
and Committee on Ways and Means released a
report on the impeachment inquiry of President
Joe Biden, finding he committed impeachable
offenses.
House Committee on Oversight and
Accountability Chairman James Comer, House
Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan,
and House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman
Jason Smith sent criminal referrals to the
Department of Justice recommending Hunter and
James Biden be charged with making false
statements to Congress about key aspects of the
impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden.
These false statements implicate Joe Biden's
knowledge of and role in his family's influence
peddling schemes and appear to be a calculated
effort to shield Joe Biden from the impeachment
inquiry.
Chairman James Comer introduced
the bipartisan Presidential Ethics Reform Act,
a landmark federal ethics reform bill to
deliver transparency to the American people and
enable robust congressional oversight. In
addition to requiring disclosure of conflicts
of interest while in office, the bill requires
presidents and vice presidents to disclose
foreign payments, expensive gifts, loan
transactions, and tax returns during the two-
year period prior to time in office, during
time in office, and for two years following
departure from office. The bill also requires
presidents and vice presidents to make
disclosures for immediate family members who
receive foreign payments, expensive gifts, or
loans, or who use official travel for personal
business.
The Committee conducted oversight of the
Biden Administration's policies fueling the worst
border crisis in U.S. history.
The Oversight Committee's second
hearing of the 118th Congress heard testimony
from two Chief Patrol Agents who stated the
border crisis is ``overwhelming'' and there is
not a ``correct adjective to describe what's
going on.'' The Committee then conducted
transcribed interviews with nine Chief Patrol
Agents from southwest border sectors who are
battling the Biden border crisis.
The Oversight and Homeland
Security Committees issued a joint staff report
which contains excerpts of interviews with U.S.
Customs and Border Protection agents on the
frontlines of the Biden border crisis and
highlights the need for policy changes by the
Biden Administration to curtail the
unprecedented flow of migrants, narcotics, and
crime at the southwest border.
Members of the Oversight
Committee traveled to the border to hear from
local law enforcement, a former immigration
judge, and a local rancher about how failed
policies from the Biden Administration have
caused a national security and humanitarian
catastrophe and harmed communities both locally
and across the country. During the visit to the
Tucson sector, members saw firsthand how local
law enforcement is overworked, underfunded, and
under siege from a wave of illegal immigration,
crime, and narcotics.
The Oversight Committee obtained
access to more detailed information from DHS
related to illegal entries of individuals with
derogatory information in terrorist screening
databases.
The Committee investigated the
sell-off of materials procured for the border
barrier system by the Biden Administration, as
well as conflicting Administration policy
statements on the efficacy of border barriers
in securing the border against illegal entries.
The Committee held accountable Biden
Administration officials implementing a radical
environmental agenda that is jeopardizing jobs, energy
security, and national security.
The Oversight Committee held
hearings with Biden Administration officials,
including U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
Secretary Jennifer Granholm and U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator Michael Regan, to hold them
accountable for the Biden Administration's
energy crisis.
The Subcommittee on Economic
Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs
held a hearing with executive branch officials
to examine the economic and national security
implications of continuing to rely on China for
critical minerals and materials used in
electric vehicles, military assets, healthcare,
and electronic applications. The Subcommittee
also conducted hearings to examine how Biden
Administration policies will undermine grid
stability and create an uncertain future for
power generation.
The Subcommittee on Economic
Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs
forced DOE to respond to questions regarding
its burdensome proposed rulemakings on gas
stoves and other home appliances. The
Subcommittee also brought in an EPA official to
testify on its sweeping green regulations on
traditional cars, trucks, other highway
vehicles, mandating a transition to electric
vehicles, and limiting consumer choices.
The Oversight Committee issued a
staff report on the Biden Administration's
radical Green New Deal agenda, including
recommendations to unleash domestic energy
production to lower costs for Americans.
The Oversight Committee issued a
staff report detailing the substantial economic
impacts of the $1.7 trillion in federal
regulatory costs imposed by the Biden
Administration and how businesses and consumers
will be left shouldering the financial burden
for these radical, left-wing policies.
The Committee conducted oversight of the
Biden Administration's failure to return federal
workers back to working in-person at federal agencies.
The Biden Administration
portrayed telework as an unmitigated success
and moved to make expanded telework permanent
policy. Yet, despite claiming to be a ``data-
driven'' administration, they provided no
evidence to back up this claim.
One of the first bills to pass
the House this Congress was Chairman Comer's
SHOW UP Act (H.R. 139), which requires agencies
to return to pre-COVID telework levels until
they can certify expanded telework has not
harmed their ability to accomplish their
mission.
OPM Director Kiran Ahuja
testified at one of the first hearings before
the Oversight Committee. Committee Republicans
exposed any claim of using good data to make
decisions through her inability to say how many
federal workers were then teleworking. Over a
year later, OPM Acting Director Rob Shriver
could only provide a figure for the same
outdated data Ms. Ahuja attempted to use and
still could not provide the current number of
federal teleworkers.
The Committee sent letters to 25
agencies in May 2023 asking for basic telework
data. After most agencies failed to respond,
they sent another round of letters threatening
subpoenas. Most responses were woefully
insufficient.
The Subcommittee on Government
Operations and the Federal Workforce held two
hearings to attempt to glean important
information from agencies. Some lessons were
learned, but these efforts highlighted the fact
that agencies did not know how to measure
performance, especially how telework impacted
performance.
After GAO reported on high
vacancy rates in federal buildings, the
Committee held a hearing with General Services
Administration (GSA) Administrator Robin
Carnahan to examine how, as the federal
government's primary real estate agent and
property manager, GSA intended to rein in
spending on empty or underutilized office
space.
The Committee held a hearing
with OMB Deputy Director for Management Jason
Miller. At the hearing, members exposed how OMB
claims to use data-driven management but has
failed to provide key data to the Oversight
Committee that explains or justifies major
management policies, such as federal employee
telework.
The Committee investigated rampant waste,
fraud, and abuse in pandemic-era programs and provided
recommendations to protect taxpayers.
The Committee held its very
first hearing in the 118th Congress on pandemic
spending, hearing testimony from witnesses
about the massive fraud and improper payments
in several pandemic relief programs, including
pandemic unemployment programs.
Prior to the hearing, on January
13, 2023, Chairman Comer wrote the U.S.
Secretary of Labor, the U.S. Department of
Labor Inspector General, the Director of the
California Employment Development Department
(EDD), the Commissioner of the New York State
Department of Labor (NYSDOL), and the Secretary
of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor &
Industry (PADLI) to request documents and
communications relating to rampant fraud and
improper payments in pandemic unemployment
programs.
The Subcommittee on Government
Operations and the Federal Workforce held a
hearing to examine the effectiveness of
existing oversight mechanisms in federal
agencies to identify and prevent improper
payments and fraud.
The Committee issued a staff
report titled ``Widespread Failures and Fraud
in Pandemic Unemployment Relief Programs.'' The
report details information, documents, and
communications obtained by the Committee
showing how states across the country,
including California, New York, and
Pennsylvania, processed and administered
pandemic unemployment insurance (UI) claims
with minimal oversight, resulting in billions
of taxpayer dollars lost to improper and
fraudulent payments that will likely never be
recovered. In addition, the report includes a
list of recommendations to prevent improper
payments and fraud in unemployment insurance
programs in the future.
The Committee shined a light on Big Tech and
the Biden Administration's censorship tactics that are
stiffing Americans' right for First Amendment protected
speech.
The Oversight Committee held a
hearing with former Twitter executives who
censored the New York Post's reporting on the
contents of Hunter Biden's laptop, forcing them
to admit the Post's reporting did not violate
any Twitter policies but it was taken down
anyway, and they did nothing to verify the
authenticity of the contents of the story.
Chairman James Comer, along with
House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and House
Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan,
introduced the Protecting Speech from
Government Interference Act (H.R. 140). This
bill, which was passed by the House, prohibits
federal employees from pressuring social media
companies to silence, censor, or remove
Americans' views expressed online.
The Committee held accountable Pharmacy
Benefit Managers (PBMs) for rising prescription drug
prices.
At the start of the 118th
Congress, Chairman Comer initiated an
investigation of PBMs' self-benefiting pricing
tactics that jeopardize patient care, undermine
local pharmacies, and raise prescription drug
prices.
The Oversight Committee has held
three hearings to expose harmful PBM practices
and identify solutions.
The House Oversight Committee
issued a report showing how PBMs inflate
prescription drug costs and interfere with
patient care for their own financial benefit.
The report concludes that the present role of
PBMs in prescription drug markets is failing
and requires Congress and states to implement
legislative reforms to increase the
transparency of the PBM market.
The Oversight Committee passed
the DRUG Act, which creates certain
requirements for PBMs that contract with a
carrier offering health benefits plans offered
under the Federal Employees Health Benefits
program, including de-linking PBM profits from
rebates and fees in order to bring down the
cost of prescriptions.
The Committee conducted a government-wide
investigation of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP)
infiltration and influence campaign in the U.S.
Chairman Comer sent letters to
25 federal agencies to investigate whether
agencies acknowledge that the CCP is waging a
cold war against the United States, conduct
outreach to the American public, foster
relevant expertise and offer trainings,
implement CCP-specific strategies, and equip
the American people to strengthen their
communities, innovate and create the new
technologies that will secure a strong future
for the nation.
The Committee held briefings
with 23 federal agencies revealing that there
is no cohesive, government-wide strategy to
identify, deter, and defeat CCP political
warfare.
The Committee has held three
hearings--with former federal officials,
military and Intelligence Community leadership,
diplomats, and China experts--to ensure the
federal government is taking every action
necessary to thwart CCP political warfare,
economic warfare, and many other forms of
warfare seeking to weaken and destroy America.
The Committee issued a report
detailing how under the Biden Administration,
federal agencies do not have cohesive,
government-wide strategy to identify, deter,
and defeat CCP political warfare. The report
also contains recommendations to effectively
combat the CCP's political warfare.
The Committee conducted oversight of the
Secret Service and its failure to thwart the
assassination attempt of President Donald Trump.
Hours after the attempted
assassination of President Trump, Chairman
James Comer immediately announced he would call
on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to
testify at a hearing. Chairman Comer and
Committee Republican members also requested a
series of documents, communications, and
information from the Secret Service as part of
the Committee's investigation. Following
stonewalling by the Department of Homeland
Security and Secret Service, Chairman Comer
subpoenaed Director Cheatle to appear at a
hearing on July 22, 2024.
The House Committee on Oversight
and Accountability held a hearing with Director
Cheatle to conduct oversight of the Secret
Service and the attempted assassination of
President Trump. At the hearing, Republican and
Democrat members pressed Director Kimberly
Cheatle for answers on the egregious security
lapses that led to the attempted assassination
of President Trump, the murder of an innocent
victim, and harm to others in the crowd at the
campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Director Cheatle could not or refused to answer
basic questions from Committee members.
Following Director Cheatle's
disastrous appearance before the Committee
where she failed to answer basic questions,
Chairman Comer and Ranking Member Raskin called
on her to resign. Director Cheatle resigned the
next day.
This report describes the Committee's major oversight and
legislative accomplishments, provides a summary of Committee
and Subcommittee proceedings, and summarizes activities during
the 118th Congress.
II. OVERSIGHT HEARINGS
A. Full Committee
In the 118th Congress, the full Committee held 36 hearings
and received testimony from 97 witnesses. Those hearings
include:
Hearing on ``Federal Pandemic Spending: A
Prescription for Waste, Fraud and Abuse'' (February 1,
2023). Witnesses: The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro,
Comptroller General of the United States, GAO; The
Honorable Michael E. Horowitz, Chair, Pandemic Response
Accountability Committee; Mr. David M. Smith, Assistant
Director, Office of Investigations, U.S. Secret
Service; Ms. Rebecca Dixon, Executive Director,
National Employment Law Project.
Hearing on ``On The Front Lines of the
Border Crisis: A Hearing with Chief Patrol Agents''
(February 7, 2023). Witnesses: Ms. Gloria Chavez, Chief
Patrol Agent, U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley
Sector; Mr. John Modlin, Chief Patrol Agent, U.S.
Border Patrol Tucson Sector.
Hearing on ``Protecting Speech from
Government Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1:
Twitter's Role in Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story
(February 8, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. James Baker, Former
Twitter Deputy General Counsel, Former FBI General
Counsel; Ms. Vijaya Gadde, Former Twitter Chief Legal
Officer; Ms. Anika Collier Navaroli, Former member of
Twitter's U.S. Safety Policy Team; Mr. Yoel Roth,
Former Twitter Senior Director, Head of Trust & Safety.
Hearing on ``Oversight of Our Nation's
Largest Employer: Reviewing the U.S. Office of
Personnel Management'' (March 9, 2023). Witness: The
Honorable Kiran Ahuja, Director, U.S. Office of
Personnel Management.
Hearing on ``Overdue Oversight of the
Capital City: Part I'' (March 29, 2023). Witnesses: Mr.
Greggory Pemberton, Chairman, D.C. Police Union; Mr.
Phil Mendelson, Chairman, D.C. Council; Mr. Charles
Allen, Councilmember, D.C. Council; Mr. Glen Lee, Chief
Financial Officer, Washington, D.C.
Hearing on ``The Biden Administration's
Disastrous Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Part I: Review
by the Inspectors General'' (April 19, 2023).
Witnesses: Ms. Nicole Angarella, Acting Deputy
Inspector General (performing the duties of the
Inspector General), U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID); Ms. Diana Shaw, Deputy Inspector
General (performing the duties of the Inspector
General), Department of State; The Honorable John
Sopko, Inspector General, Special Inspector General for
Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR); The Honorable
Robert Storch, Inspector General, Department of
Defense.
Hearing on ``The Government Accountability
Office's 2023 High Risk List'' (April 26, 2023).
Witness: The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller
General, Government Accountability Office.
Hearing on ``ESG Part I: An Examination of
Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices with
Attorneys General'' (May 10, 2023). Witnesses: The
Honorable Steve Marshall, Attorney General, Alabama;
The Honorable Sean Reyes, Attorney General, Utah; The
Honorable Michael Frerichs, Treasurer of Illinois.
Hearing on ``Overdue Oversight of the
Capital City: Part II'' (May 16, 2023). Witnesses:
Mayor Muriel Bowser, District of Columbia; The
Honorable Matthew M. Graves, U.S. Attorney, U.S.
Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
Hearing on ``The Role of Pharmacy Benefit
Managers in Prescription Drug Markets Part I: Self-
Interest or Health Care?'' (May 23, 2023). Witnesses:
Dr. Miriam J. Atkins, Oncologist, AO Multispecialty
Clinic, President, Community Oncology Alliance; Mr.
Greg Baker, RPh, CEO, AffirmedRX, PBC; Mr. Kevin J.
Duane, PharmD, Panama Pharmacy; Mr. Frederick Isasi,
Executive Director, Families USA.
Joint hearing on ``American Confidence in
Elections: The Path to Election Integrity in the
District of Columbia'' with Committee on House
Administration (June 7, 2023). Witnesses: The Honorable
Ken Cuccinelli, Chairman, Election Transparency
Initiative; Ms. Monica Evans, Executive Director, DC
Board of Elections; Mr. Charles Spies, Member,
Dickinson Wright, PLLC; Ms. Wendy R. Weiser, Vice
President of the Democracy Program, Brennan Center for
Justice.
Hearing on ``Death by a Thousand
Regulations: The Biden Administration's Campaign to
Bury America in Red Tape'' (June 14, 2023). Witnesses:
Mr. Anthony Campau, Principal, Clark Hill Public
Strategies; Professor Casey Mulligan, Professor,
Kenneth C. Griffin Dept. Economics, University of
Chicago; Mr. Adam J. White, Co-Executive Director, The
C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of Administrative
State, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law
School; Professor Sally Katzen, Professor of Practice
and Distinguished Scholar in Residence, New York
University School of Law.
Hearing on ``Hearing with IRS Whistleblowers
About the Biden Criminal Investigation'' (July 19,
2023). Witnesses: Mr. Gary Shapley, Supervisory Special
Agent, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation;
Mr. Joseph Ziegler, Special Agent, Internal Revenue
Service Criminal Investigation.
Hearing on ``Oversight and Reauthorization
of the Office of National Drug Control Policy'' (July
27, 2023). Witness: Dr. Rahul Gupta, Director, Office
of National Drug Control Policy.
Hearing on ``Unsuitable Litigation:
Oversight of Third-Party Litigation Funding''
(September 13, 2023). Witnesses: Ms. Julie Lucas,
Executive Director, MiningMinnesota; Mr. Erik Milito,
President, National Ocean Industries Association; Ms.
Maya Steinitz, Professor, Boston University School of
Law; Ms. Aviva Wein, Assistant General Counsel, Johnson
& Johnson; Ms. Kathleen Clark, Professor of Law,
Washington University in St. Louis.
``The Role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers in
Prescription Drug Markets Part II: Not What the Doctor
Ordered'' (September 19, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. Craig
Burton, Executive Director, BioSimilars Council, Senior
Vice President, Association for Accessible Medicines;
Mr. Hugh Chancy, President, National Community
Pharmacists Association (NCPA); Ms. Lori Reilly, Chief
Operating Officer, PhRMA; Mr. JC Scott, President and
CEO, Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA);
Ms. Rena Conti, Associate Professor--Markets, Public
Policy, and Law, Boston University.
Hearing on ``The Basis for an Impeachment
Inquiry of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.'' (September
28, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. Bruce Dubinsky, Founder,
Dubinsky Consulting; Ms. Eileen O'Connor, Former
Assistant Attorney General, United States Department of
Justice (DOJ Tax); Prof. Jonathan Turley, Shapiro Chair
for Public Interest Law, George Washington University
Law School; Prof. Michael J. Gerhardt, Burton Craige
Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence, University of
North Carolina School of Law.
Hearing on ``Oversight of the U.S. General
Services Administration'' (November 14, 2023). Witness:
The Honorable Robin Carnahan, Administrator, U.S.
General Services Administration.
Member Day (December 11, 2023). Witnesses:
The Honorable Mike Ezell, Member of Congress, (MS-04);
The Honorable Lucy McBath, Member of Congress, (GA-07);
The Honorable Katie Porter, Member of Congress, (CA-
47).
Hearing on ``The Biden Administration's
Regulatory and Policymaking Efforts to Undermine U.S.
Immigration Law'' (January 17, 2024). Witnesses: Mr.
Joseph Edlow, Former Acting Director and Chief Counsel,
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Founder, The
Edlow Group LLC; Mr. Tom Homan, Former Acting Director,
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Mr. David J.
Bier, Associate Director of Immigration Studies, Cato
Institute.
Hearing on ``Influence Peddling: Examining
Joe Biden's Abuse of Public Office'' (March 20, 2024).
Witnesses: Mr. Tony Bobulinski; Mr. Jason Galanis; Mr.
Lev Parnas.
Hearing on ``Oversight of the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration'' (April 11, 2024). Witness: Dr.
Robert M. Califf, M.D., Commissioner, U.S. Food and
Drug Administration.
Hearing on ``Defending America from the
Chinese Communist Party's Political Warfare, Part I''
(April 17, 2024). Witnesses: Colonel Grant Newsham,
U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.); Dr. Robert Spalding, Brig.
Gen. (Ret.), Founder and CEO, SEMPRE, Senior Fellow,
Hudson Institute; Mr. Peter Mattis, President,
Jamestown Foundation; Mr. Timothy Snyder, Richard C.
Levin Professor of History and Public Affairs, Yale
University.
Hearing on ``A Focus on Management:
Oversight of the Office of Management and Budget''
(April 30, 2024). Witness: The Honorable Jason Miller,
Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management
and Budget.
Hearing on ``Oversight of Our Nation's
Largest Employer: Reviewing the U.S. Office of
Personnel Management, Pt. II'' (May 22, 2024). Witness:
The Honorable Robert H. Shriver, III, Acting Director,
Office of Personnel Management.
Hearing on ``Oversight of the U.S.
Department of Energy'' (May 23, 2024). Witness: The
Honorable Jennifer Granholm, Secretary, U.S. Department
of Energy.
Hearing on ``Defending America from the
Chinese Communist Party's Political Warfare, Part II''
(June 26, 2024). Witnesses: The Honorable Erik Bethel,
Former U.S. Executive Director, World Bank; Mr. James
Fanell, Captain, United States Navy (Ret.), Former
Director of Intelligence and Information Operations for
the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Government Fellow, Geneva
Centre for Security Policy; Ms. Mary Kissel, Former
Senior Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of State,
Department of State; The Honorable Tom Malinowski,
Former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy,
Human Rights and Labor.
Hearing on ``Standing up for the Rule of
Law: Ending Illegal Racial Discrimination and
Protecting Men and Women in U.S. Employment Practices''
(June 27, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Jonathan Berry,
Managing Partner, Boyden Gray PLLC; The Honorable Todd
Rokita, Attorney General, Indiana; Ms. Inez Feltscher
Stepman, Senior Policy and Legal Analyst, Independent
Women's Forum; Ms. Maya Wiley, President and CEO, The
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Hearing on ``Oversight of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency'' (July 10, 2024).
Witness: The Honorable Michael S. Regan, Administrator,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Hearing on ``Oversight of the U.S. Secret
Service and the Attempted Assassination of President
Donald J. Trump'' (July 22, 2024). Witness: Ms.
Kimberly Cheatle, Director, United States Secret
Service.
Hearing on ``The Role of Pharmacy Benefit
Managers in Prescription Drug Markets Part III:
Transparency and Accountability'' (July 23, 2024).
Witnesses: Dr. Patrick Conway, MD, MSc, Chief Executive
Officer, Optum Rx; Mr. David Joyner, Executive Vice
President, CVS Health, President, CVS Caremark; Dr.
Adam Kautzner, PharmD, President, Evernorth Care
Management & Express Scripts.
Hearing on ``A Legacy of Incompetence:
Consequences of the Biden-Harris Administration's
Policy Failures'' (September 19, 2024). Witnesses: The
Honorable Brendan Carr, Commissioner, Federal
Communications Commission; Mr. Mark Krikorian,
Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies; Dr.
Meaghan Mobbs, Director, Center for American Safety and
Security, Independent Women's Forum; Ms. Mandy
Gunasekara, Former Chief of Staff, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency; Ms. Skye L. Perryman, JD, President
& Chief Executive Officer, Democracy Forward
Foundation.
Hearing on ``Defending America from the
Chinese Communist Party's Political Warfare, Part III''
(September 24, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Robert D.
Atkinson, President, Information Technology and
Innovation Foundation; The Honorable Joseph Cella,
Former U.S. Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga
and Tuvalu, Principal, Pontifex Group; Dr. Bradley A.
Thayer, Founding Member, Committee on the Present
Danger: China; Mr. Jacob Stokes, Senior Fellow, Indo-
Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American
Security.
Hearing on ``Oversight of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency'' (November 19, 2024).
Witness: The Honorable Deanne Criswell, Administrator,
Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Hearing on ``Oversight of the U.S. Census
Bureau'' (December 5, 2024). Witness: The Honorable
Robert L. Santos, Director, U.S. Census Bureau.
Hearing on ``Oversight of the U.S. Postal
Service'' (December 10, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Louis
DeJoy, Postmaster General, U.S. Postal Service; Ms.
Tammy Hull, Inspector General, U.S. Postal Service.
B. Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic
In the 118th Congress, the Select Subcommittee on the
Coronavirus Pandemic held 25 hearings and received testimony
from 50 witnesses. Those hearings include:
Hearing on ``Preparing for the Future by
Learning From the Past: Examining COVID Policy
Decisions'' (February 28, 2023). Witnesses: Dr. Georges
Benjamin, M.D., Executive Director, American Public
Health Association; Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D.,
Professor of Medicine, Stanford University; Dr. Martin
Kulldorff, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, Harvard
University; Dr. Martin Makary, M.D., M.P.H., Chief,
Islet Transplant Surgery/Professor of Surgery, Johns
Hopkins University.
Hearing on ``Investigating the Origins of
COVID-19'' (March 8, 2023). Witnesses: Dr. Jamie Metzl,
Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council; Dr. Robert
Redfield, M.D., Former Director, U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention; Mr. Nicholas Wade,
Former Editor for Nature, Former Editor for Science,
Former Science Editor for The New York Times; Dr. Paul
G. Auwaerter, M.D., M.B.A., Clinical Director, Division
of Infectious Diseases, Sherrilyn and Ken Fisher
Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine.
Hearing on ``The Consequences of School
Closures: Intended and Unintended'' (March 28, 2023).
Witnesses: Ms. Virginia Gentles, Director, Education
Freedom Center, Independent Women's Forum; Dr. Tracy
Beth Høeg, M.D., Ph.D., Physical Medicine &
Rehabilitation Specialist, Epidemiologist, Private
Practice Physician; Mr. David Zweig, Author and
Investigative Journalist, The Atlantic, New York
Magazine, The Free Press; Ms. Donna Mazyck, R.N.,
Executive Director, National Association of School
Nurses.
Hearing on ``Investigating the Origins of
COVID-19, Part 2: China and the Available
Intelligence'' (April 18, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. David
Feith, Former Deputy Asst. Secretary of State for East
Asian & Pacific Affairs, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Center
for a New American Security; The Honorable John
Ratcliffe, Former Director of National Intelligence,
Former U.S. Representative; Dr. Mark Lowenthal, Asst.
Director of Central Intelligence for Analysis &
Production, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
for Intelligence and Research, Former Vice Chair for
Evaluation for the National Intelligence Council.
Hearing on ``The Consequences of School
Closures, Part 2: The President of the American
Federation of Teachers, Ms. Randi Weingarten'' (April
26, 2023). Witness: Ms. Randi Weingarten, President,
American Federation of Teachers.
Hearing on ``Investigating Pandemic
Immunity: Acquired, Therapeutic or Both'' (May 11,
2023). Witnesses: Dr. Marty Makary, Chief, Islet
Transplant Surgery & Professor of Surgery, Johns
Hopkins University; Dr. Margery Smelkinson, Research
Scientist; Dr. Tina Tan, Professor of Pediatric
Infectious Diseases, Feinberg School of Medicine,
Northwestern University.
Hearing on ``Like Fire Through Dry Grass:
Nursing Home Mortality & COVID-19 Policies'' (May 17,
2023). Witnesses: Ms. Janice Dean, Family Member of
COVID-19 Nursing Home Victim, Fox News Senior
Meteorologist; Mr. Bill Hammond, Senior Fellow for
Health Policy, Empire Center; Ms. Vivian Zayas, Co-
Founder, Voices for Seniors; Dr. David Grabowski,
Professor of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical
School.
Hearing on ``Oversight of CDC Policies and
Decisions During the COVID-19 Pandemic'' (June 13,
2023). Witness: Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director, U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hearing on ``Churches vs. Casinos: The
Constitution is not Suspended in Times of Crisis''
(June 21, 2023). Witnesses: The Honorable Andrew
Bailey, Attorney General, State of Missouri; The
Honorable Elizabeth Murrill, Solicitor General, State
of Louisiana; Mr. Misha Tseytlin, Partner, Troutman
Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP, Former Solicitor General,
State of Wisconsin; Mr. Micah J. Schwartzman, Hardy
Cross Dillard Professor of Law, Director, Karsh Center
for Law and Democracy, University of Virginia Law
School.
Hearing on ``Investigating the Proximal
Origin of a Cover Up'' (July 11, 2023). Witnesses: Dr.
Kristian Andersen, Professor, Scripps Research; Dr.
Robert Garry, Professor, Tulane University School of
Medicine.
Hearing on ``Because I Said So: Examining
the Science and Impact of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates''
(July 27, 2023). Witnesses: Ms. Danielle Runyan, Senior
Counsel, First Liberty; Dr. Kevin Bardosh, Affiliate
Assistant Professor, University of Washington; Ms.
Allison Williams, Reporter, Fox Sports; Dr. John Lynch,
Associate Professor of Medicine and Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, University of Washington School of
Medicine.
Hearing on ``Oh Doctor, Where Art Thou?
Pandemic Erosion of the Doctor-Patient Relationship''
(September 14, 2023). Witnesses: Dr. Azadeh Khatibi,
Physician, Medical Ethics and Freedom Advocate; Dr.
Jeffrey Singer, Surgeon, Private Practice, Senior
Fellow, Cato Institute, Department of Health Policy
Studies; Dr. Jerry Williams, Founder, Urgent Care 24/7;
Dr. Andi Shane, Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases,
Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of
Medicine.
Hearing on ``Strengthening Biosafety and
Biosecurity Standards: Protecting Against Future
Pandemics'' (October 18, 2023). Witnesses: Dr. Gerald
W. Parker, Jr., DVM, PhD, Associate Dean for Global One
Health, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical
Sciences, Texas A&M University; Dr. Jaime Yassif,
Ph.D., Vice President, Global Biological Policy and
Programs, Nuclear Threat Initiative.
Hearing on ``Reforming the WHO: Ensuring
Global Health Security and Accountability'' (December
13, 2023). Witnesses: Dr. Atul Gawande, M.D., M.P.H.,
Assistant Administrator for Global Health, United
States Agency for International Development; Dr. John
Nkengasong, M.Sc, Ph.D., Ambassador-at-Large, Senior
Bureau Official for Global Health Security and
Diplomacy, Bureau of Global Health Security and
Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State; Ms. Loyce Pace,
M.P.H., Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs,
Department of Health and Human Services.
Hearing on ``Overseeing the Department of
Health and Human Services' Compliance with Congress''
(January 31, 2024). Witness: The Honorable Melanie
Egorin, Assistant Secretary for Legislation, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
Hearing on ``Assessing America's Vaccine
Safety Systems, Part 1'' (February 15, 2024).
Witnesses: Dr. Daniel Jernigan, M.D., M.P.H., Director,
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious
Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC); Dr. Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Center
for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), Food and
Drug Administration (FDA); CDR George Reed Grimes,
M.D., M.P.H., Director, Division of Injury Compensation
Programs, Health Resources and Services Administration
(HRSA).
Hearing on ``Examining the White House's
Role in Pandemic Preparedness and Response'' (March 6,
2024) Witness: Major General Paul Friedrichs, M.D.
(Ret.), Director, Office of Pandemic Preparedness and
Response Policy, The White House.
Hearing on ``Assessing America's Vaccine
Safety Systems, Part 2'' (March 21, 2024). Witnesses:
Dr. Patrick Whelan, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Clinical
Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Rheumatology,
UCLA; Mr. David Gortler, Pharm.D., Senior Research
Fellow, Public Health Policy and Regulation, The
Heritage Foundation; Ms. Renee Gentry, Director,
Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic, George Washington
University; Dr. Yvonne ``Bonnie'' Maldonado, M.D.,
Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases,
Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of
Medicine.
Hearing on ``Academic Malpractice: Examining
the Relationship Between Scientific Journals, the
Government, and Peer Review'' (April 16, 2024).
Witness: Dr. Holden Thorp, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief,
Science Journals, American Association for the
Advancement of Science; Dr. Magdalena Skipper
(Invited), Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief, Nature; Mr. Richard
Horton (Invited), BSc, MB, ChB, Editor-in-Chief, The
Lancet.
Hearing on ``A Hearing with the President of
EcoHealth Alliance, Dr. Peter Daszak'' (May 1, 2024).
Witness: Dr. Peter Daszak, Ph.D., President, EcoHealth
Alliance.
Hearing on ``Overseeing the Overseers: A
Hearing with NIH Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak'' (May
16, 2024). Witness: Dr. Lawrence Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D.,
Principal Deputy Director, National Institutes of
Health.
Hearing on ``A Hearing with the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Senior
Scientific Advisor, Dr. David Morens'' (May 22, 2024).
Witness: Dr. David Morens, M.D., Senior Scientific
Advisor, Office of the Director, National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Hearing on ``A Hearing with Dr. Anthony
Fauci'' (June 3, 2024). Witness: Dr. Anthony Fauci,
M.D., Former Director, National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases.
Hearing on ``A Hearing with former New York
Governor Andrew Cuomo'' (September 10, 2024). Witness:
The Honorable Andrew Cuomo, Former Governor, State of
New York.
Hearing on ``Preparing for the Next
Pandemic: Lessons Learned and The Path Forward''
(November 14, 2024). Witnesses: Dr. Hilary Marston,
M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer, U.S. Food and Drug
Administration; Dr. Lawrence Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D.,
Principal Deputy Director, National Institutes of
Health; Dr. Henry Walke, M.D., M.P.H., Director, Office
of Readiness and Response, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
C. Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs
In the 118th Congress, the Subcommittee on National
Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs held 19 hearings and
received testimony from 54 witnesses. Those hearings include:
Hearing on ``Force Multipliers: Examining
the Need for Additional Resources to Disrupt
Transnational Crime at the Border and Beyond'' (March
8, 2023). Witnesses: Ms. Diane Sabatino, Deputy
Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field
Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Mr.
Anthony Salisbury, Deputy Executive Associate Director,
Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement.
Hearing on ``Ensuring Force Readiness:
Examining Progressivism's Impact on an All-Volunteer
Military'' (March 28, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. Brent
Sadler, Senior Research Fellow, Center for National
Defense, The Heritage Foundation; Mr. Jeremy Hunt,
Chairman, Veterans on Duty, Inc.; Dr. Meaghan Mobbs,
Senior Fellow, Independent Women's Forum; Lieutenant
General David Barno (Ret.), Visiting Professor of
Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies.
Hearing on ``Oversight of the Office of
Refugee Resettlement's Unaccompanied Alien Children
Program'' (April 18, 2023). Witness: Ms. Robin Dunn
Marcos, Director, Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Hearing on ``Strengthening the Fleet:
Challenges and Solutions in Naval Surface Ship
Construction'' (May 11, 2023). Witnesses: Rear Admiral
Thomas J. Anderson, Program Executive Officer, Ships,
United States Navy; Rear Admiral Casey Moton, Program
Executive Officer, Unmanned and Small Combatants,
United States Navy.
Hearing on ``Help Wanted: Law Enforcement
Staffing Challenges at the Border'' (June 6, 2023).
Witness: The Honorable Joseph Cuffari, Inspector
General, Department of Homeland Security.
Joint hearing on ``Beyond the Budget:
Addressing Financial Accountability in the Department
of Defense'' with Subcommittee on Government Operations
and the Federal Workforce (July 13, 2023). Witnesses:
Mr. Asif Khan, Director, Financial Management and
Assurance, U.S. Government Accountability Office; Mr.
Brett Mansfield, Deputy Inspector General for Audits,
Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General; Mr.
John Tenaglia, Principal Director, Defense Pricing and
Contracting, U.S. Department of Defense.
Hearing on ``Unidentified Anomalous
Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public
Safety, and Government Transparency'' (July 26, 2023).
Witnesses: Commander David Fravor (Ret.), Former
Commanding Officer, United States Navy; Mr. Ryan
Graves, Executive Director, Americans for Safe
Aerospace; Mr. David Grusch, Former National
Reconnaissance Office Representative, Unidentified
Aerial Phenomena Task Force, U.S. Department of
Defense.
Joint field hearing on ``Biden's Border
Crisis and its Effect on American Communities'' with
Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and
Federal Government Surveillance (August 8, 2023).
Witnesses: Mr. Andrew ``Art'' Arthur, Resident Fellow
in Law and Policy, Center for Immigration Studies; Mr.
Mark Dannels, Sheriff, Cochise County; Mr. John W.
Ladd, Rancher.
Hearing on ``A Dangerous Strategy: Examining
the Biden Administration's Failures on Iran''
(September 13, 2023). Witnesses: Ms. Victoria Coates,
Vice President of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis
Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, The
Heritage Foundation; Mr. Richard Goldberg, Senior
Advisor, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; Dr.
Michael Makovsky, Ph.D., President and CEO, Jewish
Institute for National Security of America (JINSA); Ms.
Barbara Slavin, Distinguished Fellow, Stimson Center.
Hearing on ``Faith Under Fire: An
Examination of Global Religious Persecution'' (October
25, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. David Curry, President and
CEO, Global Christian Relief; Dr. Meaghan Mobbs, Senior
Fellow, Independent Women's Forum; Dr. Eric Patterson,
President, Religious Freedom Institute; Ms. Amanda
Tyler, Executive Director, Baptist Joint Committee for
Religious Liberty.
Hearing on ``The Risks of Progressive
Ideologies in the U.S. Military'' (January 11, 2024).
Witnesses: Mr. Will Thibeau, Director, American
Military Project; Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Lohmeier
(Ret.), Space Force Veteran, Author; Brigadier General
Ty Seidule (Ret.), Professor Emeritus of History, U.S.
Military Academy.
Hearing on ``The Consequences of Catch and
Release at the Border'' (February 15, 2024). Witnesses:
Ms. Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, Center
for Immigration Studies; Mr. Matt O'Brien, Director of
Investigations, Immigration Reform Law Institute; Mr.
Jason Houser, Former Chief of Staff, U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement.
Hearing on ``Accountable Assistance:
Reviewing Controls to Prevent Mismanagement of Foreign
Aid'' (March 21, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Jim Richardson,
Former Director, Office of Foreign Assistance, U.S.
Department of State; Mr. Max Primorac, Senior Research
Fellow, Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, The
Heritage Foundation; Mr. Charles Kenny, Senior Fellow,
Center for Global Development.
Hearing on ``How the Border Crisis Impacts
Public Safety'' (April 16, 2024). Witnesses: The
Honorable Ken Cuccinelli, Senior Fellow for Immigration
and Homeland Security, Center for Renewing America; Mr.
Bill Waybourn, Sheriff, Tarrant County, Texas; Mr. Mike
Chapman, Sheriff, Loudoun County, Virginia; Mr. David
Bier, Associate Director, Immigration Studies, Cato
Institute.
Hearing on ``Intruder Alert: Assessing the
CCP's Ongoing Infiltration of U.S. Military
Installations'' (May 16, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. John
Dixson, Director for Defense Intelligence, Office of
the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and
Security, U.S. Department of Defense; Ms. Jill Murphy,
Deputy Assistant Director--China Branch,
Counterintelligence Division, Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
Hearing on ``Addressing Oversight and Safety
Concerns in the Department of Defense's V-22 Osprey
Program'' (June 12, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Peter Belk,
Performing the Duties of the Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Readiness, U.S. Department of Defense; Vice
Admiral Carl Chebi, Commander, U.S. Naval Air Systems
Command, U.S. Department of Defense; Mr. Gary Kurtz,
Program Executive Officer, Air Anti-Submarine Warfare
and Special Missions Programs, U.S. Department of
Defense.
Hearing on ``Wasteful Spending and
Inefficiencies: Examining DoD Platform Performance and
Costs'' (July 24, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Moshe Schwartz,
Senior Fellow of Acquisition Policy, National Defense
Industrial Association; Ms. Mackenzie Eaglen, Senior
Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Mr. Bryan Clark,
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts
and Technology, Hudson Institute; Mr. Dylan Hedtler-
Gaudette, Director of Government Affairs, Project on
Government Oversight.
Hearing on ``The Border Crisis: The Cost of
Chaos'' (September 25, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Chris
Clem, Chief Patrol Agent (Yuma Sector--Retired 2022),
U.S. Border Patrol; Dr. Steven Camarota, Director of
Research, Center for Immigration Studies; Mr. Adam
Isacson, Director for Defense Oversight, Washington
Office on Latin America.
Joint hearing on ``Unidentified Anomalous
Phenomena: Exposing the Truth'' with Subcommittee on
Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government
Innovation (November 13, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Luis
Elizondo, Author, Former Department of Defense
Official; Dr. Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., Rear Admiral, U.S.
Navy (Ret.), Chief Executive Officer, Ocean STL
Consulting, LLC; Mr. Michael Gold, Former NASA
Associate Administrator of Space Policy & Partnerships,
Member of NASA UAP Independent Study Team; Mr. Michael
Shellenberger, Founder, Public.
D. Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory
Affairs
In the 118th Congress, the Subcommittee on Economic Growth,
Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs held 19 hearings and
received testimony from 60 witnesses. Those hearings include:
Hearing on ``Burning the Midnight Oil: Why
Depleting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is Not a
Solution to America's Energy Problem, Part I'' (March
8, 2023). Witnesses: Dr. Ilia Bouchouev, Ph.D.,
Managing Partner, Pentathlon Investments, LLC; Mr. Alex
Epstein, President, Center for Industrial Progress
(CIP); Mr. Demond Drummer, Institute on Race, Power,
and Political Economy, The New School.
Hearing on ``ATF's Assault on the Second
Amendment: When is Enough Enough?'' (March 23, 2023).
Witnesses: Ms. Amy Swearer, Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin
Meese III, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The
Heritage Foundation; Mr. Matthew Larosiere, Partner,
Zermay Larosiere; Mr. Alex Bosco, Founder and Inventor,
The Stabilizing Brace; Mr. Rob Wilcox, Federal Legal
Director, Everytown for Gun Safety.
Hearing on ``Fueling Unaffordability: How
the Biden Administration's Policies Catalyzed Global
Energy Scarcity and Compounded Inflation'' (March 29,
2023). Witnesses: Ms. Mandy Gunasekara, Director,
Center for Energy & Conservation, Independent Women's
Forum; Mr. Oliver McPherson-Smith, Director for Energy,
Trade, and Environmental Policy, American Consumer
Institute Center for Citizen Research; Dr. Mark Paul,
Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Economics, Edward J.
Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers
University.
Hearing on ``Spending on Empty: How the
Biden Administration's Unprecedented Spending Increased
Risk of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at the Department of
Energy'' (April 18, 2023). Witnesses: The Honorable
Teri L. Donaldson, Inspector General, Department of
Energy; Dr. Kathleen Hogan, Principal Deputy Under
Secretary and Acting Under Secretary for
Infrastructure, Department of Energy.
Hearing on ``Driving Bad Policy: Examining
EPA's Tailpipe Emissions Rules and the Realities of a
Rapid Electric Vehicle Transition'' (May 17, 2023).
Witnesses: Ms. Sarah Dunham (Invited), Director, Office
of Transportation and Air Quality, Environmental
Protection Agency; Mr. Joseph Goffman (Invited),
Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Air
and Radiation, Environmental Protection Agency; Mr.
Steve Bradbury, Distinguished Fellow, The Heritage
Foundation; Mr. Doug Kantor, General Counsel, National
Association of Convenience Stores; Mr. Josh Roe, Chief
Executive Officer, Kansas Corn Growers Association; Ms.
Shannon Baker-Branstetter, Senior Director, Domestic
Climate and Energy Policy, Center for American
Progress.
Hearing on ``Consumer Choice on the
Backburner: Examining the Biden Administration's
Regulatory Assault on Americans' Gas Stoves'' (May 24,
2023). Witnesses: Mr. Alejandro Moreno (Invited),
Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy; Dr.
Carolyn Snyder (Invited), Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Energy Efficiency, Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy; Mr.
Matthew Agen, Chief Regulatory Counsel, Energy,
American Gas Association; Mr. Ben Lieberman, Senior
Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute; Mr. Kenny
Stein, Vice President of Policy, Institute for Energy
Research; Mr. Andrew deLaski, Executive Director,
Appliance Standards Awareness Project.
Joint hearing on ``ESG Part II: The
Cascading Impacts of ESG Compliance'' with Subcommittee
on Health Care and Financial Services (June 6, 2023).
Witnesses: Ms. Mandy Gunasekara, Director, Center for
Energy & Conservation, Independent Women's Forum; The
Honorable Jason Isaac, Director, Life:Powered, Texas
Public Policy Foundation; Mr. Stephen Moore,
Distinguished Fellow in Economics, The Heritage
Foundation; Dr. Shivaram Rajgopal, Roy Bernard Kester
and T.W. Byrnes Professor of Accounting and Auditing,
Columbia Business School.
Hearing on ``Clearing the Air: Examining the
Environmental Protection Agency's Proposed Emissions
Standards'' (June 21, 2023). Witness: Mr. Joseph
Goffman, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator,
Office of Air and Radiation Environmental Protection
Agency.
Hearing on ``Cancelling Consumer Choice:
Examining the Biden Administration's Regulatory Assault
on Americans' Home Appliances'' (July 18, 2023).
Witness: The Honorable Geraldine Richmond, Under
Secretary for Science and Innovation, U.S. Department
of Energy.
Hearing on ``Bidenomics: A Perfect Storm of
Spending, Debt, and Inflation'' (September 19, 2023).
Witnesses: Mr. E.J. Antoni, Research Fellow, Grover M.
Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, The Heritage
Foundation; Professor Casey Mulligan, Professor in
Economics, University of Chicago; Ms. Carrie Sheffield,
Senior Policy Analyst, Independent Women's Forum; Mr.
Bobby Kogan, Senior Director, Federal Budget Policy,
Center for American Progress.
Joint hearing on ``Combating Ransomware
Attacks'' with Subcommittee Cybersecurity, Information
Technology, and Government Innovation (September 27,
2023). Witnesses: Dr. Lacey Gosch, Assistant
Superintendent of Technology, Judson Independent School
District; Dr. Stephen Leffler, President and Chief
Operating Officer, The University of Vermont Medical
Center; Mr. Grant Schneider, Senior Director of
Cybersecurity Services, Venable, LLP; Mr. Sam Rubin,
Vice President and Global Head of Operations, Unit 42,
Palo Alto Networks.
Hearing on ``The Power of Apprenticeships:
Faster, Better Paths to Prosperous Jobs and Less Waste
in Higher Education'' (October 25, 2023). Witnesses:
Dr. Paul Winfree, President and CEO, Economic Policy
Innovation Center; Mr. Tony Ewing, President, Advanced
Fixtures, Inc.; Dr. Casey K. Sacks, President,
BridgeValley Community and Technical College; Ms. Erin
Davis Valdez, Policy Director, Next Generation Texas,
Texas Public Policy Foundation; Ms. Apryle Gladney,
Associate Vice Chancellor for HR Recruitment & Employee
Relations Washington University in St. Louis.
Hearing on ``Digging Deeper: Ensuring Safety
and Security in the Critical Mineral Supply Chain''
(November 30, 2023). Witnesses: Dr. Steve Feldgus,
Ph.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals
Management, U.S. Department of the Interior; Ms. Isabel
Munilla, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Multilateral
Engagement, Climate and Market Development, Office of
International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy; Ms.
Halimah Najieb-Locke, Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Industrial Base Resilience, U.S. Department of Defense.
Hearing on ``The Next Generation: Empowering
American Nuclear Energy'' (January 18, 2024).
Witnesses: Dr. Kathryn Huff, Assistant Secretary,
Office of Nuclear Energy, U.S. Department of Energy;
Mr. Daniel Dorman, Executive Director for Operations,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Dr. David Ortiz,
Director, Office of Electric Reliability, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission.
Hearing on ``The Power Struggle: Examining
the Reliability and Security of America's Electrical
Grid'' (March 12, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. James P. Danly,
Partner, Energy Regulation, Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates; Mr. Travis Fisher,
Director of Energy and Environmental Policy Studies,
Cato Institute; Mr. Jonathon Monken, Principal,
Converge Strategies, LLC.
Hearing on ``Oversight of the Biden
Administration's Pause on Liquified Natural Gas
Exports'' (April 18, 2024). Witness: The Honorable Brad
Crabtree, Assistant Secretary, Office of Fossil Energy
and Carbon Management, U.S. Department of Energy.
Hearing on ``Drilling Down: Oversight of the
Challenges and Opportunities Facing U.S. Energy
Production'' (April 23, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Tim
Tarpley, President, Energy Workforce and Technology
Council; Mr. Ron Gusek, President, Liberty Energy; Mr.
Bill desRosiers, Manager of External Affairs, Coterra
Energy.
Hearing on ``Kitchen Table Economics: How
Failed Biden-Harris Policies Continue to Hurt
Consumers'' (September 25, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Paul
Winfree, Ph.D., President & CEO, Economic Policy
Innovation Center; Ms. Patrice Onwuka, Director, Center
for Economic Opportunity, Independent Women's Forum;
Mr. Chuck DeVore, Chief National Initiatives Officer,
Texas Public Policy Foundation; Mr. Brendan Duke,
Senior Director for Economic Policy, Center for
American Progress Action Fund.
Hearing on ``Exposing the Truth on LNG: How
the Administration Played Politics with America's
Energy Future'' (December 4, 2024). Witnesses: The
Honorable Brad Crabtree, Assistant Secretary, Office of
Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, U.S. Department of
Energy; Mr. John Podesta (Invited), Senior Advisor to
the President for International Climate Policy, The
White House.
E. Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and
Government Innovation
In the 118th Congress, the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity,
Information Technology, and Government Innovation held 19
hearings and received testimony from 61 witnesses. Those
hearings include:
Hearing on ``Advances in AI: Are We Ready
For a Tech Revolution?'' (March 8, 2023). Witnesses:
Dr. Scott Crowder, Vice President, IBM Quantum, CTO,
IBM Systems, Technical Strategy, and Transformation;
Dr. Aleksander Madry, Director, MIT Center for
Deployable Machine Learning, Cadence Design Systems
Professor of Computing Massachusetts Institute of
Technology; Dr. Eric Schmidt, Chair, Special
Competitive Studies Project; Ms. Merve Hickok, Chair
and Research Director, Center for AI and Digital
Policy.
Hearing on ``Unpacking the White House
National Cybersecurity Strategy'' (March 23, 2023).
Witness: Ms. Kemba Walden, Acting National Cyber
Director, Office of the National Cyber Director.
Hearing on ``Data Breach at the DC Health
Exchange'' (April 19, 2023). Witnesses: Ms. Mila
Kofman, Executive Director, District of Columbia Health
Benefit Exchange Authority; Ms. Catherine Szpindor,
Chief Administrative Officer, U.S. House of
Representatives.
Hearing on ``Risky Business: Costly Inaction
on Federal Legacy IT'' (May 10, 2023). Witnesses: Ms.
Suzette Kent, Chief Executive Officer, Kent Advisory
Services; Mr. Kevin Walsh, Director, Information
Technology and Cybersecurity, U.S. Government
Accountability Office; Mr. David Powner, Executive
Director, Center for Data-Driven Policy, The MITRE
Corporation.
Hearing on ``Using Cutting-Edge Technologies
to Keep America Safe'' (June 22, 2023). Witnesses: Dr.
Gavin Kenneally, Chief Executive Officer, Ghost
Robotics; Mr. Wahid Nawabi, Chairman, President, and
Chief Executive Officer, AeroVironment; Mr. Ryan
Rawding, Vice President of Business Development,
Pangiam; Dr. Benjamin Boudreaux, Policy Researcher and
Professor of Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate
School, RAND Corporation.
Hearing on ``Getting Nowhere: DoD's Failure
to Replace the Defense Travel System'' (July 26, 2023).
Witnesses: Ms. Elizabeth Field, Director, Defense
Capabilities and Management, U.S. Government
Accountability Office; Mr. Jeffrey Register, Director,
Defense Human Resources Activity; Office of the Under
Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness, U.S.
Department of Defense.
Hearing on ``How are Federal Agencies
Harnessing Artificial Intelligence?'' (September 14,
2023). Witnesses: Mr. Eric Hysen, Chief Information
Officer, Department of Homeland Security; Dr. Craig
Martell, Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence
Officer, Department of Defense; Dr. Arati Prabhakar,
Director, White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy.
Joint hearing on ``Combating Ransomware
Attacks'' with Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy
Policy, and Regulatory Affairs (September 27, 2023).
Witnesses: Dr. Lacey Gosch; Assistant Superintendent of
Technology, Judson Independent School District; Dr.
Stephen Leffler, President and Chief Operating Officer,
The University of Vermont Medical Center; Mr. Grant
Schneider, Senior Director of Cybersecurity Services,
Venable, LLP; Mr. Sam Rubin, Vice President and Global
Head of Operations, Unit 42, Palo Alto Networks.
Hearing on ``Advances in Deepfake
Technology'' (November 8, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. David
Doermann, Interim Chair, Computer Sciences and
Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo;
Mr. Sam Gregory, Executive Director, WITNESS; Mr.
Mounir Ibrahim, Vice President of Public Affairs and
Impact, Truepic; Mr. Spencer Overton, Professor of Law,
George Washington University School of Law.
Hearing on ``Safeguarding the Federal
Software Supply Chain'' (November 29, 2023). Witnesses:
Mr. Roger Waldron, President, The Coalition for
Government Procurement; Mr. Jamil Jaffer, Founder and
Executive Director, National Security Institute,
Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University; Dr.
James Lewis, Senior Vice President, Director, Strategic
Technologies Program, Center for Strategic &
International Studies; Ms. Jennifer Bisceglie, Founder
& CEO, Interos, Inc.
Hearing on ``White House Policy on AI''
(December 6, 2023). Witnesses: Ms. Kate Goodloe,
Managing Director, BSA | The Software Alliance; Mr.
Samuel Hammond, Senior Economist, Foundation for
American Innovation; Dr. Daniel Ho, William Benjamin
Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law, Senior
Fellow, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI,
Stanford Law School; Mr. Ross Nodurft, Executive
Director, Alliance for Digital Innovation; Dr. Rumman
Chowdhury, Responsible AI Fellow, Berkman Klein Center
for Internet & Society, Harvard University.
Hearing on ``Toward an AI-Ready Workforce''
(January 17, 2024). Witnesses: Dr. William Scherlis,
Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
University; Ms. Timi Hadra, Client Partner and Senior
Executive for West Virginia, IBM; Dr. Costis Toregas,
Director, Cyber Security and Privacy Research
Institute, The George Washington University, Fellow,
National Academy of Public Administration.
Hearing on ``Made in China: Is GSA Complying
with Purchasing Restrictions?'' (February 29, 2024).
Witnesses: Mr. David Shive, Chief Information Officer,
U.S. General Services Administration; Mr. Robert C.
Erickson, Jr., Deputy Inspector General, Office of
Inspector General, U.S. General Services
Administration.
Hearing on ``Addressing Real Harm Done by
Deepfakes'' (March 12, 2024). Witnesses: Mrs. Dorota
Mani, Parent of Westfield (NJ) High School Student; Mr.
Carl Szabo, Vice President & General Counsel,
NetChoice; Mr. John Shehan, Senior Vice President,
Exploited Children Division & International Engagement,
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
(NCMEC); Dr. Ari Ezra Waldman, Professor of Law,
University of California, Irvine School of Law.
Hearing on ``White House Overreach on AI''
(March 21, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Adam Thierer, Resident
Senior Fellow, Technology & Innovation, R Street
Institute; Ms. Jennifer Huddleston, Technology Policy
Research Fellow, Cato Institute; Mr. Neil Chilson, Head
of AI Policy, The Abundance Institute; Dr. Nicol Turner
Lee, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, Director,
Center for Technology Innovation, Brookings Institute.
Hearing on ``Red Alert: Countering the
Cyberthreat from China'' (May 15, 2024). Witnesses: Mr.
Charles Carmakal, Chief Technology Officer, Mandiant;
The Honorable William Evanina, Chief Executive Officer,
The Evanina Group, LLC, Former Director of the National
Counterintelligence and Security Center; Mr. Rob Joyce,
Owner, Joyce Cyber, LLC, Former Special Assistant to
the President and White House Cyber Security
Coordinator; Mr. Steven M. Kelly, Chief Trust Officer,
Institute for Security and Technology.
Hearing on ``Cutting Competition in
Contracting: The Administration's Pricey Project Labor
Agreement Mandate'' (June 27, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Ben
Brubeck, Vice President of Regulatory, Labor and State
Affairs, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.; Mr.
Aric Dreher, Vice President and General Manager,
Cianbro; Mr. Glenn P. Ledet Jr., P.E., Executive
Director, Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration
Authority; Mr. Jacob Snyder, Chief Operating Officer,
Enerfab.
Hearing on ``Enhancing Cybersecurity by
Eliminating Inconsistent Regulations'' (July 25, 2024).
Witnesses: Mr. John Miller, Senior Vice President of
Policy & General Counsel, Information Technology
Industry Council; Ms. Maggie O'Connell, Director of
Security, Reliability and Resilience, Interstate
Natural Gas Association of America; Mr. Patrick Warren,
Vice President, Regulatory Technology, Bank Policy
Institute; Dr. Charles Clancy, Chief Technology
Officer, MITRE.
Joint hearing on ``Unidentified Anomalous
Phenomena: Exposing the Truth'' with Subcommittee on
National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs
(November 13, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Luis Elizondo,
Author, Former Department of Defense Official; Dr. Tim
Gallaudet, Ph.D., Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Chief
Executive Officer, Ocean STL Consulting, LLC; Mr.
Michael Gold, Former NASA Associate Administrator of
Space Policy & Partnerships, Member of NASA UAP
Independent Study Team; Mr. Michael Shellenberger,
Founder, Public.
F. Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services
In the 118th Congress, the Subcommittee on Health Care and
Financial Services held 13 hearings and received testimony from
36 witnesses. Those hearings include:
Hearing on ``Inflation: A Preventable
Crisis'' (March 9, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. Douglas Holtz-
Eakin, President, American Action Forum; Dr. John
Taylor, Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics,
Stanford University; Mr. Mike Konczal, Director,
Macroeconomic Analysis, The Roosevelt Institute.
Hearing on ``FDA Oversight Part I: The
Infant Formula Shortage'' (March 28, 2023). Witnesses:
Mr. Frank Yiannas, M.P.H., Former Deputy Commissioner,
Office of Food Policy & Response, U.S. Food & Drug
Administration; Dr. Peter Lurie, M.D., M.P.H.,
President & Executive Director, Center for Science in
the Public Interest.
Hearing on ``China in Our Backyard: How
Chinese Money Laundering Organizations Enrich the
Cartels'' (April 26, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. Anthony
Ruggiero, Senior Director and Senior Fellow, Foundation
for Defense of Democracies, Former Deputy Assistant to
the President for National Security Affairs, Senior
Director for Counterproliferation and Biodefense,
National Security Council; Mr. Christopher Urben,
Former Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Special
Operations Division, U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration; Ms. Channing Mavrellis, Illicit Trade
Director, Global Financial Integrity.
Hearing on ``FDA Oversight Part II:
Responsibility for the Infant Formula Shortage'' (May
11, 2023). Witness: Dr. Susan T. Mayne, Director,
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food
and Drug Administration.
Hearing on ``A Failure of Supervision: Bank
Failures and The San Francisco Federal Reserve'' (May
24, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. Michael E. Clements,
Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment,
U.S. Government Accountability Office; Mr. Jeremy
Newell, Senior Fellow, Bank Policy Institute, Founder &
Principal, Newell Law Office, PLLC; Ms. Kathryn Judge,
Harvey J. Goldschmid Professor of Law, Columbia Law
School.
Joint hearing on ``ESG Part II: The
Cascading Impacts of ESG Compliance'' with Subcommittee
on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory
Affairs (June 6, 2023). Witnesses: Ms. Mandy
Gunasekara, Director, Center for Energy & Conservation,
Independent Women's Forum; The Honorable Jason Isaac,
Director, Life:Powered, Texas Public Policy Foundation;
Mr. Stephen Moore, Distinguished Fellow in Economics,
The Heritage Foundation; Dr. Shivaram Rajgopal, Roy
Bernard Kester and T.W. Byrnes Professor of Accounting
and Auditing Columbia Business School.
Hearing on ``Why Expanding Medicaid to DACA
Recipients Will Exacerbate the Border Crisis'' (July
18, 2023). Witness: Dr. Ellen Montz, Deputy
Administrator and Director, Center for Consumer
Information and Insurance Oversight, Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Hearing on ``Hemp in the Modern World: The
Yearslong Wait for FDA Action'' (July 27, 2023).
Witnesses: Mr. Richard A. Badaracco, President-Elect,
Kentucky Narcotic Officers Association, Assistant
Special Agent in Charge (Ret.), U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration; Dr. Rayetta G. Henderson, Senior
Managing Scientist, ToxStrategies, LLC; Mr. Jonathan S.
Miller, General Counsel, U.S. Hemp Roundtable; Dr.
Gillian Schauer, Executive Director, Cannabis
Regulators Association.
Hearing on ``The Inflation Reduction Act: A
Year in Review'' (September 14, 2023). Witnesses: Dr.
Preston Brashers, Ph.D., Senior Policy Analyst, Tax
Policy, Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal
Budget, The Heritage Foundation; Mr. Joel White,
President, Council for Affordable Health Coverage; Mr.
Trevor Higgins, Senior Vice President, Energy and
Environment, Center for American Progress.
Joint hearing on ``Oversight of the Internal
Revenue Service'' with Subcommittee on Government
Operations and the Federal Workforce (October 24,
2023). Witnesses: The Honorable Daniel Werfel,
Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service; Ms. Jessica
Lucas-Judy, Director, Strategic Issues, Government
Accountability Office.
Hearing on ``The Importance of Protecting
Female Athletics and Title IX'' (December 5, 2023).
Witnesses: Ms. Riley Gaines, Ambassador, Independent
Women's Forum, Former University of Kentucky Collegiate
Athlete; Ms. Sarah Parshall Perry, Senior Legal Fellow,
Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies,
The Heritage Foundation; Ms. Kim Russell, Ambassador,
Independent Women's Forum, Former Head of Women's
Lacrosse Coach, Oberlin College; Ms. Fatima Goss
Graves, President and CEO, National Women's Law Center.
Hearing on ``America's Report Card:
Oversight of K-12 Public Education'' (January 30,
2024). Witnesses: Ms. Virginia Gentles, Director,
Education Freedom Center, Independent Women's Forum;
Dr. Nat Malkus, Ph.D., Senior Fellow and Deputy
Director, Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise
Institute; Ms. Denise Forte, President and CEO, The
Education Trust.
Hearing on ``Health of the Commercial Real
Estate Markets and Removing Regulatory Hurdles to
Ensure Continued Strength'' (April 30, 2024).
Witnesses: Mr. Jeffrey DeBoer, President and CEO, The
Real Estate Roundtable; Mr. Jeffrey Weidell, CEO,
Northmarq; Mr. Doug Turner, Senior Fellow for Housing
Policy, Center for American Progress.
G. Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce
In the 118th Congress, the Subcommittee on Government
Operations and the Federal Workforce held 15 hearings and
received testimony from 48 witnesses. Those hearings include:
Hearing on ``Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Go
Viral: Inspectors General on Curing the Disease''
(March 9, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. Richard Delmar, Acting
Inspector General, U.S. Department of the Treasury; Mr.
Sheldon Shoemaker, Deputy Inspector General, U.S. Small
Business Administration; Mr. Larry D. Turner, Inspector
General, U.S. Department of Labor.
Hearing on ``Login.gov Doesn't Meet the
Standard'' (March 29, 2023). Witnesses: Ms. Carol
Fortine Ochoa, Inspector General, General Services
Administration; Mr. Sonny Hashmi, Commissioner, Federal
Acquisition Service, General Services Administration;
Mr. Jim St. Pierre, Acting Director, Information
Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards
and Technology.
Hearing on ``Tracking the Postal Service: An
Update on the Delivering for America Plan'' (May 17,
2023). Witness: Mr. Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General,
U.S. Postal Service.
Hearing on ``Please Leave Your Message at
the Tone: Addressing Post-Pandemic Backlogs and Delays
at Federal Agencies'' (June 21, 2023). Witnesses: The
Honorable Rena Bitter, Assistant Secretary of State for
Consular Affairs, United States Department of State;
Mr. Scott Levins, Director, National Personnel Records
Center; Mr. Chad M. Poist, Deputy Commissioner for
Budget, Finance, and Management, Social Security
Administration.
Joint hearing on ``Beyond the Budget:
Addressing Financial Accountability in the Department
of Defense'' with Subcommittee on National Security,
the Border, and Foreign Affairs (July 13, 2023).
Witnesses: Mr. Asif Khan, Director, Financial
Management and Assurance, U.S. Government
Accountability Office; Mr. Brett Mansfield, Deputy
Inspector General for Audits, Department of Defense,
Office of Inspector General; Mr. John Tenaglia,
Principal Director, Defense Pricing and Contracting,
U.S. Department of Defense.
Field hearing on ``Weathering the Storm:
Oversight of the Federal Response and Recovery Efforts
in Southwestern Florida following Hurricane Ian''
(August 10, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. Thomas McCool,
Federal Coordinating Officer for Hurricane Ian, Federal
Emergency Management Agency; Ms. Marion McFadden,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Community
Planning and Development, Department of Housing and
Urban Development; Mr. Francisco Sanchez, Associate
Administrator, Office of Disaster Recovery &
Resilience, Small Business Administration; Mr. Kevin B.
Anderson, Mayor, Fort Myers, Florida; Mr. Chauncey
Goss, Chairman, South Florida Water Management District
Governing Board; Mr. Brian Hamman, Chairman and
District 4 Commissioner, Lee County, Florida.
Hearing on ``Oversight of Federal Agencies'
Post-Pandemic Telework Policies'' (September 14, 2023).
Witnesses: Mr. Randolph ``Tex'' Alles, Deputy Under
Secretary for Management & Senior Official Performing
the Duties of the Under Secretary for Management,
Department of Homeland Security; Mr. Dan Dorman,
Executive Director for Operations, Nuclear Regulatory
Commission; Mr. Robert Gibbs, Associate Administrator
for the Mission Support Directorate, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration; Dr. Karen
Marrongelle, Chief Operating Officer, National Science
Foundation.
Joint hearing on ``Oversight of the Internal
Revenue Service'' with Subcommittee on Health Care and
Financial Services (October 24, 2023). Witnesses: The
Honorable Daniel Werfel, Commissioner, Internal Revenue
Service; Ms. Jessica Lucas-Judy, Director, Strategic
Issues, Government Accountability Office.
Hearing on ``Oversight of Federal Agencies'
Post-Pandemic Telework Policies: Part II'' (November
29, 2023). Witnesses: Mr. Bob Leavitt, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Human Resources and Chief Human Capital
Officer, Department of Health and Human Services; Mr.
Oren ``Hank'' McKnelly, Executive Counselor, Social
Security Administration; Mr. Jeremy Pelter, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Administration, Department of
Commerce; Ms. Kathryn Stevens, Acting Chief Human
Capital Officer, U.S. Agency for International
Development.
Hearing on ``What We Have Here . . . is a
Failure to Collaborate: Review of GAO's Annual
Duplication Report'' (June 13, 2024). Witness: Mr. Gene
L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States,
U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Hearing on ``Security at Stake: An
Examination of DOD's Struggling Background Check
System'' (June 26, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. David Cattler,
Director, Defense Counterintelligence and Security
Agency, U.S. Department of Defense; Ms. Alissa Czyz,
Director, Defense Capabilities Management, U.S.
Government Accountability Office.
Hearing on ``Oversight of the Council of the
Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency'' (July
23, 2024). Witness: The Honorable Mark Greenblatt,
Chair, Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity
and Efficiency, Inspector General, U.S. Department of
the Interior.
Hearing on ``Assessing the Federal
Government's Response to the 2023 Maui Wildfires''
(September 4, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Bob Fenton,
Regional Administrator (Region 9), Federal Emergency
Management Agency; Colonel Eric Swenson, Commander, St.
Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Mr.
Francisco Sanchez, Jr., Associate Administrator, Office
of Disaster Recovery & Resilience, U.S. Small Business
Administration; Ms. Cheree Peterson, Deputy Regional
Administrator (Region 9), U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency; Major General Kenneth Hara, Adjutant General,
State of Hawaii; Mr. Richard Bissen, Mayor, Maui
County, Hawaii; Ms. Lauren Nahme, Senior Vice
President, Maui Recovery Effort, Hawaii Community
Foundation; Mr. Sne Patel, President, LahainaTown
Action Committee; Mr. Ke'eaumoku Kapu, President & CEO,
Na'Aikane o Maui Inc.
Hearing on ``Where Do We Go From Here?
Examining a Path Forward to Assess Agencies' Efforts to
Prevent Improper Payments and Fraud'' (September 10,
2024). Witnesses: Ms. Orice Williams Brown, Chief
Operating Officer, U.S. Government Accountability
Office; The Honorable Michael E. Horowitz, Chair,
Pandemic Response Accountability Committee; Ms. Linda
Miller, Co-Founder and Chair, Program Integrity
Alliance.
Hearing on ``Tracking Progress: Examining
the Department of Defense's Financial Management
Practices'' (September 24, 2024). Witnesses: Mr. Tom
Steffens, Senior Assistant to the Comptroller, U.S.
Department of Defense; Mr. Brett Mansfield, Deputy
Inspector General for Audit, U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Inspector General; Mr. Asif Khan,
Director, Financial Management Assurance, U.S.
Government Accountability Office.
III. BUSINESS MEETINGS
January 31, 2023--Business Meeting
Organizational meeting to appoint the Chairs and Ranking
Members of the five subcommittees and adopt the Committee
Rules.
February 28, 2023--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider H.R. 140, the Protecting
Speech from Government Interference Act; and H.R. 1162, the
Accountability for Government Censorship Act, which were
ordered favorably reported.
March 29, 2023--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider H.J. Res. 42, Disapproving the
action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the
Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of
2022, which was ordered favorably reported.
July 12, 2023--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider H.R. 4435 Unauthorized
Spending Accountability (USA) Act; H.R. 1209, the Fair and Open
Competition Act (FOCA); H.R. 192, To prohibit individuals who
are not citizens of the United States from voting in elections
in the District of Columbia; H.R. 3230, the Unfunded Mandates
Accountability and Transparency Act (UMATA); H.R. 3358, the
Mission Not Emissions Act; H.R. 890, the Guidance Out Of
Darkness (GOOD) Act; H.R. 4502, Modernizing the Acquisition of
Cybersecurity Experts Act; H.R. 4503, AI Training Expansion
Act; H.R. 1695, Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight
of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act; and several bills to designate
USPS facilities, which were ordered favorably reported.
September 20, 2023--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider H.R. 4984, the D.C. Robert F.
Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act; H.R. 5040,
the Cannabis Users Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act; H.R.
5527, the Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act; H.R.
4428, the Guidance Clarity Act; H.R. 5528, the Safe and Smart
Federal Purchasing Act; and several bills to designate USPS
facilities, which were ordered favorably reported.
January 10, 2024--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider the Report to hold Hunter
Biden in Contempt of Congress.
February 6, 2024--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider H.R. 6283, the Delinking
Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act; H.R. 7219, the
Information Quality Assurance Act of 2024; H.R. 262, the All
Economic Regulations are Transparent (ALERT) Act of 2023; H.R.
5798, the Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act of
2023; H.R. 7184, the Congressional Budget Office Data Access
Act; H.R. 6972, the Securing Chain of Command Continuity Act;
H.R. 5658, the Vote by Mail Tracking Act; H.R. 5887, the
Government Service Delivery Improvement Act; and several bills
to designate USPS facilities, which were ordered favorably
reported.
March 7, 2024--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider H.R. 4552, the Federal
Information Security Modernization Act of 2023; H.R. 7523, the
Governmentwide Executive Councils Reform Act; H.R. 7532, the
Federal AI Governance and Transparency Act; H.R. 7528, the
Comment Integrity and Management Act of 2024; H.R. 7533, the
Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review Act; H.R. 7525, the
Special District Grant Accessibility Act; H.R. 7530, the D.C.
Criminal Reform to Immediately Make Everyone Safer (D.C.
CRIMES) Act; H.R. 7526, the D.C. Consumer Vehicle Choice
Protection Act; H.R. 7527, the Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting
Act; H.R. 5301, the Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2024; and
several bills to designate USPS facilities, which were ordered
favorably reported.
April 10, 2024--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider H.R. 7109, the Equal
Representation Act; H.R. 7868, the FEHB Protection Act; H.R.
7524, the GSA Technology Accountability Act; H.R. 7887, the
Allowing Contractors to Choose Employees for Select Skills
(ACCESS) Act; H.R. 7867, the Renewing Efficiency in Government
by Budgeting Act; H.R. 272, the Astronaut Safe Temporary Ride
Options (ASTRO) Act; H.R. 3019, the Federal Prison Oversight
Act; H.R. 7869, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer
CBPO Retirement Technical Corrections Act; and several bills to
designate USPS facilities, which were ordered favorably
reported.
May 15, 2024--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider H.R. 8333, the BIOSECURE Act;
H.R. 5255, the Federal Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction
Act of 2023; H.R. 8334, the Grant Integrity and Border Security
Act; H.R. 8276, the Reuse Excess Property Act; H.R. 8335, the
Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act; H.R. 6462, the Resilient
Employment and Authorization Determination to Increase the
National Employment of Serving Spouses (READINESS) Act; and
several bills to designate USPS facilities, which were ordered
favorably reported.
May 16, 2024--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider the Report to hold Merrick
Garland in Contempt of Congress.
September 18, 2024--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider H.R. 3642, the Executive
Branch Accountability and Transparency Act of 2023; H.R. 9598,
the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act
of 2024; H.R. 9592, the Federal Register Modernization Act;
H.R. 5300, the GAO Inspector General Parity Act; H.R. 9597, the
Federal Acquisition Security Council Improvement Act of 2024;
H.R. 9595, the Federal Improvement in Technology (FIT)
Procurement Act; H.R. 9566, the Source Code Harmonization And
Reuse in Information Technology (SHARE IT) Act; H.R. 9596, the
Value Over Cost Act; H.R. 5536, the Grant Transparency Act of
2023; H.R. 9593, the Manager Attitudes and Notions According to
Government Employee Responses (MANAGER) Act; H.R. 8784, the
Full Responsibility and Expedited Enforcement (FREE) Act; H.R.
9594, the Protecting Taxpayers Wallet Act; H.R. 825, the
Banning Operations and Leases with the Illegitimate Venezuelan
Authoritarian Regime (BOLIVAR) Act; and several bills to
designate USPS facilities, which were ordered favorably
reported.
November 20, 2024--Business Meeting
Business meeting to consider H.R. 10133, the Timely Stock
Disclosure Act; H.R. 10132, the Federal Agency Performance Act;
H.R. 10155, the Financial Management Risk Reduction Act; H.R.
10062, the Freedom to Petition the Government Act; H.R. 8690,
the Stop Secret Spending Act; H.R. 9040, the Taxpayer Exposure
Risk Reduction Act; H.R. 10151, the Modernizing Data Practices
to Improve Government Act; H.R. 8706, the Dismantle DEI Act;
H.R. 8753, To direct the United States Postal Service to
designate single, unique ZIP Codes for certain communities, and
for other purposes; and several bills to designate USPS
facilities, which were ordered favorably reported.
December 4, 2024--Business Meeting
Business meeting to report the Report, ``After Action
Review of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Lessons Learned and a Path
Forward.''
IV. MEMBER BRIEFINGS
September 21, 2023
Full Committee Member Briefing on NASA's Independent Study
Report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAPs)
December 6, 2023
Full Committee Member Discussion with DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser
and DC Police Chief, Pamela Smith regarding crime in DC
January 11, 2024
Health Care and Financial Services Subcommittee Classified
Member Briefing on terrorism financing
January 12, 2024
Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign
Affairs Classified Member Briefing on UAPs
February 7, 2024
Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign
Affairs Classified Member Briefing on AUKUS
March 28, 2024
Full Committee Congressional Forum on ``A Burden to Business:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers'' Assessment of Administrative
Fees''
May 7, 2024
Full Committee briefing on ``The Origins and Implications of
Rising Antisemitism in Higher Education''
July 10, 2024
Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign
Affairs Classified Member Briefing on AUKUS
August 1, 2024
Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign
Affairs Virtual Member Briefing on DoD Osprey
September 11, 2024
Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign
Affairs Member Briefing on the U.S. State Department's
Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) Program
December 6, 2024
Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign
Affairs Classified Member Briefing on the Department of
Defense's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO)
V. QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD
The Committee worked diligently on behalf of its Members to
collect written responses to Questions For the Record (QFRs)
submitted to the witnesses following hearings before the
Committee. During the 118th Congress, the Committee collected
over 1,050 responses to full committee hearing QFRs from 18
federal agencies and numerous outside organizations.
Additionally, the Committee collected over 1,130 responses
to subcommittee hearing QFRs from over 25 federal agencies and
numerous outside organizations.
VI. LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
A. Business Meetings (Legislation)
Organizational meeting to appoint the Chairs and Ranking
Members of the five subcommittees and adopt the Committee Rules
(January 31, 2023).
Business meeting to consider H.R. 140, the Protecting
Speech from Government Interference Act; and H.R. 1162, the
Accountability for Government Censorship Act, which were
ordered favorably reported (February 28, 2023).
Business meeting to consider H.J. Res. 42, Disapproving the
action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the
Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of
2022, which was ordered favorably reported (March 29, 2023).
Business meeting to consider H.R. 4435 Unauthorized
Spending Accountability (USA) Act; H.R. 1209, the Fair and Open
Competition Act (FOCA); H.R. 192, To prohibit individuals who
are not citizens of the United States from voting in elections
in the District of Columbia; H.R. 3230, the Unfunded Mandates
Accountability and Transparency Act (UMATA); H.R. 3358, the
Mission Not Emissions Act; H.R. 890, the Guidance Out Of
Darkness (GOOD) Act; H.R. 4502, Modernizing the Acquisition of
Cybersecurity Experts Act; H.R. 4503, AI Training Expansion
Act; H.R. 1695, Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight
of Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act; and several bills to designate
USPS facilities, which were ordered favorably reported (July
12, 2023).
Business meeting to consider H.R. 4984, the D.C. Robert F.
Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act; H.R. 5040,
the Cannabis Users' Restoration of Eligibility (CURE) Act; H.R.
5527, the Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act; H.R.
4428, the Guidance Clarity Act; H.R. 5528, the Safe and Smart
Federal Purchasing Act; and several bills to designate USPS
facilities, which were ordered favorably reported (September
20, 2023).
Business meeting to consider the Report to hold Hunter
Biden in Contempt of Congress (January 10, 2024).
Business meeting to consider H.R. 6283, the Delinking
Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act; H.R. 7219, the
Information Quality Assurance Act of 2024; H.R. 262, the All
Economic Regulations are Transparent (ALERT) Act of 2023; H.R.
5798, the Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act of
2023; H.R. 7184, the Congressional Budget Office Data Access
Act; H.R. 6972, the Securing Chain of Command Continuity Act;
H.R. 5658, the Vote by Mail Tracking Act; H.R. 5887, the
Government Service Delivery Improvement Act; and several bills
to designate USPS facilities, which were ordered favorably
reported (February 6, 2024).
Business meeting to consider H.R. 4552, the Federal
Information Security Modernization Act of 2023; H.R. 7523, the
Governmentwide Executive Councils Reform Act; H.R. 7532, the
Federal AI Governance and Transparency Act; H.R. 7528, the
Comment Integrity and Management Act of 2024; H.R. 7533, the
Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review Act; H.R. 7525, the
Special District Grant Accessibility Act; H.R. 7530, the D.C.
Criminal Reform to Immediately Make Everyone Safer (D.C.
CRIMES) Act; H.R. 7526, the D.C. Consumer Vehicle Choice
Protection Act; H.R. 7527, the Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting
Act; H.R. 5301, the Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2024; and
several bills to designate USPS facilities, which were ordered
favorably reported (March 7, 2024).
Business meeting to consider H.R. 7109, the Equal
Representation Act; H.R. 7868, the FEHB Protection Act; H.R.
7524, the GSA Technology Accountability Act; H.R. 7887, the
Allowing Contractors to Choose Employees for Select Skills
(ACCESS) Act; H.R. 7867, the Renewing Efficiency in Government
by Budgeting Act; H.R. 272, the Astronaut Safe Temporary Ride
Options (ASTRO) Act; H.R. 3019, the Federal Prison Oversight
Act; H.R. 7869, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer
CBPO Retirement Technical Corrections Act; and several bills to
designate USPS facilities, which were ordered favorably
reported (April 10, 2024).
Business meeting to consider H.R. 8333, the BIOSECURE Act;
H.R. 5255, the Federal Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction
Act of 2023; H.R. 8334, the Grant Integrity and Border Security
Act; H.R. 8276, the Reuse Excess Property Act; H.R. 8335, the
Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act; H.R. 6462, the Resilient
Employment and Authorization Determination to Increase the
National Employment of Serving Spouses (READINESS) Act; and
several bills to designate USPS facilities, which were ordered
favorably reported (May 15, 2024).
Business meeting to consider the Report to hold Merrick
Garland in Contempt of Congress (May 16, 2024).
Business meeting to consider H.R. 3642, the Executive
Branch Accountability and Transparency Act of 2023; H.R. 9598,
the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act
of 2024; H.R. 9592, the Federal Register Modernization Act;
H.R. 5300, the GAO Inspector General Parity Act; H.R. 9597, the
Federal Acquisition Security Council Improvement Act of 2024;
H.R. 9595, the Federal Improvement in Technology (FIT)
Procurement Act; H.R. 9566, the Source Code Harmonization And
Reuse in Information Technology (SHARE IT) Act; H.R. 9596, the
Value Over Cost Act; H.R. 5536, the Grant Transparency Act of
2023; H.R. 9593, the Manager Attitudes and Notions According to
Government Employee Responses (MANAGER) Act; H.R. 8784, the
Full Responsibility and Expedited Enforcement (FREE) Act; H.R.
9594, the Protecting Taxpayers Wallet Act; H.R. 825, the
Banning Operations and Leases with the Illegitimate Venezuelan
Authoritarian Regime (BOLIVAR) Act; and several bills to
designate USPS facilities, which were ordered favorably
reported (September 18, 2024).
Business meeting to consider H.R. 10133, the Timely Stock
Disclosure Act; H.R. 10132, the Federal Agency Performance Act;
H.R. 10155, the Financial Management Risk Reduction Act; H.R.
10062, the Freedom to Petition the Government Act; H.R. 8690,
the Stop Secret Spending Act; H.R. 9040, the Taxpayer Exposure
Risk Reduction Act; H.R. 10151, the Modernizing Data Practices
to Improve Government Act; H.R. 8706, the Dismantle DEI Act;
H.R. 8753, To direct the United States Postal Service to
designate single, unique ZIP Codes for certain communities, and
for other purposes; and several bills to designate USPS
facilities, which were ordered favorably reported (November 20,
2024).
Business meeting to report the Report ``After Action Review
of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Lessons Learned and a Path
Forward.'' (December 4, 2024).
B. Legislation Enacted Into Law
H.J. Res. 26, Disapproving the action of the District of
Columbia Council in approving the Comprehensive Policing and
Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022. Introduced on February 2,
2023, by Rep. Andrew S. Clyde. Senate companion (S.J. Res. 12)
introduced on February 9, 2023, by Sen. Bill Hagerty. This
joint resolution nullifies the Revised Criminal Code Act of
2022, enacted by the council of the District of Columbia (DC).
The legislation also makes a variety of changes to DC criminal
laws, including by providing statutory definitions for various
elements of criminal offenses, modifying sentencing guidelines
and penalties, and expanding the right to a jury trial for
certain misdemeanor crimes.
History: Introduced on February 2, 2023; House passed February 9, 2023;
Senate passed on March 8, 2023; President signed H.J. Res. 26
into law on March 20, 2023 (P.L. 118-1).
H.R. 3019, Federal Prison Oversight Act. Introduced on
April 28, 2023, by Rep. Lucy McBath. Senate companion (S. 1401)
introduced on May 2, 2023, by Sen. Jon Ossoff. This bill amends
the Inspector General Act of 1978's special provisions for the
Department of Justice (DOJ) under 5 USC 413 with a new
inspections regime for the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
Specifically, the DOJ's Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
would be required to conduct risk-based assessments of BOP
correctional facilities, including requirements to visit
facilities with higher risk scores more frequently to evaluate
conditions for staff and inmates. After every inspection, the
OIG will release a public report and BOP must respond within 60
days. The bill also creates an ombudsman within DOJ tasked with
handling complaints from incarcerated individuals, friends and
family of incarcerated individuals, staff, or others regarding
safety and health issues. The bill provides both the OIG and
Ombudsman access to BOP facilities and relevant documents and
specifies that all communication with the OIG and Ombudsman is
confidential. These activities will be funded with between
0.2%-0.5% of BOP's existing annual appropriations.
History: Introduced on April 28, 2023; Committee passed April 10, 2024;
House passed May 21, 2024; Senate passed July 10, 2024;
President signed H.R. 3019 into law on July 25, 2024 (P.L. 118-
71).
H.R. 4984, D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus
Revitalization Act. Introduced on July 27, 2023, by Rep. James
Comer. Transfers administrative jurisdiction over the RFK
Stadium site from the Department of the Interior (DOI) to the
General Services Administration (GSA). Requires GSA to lease
the site to D.C. for 99 years. Permits D.C. to use the site for
a stadium, commercial and residential development, or other
public purposes. Designates at least 30 percent of the site as
parks, recreation, and open space. Requires any commercial or
residential development to: (1) not adversely impact any lands
under National Park Service jurisdiction; (2) improve access to
the Anacostia River; (3) provide necessary parking to support
residential and commercial development; (4) provide adequate
safety and security measures; and (5) reduce the impact of
noise and traffic on surrounding areas. Allows the lease to be
terminated if the terms of the lease have not been complied
with. Prohibits Members of Congress, D.C. government officials,
or federal government officials from benefitting from the
development.
History: Introduced on July 27, 2023; Committee passed September 20,
2023; House passed February 28, 2024; Senate passed December
21, 2024; President signed H.R. 4984 into law on December ___,
2024 (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of
printing.
H.R. 5218, Federal Data Center Enhancement Act of 2023.
Introduced on August 15, 2023, by Rep. Joe Neguse. Senate
companion (S. 933) introduced on March 22, 2024, by Sen. Jacky
Rosen. The bill requires the Federal CIO to establish minimum
requirements for the availability and use of new data centers
and set standards to mitigate against risks (power failures,
natural disasters). GSA would provide guidance for developing
and incorporating requirements into the operations of existing
data centers.
History: Introduced on August 15, 2023; President signed into law as
title LIII (Federal Data and Information Security.) of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 on
December 22, 2023 (P.L. 118-31).
H.R. 5301, the Eliminate Useless Reports Act of 2024.
Introduced on August 29, 2023, by Rep. Robert Garcia. The bill
requires federal agencies to list within their annual budget
justification materials any recurring reports, including
governmentwide and interagency reports, they identify as
outdated or duplicative and to recommend whether to sunset,
modify, consolidate, or reduce the frequency of such reports.
History: Introduced on August 29, 2023; Committee passed March 7, 2024;
House passed November 12, 2024; Senate passed December 11,
2024; President signed H.R. 5301 into law on December 23, 2024
(P.L. 118-172).
H.R. 5536, Grant Transparency Act of 2023. Introduced on
September 18, 2023, by Rep. Russell Fry. Senate companion (S.
2260) introduced on July 12, 2023, by Sen. John Cornyn. This
bill would require federal agencies to disclose their selection
methods for awarding competitive grants to grant applicants.
The agencies would be directed to list their rating systems,
evaluation and selection criteria, weighted-scoring methods,
and other quantitative or qualitative approaches used to assess
grant applications.
History: Introduced on September 18, 2023; Committee passed September
18, 2024; House passed November 18, 2024; Senate passed
December 3, 2024; President signed H.R. 5536 into law on
December 11, 2024 (P.L. 118-140).
H.R. 5887, Government Service Delivery Improvement Act.
Introduced on October 3, 2023, by Rep. Ro Khanna. The
Government Service Delivery Improvement Act tasks the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) with designating a senior OMB
official as the Federal Government Service Delivery Lead and
tasking them with the primary responsibility of coordinating
government-wide efforts to improve service delivery. This
official would also be responsible for developing government
service delivery standards, policies, and guidelines for
services and programs provided by federal agencies and
establishing metrics to evaluate the quality of government
service delivery. This bill also requires federal agencies to
designate a senior official responsible for improving service
delivery.
History: Introduced on October 3, 2023; Committee passed February 6,
2024; House passed May 21, 2024; Senate passed December 21,
2024; President signed H.R. 5887 into law on December ___, 2024
(P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of
printing.
H.R. 7524, GSA Technology Accountability Act. Introduced on
March 5, 2024, by Rep. Pete Sessions. Senate companion (S.
4669) introduced on July 10, 2024, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. The
bill amends Section 321 and 323 of Title 40 to require the
General Services Administration (GSA) to provide an annual
report to Congress regarding expenditures made through the
Citizen Services Fund (CSF) and some expenditures made through
the Acquisition Services Fund (ASF) by the end of each fiscal
year. This report must include information about how the funds
were allocated, including information about funded programs and
projects.
History: Introduced on March 5, 2024; Committee passed April 10, 2024;
House passed May 6, 2024; Senate passed December 16, 2024;
President signed H.R. 7524 into law on December 23, 2024 (P.L.
118-182).
H.R. 9566, Source Code Harmonization And Reuse in
Information Technology (SHARE IT) Act. Introduced on September
12, 2024, by Rep. Nicholas A. Langworthy. Senate companion (S.
3594) introduced on January 16, 2024, by Sen. Ted Cruz. This
bill requires federal agencies to share custom-developed code
governmentwide or publicly. This bill includes exemptions for
custom-developed code for national security systems, classified
code, or code which could create an identifiable risk to
privacy if disclosed. This bill requires annual reports to
Congress documenting compliance with this Act.
History: Introduced on September 12, 2024; Committee passed September
18, 2024; House passed December 4, 2024; Senate passed December
17, 2024; President signed H.R. 9566 into law on December 23,
2024 (P.L. 118-187).
H.R. 9592, Federal Register Modernization Act. Introduced
on September 16, 2024, by Rep. Clay Higgins. This bill revises
the authorizing provisions of the Federal Register and the Code
of Federal Regulations (CFR) to replace requirements that
documents are printed with requirements that the documents be
published. The bill provides that in a continuity of operations
event in which the Government Publishing Office (GPO) does not
fulfill its publication requirements, the Office of the Federal
Register may establish a website to publish the Federal
Register until such time that GPO resumes publication.
History: Introduced on September 16, 2024; Committee passed September
18, 2024; House passed November 12, 2024. President signed H.R.
9592 into law on December ___, 2024 (P.L. 118-___). *P.L.
number not available at the time of printing.
S. 59, Chance to Compete Act of 2024. Introduced on January
24, 2023, by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. House companion (H.R. 159)
introduced on January 9, 2023, by Rep. Virginia Foxx. The
``Chance to Compete Act of 2024'' codifies key skills-based
hiring reforms. Specifically, the bill defines acceptable job
assessments used in competitive-service hiring to include
skills-based assessments--freeing agencies to focus on
candidates who can actually perform on the job. The bill also
authorizes agencies to use subject-matter experts to administer
skills-based assessments--giving a greater voice to agency
officials who can best distinguish practical performers from
the field of candidates. Lastly, this bill institutes ``talent
teams'' in agency human resources offices--ensuring each agency
has a key group of staff who specialize in supporting the
development of skills-based assessments.
History: House companion (H.R. 159) introduced on January 9, 2023;
House passed H.R. 159 on January 24, 2023; Introduced S. 59 on
January 24, 2023; Senate passed S. 59 December 12, 2024; House
passed S. 59 December 16, 2024; President signed S. 59 into law
on December 23, 2024 (P.L. 118-188).
S. 709, Federal Agency Performance Act. Introduced on March
8, 2023, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. House companion (H.R. 10132)
introduced on November 15, 2024, by Rep. William R. Timmons.
The bill provides additional transparency and accountability
mechanisms to improve performance and program outcomes of
federal agencies. This bill builds upon the Government
Performance and Results Act Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA)
by requiring regular strategic reviews of each agency's
performance goals and increasing the amount and quality of data
posted on Performance.gov, which is the federal government's
central website to track both agency-specific and government-
wide performance. Additionally, the bill updates several other
portions of GPRAMA to address Government Accountability Office
(GAO) recommendations. This includes requiring two or more
government officials be designated as federal government
priority goal leaders, ensuring agency performance goals are
supported by evidence-building activities and ensuring that the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports on progress made
on priority performance goals every 4 years. The bill also
eliminates unnecessary reporting obligations for the OMB,
including an outdated twenty-year old pilot project for
performance goals and performance budgeting.
History: Introduced on March 8, 2023; Senate passed on February 8,
2024; Committee passed House companion H.R. 10132 on November
20, 2024; House passed amended S. 709 December 5, 2024; Senate
passed House-passed S. 709 on December 18, 2024; President
signed S. 709 into law on December 23, 2024 (P.L. 118-190).
S. 1510, GAO Inspector General Parity Act. Introduced on
May 10, 2023, by Sen. Mike Braun. House companion (H.R. 5300)
introduced on August 29, 2023, by Rep. Robert Garcia. This bill
makes changes to provisions relating to the Inspector General
(IG) of the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Specifically, if the IG is removed from office or transferred
to another position or location within GAO, GAO must
communicate in writing the substantive rationale, including
detailed and case-specific reasons, for any such removal or
transfer to both chambers of Congress not later than 30 days
before the removal or transfer. Only the Comptroller General
may place the IG on non-duty status, subject to specified
requirements. GAO must include the annual budget request of the
IG in the GAO budget without change. The bill also requires
legal independence of the GAO IG.
History: Introduced on May 10, 2023; House companion (H.R. 5300)
introduced on August 29, 2023; Senate passed S. 1510 November
16, 2023; Committee passed H.R. 5300 September 18, 2024; House
passed S. 1510 November 12, 2024; President signed S. 1510 into
law on November 25, 2024 (P.L. 118-131).
S. 1549, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Data Access Act.
Introduced on May 10, 2023, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. House
companion (H.R. 7184) introduced on February 2, 2024, by Rep.
Glenn Grothman. S. 1549 provides the Congressional Budget
Office (CBO), a Legislative Branch agency, with an exemption to
the Privacy Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-579), allowing CBO to more
easily access data and information maintained by federal
agencies that it needs to conduct its assessments. The bill
authorizes agencies to disclose records in their systems to CBO
without requiring prior written consent of individuals to whom
a system of records pertains under the Privacy Act.
History: Introduced on May 10, 2023; House companion (H.R. 7184)
introduced on February 2, 2024; Senate passed S. 1549 June 22,
2023; Committee passed H.R. 7184 February 6, 2024; House passed
S. 1549 September 23, 2024; President signed S. 1549 into law
on October 2, 2024 (P.L. 118-104).
S. 1973, All-American Flag Act. Introduced on June 14,
2023, by Sen. Sherrod Brown. House companion (H.R. 6206)
introduced on November 2, 2023, by Rep. Eric Sorenson. This
bill amends federal law to require, with certain exceptions,
that all U.S. flags acquired by the federal government be
manufactured in the United States from materials grown,
produced, or manufactured domestically.
History: Introduced on June 14, 2023; House companion (H.R. 6206)
introduced on November 2, 2023; Senate passed S. 1973 November
2, 2023; House passed S. 1973 July 22, 2024; President signed
S. 1973 into law on July 30, 2024 (P.L. 118-74).
S. 2414, Working Dog Health and Welfare Act of 2023.
Introduced on July 20, 2023, by Sen. Mike Braun. House
companion (H.R. 6950) introduced on January 10, 2024, by Rep.
Rudy Yakym. The bill would ensure that federal agencies
implement the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) working
dog recommendations for existing working dog programs within
180 days of enactment. It would also require new working dog
programs to proactively implement GAO's recommendations.
Finally, the bill requires agencies to submit a report to
Congress on the steps taken to implement GAO's recommendations.
History: Introduced on July 20, 2023; House companion (H.R. 6950)
introduced on January 10, 2024; Senate passed S. 2414 January
11, 2024; House passed S. 2414 December 16, 2024; President
signed S. 2414 into law on December 23, 2024 (P.L. 118-137).
S. 2685, Reuse Excess Property Act. Introduced on July 27,
2023, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. House companion (H.R. 8276)
introduced on May 7, 2024, by Rep. Lisa C. McClain. This bill
amends existing statutory reporting requirements on excess
personal property owned by federal agencies, in order to
increase transparency and help reduce waste. Agencies currently
report to the General Services Administration (GSA) on excess
personal property, which refers to physical (non-real estate)
items owned by an agency. This bill would require GSA and
executive agencies to report to Congress and the public on its
internal guidance and data regarding disposal and repurposing
of excess personal property. It would also require agencies to
designate an employee responsible for searching through data on
available excess personal property, in order to maximize
agencies' reuse of items that meet their needs. To further
increase transparency, the bill requires GSA's interagency
working group on personal property to make its findings
publicly available. This bill would also direct the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) to submit a report to the
congressional oversight committees on the acquisition of
federal personal property from entities based in China.
History: Introduced on July 27, 2023; Senate passed S. 2685 December
18, 2023; House companion (H.R. 8276) introduced on May 7,
2024; Committee passed H.R. 8276 May 15, 2024; House passed S.
2685 September 23, 2024; President signed S. 2685 into law on
October 1, 2024 (P.L. 118-99).
S. 3427, Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2023.
Introduced on December 6, 2023, by Sen. Lindsey Graham. House
companion (H.R. 5675) introduced on September 22, 2023, by Rep.
Mark E. Green. This bill reauthorizes the U.S. Secret Service
(USSS) overtime pay authority--which expired on December 31,
2023--through calendar year 2028 (with retroactive coverage for
the lapsed 2024 period). The USSS's authority to pay Special
Agents and Uniformed Division Officers for hourly protective
service overtime was last reauthorized at the end of calendar
year 2020 in P.L. 116-269. Renewing this authority will allow
the Service to exceed the annual total rate of pay cap in the
law (approx. $180,000/year) in order to provide overtime pay
for protective services (5 U.S.C. 5547). The bill defines
eligible protective services activity as not including
``routine administrative or technical'' operations work to
ensure any overtime pay is directly connected to work related
to security protective duties for the President, Vice
President, their families, visiting foreign heads of state, and
travel. The bill also mandates a Congressional report on the
USSS plans to address staffing levels and efforts to reduce
overtime needs along with annual reports through 2027 to
Congress providing quarterly projections for staffing levels
and agent compensation under the overtime pay authority.
History: House companion (H.R. 5675) introduced on September 22, 2023;
S. 3427 introduced on December 6, 2023; Senate passed S. 3427
December 20, 2023; House passed S. 3427 January 29, 2024;
President signed S. 3427 into law on February 6, 2024 (P.L.
118-38).
S. 4716, Financial Management Risk Reduction Act.
Introduced on July 11, 2024, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. House
companion (H.R. 10155) introduced on November 18, 2024, by Rep.
Marjorie Taylor Greene. The bill would improve single audit
requirements--which current law requires for recipients of
Federal financial assistance awards (e.g., grants) in excess of
$300,000 annually--and enhance oversight of federal funding.
The bill requires a government-wide analysis of single audit
quality and directs the development of analytic tools and
strategies to identify cross-governmental risks to federal
award funds. The bill also requires agencies to identify
recipients who did not complete required audits and report
biennially to Congress on these entities. Additionally, it
requires an evaluation by the Comptroller General on the
effectiveness of these new measures and their impact on
auditors, audited entities, and federal agencies.
History: Introduced on July 11, 2024; Senate passed S. 4716 November
15, 2024; House, companion (H.R. 10155) introduced on November
18, 2024; Committee passed H.R. 10155 November 20, 2024; House
passed S. 4716 December 16, 2024; President signed into law on
December 23, 2024 (P.L. 118-207).
C. Legislation Passed by the House
H.J. Res. 24, Disapproving the action of the District of
Columbia Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights
Amendment Act of 2022. Introduced on January 31, 2023, by Rep.
James Comer. Senate companions (S.J. Res. 5 & S.J. Res. 6)
introduced on January 31, 2023 & February 1, 2023, by Sen. Tom
Cotton & Sen. Ted Cruz, respectively. This joint resolution
nullifies the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of
2022, enacted by the council of the District of Columbia. The
act allows noncitizens who meet residency and other
requirements to vote in local elections in the district.
History: Introduced on January 31, 2023; House passed February 9, 2023.
H.J. Res. 42, Disapproving the action of the District of
Columbia Council in approving the Comprehensive Policing and
Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022. Introduced on March 9,
2023, by Rep. Andrew S. Clyde. Senate companion (S.J. Res. 26)
introduced on May 11, 2023, by Sen. J.D. Vance. This joint
resolution nullifies the Comprehensive Policing and Justice
Reform Amendment Act of 2022, enacted by the Council of the
District of Columbia. The act sets forth a variety of measures
that focus on policing in the District, including measures
prohibiting the use of certain neck restraints by law
enforcement officers, requiring additional procedures related
to body-worn cameras, and expanding access to police
disciplinary records.
History: Introduced on March 9, 2023; Committee passed March 29, 2023;
House passed April 19, 2023; Senate passed May 16, 2023;
President vetoed May 25, 2023; House failed to pass over veto
June 13, 2023.
H.R. 139, Stopping Home Office Work's Unproductive Problems
Act (SHOW UP) Act. Introduced on January 9, 2023, by Rep. James
Comer. Senate companion (S. 1565) introduced on May 11, 2023,
by Sen. Marsha Blackburn. This bill requires each executive
agency to reinstate the pre-pandemic telework policies that
were in place on December 31, 2019. Federal agencies must
complete and submit to Congress studies within six months
detailing how pandemic-era telework levels impacted their
missions. Agencies may not implement expanded telework policies
unless the Office of Personnel Management certifies that such
policies, among other requirements, have a positive effect on
the agency's mission and operational costs.
History: Introduced on January 9, 2023; House passed February 1, 2023.
H.R. 140, Protecting Speech from Government Interference
Act. Introduced on January 9, 2023, by Rep. James Comer. H.R.
140 expands the Hatch Act--the law prohibiting federal
employees from engaging in political activities in their
official capacity--to expressly prohibit those same federal
employees from censoring lawful speech. Additionally, H.R. 140
prohibits agency employees from using their authority to
influence or coerce a private sector entity to censor--
including to remove, suppress, restrict, or add disclaimers or
alerts to--any lawful speech posted on its service by a person
or entity. H.R. 140 provides an exception for legitimate law
enforcement activities reported to Congress for review.
History: Introduced on January 9, 2023; Committee passed February 28,
2023; House passed March 9, 2023.
H.R. 192, To prohibit individuals who are not citizens of
the United States from voting in elections in the District of
Columbia and to repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights
Amendment Act of 2022. Introduced on January 9, 2023, by Rep.
August Pfluger. Prohibits noncitizens from voting in D.C. local
elections. Repeals the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment
Act (D.C. Act 24-640; L24-0242).
History: Introduced on January 9, 2023; Committee passed July 12, 2023;
House passed May 23, 2024.
H.R. 272, Astronaut Safe Temporary Ride Options (ASTRO)
Act. Introduced on January 11, 2023, by Rep. Brian Babin. This
bill amends existing law pertaining to passenger carrier use
and transportation for an official purpose under chapter 13 of
title 31 (Money and Finance--Appropriations) by authorizing the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to use
federal funds for the transportation of government astronauts
who have returned from space, for the purpose of monitoring,
diagnosis, treatment, or other official duties prior to their
receiving post-flight medical clearance to operate motor
vehicles.
History: Introduced on January 11, 2023; Committee passed April 10,
2024; House passed May 6, 2024.
H.R. 300, Settlement Agreement Information Database (SAID)
Act. Introduced on January 11, 2023, by Rep. Gary J. Palmer.
This bill will increase transparency of the Federal government
by requiring executive agencies to submit information regarding
settlement agreements to a public database. Specifically, an
agency must submit information regarding any settlement
agreement (including a consent decree) entered into by the
agency related to an alleged violation of federal law. If an
agency determines that information regarding an agreement must
remain confidential to protect the public interest, the agency
must publish an explanation of why the information is
confidential.
History: Introduced on January 11, 2023; House passed January 24, 2023.
H.R. 347, Reduce Exacerbated Inflation Negatively Impacting
the Nation (REIN IN) Act. Introduced on January 12, 2023, by
Rep. Elise M. Stefanik. Senate companion (S. 715) introduced on
March 8, 2023, by Sen. Mike Braun. The REIN IN Act (H.R. 347)
requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the
Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) to provide an inflation
estimate for each executive order that is projected to cause an
annual gross budgetary effect of at least $1 million. The
inflation estimate shall determine whether the executive order
will have (1) no significant impact on inflation, (2) a
quantifiable inflationary impact, including on the Consumer
Price Index, or (3) a significant impact on inflation that
cannot be quantified, and must be reported to Congress
(starting 180 days after enactment). The requirement does not
apply to executive orders that provide for emergency assistance
or relief at the request of any state or local government or an
official of those governments or are necessary for national
security or the ratification or implementation of international
treaty obligations.
History: Introduced on January 12, 2023; House passed March 1, 2023.
H.R. 825, Banning Operations and Leases with the
Illegitimate Venezuelan Authoritarian Regime (BOLIVAR) Act.
Introduced on February 2, 2023, by Rep. Michael Waltz. Senate
companion (S. 257) introduced on February 2, 2023, by Sen. Rick
Scott. This bill temporarily prohibits for a period of three
years (starting 180 days after enactment) an executive agency
from entering into a contract for the procurement of goods or
services with any sanctioned person that it determines, with
the concurrence of the Department of State, knowingly engages
in significant business operations with the Maduro regime in
Venezuela. The bill lists exceptions, including where vital to
U.S. national security or national interests, or as necessary
for purposes of providing humanitarian assistance, disaster
relief, urgent lifesaving measures, or evacuations, and does
not apply to contracts that support U.S. government activities
in Venezuela.
History: Introduced on February 2, 2023; Committee passed September 18,
2024; House passed November 18, 2024.
H.R. 890, Guidance Out of Darkness (GOOD) Act. Introduced
on February 9, 2023, by Rep. James Comer. Senate companion (S.
791) introduced on March 14, 2023, by Sen. Ron Johnson. The
Requires agencies to publish legal and regulatory guidance
documents online in a single location designated by the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget within 90 days
of enactment. New guidance documents must be posted on the
website on the date they are issued. Guidance issued before the
date of enactment must be published on the website within 180
days of enactment. Guidance documents that are rescinded by the
agency must still be retained on the website, with disclaimers
that they have been rescinded.
History: Introduced on February 9, 2023; Committee passed July 12,
2023; House passed July 22, 2024.
H.R. 1695, Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of
Software Assets (SAMOSA) Act. Introduced on March 22, 2023, by
Rep. Matt Cartwright. Senate companion (S. 931) introduced on
March 22, 2023, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. This bill reduces
wasteful spending on duplicative software licenses by requiring
agencies to update and expand their software inventories and
develop a plan for consolidating or updating costly,
unnecessary licenses. This legislation builds upon a bipartisan
2016 law, the MEGABYTE Act, which called on agencies to reduce
duplicative software purchases.
History: Introduced on March 22, 2023; Committee passed July 12, 2023;
House passed December 4, 2024.
H.R. 4502, Modernizing the Acquisition of Cybersecurity
Experts (MACE) Act. Introduced on July 10, 2023, by Rep. Nancy
Mace. Prohibits the use of mandatory education requirements in
hiring for federal cyber security-related positions, except
when legally required to perform the job in the State or
locality where its located. Narrows the ability of federal
agencies to use a candidates' education credentials alone to
satisfy minimum qualifications for a federal cybersecurity job.
Requires that OPM annually publish online changes to education
qualification standards for federal cybersecurity jobs, and
information about the education level of new hires to these
jobs.
History: Introduced on July 10, 2023; Committee passed July 12, 2023;
House passed October 2, 2023.
H.R. 5255, Federal Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction
Act of 2023. Introduced on August 22, 2023, by Rep. Nancy Mace.
Senate companion (S. 5028) introduced on September 11, 2024, by
Sen. Mark R. Warner. The bill requires the Office of Management
and Budget to recommend updates to the Federal Acquisition
Regulation to ensure that federal contractors have
Vulnerability Disclosure Programs (VDPs) consistent with
standards developed by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology. VDPs outline how third-parties can notify
contractors about a potential security vulnerability relating
to an information system owned or controlled by the contractor.
History: Introduced on August 22, 2023; Committee passed September 20,
2023; House passed as section 1747 (Federal contractor
vulnerability disclosure policy.) of the Servicemember Quality
of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2025 (H.R. 8070) on June 14, 2024 (measure was not
agreed to in conference).
H.R. 5527, Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act of
2023. Introduced on September 18, 2023, by Rep. Nancy Mace.
Senate companion (S. 4668) introduced on July 10, 2024, by Sen.
Jerry Moran. The bill reforms and reauthorizes the Technology
Modernization Fund (TMF) and its governing board, the
Technology Modernization Board (TMB), which were established by
the bipartisan Modernizing Government Technology Act of 2017
(P.L. 115-91). The Modernizing Government Technology Reform Act
includes several measures to improve the administration of the
TMF and ensure program operations adhere to original
congressional intent. The bill requires TMF awards to be
reimbursed at the level needed to ensure the Fund is
operational until it sunsets in December 2030 and creates a new
requirement that agencies reimburse administrative fees. The
bill also establishes a Federal Legacy IT Inventory, a new
oversight tool that will allow Congress to evaluate agency and
government-wide priority items for legacy IT modernization and
to assess how well the TMF does in funding these projects.
Finally, this bill reauthorizes the TMF and TMB and establishes
a December 2030 sunset.
History: Introduced on September 18, 2023; Committee passed September
20, 2023; House passed May 21, 2024.
H.R. 5528, Safe and Smart Federal Purchasing Act of 2023.
Introduced on September 18, 2023, by Rep. Byron Donalds. The
bill requires the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) to evaluate the Lowest Price Technically
Acceptable (LPTA) provisions in the Federal Acquisition
Regulation (FAR) (see FAR 15.101-2) to determine if the LPTA
purchasing process creates any national security risks for
federal agencies focusing procurement on the ``best value'' and
``technically acceptable proposal.''
History: Introduced on September 18, 2023; Committee passed September
20, 2023; House passed January 29, 2024.
H.R. 5658, Vote by Mail Tracking Act. Introduced on
September 21, 2023, by Rep. Katie Porter. H.R. 5658 amends
Title 39 of the U.S. Code (Postal Service) to require ballots
mailed within the United States for all Federal elections be
mailed in an envelope with a unique Postal Service barcode that
allows the ballot to be tracked in the mail.
History: Introduced on September 21, 2023; Committee passed February 6,
2024; House passed November 18, 2024.
H.R. 6462, the Resilient Employment and Authorization
Determination to Increase the National Employment of Serving
Spouses (READINESS) Act. Introduced on November 21, 2023, by
Rep. Jasmine Crockett. Senate companion (S. 3530) introduced on
December 14, 2023, by Sen. Lisa Murkowski. This bill requires
federal agencies to provide a federal employee who is the
spouse of a military or Foreign Service member that has
received a permanent change of duty station the opportunity to
work remotely. The agency may also identify a remote position
or in-person position of equal grade at the new duty location.
If none of these options are feasible, the agency shall place
the individual into leave-without-pay status for the position.
This position may be backfilled by a permanent employee. The
bill includes a reporting requirement to the Office of
Personnel Management and Congress regarding such actions.
History: Introduced on November 21, 2023; Committee passed May 15,
2024; House passed as section 1113 of title XI of division A
(Flexibilities for Federal employees who are armed forces
spouses.) of the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (H.R.
8070) on June 14, 2024 (measure was not agreed to in
conference).
H.R. 6972, Securing the Chain of Command Continuity Act.
Introduced on January 11, 2024, by Rep. Jennifer A. Kiggans.
Senate companion (S. 5077) introduced on September 18, 2024, by
Sen. Margaret Wood Hassan. H.R. 6972 amends the Federal
Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-277) to require members
of the National Security Council (NSC) that are also the head
of an Executive Branch agency (e.g., Secretary of State,
Secretary of Defense, etc.) to specifically provide
notification to the President, the Comptroller General of the
United States (GAO), and to House and Senate leadership within
24 hours of any planned or unplanned medical incapacity
impeding the ability of the NSC member to perform the function
and duties of their office. Violation would require an
extensive report within 72 hours of the date of initial medical
incapacitation to the President, GAO, and Congress detailing
the failure to comply.
History: Introduced on January 11, 2024; Committee passed February 6,
2024; House passed May 6, 2024.
H.R. 7109, Equal Representation Act. Introduced on January
29, 2024, by Rep. Chuck Edwards. Senate companion (S. 3659)
introduced on January 25, 2024, by Sen. Bill Hagerty. The bill
amends Title 13 to add a citizenship inquiry to the decennial
census and exclude noncitizens from the apportionment base.
Specifically, the bill requires for the 2030 decennial census
and each subsequent census, the inclusion of a checkbox or
similar option for the respondent and each member of the
respondent's household to indicate whether that individual is a
citizen of the United States. The bill would also exclude from
the apportionment base ``individuals who are not citizens of
the United States'' for the 2030 census and any future
decennial census.
History: Introduced on January 29, 2024; Committee passed April 10,
2024; House passed May 8, 2024.
H.R 7219, Information Quality Assurance Act (IQAA).
Introduced on February 5, 2024, by Rep. Lisa McClain. This
legislation builds upon the Information Quality Act (P.L. 106-
554, Sec. 515) and the Foundations for Evidence-Based
Policymaking Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-435) by requiring agencies
to rely on the best, reasonably available scientific,
technical, demographic, economic, financial, and statistical
information to support new rules and guidance. This bill also
requires agencies to publish any model, methodology, or source
of information on which the agency relies before issuing a
final rule or guidance document.
History: Introduced on February 5, 2024; Committee passed February 6,
2024; House passed May 6, 2024.
H.R. 7525, Special District Grant Accessibility Act.
Introduced on March 5, 2024, by Rep. Pat Fallon. Senate
companion (S. 4673) introduced on July 11, 2024, by Sen.
Kyrsten Sinema. The bill establishes a definition in law for
special districts--independent political subdivisions of a
State created for the purpose of performing limited and
specific governmental functions--and requires the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to issue guidance to federal
agencies requiring special districts be recognized as a unit of
local government and clarifying to grant issuing agencies how
special districts are eligible to receive federal financial
assistance. The bill also requires OMB report to Congress on
agencies' implementation and conformity to the guidance.
History: Introduced on March 5, 2024; Committee passed March 7, 2024;
House passed May 6, 2024.
H.R. 7527, Mail Traffic Deaths Reporting Act. Introduced on
March 5, 2024, by Rep. Gerald E. Connolly. The bill requires
U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employees and contractors to report
traffic crashes that result in injury or death to the USPS.
Requires USPS to issue regulations requiring public information
reporting on traffic deaths and injuries within ninety days and
establish a mechanism to monitor and enforce compliance with
these regulations. Further requires USPS to maintain an
internal database of death and injury data involving mail
transportation vehicles. USPS will compile an annual public
report summarizing information related to deaths and injuries
from traffic accidents. Any USPS contractor who fails to report
a traffic accident will be penalized according to USPS's
determination, which can include fines, contract suspensions,
and contract terminations. The bill includes appropriate
protections of individuals' personally identifiable
information.
History: Introduced on March 5, 2024; Committee passed March 7, 2024;
House passed May 6, 2024.
H.R. 7528, Comment Integrity and Management Act of 2024.
Introduced on March 5, 2024, by Rep. Clay Higgins. The bill
amends Section 206 of the E Government Act of 2002 to improve
the management of electronic comments submitted during agency
rulemaking. The bill requires agencies to verify that any
electronic comment was submitted by a human and provides
agencies with additional authorities to assist with the
management of mass-generated comments that are identical or
nearly identical in substance. This bill also requires agencies
to post polices regarding how the agency will consider
computer-generated and mass comments on the website that is
used to collect electronic comments during the rulemaking
process. The bill also requires the Office of Management and
Budget to issue guidance to agencies regarding technologies
that can be used to manage computer-generated and mass
comments.
History: Introduced on March 5, 2024; Committee passed March 7, 2024;
House passed May 6, 2024.
H.R. 7530, D.C. Criminal Reforms to Immediately Make
Everyone Safer (D.C. CRIMES) Act. Introduced on March 5, 2024,
by Rep. Byron Donalds. Asserts Congressional control over the
District by prohibiting the D.C. Council from pursuing
progressive soft-on-crime sentencing policy. Specifically, the
bill would (1) lower D.C.'s definition of a ``youth'' from
under 25 years old to under 18, resulting in individuals 18 and
older being properly treated and tried as adults in the
criminal justice system, (2) remove the ability of judges to
sentence youth offenders below the mandatory minimum (3)
require the D.C. Attorney General to establish a public website
containing statistics on juvenile crime, and (4) prohibit D.C.
from enacting any changes to the existing minimum sentencing
laws and sentencing guidelines, leaving only Congress the
authority to change such laws.
History: Introduced on March 5, 2024; Committee passed March 7, 2024;
House passed May 15, 2024.
H.R. 8333, BIOSECURE Act. Introduced on March 10, 2024, by
Rep. Brad R. Wenstrup. Senate companion (S. 3558) introduced on
December 20, 2023, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. The bill prohibits a
federal agency from procuring any biotechnology equipment or
service from a biotechnology company of concern. This bill
further prohibits a federal agency from contracting with an
entity that uses such equipment or service in performance of
the contract or contracting with an entity with subcontracts
that will use such equipment or service in performance of the
contract. This bill further prohibits federal loan or grant
dollars from being used to procure, obtain, or use such
equipment or service. The bill defines a biotechnology company
of concern as BGI, MGI, Complete Genomics, WuXi AppTec, and
WuXi Biologics. The bill also tasks the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB), in consultation with the Department of
Defense (DoD), the Department of Health and Human Services, and
other relevant agencies to determine additional entities that
should be defined as a biotechnology company of concern.
Existing contracts with named biotechnology companies of
concern are exempt from these prohibitions until January 1,
2032. Executive agencies may waive the prohibitions on a case-
by-case basis with the approval of OMB and notification to
Congress for one year, with the option to extend the waiver for
another 6 months. The bill also includes limited exceptions for
intelligence activities and overseas health care services.
History: Introduced on March 10, 2024; Committee passed March 15, 2024;
House passed September 9, 2024.
H.R. 8335, Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act of 2023.
Introduced on May 10, 2024, by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks.
Senate companion (S. 1258) introduced on April 25, 2023, by
Sen. Joni Ernst. This bill directs the Office of Management and
Budget to issue guidance requiring federal agencies to report
annually to Congress regarding certain federally funded
projects that are more than five years behind schedule or have
expenditures that are at least $1 billion more than the
original cost estimate for the project. For each covered
project, the agency will report a brief description of the
project, an explanation of any change to the original scope of
the project, the original expected completion date for the
project, the current expected completion date for the project,
the original cost estimate for the project, the current cost
estimate for the project, an explanation if there is a delay in
completion or an increase of cost for the project, and the
amount of award or bonus, if applicable, awarded for the
project.
History: Introduced on May 10, 2024; Committee passed H.R. 8335 May 15,
2024; Senate passed companion (S. 1258) March 23, 2023; House
passed amended S. 1258 July 22, 2024.
H.R. 8753, To direct the United States Postal Service to
designate single, unique ZIP Codes for certain communities, and
for other purposes. Introduced on June 14, 2024, by Rep. Lauren
Boebert. This bill requires the U.S. Postal Service to
designate a single, unique ZIP Code for each of several
communities.
History: Introduced on June 14, 2024; Committee passed November 20,
2024; House passed December 11, 2024.
H.R. 9595, Federal Improvement in Technology (FIT)
Procurement Act. Introduced on September 16, 2024, by Rep. Eric
Burlison. Senate companion (S. 4066) introduced on March 22,
2024, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. The bill would streamline and
simplify federal procurement, to help agencies acquire
commercial technology in a timely way and make it easier for
innovative businesses to compete for contracts. It would
require cross-functional training for the acquisition
workforce, increase the simplified acquisition threshold and
the minimum purchase threshold, and allow for advanced payment
of cloud computing for federal agencies.
History: Introduced on September 16, 2024; Committee passed September
18, 2024; House passed December 16, 2024.
H.R. 9596, Value Over Cost Act. Introduced on September 16,
2024, by Rep. Byron Donalds. This bill changes a requirement
pertaining to how the General Service Administration's (GSA)
Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program awards contracts and how
agencies place orders against those contracts. This bill
provides the Administrator of GSA the ability to determine that
obtaining best value, rather than just achieving lowest overall
price, is necessary to promote the best interest of the Federal
Government.
History: Introduced on September 16, 2024; Committee passed September
18, 2024; House passed November 12, 2024.
H.R. 9597, Federal Acquisition Security Council Improvement
Act of 2024. Introduced on September 16, 2024, by Rep. James
Comer. The bill strengthens the governing structure of the
Federal Acquisition Security Council (FASC) by moving the FASC
into the Executive Office of the President and increasing FASC
membership requirements. This bill expands the FASC's focus on
covered articles to include acquisition security more broadly,
requires the FASC to proactively monitor and evaluate certain
covered articles for ongoing risk, and authorizes the FASC to
designate the issuance of removal or exclusion orders when
congressionally-directed. This bill also establishes a FASC
program office within the Office of the National Cyber Director
(ONCD) to provide the FASC operational, legal, and policy
support. Further, the bill creates a streamlined process for
Congress to designate sources of concern and requires the FASC
to initiate an investigation into these congressionally-
designated sources, with appropriate due-process, government-
wide agency inclusion, and processes to consider including
second-order prohibitions, case-by-case agency waivers, or
grandfathering provisions. Agencies are required to issue, as
applicable, any FASC removal or exclusion order pertaining to a
congressional-designated source.
History: Introduced on September 16, 2024; Committee passed September
18, 2024; House passed November 12, 2024.
H.R. 9598, Office of National Drug Control Policy
Reauthorization Act of 2024. Introduced on September 16, 2024,
by Rep. James Comer. This bill reauthorizes the Office of
National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) ($20,000,000), High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program
($298,579,000), and the ONDCP Drug-Free Communities (DFC)
program ($109,000,000). The bill would also reauthorize smaller
related ONDCP programs including the Drug Court Training and
Technical Assistance program ($3,000,000), the Model Acts
Program ($1,250,000), and the Community-Based Coalition
Enhancement Grants (CARA) program ($5,200,000) at their
respective FY 2024 enacted levels through 2031 (seven years).
The bill streamlines and modernizes outdated language leftover
from previous authorizations. It provides necessary updates to
the HIDTA and DFC grant programs and codifies the Caribbean
Counter Narcotics Strategy. It requires the Director to conduct
a study on life saving opioid overdose reversals. The bill
directs the Director of ONDCP to coordinate with the
Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and State to ensure
that appropriate agencies are properly resourced to ensure that
traffickers of illicit drugs are held accountable under Title 8
immigration authorities to the fullest practicable extent. It
also requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to include in
a report to the Director of ONDCP the effects of current trends
of encounters at the southwest border on CBP's ability to
interdict deadly, illicit drugs.
History: Introduced on September 16, 2024; Committee passed September
18, 2024; House passed December 5, 2024.
D. Legislation Approved by the Committee
H.R. 262, All Economic Regulations are Transparent (ALERT)
Act of 2023. Introduced on January 10, 2023, by Rep. Bob Good.
Senate companion (S. 4200) introduced on April 19, 2024, by
Sen. Mike Lee. H.R. 262 requires agencies to submit monthly
updates to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
(OIRA) on their regulatory plans--including specific
information on expected costs and other economic effects such
as jobs--which will be published online within thirty days,
yielding monthly updates on the complete federal regulatory
agenda. The bill also prohibits agencies from promulgating new
rules for which online updates have not been available for at
least six months. Finally, OIRA must publish annually an
assessment of all new agency rules and agencies' cost and
benefit analyses of new rules.
History: Introduced on January 10, 2023; Committee passed February 6,
2024.
H.R. 1162, Accountability for Government Censorship Act.
Introduced on February 24, 2023, by Rep. Scott Perry. The bill
requires a government-wide report to Congress of every
instance, over the past five years, that a federal agency has
communicated with a non-governmental entity for the purpose of
removing, suppressing, restricting, or adding disclaimers to
lawful speech posted on a platform. The report will include the
agency employees that initiated the communication, the targeted
platforms, and a justification of the action--including the
legal authority for the action. Agency compliance with the
reporting requirement will be audited by the inspectors
general.
History: Introduced on February 24, 2023; Committee passed February 28,
2023.
H.R. 1209, Fair and Open Competition Act (FOCA). Introduced
on February 27, 2023, by Rep. James Comer. Senate companion (S.
537) introduced on February 27, 2023, by Sen. Todd Young. The
bill preserves open competition for non-union contractors on
federal and federally funded construction projects by
preventing the mandated use of project labor agreements (PLAs).
This legislation would require that the Federal Acquisition
Regulation (FAR) be revised within 60 days to implement the
Act, preventing the implementation of a Biden administration
policy to mandate the use of PLAs on many federal construction
projects.
History: Introduced on February 27, 2023; Committee passed July 12,
2023.
H.R. 3230, Unfunded Mandates Accountability and
Transparency Act (UMATA). Introduced on May 11, 2023, by Rep.
Virginia Foxx. This bill would amend the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act (UMRA) to require agencies to prepare regulatory
impact analyses--including analysis of costs, benefits,
alternatives, disproportionate impacts, and effects on jobs--
for major rules that mandate economic impacts of $100 million
or more, present major increases in costs or prices, or have
significant adverse effects on competition, employment, or
markets. Agencies would be required to publish initial
assessments in the Federal Register and receive public comment
when issuing notices of proposed rulemaking. Final agency
analyses would accompany notices of final rulemaking. The bill
also brings independent agencies under UMRA's requirements.
History: Introduced on May 11, 2023; Committee passed July 12, 2023.
H.R. 3358, Mission Not Emissions Act. Introduced on May 16,
2023, by Rep. Jodey C. Arrington. The bill prohibits any
requirement that recipients of federal contracts disclose
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-related financial
risk as described in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
Council's proposed rulemaking (87 Fed. Reg. 6312) or any
substantially similar rule. The bill similarly prohibits any
requirement that recipients of federal contracts provide any
GHG inventory or any other report on GHG emissions. Finally,
the bill prohibits requirements that recipients of federal
contracts develop GHG emissions reduction targets and submit
them for validation to the Science-Based Targets Initiative
(SBTi) or any other non-governmental organization.
History: Introduced on May 16, 2023; Committee passed July 12, 2023.
H.R. 3642, Executive Branch Accountability and Transparency
Act of 2023. Introduced on May 24, 2023, by Rep. Nicholas A.
Langworthy. Senate companion (S. 2270) introduced on July 12,
2023, by Sen. Chuck Grassley. The bill requires the Office of
Government Ethics (OGE) to issue guidance to all federal
agencies to establish online public repositories for ethics
records of high-level political appointees. OGE has created an
online portal for accessing a variety of records, but the bill
would require the government to go further by comprehensively
including other records held by agencies. The bill would also
make procedural improvements to increase accessibility of these
records (e.g., bulk downloadable records, Rehabilitation Act
section 508 compliant websites) and ensure publicly
availability for 6 years. Since agencies would proactively
upload their respective records, they would no longer have to
devote resources to responding to public requests for ethics
records.
History: Introduced on May 24, 2023; Committee passed September 18,
2024.
H.R. 4428, the Guidance Clarity Act. Introduced on June 30,
2023, by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer. Senate companion (S. 108)
introduced on January 26, 2023, by Sen. James Lankford. The
bill requires federal agencies to state prominently on the
opening page of any guidance document that: (1) agency guidance
does not have the force and effect of law and is not binding on
the public; and (2) the document is intended only to provide
clarity to the public about existing legal requirements or
agency policies.
History: Introduced on June 30, 2023; Committee passed September 20,
2023.
H.R. 4435, Unauthorized Spending Accountability (USA) Act
of 2023. Introduced on June 30, 2023, by Rep. Cathy McMorris
Rodgers. Phases out programs with expired authorized
appropriations. It establishes a three-year budgetary level
reduction cycle for unauthorized programs funded through the
annual appropriations process, as determined by the
Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) annual report. Under the
bill, a budgetary level is an allocation provided to the
congressional appropriations committees under Section 302(a) of
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 by a congressional budget
resolution or a deeming resolution. In the first year after a
program's authorization has expired, the overall budget level
will be reduced by 10 percent of the unauthorized program's
annual appropriated funds, with reductions of 15 percent in the
second and third years. The program will then terminate at the
end of the third unauthorized year. Programs that are
reauthorized during the three-year period are exempt if the
reauthorization contains a three-year sunset provision for
authorized appropriations.
History: Introduced on June 30, 2023; Committee passed July 12, 2023.
H.R. 4503, AI Training Expansion Act of 2023. Introduced on
July 10, 2023, by Rep. Nancy Mace. Senate companion (S. 1564)
introduced on May 11, 2023, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. The AI
Training Act (P.L. 117-207) established artificial intelligence
training requirements for federal agency acquisition
professionals. This bill builds upon the AI Training Act by
expanding the covered workforce to include supervisors,
managers, and data and technology employees. This bill also
updates the topics covered by the trainings and ensures that
they are integrated, where appropriate, into existing employee
trainings.
History: Introduced on July 10, 2023; Committee passed July 12, 2023.
H.R. 4552, Federal Information Security Modernization Act
(FISMA) of 2023. Introduced on July 11, 2023, by Rep. Nancy
Mace. Senate companion (S. 2251) introduced on July 11, 2023,
by Sen. Gary C. Peters. The bill updates the Federal
Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA), last
updated in 2014, by clarifying federal cybersecurity roles and
responsibilities. The bill preserves the current framework of
assigning federal agency cybersecurity policy development and
oversight responsibilities to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) (based on appropriate cyber standards developed by
the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)),
operational and technical coordination responsibilities to the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and overall
cybersecurity strategy and Congressional reporting
responsibilities to the recently established National Cyber
Director (NCD). The bill also improves the NCD's reporting of
major incidents to Congress and codifies the OMB Federal Chief
Information Security Officer (CISO) as a `dual-hatted' role in
the OMB Office of the Chief Information Officer (OFCIO) and as
a Deputy-NCD. Overall, the bill advances risk-based
cybersecurity principles focused on equipping agencies to
understand and address vulnerabilities in real-time--as opposed
to relying on backwards looking compliance-based security
assessments--by prioritizing modern cybersecurity techniques
like zero trust architecture, cloud migration, automation,
penetration testing, vulnerability disclosure programs, and
improved identity management. The bill streamlines agency
reporting requirements and reduces the frequency of FISMA
assessments while requiring continuous monitoring of systems.
History: Introduced on July 11, 2023; Committee passed March 7, 2024.
H.R. 5040, Cannabis Users' Restoration of Eligibility
(CURE) Act. Introduced on July 27, 2023, by Rep. Jamie Raskin.
The bill prevents prior or current marijuana use from becoming
grounds for failing to receive a security clearance or for
being found unsuitable for federal employment. The CURE Act
also allows an individual who has previously been denied a
security or job suitability clearance based on marijuana use
the chance to have that denial reviewed and reconsidered. If
the individual is denied a security clearance or employment
under the reconsideration process, they may, not later than 30
days, appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).
History: Introduced on July 27, 2023; Committee passed September 20,
2024.
H.R. 5798, Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act of
2023. Introduced on September 28, 2023, by Rep. Andrew R.
Garbarino. H.R. 5798 amends the D.C. Government Comprehensive
Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to restore two provisions recently
removed by the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform
Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-345), including Metro Police
Department (MPD) officer union bargaining in matters of officer
discipline as well as the timeline under which such discipline
must be carried out for alleged wrongdoing.
History: Introduced on September 28, 2023; Committee passed February 6,
2024.
H.R. 6283, Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG)
Act. Introduced on November 8, 2023, by Rep. Mariannette
Miller-Meeks. Subsection (d) of H.R. 6283 adds to the Federal
Employees Health Benefits Act (5 U.S.C. 8901 et seq.) a new
section which would: (1) implement de-linking policies and
require a Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) to only charge a flat
fee for drug placement versus letting them continue to charge a
percentage of the drug; (2) prohibit `spread pricing,' when a
PBM charges the health plan more than they paid for a medicine;
(3) prevent PBMs from paying affiliated pharmacies more than
competing pharmacies for the same services; and (4) ban
`patient steering,' whereby a PBM encourages or requires
patients to use its affiliated pharmacies instead of the
pharmacy that is most convenient for them. The bill goes into
effect beginning with the 2026 plan year and subsection (d) is
to be implemented by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
(which may prescribe implementing regulations) with potential
civil monetary penalties of $10,000 for each day of a PBM's
violation. The rest of the bill's subsections (a) through (c)
effectuate similar reforms within Part D of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-111 et seq), the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) (29 U.S.C. 1185 et seq),
and the Internal Revenue Code (chapter 100, sub-chapter B) and
are outside of the jurisdiction of the Committee.
History: Introduced on November 8, 2023; Committee passed February 6,
2024.
H.R. 7523, Governmentwide Executive Councils Reform Act.
Introduced on March 5, 2024, by Rep. William R. Timmons. This
bill provides additional oversight and accountability for
covered governmentwide councils, defined as the Chief
Acquisition Officers Council, the Chief Data Officer Council,
the Chief Financial Officers Council, the Chief Human Capital
Officers Council, the Chief Information Officers Council, and
the Performance Improvement Council. This bill requires each of
these councils to provide legislative, policy, and technical
analysis to Congress upon request and scopes how the councils
interact with and inform the work of the Office of Management
and Budget. This legislation also extends the Chief Data
Officer Council until 2031 (it currently is set to sunset in
January 2025) and provides statutory authority for the General
Services Administration's (GSA) Office of Executive Councils
(OEC), enhancing transparency of the office's administrative
support of governmentwide councils. The authorization for the
OEC sunsets after seven years.
History: Introduced on March 5, 2024; Committee passed March 7, 2024.
H.R. 7526, D.C. Consumer Vehicle Choice Protection Act.
Introduced on March 5, 2024, by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. The
bill repeals, similar to a disapproval of a federal rule under
the Congressional Review Act, the District of Columbia
Department of Energy and Environment's (DCDOEE) December 2023
final rule regarding the adoption of the California electric
vehicle mandate (70 D.C. Reg. 016673).
History: Introduced on March 5, 2024; Committee passed March 7, 2024.
H.R. 7532, Federal AI Governance and Transparency Act.
Introduced on March 5, 2024, by Rep. James Comer. The bill
centrally codifies federal agency governance and responsible
use policies while consolidating and streamlining other
existing federal agency AI laws. In doing so, the bill focuses
government resources on increasing transparency, oversight, and
responsible use of Federal AI systems while protecting the
public's privacy and civil liberties. The bill establishes a
new ``Subchapter IV--Artificial Intelligence System
Governance'' in title 44, chapter 35 which places the Office of
Management and Budget in charge of issuing government-wide
policy guidance in harmony with existing federal IT and data
policy requirements. The bill also requires public notice of AI
systems used by federal agencies through AI Governance
Charters, including identifying testing and validation
processes, responsible agency officials, maintenance plans,
descriptions of public data assets used or modified, impacted
personal information records, and downstream impacts on agency
programs or determinations related to financial assistance or
regulatory enforcement. The bill establishes a Federal AI
System Inventory and requires the General Services
Administration maintain a single, public interface that
centrally catalogs these Charters. The bill also streamlines
and consolidates existing law regarding the government's use of
AI, including requirements for agencies to provide protections
or safeguards for Federal AI systems that are commensurate with
risk, and repeals repetitive provisions in the AI in Government
Act of 2020 and the 2022 Advancing American AI Act.
History: Introduced on March 5, 2024; Committee passed March 7, 2024.
H.R. 7533, Modernizing Retrospective Regulatory Review Act.
Introduced on March 5, 2024, by Rep. Andy Biggs. Senate
companion (S. 4434) introduced on May 23, 2024, by Sen. Mike
Lee. The bill requires the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), acting through the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs (OIRA) and in consultation with the Archivist, the
Director of GPO, and the Director of the Federal Register, to
issue guidance on how agencies can use technology to more
efficiently, cost-effectively, and accurately carry out
retrospective review of federal regulations that are redundant,
contain typographic errors, or overlap with existing
regulations. The bill also requires OIRA to submit a report to
Congress assessing whether Federal regulations are available in
a machine-readable format and requires agencies to submit a
``Retrospective Review Plan'' that includes a strategy for how
each agency will implement the OIRA guidance and identifies
agency regulations that are subject to statutory retrospective
review or would benefit from regular retrospective review.
History: Introduced on March 5, 2024; Committee passed March 7, 2024.
H.R. 7867, Renewing Efficiency in Government by Budgeting
Act (REG Budgeting Act) of 2024. Introduced on April 5, 2024,
by Rep. Pat Fallon. The bill builds on Executive Order 13771 by
amending the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4)
with requirements that federal regulatory agencies constrain
unfunded new costs imposed by federal regulations. The bill
requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to set an
annual, government-wide budget that restricts the amount of
new, unfunded regulatory costs agencies can impose each fiscal
year. The annual budget must preclude increases in the total
unfunded costs of all federal regulations unless Congress
approves the increase. The annual budget may provide for net
reductions in total regulatory costs. The bill also allows
agencies to rescind old rules to offset costs of new rules in
order to stay within yearly caps. Further, this bill requires
OMB to submit each annual budget to Congress and annually
report on compliance with the budget. If OMB fails to submit an
annual budget at the start of a fiscal year, the bill imposes a
regulatory moratorium for that year until OMB complies.
History: Introduced on April 5, 2024; Committee passed April 10, 2024.
H.R. 7868, FEHB Protection Act. Introduced on April 5,
2024, by Rep. Michael Waltz. Senate companion (S. 4035)
introduced on March 21, 2024, by Sen. Rick Scott. The bill
requires federal agencies to verify that an employee is
eligible to add a family member to their Federal Employees
Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) health coverage plan. This bill
also requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to
consider coverage of ineligible individuals when conducting
FEHBP fraud risk assessments. The bill further requires a
comprehensive audit be conducted of employee family members
currently enrolled in the FEHBP, including a review of
eligibility verification documentation such as marriage
certificates and birth certificates. Finally, the bill requires
OPM to disenroll or remove from enrollment any ineligible
individual found to be receiving FEHBP coverage.
History: Introduced on April 5, 2024; Committee passed April 10, 2024.
H.R. 7869, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer
Retirement Technical Corrections Act. Introduced on April 5,
2024, by Rep. Brian K. Fitzpatrick. Senate companion (S. 311)
introduced on February 9, 2023, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. This
bill modifies the calculation of retirement benefits for a
group of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers.
Effective July 6, 2008, Congress authorized enhanced retirement
benefits for CBP officers that met maximum age and minimum
service requirements. A small group of officers received
tentative offers of employment before July 6, 2008, but started
work on or after that date. This bill specifies that officers
who received a tentative employment offer before July 6, 2008,
but started work on or after that date are entitled to
proportional annuity. This bill also directs the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) to report on CBP processes
regarding the enhanced benefit to ensure proper management and
implementation.
History: Introduced on April 5, 2024; Committee passed April 10, 2024.
H.R. 7887, Allowing Contractors to Choose Employees for
Select Skills (ACCESS) Act. Introduced on April 9, 2024, by
Rep. Nancy Mace. Senate companion (S. 4631) introduced on July
8, 2024, by Sen. James Lankford. The bill amends Chapter 33 of
title 41 (Public Contracts--Procurement--Planning and
Solicitation) to prohibit the use of minimum education or
experience requirements for proposed contractor personnel in
federal contract solicitations, except when the needs of the
agency cannot be met without such requirements. When any such
requirements are included in a solicitation, the contracting
officer must include a written justification explaining why the
needs of the agency cannot be met without the requirements.
Requires that within 60 days of enactment the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) issue guidance to executive
agencies for implementing this law. Requires that within 18
months of enactment Government Accountability Office (GAO)
submit an evaluation of agency compliance with this law to
Congress.
History: Introduced on April 9, 2024; Committee passed April 10, 2024.
House failed to pass July 23, 2024.
H.R. 8334, Grant Integrity and Border Security Act.
Introduced on May 10, 2024, by Rep. Virginia Foxx. The bill
requires applicants for federal grants to certify that they
will not violate section 274(a) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324(a)), which is a criminal statute
prohibiting unlawfully bringing in or harboring aliens.
Applicants must certify that they and their employees have not
violated, are not in violation of, and will not violate this
statute. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) may withhold
funds from any grantee in violation of this requirement. After
an investigation into an alleged violation is completed, the
Attorney General will submit to OMB any information relating to
the conviction of an individual.
History: Introduced on May 10, 2024; Committee passed May 15, 2024.
H.R. 8690, Stop Secret Spending Act. Introduced on June 11,
2024, by Rep. Barry Moore. Senate companion (S. 3926)
introduced on March 12, 2024, by Sen. Joni Ernst. This bill
strengthens reporting under the Federal Funding and
Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA) (P.L. 109-282; 31 U.S.C. 6101
note)--as amended by the DATA Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-101)--by
creating a new reporting requirement for agency Federal
spending information to reported under USAspending.gov to
include other transaction agreement's (OTA), which are contract
mechanisms not covered by the Federal Acquisition Regulation
(FAR) framework. The bill also requires annual reporting on
previously unreported funds, including for national security
(classified) or legislative or judicial branch spending.
Information required for previously unreported funds include
the total amount of unreported funds and the reasons for not
reporting. The bill also reforms FFATA to ensure that all
information posted on USAspending.gov is complete and accurate.
History: Introduced on June 11, 2024; Committee passed November 20,
2024.
H.R. 8706, Dismantle DEI Act. Introduced on June 12, 2024,
by Rep. Michael Cloud. Senate companion (S. 4516) introduced on
June 12, 2024, by Sen. J.D. Vance. The bill takes a whole-of-
government approach to eliminating authorizations and funding
for government diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The bill establishes a new Title XII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 to prohibit conditioning employment on the acceptance of
certain ideologies. The bill also directs the Office of
Personnel Management to abolish all Federal DEI offices and
requires the Office of Management and Budget to rescind all DEI
regulations for the Federal workforce. The bill prohibits funds
from being used for DEI training programs, hiring and
contracting requirements (including in the military), and
prohibits DEI as a factor in accreditation in education. The
bill also asserts an individuals' right to file a lawsuit if
any provisions are violated.
History: Introduced on June 12, 2024; Committee passed November 20,
2024.
H.R. 8784, Full Responsibility and Expedited Enforcement
(FREE) Act. Introduced on June 18, 2024, by Rep. Celeste Maloy.
Senate companion (S. 4805) introduced on July 25, 2024, by Sen.
Cynthia M. Lummis. Streamlines federal permitting government-
wide by expanding use of `permits-by-rule' (PBR) rather than
case-by-case application for and review of individual permit
applications. The FREE Act directs federal agencies to evaluate
their permitting systems and report to Congress within 240
days, identifying for which types of permits PBR can replace
current systems and thoroughly justifying any determinations
that PBR cannot be used. Agencies must then adopt PBR within 12
months for identified types of permits. Under PBR, agencies
must grant within 30 days all applications for coverage under a
permit-by-rule that meet objective permit standards set forth
in the rule. Agencies can still deny applications that do not
meet requirements in the rule and may verify compliance.
History: Introduced on June 11, 2024; Committee passed September 18,
2024.
H.R. 9040, Taxpayer Exposure Risk Reduction Act of 2024.
Introduced on July 15, 2024, by Rep. Byron Donalds. The bill
requires a government-wide review of transferring the financial
risk of certain federal programs to the private sector
insurance market in a transparent manner. This bill would
direct covered agencies to develop and implement plans to
transfer credit, guarantee, and insurance risk to the private
sector (e.g., housing and student lending, crop insurance,
etc.). The bill would also direct covered agencies to analyze
the use of private sector capabilities, including estimated
costs and efficiencies associated with such risk transfers, and
publicly report findings.
History: Introduced on July 15, 2024; Committee passed November 20,
2024.
H.R. 9593, Manager Attitudes and Notions According to
Government Employee Responses (MANAGER) Act. Introduced on
September 16, 2024, by Rep. Pete Sessions. The bill amends
Title 5 to require an annual survey of federal managers is
conducted using specific questions to provide insight into
their views. The questions inquire about employee discipline,
support and training for managers, and general morale among
employees in supervisory positions.
History: Introduced on September 16, 2024; Committee passed September
18, 2024.
H.R. 9594, Protecting Taxpayers Wallet Act. Introduced on
September 16, 2024, by Rep. Scott Perry. This bill would charge
federal labor organizations for their use of agency resources
as well as any official time. Specifically, Federal agencies
will assess public sector labor organizations a fee to utilize
agency resources (e.g., office space, parking space, equipment,
and expenses incurred while on union time or otherwise
performing non-agency business) and any official union time
used by all labor representatives affiliated with such labor
organization (time an agency employee who is a labor
representative spends performing non-federal agency business
while being paid by the Federal government). Any labor
representative who uses union time without recording such use
shall be considered absent without leave and subject to
appropriate disciplinary action.
History: Introduced on September 16, 2024; Committee passed September
18, 2024.
H.R. 10062, Freedom to Petition the Government Act.
Introduced on October 29, 2024, by Rep. Andy Biggs. The bill
amends the D.C. Code to ensure meetings held in the District of
Columbia between nonprofit organizations headquartered outside
of the District and officials of the Federal Government are not
considered as doing business in the District of Columbia for
purposes of determining whether such organizations are required
to register with the District of Columbia.
History: Introduced on October 29, 2024; Committee passed November 20,
2024.
H.R. 10133, Timely Stock Disclosure Act. Introduced on
November 15, 2024, by Rep. Tim Burchett. The bill amends stock
trading disclosure requirements for the President, Vice-
President, Members of Congress, and senior government officials
(e.g., political appointees, senior Congressional staff,
federal employees at GS-15 or higher). The bill lowers the
Periodic Transaction Reports (5 U.S.C. 13105(l)) timeline from
30 days and 45 days to 15 days and 30 days, respectively, for
any transactions exceeding $1,000 for ``stocks, bonds,
commodities futures, and other forms of securities.'' The
reforms would go into effect 90 days after enactment.
History: Introduced on November 15, 2024; Committee passed November 20,
2024.
H.R. 10151, Modernizing Data Practices to Improve
Government Act. Introduced on November 18, 2024, by Rep. Summer
L. Lee. Senate companion (S. 5109) introduced on September 19,
2024, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. This bill extends the Chief Data
Officer (CDO) Council--established by the OPEN Government Data
Act (P.L. 115-435, Title II) in 2019--and updates the functions
of the Council to support agencies in leveraging emerging
technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) oversight. The
bill adds a senior official for privacy as an ex officio member
of the Council. Further, the bill requires the Council to
report to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Director with recommendations and best practices for
agencies to enable adoption, maintenance, use, and
interoperability of AI and requires the Director to issue or
update guidance, as appropriate, in response to Council
recommendations.
History: Introduced on November 18, 2024; Committee passed November 20,
2024.
E. Postal Naming Measures Enacted Into Law
H.R. 292, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 24355 Creekside Road in Santa
Clarita, California, as the ``William L. Reynolds Post Office
Building''. Introduced on January 11, 2023, by Rep. Mike
Garcia. (P.L. 118-52).
H.R. 599, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 3500 West 6th Street, Suite 103 in
Los Angeles, California, as the ``Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Post
Office''. Introduced on January 27, 2023, by Rep. Jimmy Gomez.
(P.L. 118-108).
H.R. 996, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 3901 MacArthur Blvd, in New Orleans,
Louisiana, as the ``Dr. Rudy Lombard Post Office''. Introduced
on February 14, 2023, by Rep. Troy Carter. Senate companion (S.
3634) introduced on January 22, 2024, by Sen. Bill Cassidy.
(P.L. 118-53).
H.R. 1060, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1663 East Date Place in San
Bernardino, California, as the ``Dr. Margaret B. Hill Post
Office Building''. Introduced on February 17, 2023, by Rep.
Pete Aguilar. (P.L. 118-110).
H.R. 1098, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 50 East Derry Road in East Derry, New
Hampshire, as the ``Chief Edward B. Garone Post Office''.
Introduced on February 17, 2023, by Rep. Chris Pappas. Senate
companion (S. 4564) introduced on June 18, 2024, by Sen. Jeanne
Shaheen. (P.L. 118-111).
H.R. 2379, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 616 East Main Street in St. Charles,
Illinois, as the ``Veterans of the Vietnam War Memorial Post
Office''. Introduced on March 29, 2023, by Rep. Raja
Krishnamoorthi. (P.L. 118-54).
H.R. 2754, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 2395 East Del Mar Boulevard in
Laredo, Texas, as the ``Lance Corporal David Lee Espinoza,
Lance Corporal Juan Rodrigo Rodriguez & Sergeant Roberto
Arizola Jr. Post Office Building''. Introduced on April 20,
2023, by Rep. Henry Cuellar. (P.L. 118-55).
H.R. 3608, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 28081 Marguerite Parkway in Mission
Viejo, California, as the ``Major Megan McClung Post Office
Building''. Introduced on May 23, 2023, by Rep. Young Kim.
(P.L. 118-112).
H.R. 3728, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 25 Dorchester Avenue, Room 1, in
Boston, Massachusetts, as the ``Caroline Chang Post Office''.
Introduced on May 25, 2023, by Rep. Ayanna Pressley. Senate
companion (S. 1759) introduced on May 30, 2023, by Sen. Edward
J. Markey. (P.L. 118-113).
H.R. 3865, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 101 South 8th Street in Lebanon,
Pennsylvania, as the ``Lieutenant William D. Lebo Post Office
Building''. Introduced on June 6, 2023, by Rep. Daniel Meuser.
(P.L. 118-56).
H.R. 3944, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 120 West Church Street in Mount
Vernon, Georgia, as the ``Second Lieutenant Patrick Palmer
Calhoun Post Office''. Introduced on June 6, 2023, by Rep. Rick
W. Allen. (P.L. 118-57).
H.R. 3947, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 859 North State Road 21 in Melrose,
Florida, as the ``Pamela Jane Rock Post Office Building''.
Introduced on June 9, 2023, by Rep. Aaron Bean. (P.L. 118-58).
H.R. 5476, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1077 River Road, Suite 1, in
Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, as the ``Susan C. Barnhart
Post Office''. Introduced on September 14, 2023, by Rep. Brian
Fitzpatrick. Senate companion (S. 4076) introduced on April 8,
2024, by Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (P.L. 118-116).
H.R. 5640, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 12804 Chillicothe Road in
Chesterland, Ohio, as the ``Sgt. Wolfgang Kyle Weninger Post
Office Building''. Introduced on September 21, 2023, by David
P. Joyce. Senate companion (S. 3507) introduced on December 13,
2023, by Sen. J. D. Vance. (P.L. 118-118).
H.R. 5712, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 220 Fremont Street in Kiel,
Wisconsin, as the ``Trooper Trevor J. Casper Post Office
Building''. Introduced on September 26, 2023, by Rep. Glenn
Grothman. (P.L. 118-119).
H.R. 5985, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 517 Seagaze Drive in Oceanside,
California, as the ``Charlesetta Reece Allen Post Office
Building''. Introduced on October 18, 2023, by Rep. Mike Levin.
(P.L. 118-121).
H.R. 6073, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 9925 Bustleton Avenue in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the ``Sergeant Christopher David
Fitzgerald Post Office Building''. Introduced on October 26,
2023, by Rep. Brendan F. Boyle. (P.L. 118-122).
H.R. 6651, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 603 West 3rd Street in Necedah,
Wisconsin, as the ``Sergeant Kenneth E. Murphy Post Office
Building''. Introduced on December 6, 2023, by Rep. Thomas P.
Tiffany. (P.L. 118-125).
H.R. 7192, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 333 West Broadway in Anaheim,
California, as the ``Dr. William I. `Bill' Kott Post Office
Building''. Introduced on February 1, 2024, by Rep. Luis J.
Correa. (P.L. 118-126).
H.R. 7199, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at S74w16860 Janesville Road, in
Muskego, Wisconsin, as the ``Colonel Hans Christian Heg Post
Office''. Introduced on February 1, 2024, by Rep. Scott
Fitzgerald. (P.L. 118-127).
H.R. 7423, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 103 Benedette Street in Rayville,
Louisiana, as the ``Luke Letlow Post Office Building''.
Introduced on February 20, 2024, by Rep. Steve Scalise. Senate
companion (S. 4329) introduced on May 14, 2024, by Sen. Bill
Cassidy. (P.L. 118-129).
S. 2143, A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 320 South 2nd Avenue in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota, as the ``Staff Sergeant Robb Lura Rolfing
Post Office Building''. Introduced on June 22, 2023, by Sen.
Mike Rounds. (P.L. 118-132).
S. 2274, A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 112 Wyoming Street in
Shoshoni, Wyoming, as the ``Dessie A. Bebout Post Office''.
Introduced on July 12, 2023, by Sen. John Barrasso. (P.L. 118-
133).
S. 3267, A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 410 Dakota Avenue South in
Huron, South Dakota, as the ``First Lieutenant Thomas Michael
Martin Post Office Building''. Introduced on November 9, 2023,
by Sen. Mike Rounds. (P.L. 118-135).
S. 3419, A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 1765 Camp Hill Bypass in Camp
Hill, Pennsylvania, as the ``John Charles Traub Post Office''.
Introduced on December 6, 2023, by Sen. John Fetterman. (P.L.
118-136).
S. 3639, A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 2075 West Stadium Boulevard in
Ann Arbor, Michigan, as the ``Robert Hayden Post Office''.
Introduced on January 23, 2024, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. (P.L.
118-100).
S. 3640, A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 155 South Main Street in Mount
Clemens, Michigan, as the ``Lieutenant Colonel Alexander
Jefferson Post Office''. Introduced on January 23, 2024, by
Sen. Gary C. Peters. (P.L. 118-101).
S. 3851, A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 90 McCamly Street South in
Battle Creek, Michigan, as the ``Sojourner Truth Post Office''.
Introduced on February 29, 2024, by Sen. Gary C. Peters. House
companion (H.R. 8405) introduced on May 15, 2024, by Rep. Bill
Huizenga. (P.L. 118-102).
S. 3946, A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 1106 Main Street in Bastrop,
Texas, as the ``Sergeant Major Billy D. Waugh Post Office''.
Introduced on March 14, 2024, by Sen. Ted Cruz. House companion
(H.R. 5084) introduced on July 28, 2023, by Rep. Michael T.
McCaul. (P.L. 118-201).
S. 4077, A bill to designate the facility of the United
States Postal Service located at 180 Steuart Street in San
Francisco, California, as the ``Dianne Feinstein Post Office''.
Introduced on April 8, 2024, by Sen. Alex Padilla. (P.L. 118-
204).
H.R. 1555, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 2300 Sylvan Avenue in Modesto,
California, as the ``Corporal Michael D. Anderson Jr. Post
Office Building''. Introduced on March 10, 2023, by Rep. Tom
McClintock. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the
time of printing.
H.R. 1823, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 207 East Fort Dade Avenue in
Brooksville, Florida, as the ``Specialist Justin Dean Coleman
Memorial Post Office Building''. Introduced on March 28, 2023,
by Rep. Gus Bilirakis. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not
available at the time of printing.
H.R. 3354, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 220 North Hatcher Avenue in
Purcellville, Virginia, as the ``Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright Post Office Building''. Introduced on May 15, 2023, by
Rep. Jennifer Wexton. Senate companion (S. 4737) introduced on
July 25, 2024, by Rep. Tim Kaine. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number
not available at the time of printing.
H.R. 5867, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 109 Live Oaks Boulevard in
Casselberry, Florida, as the ``Colonel Joseph William Kittinger
II Post Office Building''. Introduced on October 2, 2023, by
Rep. Cory Mills. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at
the time of printing.
H.R. 6116, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 14280 South Military Trail in Delray
Beach, Florida, as the ``Benjamin Berell Ferencz Post Office
Building''. Introduced on October 20, 2023, by Rep. Lois
Frankel. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time
of printing.
H.R. 6162, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 379 North Oates Street in Dothan,
Alabama, as the ``LaBruce `Bruce' Tidwell Post Office
Building''. Introduced on November 1, 2023, by Rep. Barry
Moore. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time
of printing.
H.R. 6188, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 420 Highway 17 North in Surfside
Beach, South Carolina, as the ``Nancy Yount Childs Post Office
Building''. Introduced on November 2, 2023, by Rep. Russell
Fry. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of
printing.
H.R. 6244, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1535 East Los Ebanos Boulevard in
Brownsville, Texas, as the ``1st Lieutenant Andres Zermeno Post
Office Building''. Introduced on November 6, 2023, by Rep.
Vicente Gonzalez. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at
the time of printing.
H.R. 6633, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 9355 113th Street in Seminole,
Florida, as the ``Army SSG Ryan Christian Knauss Memorial Post
Office Building''. Introduced on December 6, 2023, by Rep. Anna
Paulina Luna. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the
time of printing.
H.R. 6750, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 501 Mercer Street Southwest in
Wilson, North Carolina, as the ``Milton F. Fitch, Sr. Post
Office Building''. Introduced on December 13, 2023, by Rep.
Donald G. Davis. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at
the time of printing.
H.R. 6810, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 518 North Ridgewood Drive in Sebring,
Florida, as the ``U.S. Army Air Corps Major Thomas B. McGuire
Post Office Building''. Introduced on December 14, 2023, by
Rep. Scott C. Franklin. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not
available at the time of printing.
H.R. 6983, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 15 South Valdosta Road in Lakeland,
Georgia, as the ``Nell Patten Roquemore Post Office''.
Introduced on January 11, 2024, by Rep. Austin Scott. (P.L.
118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of printing.
H.R. 7180, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 80 1st Street in Kingsland, Arkansas,
as the ``Kingsland `Johnny Cash' Post Office''. Introduced on
January 31, 2024, by Rep. Bruce Westerman. (P.L. 118-___).
*P.L. number not available at the time of printing.
H.R. 7158, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 201 East Battles Road in Santa Maria,
California, as the ``Larry Lavagnino Post Office Building''.
Introduced on January 31, 2024, by Rep. Salud O. Carbajal.
(P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of
printing.
H.R. 7385, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 29 Franklin Street in Petersburg,
Virginia, as the ``John Mercer Langston Post Office Building''.
Introduced on February 15, 2024, by Rep. Jennifer L. McClellan.
Senate companion (S. 5022) introduced on February 15, 2024, by
Sen. Mark R. Warner. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available
at the time of printing.
H.R. 7417, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 135 West Spring Street in Titusville,
Pennsylvania, as the ``Edwin L. Drake Post Office Building''.
Introduced on February 20, 2024, by Rep. Mike Kelly. (P.L. 118-
___). *P.L. number not available at the time of printing.
H.R. 7507, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 203 East 6th Street in Lexington,
Nebraska, as the ``William E. and Elise L. Barrett Post Office
Building''. Introduced on February 29, 2024, by Rep. Adrian
Smith. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time
of printing.
H.R. 7508, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1285 Emancipation Highway in
Fredericksburg, Virginia, as the ``Gladys P. Todd Post
Office''. Introduced on February 29, 2024, by Rep. Abigail
Davis Spanberger. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at
the time of printing.
H.R. 7606, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 1087 Route 47 South in Rio Grande,
New Jersey, as the ``Carlton H. Hand Post Office Building''.
Introduced on March 8, 2024, by Rep. Jefferson Van Drew. (P.L.
118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of printing.
H.R. 7607, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at Block 1025, Lots 18 & 19, Northeast
Corner of US Route 9 South and Main Street in the Township of
Middle, County of Cape May, New Jersey, as the ``George Henry
White Post Office Building''. Introduced on March 8, 2024, by
Rep. Jefferson Van Drew. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not
available at the time of printing.
H.R. 7893, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 306 Pickens Street in Marion,
Alabama, as the ``Albert Turner, Sr. Post Office Building''.
Introduced on April 9, 2024, by Rep. Terri A. Sewell. (P.L.
118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of printing.
H.R. 8057, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 9317 Bolsa Avenue in Westminster,
California, as the ``Little Saigon Vietnam War Veterans
Memorial Post Office''. Introduced on April 17, 2024, by Rep.
Michelle Steel. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at
the time of printing.
H.R. 8641, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 401 Main Street in Brawley,
California, as the ``Walter Francis Ulloa Memorial Post Office
Building''. Introduced on June 5, 2024, by Rep. Raul Ruiz.
(P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of
printing.
H.R. 8717, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 20 West Main Street in Santaquin,
Utah, as the ``SGT Bill Hooser Post Office Building''.
Introduced on June 12, 2024, by Rep. Burgess Owens. (P.L. 118-
___). *P.L. number not available at the time of printing.
H.R. 8841, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 114 Center Street East in Roseau,
Minnesota, as the ``Floyd B. Olson Post Office''. Introduced on
June 26, 2024, by Rep. Michelle Fischbach. Senate companion (S.
4938) introduced on August 1, 2024, by Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
(P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of
printing.
H.R. 8868, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 609 Portsmouth Avenue in Greenland,
New Hampshire, as the ``Chief Michael Maloney Post Office
Building''. Introduced on June 27, 2024, by Rep. Chris Pappas.
(P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of
printing.
H.R. 8909, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 82 6110 Mamalahoa Highway in Captain
Cook, Hawaii, as the ``Army 1st Lt. John Kuulei Kauhaihao Post
Office Building''. Introduced on June 28, 2024, by Rep. Jill N.
Tokuda. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time
of printing.
H.R. 8919, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 151 Highway 74 South in Peachtree
City, Georgia, as the ``SFC Shawn McCloskey Post Office''.
Introduced on July 2, 2024, by Rep. A. Drew Ferguson. (P.L.
118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of printing.
H.R. 8976, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 20 West White Street in Millstadt,
Illinois, as the ``Corporal Matthew A. Wyatt Post Office''.
Introduced on July 10, 2024, by Rep. Mike Bost. (P.L. 118-___).
*P.L. number not available at the time of printing.
H.R. 9285, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 3913 Leland Avenue Northwest in
Comstock Park, Michigan, as the ``Captain Miguel Justin Nava
Post Office''. Introduced on August 2, 2024, by Rep. Hillary J.
Scholten. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the
time of printing.
H.R. 9322, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 675 Wolf Ledges Parkway in Akron,
Ohio, as the ``Judge James R. Williams Post Office Building''.
Introduced on August 6, 2024, by Rep. Emilia Strong Sykes.
(P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of
printing.
H.R. 9421, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 108 North Main Street in Bucoda,
Washington, as the ``Mayor Rob Gordon Post Office''. Introduced
on August 27, 2024, by Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. (P.L. 118-
___). *P.L. number not available at the time of printing.
H.R. 9544, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 340 South Loudon Avenue in Baltimore,
Maryland, as the ``United States Representative Elijah E.
Cummings Post Office Building''. Introduced on September 11,
2024, by Rep. Kweisi Mfume. Senate companion (S. 5019)
introduced on September 11, 2024, by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin.
(P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of
printing.
H.R. 9549, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 125 South 1st Avenue in Hillsboro,
Oregon, as the ``Elizabeth Furse Post Office Building''.
Introduced on September 12, 2024, by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici.
(P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of
printing.
H.R. 9580, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 2777 Brentwood Road in Raleigh, North
Carolina, as the ``Millie Dunn Veasey Post Office''. Introduced
on September 12, 2024, by Deborah K. Ross. (P.L. 118-___).
*P.L. number not available at the time of printing.
H.R. 9600, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 119 Main Street in Plains, Georgia,
as the ``Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Post Office''. Introduced on
September 16, 2024, by Rep. Sanford D. Bishop. Senate companion
(S. 5345) introduced on November 19, 2024, by Sen. Jon Ossoff.
(P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time of
printing.
H.R. 9775, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 119 North Anderson Street in Elwood,
Indiana, as the ``Officer Noah Jacob Shahnavaz Post Office
Building''. Introduced on September 24, 2024, by Rep. Victoria
Spartz. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time
of printing.
H.R. 10065, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 802 North Tancahua Street in Corpus
Christi, Texas, as the ``Captain Robert E. 'Bob' Batterson Post
Office''. Introduced on October 29, 2024, by Rep. Michael
Cloud. (P.L. 118-___). *P.L. number not available at the time
of printing.
F. Postal Naming Measures Passed by the House
H.R. 1687, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 6444 San Fernando Road in Glendale,
California, as the ``Paul Ignatius Post Office''. Introduced on
March 21, 2023, by Rep. Adam B. Schiff.
H.R. 5034, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 2119 Market Square in Christiansted,
St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, as the ``Lieutenant
General Samuel E. Ebbesen Post Office''. Introduced on July 27,
2023, by Rep. Stacey Plaskett.
H.R. 9360, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 300 Macedonia Lane in Knoxville,
Tennessee, as the ``Reverend Harold Middlebrook Post Office
Building''. Introduced on August 16, 2024, by Rep. Tim
Burchett.
G. Postal Naming Measures Approved by the Committee
H.R. 8516, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 840 Front Street in Casselton, North
Dakota, as the ``Commander Delbert Austin Olson Post Office''.
Introduced on May 23, 2024, by Rep. Kelly Armstrong. Senate
companion (S. 4404) introduced on May 23, 2024, by Sen. Kevin
Cramer.
H.R. 9174, To designate the facility of the United States
Postal Service located at 31143 State Highway 65 in Pengilly,
Minnesota, as the ``First Lieutenant Richard Arne Koski Post
Office''. Introduced on July 25, 2024, by Rep. Pete Stauber.
Senate companion (S. 4803) introduced on July 25, 2024, by Sen.
Amy Klobuchar.
VII. SUMMARY OF OVERSIGHT PLAN AND CORRESPONDING ACTIONS
A. Summary of Committee Oversight Plan
The Committee's authorization and oversight plan for the
118th Congress reflected an intent to enact legislation to
reauthorize lapsed authorization and conduct oversight of
programs under the Committee's legislative and its much broader
oversight jurisdiction.
Planned oversight included examining instances of waste,
fraud, abuse, and mismanagement of the activities of the
federal government, with an emphasis on spending. The
Committee's oversight covered federal government departments,
agencies, and programs with an eye toward solutions for
eliminating wasteful spending and abuse of authority. The
Committee also focused on the scope of and reasons for
unprecedented levels of fraud and improper payments in COVID-
relief programs. As the authorizer of civil service rules under
Title 5 of the United States Code, the Committee conducted
oversight to ensure the federal workforce is operating
efficiently and effectively and serves the needs of the
American people. The Committee examined whether expanded
telework and remote work policies adversely affect agency
performance. The Committee also emphasized oversight of the
federal regulatory process to ensure that federal regulators
work to minimize unnecessary burdens on small businesses, job
creation, economic growth, and competitiveness in the global
marketplace while maintaining protections for the American
people.
B. Full Committee
BIDEN FAMILY CORRUPTION
The Committee investigated the Biden family's international
influence peddling. The Committee first sought to understand
the events that led to the suppression of reporting on
potential Biden family corruption, namely the throttling and
censorship of reporting in 2020 regarding an abandoned laptop
that appeared to belong to Robert Hunter Biden, the son of
President Joe Biden. The laptop--which the Committee later
learned from IRS whistleblowers had been verified as belonging
to Hunter Biden in late 2019--appeared replete with discussions
and evidence of financial activity previously undisclosed and
seeming to implicate foreign actors from China, Russia,
Ukraine, and other countries. In January 2023, Chairman Comer
subpoenaed three former executives of Twitter--James Baker,
Vijaya Gadde, and Yoel Roth--to testify to the events that
occurred regarding Twitter's decision to limit the
dissemination of initial reporting on the abandoned laptop. On
February 8, 2023, the Committee held a hearing on the role of
social media companies in limiting the flow of information
about this story in the runup to the 2020 presidential
election, entitled ``Protecting Speech from Government
Interference and Social Media Bias, Part 1: Twitter's Role in
Suppressing the Biden Laptop Story.'' During the hearing,
former Twitter executives acknowledged the mistakes of the
company in suppressing the original reporting on the abandoned
laptop.
Meanwhile, in January 2023, the Committee wrote to the
Department of the Treasury (Treasury) requesting access to
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) generated in connection to
Hunter Biden, James Biden, and various known Biden family
associates and entities connected to the Biden family,
including various Rosemont Seneca entities and others. In
February 2023, the Committee followed up with Treasury, and in
March 2023, Chairman Comer demanded a transcribed interview
from a Treasury official to explain Treasury's failure to
produce SARs to the Committee. Soon after demanding the
transcribed interview, Treasury relented, and the Committee
gained access to SARs retained by Treasury's Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network in March 2023.
The SARs reviewed by the Committee revealed a complex
series of transfers of funds from foreign individuals and
entities to companies affiliated with the Biden family--either
their own companies or companies nominally controlled by Biden
associates. Seeking to understand the final destination of
these funds, the Committee subpoenaed various Biden associates'
bank records, which showed a series of payments from foreign
actors and their associated entities that spanned several
years, including while Joe Biden served as Vice President. On
July 31, 2023, the Committee conducted a transcribed interview
of Devon Archer, a Biden family associate. Mr. Archer testified
to the Committee about the Biden ``brand,'' which was
understood by the Bidens and their associates to be then-Vice
President Joe Biden. Throughout the investigation, the
Committee conducted transcribed interviews and a deposition of
Biden family members, their associates, and other key
witnesses. On February 21, 2024, the Committee conducted a
transcribed interview of James Biden, President Biden's
brother; on February 28, 2024, the Committee deposed Hunter
Biden. On June 5, 2024, the Committees made criminal referrals
for both James Biden and Hunter Biden for material falsehoods
they told to the Committees during their respective interviews.
The Committee's findings regarding the Biden family's
financial transactions were troubling. On March 16, 2023, the
Committee released its first bank memorandum highlighting the
money flow from foreign actors to the Biden family and their
associates. Subsequent bank memoranda were released on May 10,
2023, August 9, 2023, and November 1, 2023. The bank records
memoranda were based upon the subpoenaed bank records of the
Biden family members and their associates. Through its review
of bank records and confirmed by witness testimony, the
Committee was able to account for over $27 million brought in
by Biden family members and their associates from 2014 to 2019.
Throughout the investigation, the Committee held press
conferences and hearings to provide the American people
transparency of the Committee's investigation. These important
opportunities allowed Members to speak directly to the public
about the evidence uncovered. On May 10, 2023, the Committee
held a press conference revealing foreign money flowing to the
Biden family and the over 20 shell entities used to facilitate
their influence peddling. On June 12, 2023, the Committee held
a hearing titled ``Hearing with IRS Whistleblowers About the
Biden Criminal Investigation.'' The hearing showcased two IRS
whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who confirmed
the Committee's findings regarding the foreign money traced to
the Bidens and disclosed how the Biden Administration
obstructed the investigation into Hunter Biden. The testimony
obtained in this hearing proved pivotal in confirming the
important aspects of the Committee's investigation and
informing the Members about the injustices taking place within
the Biden Administration.
On September 12, 2023, Speaker McCarthy announced the
commencement of an impeachment inquiry led by the Committee,
the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Ways and
Means, which was later affirmed by a full-floor vote on
December 14, 2023. On September 28, 2023, the Committee held a
hearing titled, ``The Basis for an Impeachment Inquiry of
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.'' The hearing included
constitutional scholar, Jonathan Turley, who testified that an
impeachment inquiry was appropriate and justified.
On August 19, 2024, the Committees released an almost 300-
page report of the impeachment inquiry, finding President Biden
engaged in impeachable conduct through his involvement in his
family's business schemes and by obstructing the impeachment
inquiry.
PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGERS
The Committee held three hearings and reviewed more than
140,000 pages of documents, examining the role of Pharmacy
Benefit Managers (PBMs) in the rising cost of prescription
drugs. PBMs' role as intermediaries between drug manufacturers
and health insurance providers should have made them, in
theory, the best positioned entities to decrease the cost of
prescription drugs. The three largest PBMs, CVS Caremark
(Caremark), Cigna Express Scripts (Express Scripts), and
UnitedHealth Group's Optum Rx (Optum Rx), control more than 80
percent of the market and are vertically integrated with health
insurers, pharmacies, and providers. As large health care
conglomerates, some have argued that these PBMs' vertical
integration with insurers and pharmacies would better position
them to improve patient access and decrease the cost of
prescription drugs. Instead, the opposite has occurred:
patients are seeing significantly higher costs with fewer
choices and worse care.
On March 23, 2023, the Committee held its first of three
hearings on the role of PBMs in prescription drug pricing.
During the first hearing the Committee heard testimony from a
physician, a PBM, and a pharmacist. On September 19, 2023, the
Committee held its second hearing, with leaders from the trade
associations for brand pharmaceutical manufacturers, generic
manufacturers, PBMs, and community pharmacists. Lastly, after
reviewing more than 140,000 pages of documents, the Committee
held its final hearing on July 23, 2024, with the CEOs of the
three largest PBMs, and released a report with its findings.
The Committee's report laid out the findings that the three
largest PBMs have used their position as middlemen and
integration with health insurers, pharmacies, providers, and
recently manufacturers, to enact anticompetitive policies and
protect their bottom line. Additionally, the Committee found
PBMs frequently tout the savings they provide for payers and
patients through negotiation, drug utilization programs, and
spread pricing, even though evidence indicates that these
schemes often increase costs for patients and payers. As many
states and the federal government weigh and implement PBM
reforms, the three largest PBMs have begun creating foreign
corporate entities and moving certain operations abroad to
avoid transparency and proposed reforms.
PANDEMIC WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE
The first Full Committee hearing of the 118th Congress
focused on improper payments and fraud in COVID-19-era relief
programs. On February 1, 2023, the Committee held a hearing
entitled ``Federal Pandemic Spending: A Prescription for Waste,
Fraud and Abuse.'' The Subcommittee on Government Operations
and the Federal Workforce also held its first subcommittee
hearing--on March 9, 2023, entitled ``Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
Go Viral: Inspectors General on Curing the Disease''--with
inspectors general focused on fraud and improper payments in a
number of key pandemic-era programs. At both of these hearings,
the magnitude of fraudulently obtained payments revealed was
staggering. While improper payments, which include fraud, have
long been a concern for Congress, pandemic-era spending
programs exposed how vulnerable federal agencies were to
criminals--especially fraud due to identity theft. We will
likely never know how the exact amount of fraud that occurred
during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) estimates over half a trillion dollars was lost.
The COVID-19 pandemic may have been a failed stress test,
but the problem of improper payments under any conditions is
likely to grow. GAO estimates that federal agencies have made
$2.7 trillion in improper payments since 2003, with $236
billion in fiscal year 2023 alone. The vast majority of non-
fraud improper payments are overpayments, which means excess
funds have to be recouped. However, in the case of fraud, it
usually takes a long and difficult process to prosecute the
crime and get money back into the treasury, with only a small
portion of payments recouped. Additionally, on September 10,
2024, the Committee released a report entitled ``Examining
Widespread Fraud in Pandemic Unemployment Relief Programs,''
which identified the causes of widespread fraud and provided
several recommendations to prevent the similar fraud from
occurring again.
OVERSIGHT OF THE BORDER CRISIS
Amid a historic border crisis, immediately upon organizing
under a Republican majority, the Committee initiated an
investigation to understand the origins and consequences of the
Biden-Harris Administration's facilitation of millions of
illegal aliens entering into the United States. Through its
investigation of the U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS),
including component agencies involved in border and immigration
enforcement, the Committee has reviewed thousands of documents,
sent numerous request letters, and held several hearings with
DHS personnel and immigration and public security experts
regarding the border crisis.
The Committee has demanded answers on the administration's
failures and sought solutions to end the crisis. The Committee
focused specifically on: the Office of Refugee Resettlement's
failure to track and ensure the safety of unaccompanied alien
children; the failure of DHS to prevent Known and Suspected
Terrorists from entering the United States; the effects of the
border crisis on the United States legal immigration system;
the Biden-Harris Administration's unlawful abuse of parole
authorities under the Immigration and Nationality Act; the
Biden-Harris Administration's use of nongovernmental
organizations to transport and shelter illegal aliens across
the country at taxpayers' expense; the role of the border
crisis in the fentanyl overdose epidemic, which has left
hundreds of thousands of Americans dead; the failure of the
Biden-Harris Administration to detain and deport criminal
illegal aliens and that failure's effect on public safety; the
Biden-Harris Administration's abuse of the asylum process,
including its failure to conduct credible fear screenings.
On February 7, 2023, the Committee held a hearing titled
``On The Front Lines of the Border Crisis: A Hearing with Chief
Patrol Agents'' with Chief Patrol Agents John Modlin and Gloria
Chavez to better understand and seek solutions to end the
crisis at the southwest border. During this hearing, Chief
Modlin emphasized that apprehension at the southwest border
dramatically increased under the Biden-Harris Administration.
Chief Modlin was at a loss for words to describe the crisis,
stating, ``I don't have the correct adjective to describe
what's going on.'' Chief Chavez noted that her sector, the Rio
Grande Valley sector, is a ``major corridor'' ``exploited daily
[by cartels and transnational criminal organizations] for human
smuggling, narcotics trafficking, and other illicit
activities.''
From April to September of 2023, the Committee interviewed
the nine Chief Patrol Agents in charge of the U.S. Border
Patrol sectors at the southwest border. These front-line agents
expressed to the Committee their concern that the high level of
encounters of illegal aliens at the southwest border was
inhibiting their ability to secure the border and protect. The
Chief Patrol Agents' testimony was detailed in a staff report,
``Crisis at the Border: Reports from the Frontline,'' released
on January 16, 2024. The report highlights the Chief Patrol
Agents' expert opinions, including that border barrier systems
are an effective tool in enhancing border security, that the
high flow at the southwest border led to increased numbers of
known gotaways--illegal aliens who escaped apprehension
entirely--and that delivering adequate consequences for illegal
activity are imperative to deterring illegal entry into the
United States.
On January 17, 2024, the Committee held a hearing titled
``The Biden Administration's Regulatory and Policymaking
Efforts to Undermine U.S. Immigration Law'' with immigration
experts Tom Homan and Joe Edlow. At the hearing, Mr. Homan
explained how ``President Biden is the first President to ever
unsecure a border on purpose.'' Mr. Edlow described how the
Biden-Harris Administration ``has waged war against the
immigration system of the United States''' and undermined the
legal immigration system.
WASHINGTON D.C.
On March 29, 2023, in response to the crime crisis in the
District, the Committee held a hearing with Members of the D.C.
Council, the D.C. CFO, and the head of the D.C. Police Union,
titled ``Overdue Oversight of the Capital City: Part I.'' At
this hearing, members highlighted how D.C. officials have
failed their responsibility to keep Americans safe, spur local
economic development, adequately fund local law enforcement,
and provide good educational opportunities. Witnesses included:
Phil Mendelson, DC Council Chairman; Charles Allen, D.C.
Councilmember; Greggory Pemberton, D.C. Police Union Chief; and
Glenn Lee, Chief Financial Officer for the District of
Columbia. Members discussed the rampant crime and the D.C.
Council's pro-crime laws, one of which was repealed by the
Congress via H.J. Res. 26. The Committee learned more about the
far-left policies being implemented within the District and the
D.C. Council's apathy for those affected by the lawlessness
within the District.
On May 16, 2023, the Committee held a follow-up hearing
titled ``Overdue Oversight of the Capital City: Part II.''
Members questioned Mayor Muriel Bowser, U.S. Attorney Matthew
Graves, then- Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Police Chief
Robert Contee, and City Administrator Kevin Donahue about
efforts to prevent and prosecute crime in the district and spur
economic growth. During this hearing, members questioned the
witnesses why the prosecution rate for criminals was so low and
why the D.C. MPD was consistently falling short of its
recruiting goals for new officers. After this hearing,
Committee members crafted multiple legislative proposals to
both assist the MPD and further combat pro-crime legislation
from the D.C. Council.
On June 7, 2023, the Committee held a joint hearing with
the Committee on House Administration titled ``American
Confidence in Elections: The Path to Election Integrity in the
District of Columbia.'' At the hearing, members and witnesses
highlighted how local elections suffer from a lack of election
safeguards, outdated voter rolls, and rampant ballot harvesting
tactics. As a result, election uncertainty has dramatically
increased, and Americans are losing confidence in the electoral
process. The Committee has a responsibility to examine election
integrity reforms for the District of Columbia, as the District
can set an example for the country. During the hearing, Members
of both committees championed the American Confidence in
Elections Act (``ACE Act''), which would implement best
practices and have the District of Columbia serve as a
blueprint nationwide for election integrity reforms.
On April 30, 2024, Chairman Comer and House Committee on
Education and the Workforce Chairwoman Virginia Foxx sent a
letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser and MPD Chief Pamela Smith
raising concerns about MPD's refusal to assist in clearing out
an encampment of unlawful and antisemitic protestors on GWU's
campus. On May 1, 2024, Chairman Comer and Representatives
Lauren Boebert, Anna Paulina Luna, Byron Donalds, Eric
Burlison, and William Timmons met with George Washington
University leadership and toured the radical, antisemitic, and
unlawful encampment on the university's campus. Following the
tour, members called on D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to empower the
MPD to clear out the unlawful encampment and restore the rule
of law to protect students and staff. In the early morning
hours of May 8--just hours before the Oversight Committee
planned to hold a scheduled hearing with Mayor Bowser and MPD
Chief Pamela Smith--MPD finally cleared out the encampment. It
took the threat of a potential Oversight Committee hearing for
Mayor Bowser to finally act.
COUNTERING THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY
On March 13, 2024, the Committee launched a government-wide
investigation to assess whether a cohesive strategy exists to
identify, counter, and deter the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
in the political, economic, psychological, and many forms of
warfare it is waging in its cold war against the United States.
The Committee sent letters to 25 federal agencies or sectors
and held three hearings to gain answers on behalf of the
American people. Witness testimony and dozens of agency
briefings (except with the Central Intelligence Agency and
National Security Council--both of which refused to comply with
Congressional oversight) revealed that under the Biden-Harris
Administration, no whole-of-government strategy exists. Most
agencies' solutions and policies either ignored, placated, or
only weakly addressed the CCP's unrestricted warfare.
The Committee's first hearing, titled ``Defending America
from the Chinese Communist Party's Political Warfare, Part I''
was held on April 17, 2024. This hearing emphasized the main
theme of the investigation, how the CCP is waging political
warfare against America. The purpose of the hearing was to
understand the CCP's ambitions and why the CCP sees America as
its main enemy, so that the U.S. government can identify,
address, and defeat the CCP threat. The witness panel included
three leading experts familiar with the CCP's ambitions:
Retired Colonel Grant Newsham, former Intelligence and Foreign
Service Officer; Peter Mattis, former CIA Counterintelligence
Analyst and President of Jamestown Foundation; and Retired
Brigadier General Robert Spalding, former U.S. government
senior national security official and CEO of SEMPRE. The
minority invited Timothy Snyder, a scholar of the history of
Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The Committee
learned how the CCP is targeting, infiltrating, and influencing
every sector of America, and the responsibilities that the U.S.
government must employ to safeguard America.
The Committee's second hearing, titled ``Defending America
from the Chinese Communist Party's Political Warfare, Part II''
was held on June 26, 2024. Witnesses included Erik Bethel,
former U.S. Executive Director at the World Bank; Retired U.S.
Navy Captain James Fanell, former Director of Intelligence
Operations for the U.S. Pacific Fleet; and Mary Kissel, former
Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The witnesses
focused on how the CCP infiltrates and influences specific
sectors, including international organizations, and U.S.
federal agencies and businesses. The Committee learned of elite
capture, a CCP tactic used to promote pro-CCP propaganda and
push false narratives in influential circles, to influence
decision-making at the highest levels. The minority invited Tom
Malinowski to testify, former Assistant Secretary of State for
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and former Member of
Congress (NJ-5).
The third and final hearing in this investigation, titled
``Defending America from the Chinese Communist Party's
Political Warfare, Part III'' was held on September 24, 2024.
This hearing focused on solutions that U.S. federal agencies
must implement to protect America from the CCP's desire to
weaken and destroy the country. The Committee heard testimony
from Robert Atkinson, Founder and President of the Information
Technology and Innovation Foundation; Ambassador Joseph Cella,
former U.S. Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and
Tuval; and Dr. Bradley Thayer, Founding Member of the Committee
on Present Danger: China. The minority invited Jacob Stokes to
testify, Senior Fellow for the Indo-Pacific Security Program at
the Center for a New American Security. The witnesses
highlighted the importance of understanding the CCP's ideology
and recognizing that the CCP sees its power competition with
America as war.
On October 24, 2024, the Committee published a 300-page
report that (1) exposes the CCP for what it is--a totalitarian
force that enslaves its own people, surveils and harasses
critics of the Party and people of Chinese descent around the
world, poisons tens of thousands of Americans every year with
fentanyl, and actively seeks to destroy America economically,
politically, and otherwise; and (2) details what federal
agencies, who work for the American people, are doing and
failing to do to thwart CCP unrestricted warfare. To assess how
agencies are fulfilling their duties to the American people,
the Committee scored each agency on key metrics--including
strategy, knowledge and expertise, transparency and outreach to
the American people, and collaboration with relevant partners
and stakeholders.
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) OVERSIGHT
The Committee conducted broad oversight of the
environmental, social, and governance (ESG) movement and how
the Biden-Harris Administration attempted to integrate it into
every facet of government. On May 10, 2023, the Committee held
its initial ESG oversight hearing entitled ``ESG Part 1: An
Examination of Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices
with Attorneys General,'' which provided alarming testimony
from state Attorneys General (AGs) about efforts to prioritize
ESG standards into investment decisions and how these efforts
could jeopardize American economic, energy and national
security. The AGs also pointed to the network of entities which
have sprouted up to drive these outcomes and the complicity of
asset managers to provide the fuel in the form of their
clients' money to fund the agenda.
On June 6, 2023, the Subcommittee on Economic Growth,
Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs and Subcommittee on Health
Care and Financial Services held a joint hearing entitled ESG
Part II: The Cascading Impacts of ESG Compliance on the
negative impact ESG investing is having on the American
economy. Members heard from expert witnesses that pressing the
liberal ESG agenda jeopardizes Americans' hard-earned
retirement savings, increases prices while lowering economic
growth, costs jobs, and reduces revenue. The Committee again
heard testimony that large asset managers are likely violating
their fiduciary duty to the customer when they prioritize ESG
outcomes and that greater transparency is needed.
The more the Committee dug into the ESG ecosystem, concerns
heightened around the interconnectedness and coordination among
market participants. On February 26, 2024, the Committee wrote
to the Federal Reserve questioning if the numerous coordinating
groups and their associated pledges that asset managers enter
into to push ESG run afoul of various banking laws designed to
determine who controls a bank. Specifically, the Committee
asked if pledges by asset managers to work together using all
assets under their control to push climate and other
progressive policies constitute control of a bank, which should
result in greater scrutiny by Federal regulators. As the
Committee continued to investigate the levers of power being
pulled by leftist activists to push ESG, it learned of efforts
by the California state pension fund (CalPERS) to use the
retirement funds of hard-working state employees to micro-
manage the affairs of one of the companies in which it invests.
This action raises serious questions about whether the pension
fund is focused on its fiduciary duty to focus exclusively on
maximizing investment returns as called for under federal tax
law. On June 6, 2024, the Committee wrote the IRS questioning
whether the agency is doing enough to ensure state-sponsored
plans are meeting these legal requirements.
What is clear to the Committee after studying this issue is
that many of the largest players in the financial services and
retirement communities have not always properly focused on
their duty of care to their customers but have inappropriately
undertaken a coordinated effort to persue a political agenda,
potentially jeopardizing America's retirement, energy, economic
and national security. The Committee will continue to
investigate how market players and their allies in the ESG
movement are using the clout provided to them by their clients'
investments (many of which are tax preferred assets which cost
the taxpayer billions of dollars in deferred tax) to push a
leftist political agenda. The Committee urges Congress and the
incoming Administration to take steps to ensure that the
financial services industry meet its legal obligations and not
simply pay lip service to fiduciary responsibilities.
REGULATORY OVERREACH
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, inflation
skyrocketed, U.S. national debt ballooned, housing became more
unaffordable, and everyday goods became more expensive. The
Biden-Harris Administration's economic and regulatory policies
fueled these troubling trends. Collectively, these counter-
productive policies came to be known as ``Bidenomics.''
On June 14, 2023, the Full Committee held a hearing to
examine the Biden-Harris Administration's ``whole-of-
government'' regulatory blowout and imposition of skyrocketing
regulatory costs. On September 19, 2023, the Subcommittee held
a hearing to further examine the impacts of the Biden-
Administration's economic and regulatory policies and high
levels of spending and to consider possible solutions to rein
in federal spending and regulatory overreach, lower the
national debt, decrease inflation, and balance the budget. On
September 25, 2024, the Subcommittee held a follow-up hearing
to discuss the harmful consequences from the Biden-Harris
Administration's reckless government spending and
overregulation, including for American households, workers, and
businesses. The hearing examined possible solutions to improve
economic conditions for Americans across the country. The
Committee also released a staff report on September 25, 2024,
entitled ``Death by a Thousand Regulations: The Biden-Harris
Administration's Campaign to Bury America in Red Tape.'' The
report details how the new regulatory costs under the Biden-
Harris Administration have significant consequences on the
economy, especially small businesses, which must find ways to
pay for these costly burdens.
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE
The Committee on Oversight and Accountability has
jurisdiction over the Postal Service under House Rule
X(1)(n)(9). In addition to a May 17, 2023, hearing in the
Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal
Workforce, the Full Committee held a general oversight hearing
of the Postal Service on December 10, 2024. Postmaster General
Louis DeJoy testified at both hearings on implementation of the
Postal Service Reform Act and the progress and impact of the
Delivering for America Plan. Although the Postal Service played
a significant role in the recent federal election cycle by
delivering election mail to and from voters, the Postal Service
has continued to face significant financial losses and
operational challenges related to implementation of the
Delivering for America Plan. Members urged the Postmaster
General to remain focused on achieving financial self-
sufficiency for the Postal Service's operations while also
improving overall service for Americans.
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
Article I of the U.S. Constitution requires a census of the
population be taken every ten years to form the basis of
apportionment and empowers Congress to carry out the decennial
census ``in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.'' The
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has primary
legislative jurisdiction over ``Population and demography
generally, including the Census''' pursuant to House Rule X.
The Committee held a general oversight hearing in the Full
Committee on December 5, 2024 with U.S. Census Bureau Director
Robert L. Santos to conduct oversight of the U.S. Census
Bureau's activities, especially with respect to ongoing
planning and preparation for the 2030 Decennial Census, and to
explore whether Congress should require the addition of a
simple citizenship question on the decennial census
questionnaire for the 2030 Census and subsequent Censuses.
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) serves as the
main human resource agency for the nation's largest employer,
the federal government. It provides a number of related
functions and services for current and retired federal
employees, as well as managing human capital policies across
the government.
During the 118th Congress, the Committee conducted
oversight over an array of matters related to OPM. These
include an investigation into ineligible individuals
participating in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program,
OPM's role in shielding federal workers from accountability,
efforts to ``Trump-proof'' the federal government through
collective bargaining agreements, and federal telework
policies.
On March 9, 2023, the Committee held a general oversight
hearing with OPM Director Kiran Ahuja as the sole witness. The
hearing covered a number of topics, including OPM's policies
and administration of benefits--to include progress on OPM's
implementation of the Postal Service Health Benefit Plan
(PSHB). President Biden's telework policies were a frequent
area of focus during the hearing, especially since Director
Ahuja was unable to tell the Committee a current number of
federal teleworkers. In part due to Director Ahuja's inability
to answer, the Committee sent a letter to OPM on May 18, 2023,
requesting specific information related to the Office's
telework policies.
The Committee held a second hearing with OPM May 22, 2024.
The Committee asked the Acting Director questions about OPM's
recently finalized rule intended to prevent future
administrations from reforming the civil service to allow for
increased accountability. Members also sought answers regarding
the purported benefits of empowering federal employee unions.
As in the first hearing, Committee members sought to understand
what, if any, evidence OPM and the Biden Administration had
used to justify federal telework policies.
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within the
Executive Office of the President ensures federal agencies
execute the President's policies for operating the federal
government. The Committee held a hearing with OMB's Deputy
Director for Management (DDM), Jason Miller, on April 25, 2024.
The DDM oversees Government-wide management of information
technology, procurement, performance, human resources, and
agency finances. The hearing provided general oversight of The
President's Management Agenda, management items in the
President's Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal, and government-
wide management policy memos and other directives. Members
emphasized that OMB had failed to prioritize effective, data-
driven decisions that would benefit American taxpayers and must
begin to take steps to ensure that the federal government
operates efficiently, including by requiring a return to
meaningful in-person work for federal employees. The Committee
additionally investigated the drafting and implementation of
President Biden's Executive Order 14019 related to
misutilization of federal agency resources for get-out-the-vote
purposes.
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) was
established in 1949 to consolidate administrative functions
throughout the federal government. GSA's activities managing
acquisition, maintenance, and disposal of real and personal
property, fleet vehicles, and information technology influences
billions of dollars in annual discretionary spending across
executive branch agencies.
The Committee held a hearing on November 14, 2023, with GSA
Administrator Robin Carnahan to conduct oversight of the GSA's
activities, especially in light of Government Accountability
Office (GAO) data indicating that GSA spent hundreds of
millions of dollars on furniture for federal agencies during
the post-covid era even though 17 of 24 major agency
headquarters buildings were less than 25 percent occupied, with
some less than 10 percent full.
In addition, the Committee jointly conducted an
investigation with the Committee on the Judiciary into the
Biden-Harris Administration's site selection process for a new
FBI headquarters building, reviewing over 7,500 documents from
GSA and FBI, conducting two transcribed interviews with key
witnesses and briefings with those agencies, and releasing a
final report on July 31, 2024, finding that the design of the
site selection process itself allowed for the appearance of
conflicts of interest, political meddling, and erosion of the
public's trust in federal law enforcement and government
institutions.
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
In late September and early October 2024, Hurricanes Helene
and Milton swept through Florida and the Southeast, killing
hundreds and collectively causing tens of billions of dollars
in damage. As the interagency head of federal disaster
response, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began
coordinating federal resources and directing federal
volunteers. However, a federal agency volunteer filed a
whistleblower report alleging that a FEMA supervisor expressly
directed volunteers, assigned to go door to door offering
assistance, to bypass homes with Trump campaign signs. Once
this whistleblower's allegations became public, FEMA terminated
the supervisor and assured the public that the conduct was
isolated and inconsistent with FEMA policy. However, the
supervisor's subsequent public statements suggested that
avoiding what she characterized as ``politically hostile''
homes was common practice within the agency.
On November 19, 2024, the Committee held a hearing titled
``Oversight of the Federal Emergency Management Agency'' to
provide crucial oversight of FEMA's operations and to
investigate claims of political discrimination by the agency.
The hearing allowed Members to hear from FEMA Administrator
Criswell about the agency's efforts to respond to challenges
posed by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton and to inquire
about the culture of political bias within FEMA.
U.S. SECRET SERVICE AND THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON PRESIDENT TRUMP
On July 13, 2024, President Donald J. Trump survived an
assassination attempt when a would-be assassin fired a weapon
at him at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Tragically, one
innocent life was lost and two others were seriously injured.
The tremendous bravery of the individual U.S. Secret Service
(Secret Service) agents and local police who protected
President Trump, eliminated the gunman, and possibly averted
more loss of life cannot be overstated. Secret Service had a
duty to protect President Trump on July 13, and they
unequivocally failed. Within hours of the assassination
attempt, Chairman Comer wrote to the then-Secret Service
Director, Kimberly Cheatle requesting her voluntary appearance
at a public hearing scheduled for July 22. On July 15, in
anticipation of the hearing, the Committee requested documents
and information from the Secret Service. Director Cheatle
refused to voluntarily cooperate, both with her appearance and
providing materials to the Committee, and therefore the
Chairman issued her a subpoena on July 17.
On July 22, Director Cheatle testified in front of the
Committee, but she failed to provide answers to basic questions
regarding the Secret Service's stunning operational failure,
and she did not reassure the American people that the Secret
Service has learned its lesson. At the culmination of the
hearing, Chairman Comer and Ranking Member Raskin released a
joint letter calling on Director Cheatle to resign. The
following day, Director Cheatle resigned.
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
From June 2023 to October 2024, the Committee investigated
the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over concerns related to
improper conduct in its merger review process, collusions with
foreign officials, and other abuses of the agency's power. The
FTC is an independent, bipartisan federal commission designed
by Congress to enforce civil antitrust law and protect
consumers from unfair trade practices. On February 14, 2024,
Commissioner Christine Wilson announced her resignation from
the FTC in protest of FTC Chair Lina Khan's abuse of the
agency. In a prominent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Commissioner
Wilson alleged that Chair Khan had disregarded due process
rights, the rule of law, and federal ethics obligations.
Following Commissioner Wilson's revelations, Chairman Comer
wrote the FTC on June 1, 2023, requesting documents and
communications related to these issues. As the investigation
progressed, the Committee became concerned that the FTC was
enlisting foreign competition authorities to realize Chairwoman
Khan's enforcement goals against American companies. The
Committee sent numerous oversight letters to the FTC to better
understand how its actions with regulators abroad align with
the agency's legislative purpose or mission. The Committee also
conducted five transcribed interviews with senior FTC officials
including those in charge of the Bureau of Consumer Protection,
the Bureau of Competition, and the Office of International
Affairs. Additionally, the Committee interviewed former
Commission officials and surveyed voluminous reporting of
expert commentators who have assessed the course of the
Commission's conduct under Chair Khan. The Committee published
its findings in a report on October 31, 2024.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has a
duty to uphold Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Following a 2023 Supreme Court decision which struck down race-
based admissions policies at U.S. colleges and universities, 13
state Attorneys General wrote Fortune 100 CEOs calling for
their compliance with ``race-neutral- principles in [their]
employment and contracting practices.'' Additionally, the EEOC
issued new guidance on sex-based discrimination in the
workplace, requiring employers to force employees to use
employee preferred pronouns and to permit male employees to use
women's changing areas and bathrooms.
Chairman Comer wrote the Chair of the EEOC, Charlotte A.
Burrows, on March 1, 2024, requesting a briefing and documents
and communications related to these issues. In addition to the
briefing provided by EEOC and limited documents produced to the
Committee, the Full Committee held a hearing on June 27, 2024,
with expert witnesses to examine the concerns of state
Attorneys General and expert witnesses related to continued
race-based practices at U.S. companies and the efforts of the
EEOC to investigate race-conscious corporate initiatives, in
addition to the anticipated impact of the EEOC issuing new
guidance jeopardizing the safety of men and women in the
workplace.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
On June 5, 2023, the Committee launched a joint
investigation with Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Tim
Scott into the Biden-Harris Administration's involvement
related to various climate and corporate governance initiatives
origination with the European Union (EU). The joint
investigation involved conducting four transcribed interviews
with various Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff,
multiple letter exchanges with the SEC and the Secretary of
Treasury, and the review of thousands of documents produced. A
major concern of the investigation is the lack of pushback,
bordering on abject complicity, by the Biden-Harris
Administration on proposals which jeopardize the financial
strength of the U.S. economy and its sovereignty.
A notable finding is that the Administration only softly
pushed back against the EU to superficially protect the
financial services industry but fell short of actually standing
up for American job creators against the extra-territorial
reach of EU initiatives. The EU's Corporate Sustainability Due
Diligence Directive (CSDDD) exposes American companies to
litigation in multiple EU venues based on operations they
conduct anywhere in the world if they are found to violate
international agreements: some of which the U.S. is not even a
party to. This would exposure to litigation in EU courts for
perfectly legal business conducted between two U.S. businesses
completely in the U.S. if a European court found it
distasteful. This clear threat to American sovereignty should,
on its face, be sufficient to trigger a trade war but the
Biden-Harris Administration appears to have winced at the
opportunity to stand up for America. Despite modest pushback
from the Treasury Department, the Secretary conceded that she
was committed to the ``interoperability of disclosure
regimes''' (notably sustainable investment and climate-related
financial disclosures), raising questions if the Biden-Harris
Administration's tepid response to these clear threats to
American sovereignty was in part inspired to allow those abroad
to force policy changes in the place of legislation which they
could not enact here.
The investigation found a disturbing lack of accountability
and transparency at the SEC. Testimony painted a picture of an
agency that was the fiefdom of Chairman Gary Gensler.
Repeatedly the Committee heard that there were no formal
policies that had been voted on by the Commissioners and that
they took their marching orders directly from the Chairman. And
these were nearly always communicated verbally rather than
being documented and preserved. These practices would never be
accepted by the SEC if they were done by companies the
Commission regulates so another example of the Biden-Harris
Administration's view of ``rules for thee and not for me.''
BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES
On March 19, 2024, the City of Chicago filed suit in
Illinois state court to punish gun manufacturer Glock for
actions taken by criminals after they acquired a firearm which
met all the standards set by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The suit was joined by Everytown
Law, the law group affiliated with the Michael Bloomberg-funded
pro-gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety. On the date the
suit was filed, Everytown CEO John Feinblatt posted online
about the suit and included references of a non-public meeting
between White House staff and Glock. The reference to non-
public meetings, which Mr. Feinblatt did not attend, raised
questions as to whether the White House Office of Gun Violence
Prevention, an office propped up in Vice President Kamala
Harris's office, was colluding with Everytown to punish Glock
and cover for weak-on-crime policies by the Biden-Harris
Administration and liberal prosecutors. The suit seeks to
punish Glock for actions taken by criminals to alter compliant
firearms to accept machine conversion devices (MCDs) that allow
semi-automatic firearms to continually fire with a single pull
of the trigger: the very definition of a machine gun. The
Committee initiated the investigation to understand whether and
how the Biden-Harris Administration is using its power to prop
up left-wing lawsuits asking the courts to punish companies who
sell a product that is in full compliance with the law, and
whether those actions are intended to suppress Americans'
Second Amendment rights and access to lawful firearms.
Through a series of letter exchanges between the Committee
and the White House office, it became clear that the Biden-
Harris Administration had no interest in respecting Congress's
constitutional role in oversight and repeatedly frustrated
efforts to obtain documents and communications between White
House staff (notably Everytown's former Washington, D.C.
lobbyist and current White House Office of Gun Violence
Prevention Deputy Director Rob Wilcox) and Everytown. The
Committee later learned, through a whistleblower who informed
the Committee that ATF Director Dettelbach was in near daily
communications with Deputy Director Wilcox, that the suspected
collusion potentially extended beyond the White House and could
implicate the ATF. The ATF ignored multiple requests for the
production of communications between Director Dettelbach and
the White House, resulting in a subpoena for communications.
Director Dettelbach has repeatedly ignored the Committee's
subpoena. Despite repeated promises by ATF that the agency is
working to produce the materials compelled by the subpoena, as
of this date Director Dettelbach continues to be in defiance of
the lawfully issued subpoena. This behavior by ATF only further
highlights that Biden-Harris Administration officials hold
contempt for the rights of the American people enshrined in the
Second Amendment.
THIRD PARTY LITIGATION FUNDING
In September 2023, the Committee began an investigation to
examine how left-wing organizations, private equity, and
nation-state actors were abusing state and federal court
systems to push liberal ideology, profit at the expense of
everyday Americans, and steal innovative new technologies. The
investigation found that these financiers enter into
contractual agreements most often with plaintiffs, though
occasionally with defendants as well. These contracts often
provide financiers with outsized influence over litigation
proceedings, enabling them to push results which are often not
in the best interests of the party they are funding.
Expert witnesses testified at a Full Committee hearing on
September 13, 2023, entitled ``Unsuitable Litigation: Oversight
of Third-Party Litigation Funding'' with expert witnesses from
the legal field and industries regarding the threat to justice
that such arrangements often entail without adequate
safeguards. The Committee identified a significant concern that
the identities of litigation financiers are often obscured,
intentionally so, which makes it even more difficult for
parties to identify conflicts of interest and appropriately
manage litigation. The Committee found that some states and
courts have implemented transparency measures to ensure
fairness in the courts. The Committee called on the Judicial
Conference to implement litigation financing transparency
requirements nationwide.
INFLATION FAILURES OF THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION
Many Americans are struggling to make ends meet as a result
of inflationary pressures caused by policies implemented by the
Biden-Harris Administration. Estimates have shown that
households now spend over $11,000 more each year to maintain
the same quality of life as they did in January 2021. In some
major U.S. cities, making $150,000 is considered lower-middle
class. Lower-income households are being hit especially hard by
inflation, spending more of their income on necessities.
Americans are paying an additional $1,069 a month compared to
three years ago. Earlier this year, grocery prices were up
around 30 percent compared to 2019, surpassing the 19-percent
overall inflation measured from the same period. On September
19, 2024, the Full Committee held a hearing, titled ``A Legacy
of Incompetence: Consequences of the Biden-Harris
Administration's Policy Failures'' to examine a series of
policy decisions made by the Administration and how those
policy choices may have exacerbated the risk of fraud, waste,
abuse, and mismanagement of federal government programs.
The Committee also held hearings across the Health Care and
Financial Services Subcommittee and the Economic Growth, Energy
Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee on the policies
driving inflation. In those hearings, the Committee heard from
private sector experts, economists, and federal agencies, about
how the Biden-Harris Administration's massive spending spree
and regulatory bonanza drove rampant inflation. On September
19, 2023, the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy,
and Regulatory Affairs held a hearing, titled ``Bidenomics: A
Perfect Storm of Spending, Debt, and Inflation'' to examine the
impacts of high levels of spending, President Biden's economic
policies, and possible solutions to rein in federal spending,
lower the national debt, decrease inflation, and balance the
budget. Further on September 25, 2024, the Subcommittee on
Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs held a
hearing, titled, ``Kitchen Table Economics: How Failed Biden-
Harris Policies Continue to Hurt Consumers,'' to examine how
the Administration's policies fueled troubling economic trends.
AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL
On February 17, 2023, Chairman Comer, along with every
chair of House Oversight and Accountability Committee's
Subcommittees, sent letters to senior officials at the White
House, Department of Defense, State Department, Department of
Homeland Security, the U.S. Agency for International
Development, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff demanding documents
and information related to the Biden-Harris Administration's
complete failure in handling the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Biden-Harris Administration's mismanagement led to a
national security and humanitarian crisis. All agencies
involved at multiple points of the investigation failed to
produce responsive documents and failed to be transparent with
the Committee.
The Committee held a hearing on April 12, 2023, to examine
the work completed by the Inspector General Community regarding
the Biden-Harris Administration's failed Afghanistan
withdrawal, and the factors that led to the collapse of the
Afghan government. The Committee learned from the Inspector
General witnesses in that hearing that the Taliban has used
various methods to divert U.S. aid and dollars following the
collapse of the Afghan government. Additionally, the U.S.
Department of State and USAID refused to provide information to
the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
(SIGAR), which prohibited them from being able to report to
Congress on the extent to which U.S. taxpayer funds could be
going to nefarious groups.
On May 23, 2023, the Committee sent a letter to State, DoD,
USAID, and the U.S. Department of Treasury urging the Biden-
Harris Administration to fully cooperate with SIGAR's
investigations. In the letter, the Chairman criticized the
agencies for obstructing SIGAR's investigations into the
Afghanistan withdrawal and misuse of funds. Furthermore, the
Committee has continued to examine the ramifications of the
withdrawal from Afghanistan, completing several briefings to
address security, humanitarian aid, governance issues, and
women and girls' issues.
On September 21, 2023, Chairman Comer initiated an inquiry
into the U.S. government's efforts to resettle Afghans
following the Afghanistan withdrawal. This led to a broader
investigation through the Subcommittee on National Security,
the Border, and Foreign Affairs in the State Department's
Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, or CARE program.
On October 23, 2023, Chairman Comer and Representative
Marjorie Taylor Greene launched an investigation into the
Department of Defense's policies for tracking and safeguarding
U.S. military aid and weapons distributed abroad. This letter
followed reports of American-made arms ending up in the hands
of the Taliban following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
RESETTLEMENT OF AFGHAN EVACUEES
On September 21, 2023, Chairman Comer initiated an
investigation into the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation
Efforts (CARE) program by sending a letter to the U.S.
Department of State requesting documents and information on
programs and contractors working to relocate Afghans into the
United States. After the State Department stalled on producing
documents, the Committee conducted transcribed interviews with
leaders of the CARE program. Committee staff also travelled to
Doha, Qatar and Shengjin, Albania--where Afghans are relocated
as they await their transition to the United States--to further
understand the relocation and resettlement process.
On September 11, 2024, the Subcommittee on National
Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs held a closed-door
briefing to question officials from the U.S. Department of
State on the merits of the CARE program. U.S. Department of
Sate wanted to do participate behind closed doors due to the
``sensitives'' of this program, refusing to testify at a public
hearing. Witnesses at this briefing were Mara Tekach, the
Coordinator of CARE, Dan Forbes, the Director of Future
Operations of CARE, and Michael Kozak, the Senior Coordinator
for Afghan Refugees at State's Bureau of Population, Refugees,
and Migration. The Committee's investigation found that--like
other government programs with no sunset date, and multiple
government, non-government, and international entities
involved--the CARE program is at high risk of waste, fraud, and
abuse of taxpayer funds. In the wake of the Biden-Harris
Administration's disastrous decision-making early in the
withdrawal, the resettlement effort today has ballooned far
beyond initial expectations, raising concerns about the overly
ambitious goals of this effort, the safety and national
security of the United States, the runaway costs, and the lack
of monitoring and evaluation of contracts.
U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
The Committee conducted several investigations into
failures at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
including those related to the infant formula crisis, essential
drug shortages, unsafe food, and illicit Chinese tobacco
products. The Committee found the FDA's failure to prepare for
and respond to the infant formula crisis in 2022 hurt families
with babies due to significant shortages and the lack of
availability of many specialty formulas. There are currently
263 drugs in shortage, including essential drugs commonly used
to treat infections, heart failure, psychiatric conditions, and
cancer, and include drugs such as amoxicillin, penicillin,
Adderall, and cisplatin/carboplatin. The FDA's Center for
Tobacco Products, described by the Reagan-Udall Foundation as
``reactive and overwhelmed,'' has fostered uncertainty in the
marketplace, and allowed unsafe, unregulated products, many of
which come from China, to proliferate. On April 11, 2024, the
Full Committee held a hearing entitled ``Oversight of the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration'' with FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert
Califf, where he testified on the FDA's response to these, and
many other, concerns.
One of the FDA's most important duties is to ensure safety
while encouraging innovation to provide better health care,
more robust and stable food supplies, and products that reduce
harm to consumers. For example, the FDA has still not returned
to pre-pandemic levels of inspections of foreign pharmaceutical
manufacturing facilities raising the risk for safety concerns
in these facilities. The FDA has had evidence that
Phenylephrine--a common over-the-counter decongestant--is
ineffective for over a decade. Nevertheless, the FDA only
recently concluded that it was ineffective but has still not
removed it from the market. Lastly, the FDA's continued refusal
to regulate innovative tobacco harm reduction products, hemp-
derived products like Cannabidiol (CBD), and delay in approving
new innovative medications creates confusion in the market and
could risk the safety for Americans using these products.
C. Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and
Government Innovation
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)
American companies are spearheading rapid advances in
artificial intelligence (AI) with the potential to greatly
enhance our well-being via breakthrough progress in fields
ranging from medicine to manufacturing. But AI poses both
promise and peril. The federal government must safeguard
citizens by ensuring that privacy and civil rights laws are
enforced in a manner that accounts for unique aspects of the AI
systems being deployed, such as the massive troves of data on
which they rely. At the same time, overregulation of domestic
AI developers would risk our national security by jeopardizing
our existing edge in AI over China.
Understanding that the next wave of technological
advancement in our society will be driven by innovation
stemming from AI technology, the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity,
Information Technology, and Government Innovation, held several
hearings on the game-changing nature of AI, and related
concerns and applications of the technology, during the 118th
Congress. The Subcommittee's approach to these hearings
reflects the careful thought and discussion required to find
the balance between unleashing the full promise of AI to
improve lives, while also managing the inherent risk of AI
becoming a tool for criminals and foreign adversaries.
On March 8, 2023, the Subcommittee held its inaugural
hearing by examining advances in AI and its potentially
revolutionary impacts on society, including moral, ethical, and
policy considerations. Witnesses included academic and industry
experts, including a former Google Chief Executive Officer, to
provide an overview of AI, a topic that has received a great
deal of attention over the past two years.
On January 17, 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
review the AI workforce stemming from the realization that
securing and strengthening America's lead in AI is key to
maintaining national security and economic prosperity. As AI
adoption accelerates, that edge increasingly depends on the
global competitiveness of our AI workforce. The hearing
assessed the AI talent pipeline by reviewing existing
programs--both traditional and non-traditional--that train new
workforce entrants and upskill older workers for occupations
related to AI.
Deepfake Technology
On November 8, 2023, and on March 12, 2024, the
Subcommittee held hearings to conduct oversight of falsified
image, video, and speech, commonly known as deepfake technology
or deepfakes. Advances in generative artificial intelligence
have resulted in increasingly powerful and accessible tools
that can be used to create falsified audio and visual content.
This content can be hard to detect or authenticate, making it
difficult to combat misuse. The first hearing examined advances
in the creation and distribution of deepfakes and explored how
the technology can be used to cause various types of harm--and
ways the risk of such damage can be mitigated. Witnesses
included industry and academic experts. The second hearing
identified how it has become much easier for individuals to
create and disseminate fake images, video and audio that appear
authentic, due to advances in generative AI. These deepfakes
can be deployed in a manner that causes harm to individuals,
including through the creation and distribution of non-
consensual intimate images of women, and of child sexual abuse
material. The hearing examined how these sorts of malicious
deepfakes are being used to target women and children. It also
examined ways to mitigate this type of harm, through law
enforcement, voluntary efforts, and the need to update laws
that may not adequately address harm resulting from sexual
material altered through a deepfake process. The hearing
benefitted from powerful testimony provided by the mother of a
high school girl impacted by deepfake technology and by the
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Executive Order 14110
On December 6, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
examine Executive Order (EO) 14110, the ``Safe, Secure, and
Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.''
Released in October 2023, the record-long and comprehensive EO
includes dozens of new, far-reaching reforms, guidelines,
rules, and programs across multiple key workstreams.
Subsequently, OMB issued draft guidance in November 2023 to
agencies regarding implementation of elements of EO 14110. The
hearing examined the far-reaching scope of the EO and how the
corresponding OMB guidance would impact the Federal
government's approach to using, building, and acquiring AI
systems. A few months later, on March 21, 2024, the
Subcommittee held a hearing to further explore consequences of
the requirements of the EO. Of particular interest--and
concern--was the EO's invocation of the war-time emergency
powers provided under the Defense Production Act to compel
information from private companies to justify mandates that AI
system developers share information and data with the Federal
Government. The DPA was not intended to compel information from
firms concerning their plans to develop and deploy emerging
technologies, raising questions about potential executive over-
reach.
CYBERSECURITY
Malicious cyberattacks on our nation's critical
infrastructure are increasing in frequency, sophistication, and
scale. These attacks can create damaging disruptions and
compromise highly sensitive data. Much of our critical
infrastructure is owned and operated by private sector
companies. That includes transportation networks, energy
production and distribution facilities, and the defense
industrial base. Moreover, the U.S. government's increasing use
of, and reliance on, technology to provide information and
services to all Americans, makes federal information systems a
constant target of hostile nations, criminal organizations, and
other malicious actors. Cyberattacks targeting private
companies and public entities threaten the security of the
American people and the security of our homeland. The
Subcommittee held several cybersecurity-focused hearings this
Congress, and led multiple oversight efforts, to examine
existing and emerging cyberthreats, and proposals to address
this national security threat.
On March 23, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
examine the National Cybersecurity Strategy released by the
Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD). The ONCD and the
position of the National Cyber Director were created to
establish a White House office and individual accountable for
coordination of national cybersecurity policy. On March 2,
2023, ONCD released a new National Cybersecurity Strategy to
reflect the Biden-Harris Administration's priorities regarding
the allocation of roles, responsibilities, and resources in
cyberspace.
On May 10, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing to examine
the risks created by aging Federal information technology (IT)
systems commonly referred to as legacy systems. According to
U.S. Government Accountability Office reports, the federal
government spends over $100 billion on IT and cybersecurity
each year. Approximately 80 percent of this spend goes to
operating and maintaining outdated, obsolete legacy systems.
Legacy systems create security and operational risks, and over
time, are costly to maintain. To address this issue, Congress
established a funding vehicle known as the Technology
Modernization Fund within the Modernizing Government Technology
Act. But the projects funded by the TMF do not typically align
with the goal of funding legacy IT systems, meaning federal
legacy systems continue to remain vulnerable to cyberattacks
from malicious actors, including enemy nation states.
On September 27, 2023, the Subcommittee, jointly with the
Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory
Affairs, held a hearing to examine the sources and costs of
ransomware attacks. Ransomware is malicious software designed
to deny a user or organization access to computer files or
systems. Sponsors of ransomware attacks offer to restore access
upon payment of a ransom. They may also seek ransom in return
for not publicly releasing sensitive data stolen from victims.
Generally attributed to criminal hacker gangs based in foreign
nations like Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, ransomware
attacks have disrupted all manner of private and public
enterprise throughout the world. The Subcommittee heard
compelling testimony from a representative of a school district
in Texas, and a representative of a hospital in Vermont, as
both entities experienced ransomware attacks.
On November 29, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
examine how threat actors can exploit vulnerabilities in
federal IT and operational technology (OT) supply chain to harm
America. The federal government relies on IT to conduct core
operations like delivering benefits to veterans and conducting
law enforcement activity. Each year, agencies spend more than
$100 billion on IT and cyber-related goods and services. These
buys--especially those involving software with opaque origins
and components--can expose federal systems and the sensitive
data they hold to threat actors, including those based in enemy
nation states. Malware, buried and hidden within software
deployed by the federal government, has enabled a series of
major intrusions and data breaches across federal information
systems. The hearing evaluated ongoing work to secure the
federal software supply chain and considered additional steps
that should be taken to expand these efforts.
On May 15, 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing to examine
the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) growth as a cyber threat
and assess the current threat landscape in the U.S. The
National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) released by the Biden-
Harris Administration in 2023 identified China as an active and
persistent threat to government and private sector networks.
The NCS further added that China is the only country with the
intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly,
possesses the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological
power to do so. During the hearing, expert witnesses with
experience at the highest levels of national intelligence,
further described and assessed the current cyber threat
landscape and the CCP's ambitions, capabilities, and intent,
characterized as being second to none.
On July 25, 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
examine the lack of harmonization and reciprocity across
federal cybersecurity regulations, evaluate the associated
compliance burden, and discuss potential remedial measures.
Malicious cyber intrusions are becoming more frequent and
sophisticated, with heightening potential to cause significant
and widespread harm to the nation's critical infrastructure. A
lack of harmonization and reciprocity across Federal
cybersecurity regulations creates an excessive compliance
burden, consuming industry resources which are directed toward
compliance measures instead of focusing on making cybersecurity
enhancements. The hearing reflected the Subcommittee's efforts
to elicit industry concerns with the participation of witnesses
representing a variety of sectors.
In addition to this hearing, the Committee received
numerous informational briefings from federal agencies and
private sector entities on various cyber breaches occurring
during the 118th Congress.
DC HEALTH BENEFIT EXCHANGE AUTHORITY BREACH
The Subcommittee, jointly with the Committee on House
Administration's Subcommittee on Oversight, held a hearing on
April 19, 2023, to examine a data breach of the DC Health
Benefit Exchange Authority (HBX). The breach resulted in the
March 6, 2023, public posting and subsequent sale of personally
identifiable information and protected health information of
tens of thousands of individuals receiving health coverage
through DC Health Link, including Members of Congress and
congressional staff. The hearing focused on understanding how
the breach occurred, identifying the responsible party,
determining accountability, and learning about the steps being
taken to prevent a similar occurrence. Witnesses included the
Executive Director of HBX and the Chief Administrative Officer
of the U.S. House of Representatives.
USING CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGIES TO KEEP AMERICANS SAFE
On June 22, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
examine how the federal government is harnessing advances in
artificial intelligence, robotics and other technologies to
enhance our nation's military, law enforcement, and border
security officials in their missions to keep America safe.
Cutting-edge technologies, when deployed in appropriate
circumstances, can enhance mission achievement and reduce risk
for these public servants. Witnesses described and demonstrated
ways in which various technologies could be used to help the
mission, while also identifying barriers hindering adoption of
new security-related technologies by federal agencies--
including obstacles presented by the federal procurement
process.
OVERSIGHT OF THE FAILURE TO REPLACE THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TRAVEL
SYSTEM
Since 1998, the Department of Defense (DoD) has used the
Defense Travel System (DTS) to process travel payments for DoD
civilians and servicemembers. Due to the system's inefficiency
and excess cost, DoD initiated a process to implement a new
software-as-a-service system known as MyTravel. But after
investing nearly a decade and tens of millions of dollars in a
new system, DoD abruptly cancelled the initiative.
On July 26, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
examine the factors that led to the agency's decision to cancel
the implementation of the new MyTravel system. The hearing
addressed questions about the failed system replacement effort,
and about DOD's ability to effectively manage its finances and
information technology. The Subcommittee was unable to elicit
the answers it wanted from the DoD witness because DoD declined
to send the Senate-confirmed Under Secretary of Defense for
Personnel Readiness--as requested--and instead sent a career
employee, Director of Defense Human Resources Activity, who was
unable to provide responses to questions posed by Republican
and Democrat Members.
OVERSIGHT OF GSA'S PURCHASING REQUIREMENTS
On February 29, 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
review a GSA Office of Inspector General's (OIG) audit as part
of a broader examination of GSA's compliance with federal
contracting laws, regulations, and policies, designed to
safeguard IT purchases. In January 2024, GSA OIG issued an
audit report of GSA's purchase in 2022 of 150 videoconference
cameras manufactured in the People's Republic of China (PRC).
The report concluded that the purchase violated the Trade
Agreements Act (TAA) of 1979 which requires the federal
government to only purchase goods (above a minimum value
threshold) that are manufactured in the U.S. or another TAA-
designated country--unless no TAA-compliant alternative product
exists. The PRC is not a TAA-designated country.
As the chief government-wide purchasing agent, buying tens
of billions of dollars of IT products and services annually on
behalf of other agencies, GSA's actions were especially
concerning. Congress can pass laws prohibiting the Government
from buying certain products and services--but it is up to the
Administration to ensure these bans are enforced.
OVERSIGHT OF THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION'S PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT
MANDATE
A new Biden-Harris Administration rule that went into
effect January 22, 2024, requires all bidders seeking to
perform work on large-scale federal construction projects to
agree to sign pre-hire collective bargaining agreements known
as project labor agreements or PLAs. The rule, published last
December, was promulgated pursuant to EO 14063, ``Use of
Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects,''
issued by President Biden on February 4, 2022, and a related
OMB memo.
On June 27, 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing to assess
potential impacts of the rule on federal construction costs and
on the private sector construction workforce. The PLA mandate
discriminates against the vast majority of the nation's
construction workforce, while tilting the playing field toward
union members and unionized firms. The rule threatens to reduce
bids, increase costs and delay work on at least $10 billion in
annual federal construction contract spend managed by agencies
such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and GSA. The
PLA mandate contradicts a longstanding, bipartisan consensus
that ``full and open competition'' should be the default
approach to achieving the most economical and efficient results
in federal contracting--as codified in statute 40 years ago
through enactment of the Competition in Contracting Act of
1984.
D. Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory
Affairs
EPA OVERREACH
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has led the
Biden-Harris Administration's historic level of regulatory
activity and regulatory costs, particularly through the
Administration's climate initiatives, putting forth regulations
that have attempted to transform entire sectors of the U.S.
economy while increasing costs to both businesses and
consumers. As of December 2024, the total costs imposed by EPA
regulations under the Biden-Harris Administration reached a
staggering estimated total of $1.3 trillion.
The Subcommittee began its oversight of this overreach by
EPA on May 17, 2023, with a hearing that examined EPA's
proposed emissions standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-
duty vehicles and the challenges of a rapid electric vehicle
transition, including costs to consumers and manufacturers,
added grid strain, and availability of critical minerals and
raw materials, as well as other matters raised by the proposed
standards. On June 21, 2023, the Subcommittee held a second
hearing to continue oversight of these actions. On July 10,
2024, the Full Committee held a hearing with Biden-Harris EPA
Administrator Michael Regan to conduct comprehensive oversight
of all EPA excess under the Biden-Harris Administration.
DOE OVERREACH AND RISKY SPENDING
The U.S. Department of Energy has been at the forefront of
implementing the Biden-Harris Administration's energy policies.
It bears responsibility for the impacts those overreaching
policies have had on consumers, the energy sector and national
security. Key examples of Biden-Harris energy policies over
which the Committee has exercised oversight include policies
with respect to liquified natural gas (LNG) exports, electric
vehicles, critical mineral supply chains, the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve, energy efficiency standards for household
appliances, and spending on DOE programs.
On March 8, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
examine the Biden-Harris Administration's abuse of the
Strategic Petroleum Reserve. On March 29, 2023, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on how Biden-Harris Administration
policies catalyzed global energy scarcity and compounded
inflation. On April 18, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing
to examine the high risk of fraud, waste, and abuse at DOE in
light of the historic, unprecedented spending being funneled
through the agency at the direction of the Biden-Harris
Administration. On May 24, 2023, the Subcommittee held a
hearing to review the impacts on consumer choice and appliance
manufacturers of DOE's heavy-handed proposed rule to restrict
consumer options for gas stoves, examine the rule in the
context of other regulatory burdens on American consumers' home
appliances, and expose flaws in DOE's energy efficiency
analysis of gas stoves. On July 18, 2023, the Subcommittee held
a follow-up hearing to examine comprehensively the development,
processes for, and substance of DOE's rules related to home
appliances including, but not limited to, gas stoves, clothes
washers, dishwashers, clothes dryers, air conditioners, and
light bulbs. On January 18, 2024, the Subcommittee held a
hearing with DOE and other energy agencies to examine the
opportunities for growth and regulatory challenges associated
with increasing American nuclear power capacity, how to
navigate energy reliability and grid security, and how to
identify roadblocks to innovation when building out the
domestic nuclear energy production. On April 18, 2024, the
Subcommittee held a hearing to examine all aspects of DOE's
January 2024 pause on new permits for LNG exports to non-Free
Trade Agreement countries, which froze affected American
companies' ability to secure necessary permits, construction,
and capitalization for new LNG projects and compromised U.S.
ability to compete in the global LNG export market. On May 23,
2024, the Full Committee held a hearing with Biden-Harris DOE
Secretary Jennifer Granholm to conduct comprehensive oversight
of all DOE excess under the Biden-Harris Administration. On
December 4, 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing to examine
the DOE's actions leading up to, and following, the LNG
permitting pause.
U.S. ENERGY PRODUCTION
From its outset, the Biden-Harris Administration has
adopted a whole-of-government attack on traditional American
energy production. Its policies have vilified and punished
American companies that seek to strengthen energy production
and secure affordable energy, jobs, and America's energy
security and national security.
On April 23, 2024, the Subcommittee held a field hearing in
Plano, Texas to examine the challenges American energy
producers are facing, including regulatory uncertainty caused
by Biden-Harris Administration policies, and highlight career
training opportunities aimed at growing the energy workforce.
Witnesses from energy companies and a trade association
supporting the industry described the regulatory hurdles
limiting future energy development and the initiatives and
reforms necessary to grow the energy workforce.
GRID STABILITY
The U.S. electrical grid is undergoing significant
transformation stemming from rapid growth in power demand and
recent agency rulemakings. Congress has the responsibility to
oversee federal entities tasked with implementing energy
policies and regulations to ensure the security and reliability
of our nation's grid.
On March 12, 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
examine the role that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
and other relevant entities play in ensuring reliable power
transmission to consumers while also maintaining resiliency
when faced with emerging security threats. During this hearing,
the Subcommittee found that policies and regulations by the
Biden-Harris Administration have rapidly expanded electric-
power demand while simultaneously reducing baseload capacity,
resulting in a grid that is less stable, less affordable, and
more vulnerable to threats.
CRITICAL MINERAL SUPPLY CHAIN
Critical minerals are essential to the U.S. economy and are
necessary components in products on which Americans rely every
day. Vulnerabilities in critical mineral supply chains--
including overreliance on foreign imports--present a threat to
national security and the economic sectors dependent on these
materials.
On November 30, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
examine American reliance on critical minerals, materials, and
their supply chains with Dr. Steve Feldgus, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Land and Minerals Management at the U.S.
Department of the Interior, Isabel Munilla, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Multilateral Engagement, Climate and Market
Development at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of
International Affairs, and Halimah Najieb-Lock, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Industrial Base Resilience at the U.S.
Department of Defense.
APPRENTICESHIPS
By 2023, the total amount of outstanding federal student
loan debt surpassed $1.6 trillion. Further, U.S. institutions
of higher education are not producing graduates who fully meet
U.S. employers' needs in many cases. Cost-effective decisions
surrounding higher education and skills-based training have
never been more important. Cost-effective alternatives to
traditional four-year college degrees, including
apprenticeships and career and technical education programs,
have demonstrated successful results that can be replicated
throughout the U.S. Expanding the role of these programs holds
promise to improve educational effectiveness and boost overall
economic output, while ensuring the development of a workforce
to maintain U.S. global competitiveness in the future.
On October 25, 2003, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
discuss challenges surrounding the rising cost of higher
education and examine the importance of apprenticeships and
career and technical education programs as cost-effective
solutions to prepare students for the workforce needs of the
present and future. Expert witnesses shared their first-hand
experiences witnessing the benefits of these programs and the
opportunities for growth and improvement.
E. Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services
INFANT FORMULA SHORTAGE
The Committee opened an investigation into the failures at
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that led to the
nation's infant formula crisis on March 21, 2023. Through two
hearings at the Health Care and Financial Services Subcommittee
and a hearing with the FDA Commissioner at the full committee,
the investigation revealed the White House and the FDA were
aware of infant formula supply chain concerns, yet failed to
take steps to avert the crisis. In correspondence obtained by
the Committee, White House officials were included in emails
with the FDA on February 17, 2022, warning that supply issues
were expected in the wake of the Abbott product recall. The FDA
again alerted White House staff on February 20, 2022, that
local supply disturbances had already begun. It took three
months for President Biden to take real action to mitigate
shortages and invoke the Defense Production Act.
Neither the Biden-Harris Administration nor the FDA have
taken responsibility for these failures. The infant formula
market is still vulnerable. On December 31, 2023, the second-
largest domestic formula manufacturer, recalled six batches--
approximately 675,030 cans--of a specialty infant formula for
babies with cow's milk allergy, due to possible bacterial
contamination. With many infants relying on formula in some
capacity for nutrition, it is vital that the FDA improve its
capacity to surveil potential infectious outbreaks and prevent
shortages from occurring in the future.
INFLATION REDUCTION ACT FAILURES
The Subcommittee examined the impacts of the Inflation
Reduction Act (IRA) and found it caused increased taxes on
businesses, is reducing the number of new prescription
medications in the pipeline and drove inflation. The true cost
of IRA is estimated to be $1.2 trillion--three times more than
the official government forecast. Furthermore, the actual
impacts on near-term inflation affecting Americans' quality of
life are ``negligible,'' with calendar year 2023 inflation
between 0.1 percentage point lower and 0.1 percentage point
higher under the IRA.
Not only did the IRA fail to substantially reduce deficits,
but it considerably increased deficits. The IRA is expected to
further increase the deficit due to expected cost overruns and
failure to account for reduced tax revenues from suppressed
economic growth. Tax hikes on corporations via a 15 percent
corporate alternative minimum tax will levy an estimated $73
billion in new taxes on the U.S. manufacturing industry and $32
billion on the transportation and warehousing industries.
One year into IRA, there are already instances of drug
companies discontinuing clinical trials and slowing research
into secondary designations. Increased R&D costs and reduced
net revenues will limit pharmaceutical companies' ability to
invest in new drugs, ultimately stifling long-term innovation
in novel drug therapies. These uncertainties are occurring at a
time when hundreds of pharmaceutical drugs are currently in
shortage, including critical chemotherapy drugs,
corticosteroids, attention-deficit disorder medications,
injectable painkillers, and antibiotics. Shortages will only be
worsened by mandated government price controls for prescription
drugs. The IRA's price control provisions will result in less
investment in domestic pharmaceutical production as companies
reduce costs, further exacerbating existing supply chain
insecurity.
SVB FAILURE
On March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failed,
becoming the second largest bank failure in American history
and sparking a broader panic in the banking sector that risked
nationwide economic concerns. Based on an extensive review of
public documents and reporting raising concerns about the
Federal Reserve's (Fed's) actions which may have missed the
warning signs that led to the collapse of SVB, the Committee
opened an investigation. Concurrent to the Committee's
investigation, the Fed opened an internal investigation into
what occurred to lead to the collapse.
The Fed's report, dubbed the ``Barr Report,'' because the
investigation was led by current Vice Chair for Supervision
Michael Barr, eventually laid blame on the supervisory system
implemented by former Vice Chair for Supervision Randy Quarles,
who left office in October 2021, nearly two years prior to
SVB's failure. The Committee has found that the assertion that
the supervisory system implemented by former Vice Chair Quarles
led to the collapse of SVB is unfounded, and instead current
supervisory staff, including Vice Chair Barr and his Director
of Supervision and Regulation Michael Gibson, should be held
accountable for enabling the lack of supervision which led to
the crisis.
FEMALE ATHLETICS AND TITLE IX
On April 13, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration unveiled
a sweeping proposed rule titled ``Nondiscrimination on the
Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving
Federal Financial Assistance: Sex-Related Eligibility Criteria
for Male and Female Athletic Teams.'' The proposed rule, if
finalized, governs educational institutions' abilities to adopt
and apply sex-related criteria limiting or denying a student's
eligibility to participate on a male or female athletic team
consistent with that student's self-proclaimed gender identity.
The Biden-Harris Administration has claimed that this proposed
rule will bring greater clarity to Title IX's application of
sex-related criteria and athletics. However, the proposed rule
does anything but bring clarity to how universities and
federally funded schools must enforce Title IX in athletics.
The Subcommittee conducted a hearing on December 5, 2023,
and heard testimony that permitting biological males to compete
in women's sports is not only patently unfair, but places
female athletes at an increased risk of serious injury. The
physical advantages of biological males in women's sports are
not only a competitive advantage, but also increase the risk of
serious injuries in contact sports like soccer, basketball,
field hockey, lacrosse, and rugby. As more male athletes
compete in women's sports, there are alarming reports of female
athletes being injured by male competitors.
F. Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce
POST-PANDEMIC TELEWORK AT FEDERAL AGENCIES
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal agencies
adopted a maximum telework posture. However, as the risk of
COVID-19 receded, federal agencies maintained high rates of
telework. OMB and OPM published guidance indicating increased
telework would remain the norm. In April 2023, OMB issued
guidance that called for increased ``meaningful'' in-person
work. The guidance also required agencies to submit plans
detailing how they would utilize telework and how they would
better measure agency performance. Despite paying lip service
to such efforts to return the federal workforce to in-person
work, the Biden-Harris Administration has not imposed or
enforced any requirement that federal employees return to a
pre-pandemic telework posture.
On September 14, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing
examining the reasoning behind, and results of, federal
agencies' use of widespread telework following the end of the
COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the Subcommittee considered
why the Biden-Harris Administration treated widespread post-
pandemic federal telework as equally efficient and effective as
in-office work despite lacking data clearly demonstrating as
much. The four agencies that testified regarding their telework
programs were among the most responsive of the 25 agencies to
which the Committee sent telework policy questionnaires. On
November 29, 2023, the Subcommittee held a follow-up hearing
with the four testifying agencies hearing provided among the
least responsive and tardiest replies to the Committee's
telework policy questionnaire.
CURTAILING WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE IN PANDEMIC-ERA RELIEF PROGRAMS
Between March 2020 and March 2021, Congress enacted a
series of six laws providing over $4.6 trillion in federal
funds to mitigate the economic and public health impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic. From the beginning of the COVID-19 response,
there were concerns the trillions in relief were vulnerable to
fraud and improper payments. Three years after the first of
those laws was enacted, the investigations and audits performed
by inspectors general provided insight into the underlying
causes of waste, fraud, and abuse in COVID-relief programs.
On March 9, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing titled
``Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Go Viral: Inspectors General on
Curing the Disease.'' The hearing examined waste, fraud, abuse,
and improper payments in pandemic relief programs, and allowed
testifying inspectors general from the Department of the
Treasury, the Small Business Administration, and the Department
of Labor to inform the Subcommittee on agency efforts to better
protect taxpayer funds, to include progress in implementing OIG
recommendations.
INVESTIGATION INTO LOGIN.GOV
Federal law requires agencies to utilize a trusted identity
platform to verify the identity of people seeking access to
certain government websites. This can either be Login.gov, an
identity verification service developed and operated by GSA, or
another service provided by a commercial vendor. Agencies'
chosen identity verification platform must adhere to an
appropriate security standard defined within the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Identity Assurance
Level (IAL) framework.
On March 29, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing titled
``Login.gov Doesn't Meet the Standard.'' The hearing examined
the technical and operational capabilities of Login.gov, a
sign-on service provided by GSA's Technology Transformation
Services. The hearing also addressed issues raised by a report
from the GSA OIG that Login.gov misled customer agencies about
services it provided with regard to online identity proofing.
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY DISASTER RELIEF RESPONSE
The Subcommittee has focused extensively on FEMA's disaster
response and recovery efforts during the 118th Congress. On
August 10, 2023, the Subcommittee held a field hearing in Ft.
Myers, Florida that examined the role federal agencies played
in response to Hurricane Ian, as well as southwest Florida's
efforts to rebuild from the storm, which hit Florida and the
Caribbean in late September 2022. Specifically, Members
inquired about the effectiveness of the federal response to
Ian, whether areas for improvement exist in the federal
disaster response regime, and the nature and extent of Ian's
impact on communities in the region.
On September 4, 2024, the Subcommittee held a field hearing
in Lahaina, Hawaii, providing Members the opportunity to assess
the federal government's response to the devastating August
2023 Maui wildfires following the one-year anniversary of the
disaster. As with the Ft. Myers field hearing, the Lahaina
field hearing provided a valuable platform for local
stakeholders to raise concerns with the federal response and
renew public awareness about the disaster and the ongoing
recovery effort.
On December 11-12, 2024, bipartisan staff of the
Subcommittee traveled to Asheville, North Carolina to further
assess FEMA's efforts in responding to unprecedented regional
flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. While in Asheville, staff
toured several recovery sites, attended briefings, and met with
a variety of federal disaster response officials and local
leaders and stakeholders.
OVERSIGHT OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a direct impact on
the American public. Most citizens and permanent residents must
file a tax return every year; failure to do so can result in
severe financial penalties or even incarceration. The IRS also
serves as a vehicle for public assistance in the form of
various tax credits and stimulus payments.
On October 24, 2023, the Subcommittee on Government
Operations and the Federal Workforce and the Subcommittee on
Health Care and Financial Services held a joint hearing titled
``Oversight of the Internal Revenue Service.'' The hearing
provided Members an opportunity to conduct general oversight of
the IRS, including an examination of tax enforcement, customer
service, and information technology.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM
A history of data breaches over the last decade led to the
federal personnel vetting process moving from OPM to DoD, and
the commencement of a sweeping effort to reform the federal
government's personnel vetting system. The rollout of the DoD's
Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency's (DCSA) state-of-
the-art IT system for personnel vetting, the National
Background Investigation Services (NBIS) is a key component of
that reform and is now five years overdue. The continued delays
are not only a waste of American taxpayer dollars but are
impacting the ability of the U.S. government to vet those who
will have access to its most sensitive information, putting
national security at risk.
On June 26, 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing examining
the persistent issues with federal personnel vetting as well as
the DCSA's unrealistic and ineffective planning to implement
full functionality of the NBIS system. Further, it assessed
whether the continued problems with the NBIS system raised
additional questions about the efficiency and reliability of
the entire personnel vetting process.
OVERSIGHT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE INSPECTORS GENERAL ON INTEGRITY AND
EFFICIENCY
The Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and
Efficiency (CIGIE) acts as a central hub for all inspectors
general (IGs) to communicate and deconflict among each other as
well as provide support to IGs when help is needed. While CIGIE
is housed within the Executive Branch, it operates as an
independent body decentralized from the Executive Branch's
influence. The Committee investigated concerns with the CIGIE
Integrity Committee (IC), the entity that investigates
wrongdoing by IGs and their staff, to determine whether the IC
was susceptible to politicized investigations and failures to
provide adequate due process protections to individuals under
investigation.
On July 23, 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing to
examine CIGIE's operations, legislative priorities, and other
general matters. During the hearing, the Committee identified
several areas that can be improved to better root out waste,
fraud and abuse. Additionally, the Committee's concerns about
that the lack of transparency into the IC processes and lack of
due process protections give the Committee minimal confidence
in the ICs ability to impartially and appropriately conduct
investigations into wrongdoing against IGs and their staff.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
With concerns of DoD's financial management practices,
runaway costs on military platforms, and the DoD's inability to
pass a financial audit as its budget nears $1 trillion
annually, the Committee launched an investigation to understand
the vast financial mismanagement at the Pentagon. On March 6,
2023, Chairman Comer and Chairman Sessions sent a letter to
Secretary Austin at the Department of Defense asking for more
information on DoD's inability to pass a financial audit,
financial management practices generally, and what it is doing
to implement outstanding recommendations from GAO and other
watchdogs.
Furthermore, on July 13, 2023, the Subcommittee, jointly
with the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and
Foreign Affairs held hearing on DoD financial accountability to
include witnesses Mr. John Tenaglia, the Principal Director of
Defense Pricing and Contracting at the U.S. Department of
Defense, Mr. Brett Mansfield, the Deputy Inspector General for
Audits at DoD IG, and Mr. Asif Khan, the Director of Financial
Management and Assurance at the U.S. Government Accountability
Office. In this hearing, the Committee learned that outdated
financial systems, poor contractor oversight, and wasteful
spending have contributed to inefficiencies, fraud, and abuse,
including billions lost on procurement issues and
mismanagement.
To understand a practical way in which GAO, DoD IG, and DoD
itself can track the progress it is making on achieving
auditability, the Subcommittee held an additional hearing on
September 24, 2024 focusing on tracking progress within DoD's
financial management practices. Witnesses included Mr.
Mansfield and Mr. Khan, along with Mr. Tom Steffens, Senior
Assistant to the Comptroller from DoD.
From information gathered from this investigation, on
December 11, 2024, Chairman Sessions sent a letter to GAO
requesting ongoing assistance in analyzing the results of DoD's
fiscal year 2024 audits to better track DoD's progress toward
achieving a clean audit opinion.
G. Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs
BORDER CRISIS
The Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and
Foreign Affairs conducted oversight over the Biden-Harris
Administration's border crisis throughout the 118th Congress.
The subcommittee held multiple hearings to highlight and
investigate the crisis, receiving testimony from Biden-Harris
Administration officials and immigration and public safety
experts on issues such as technology improvements at the ports
of entry along the southwest border, existing authorities
available to the president to stop the crisis, the failure of
the Biden-Harris Administration to monitor unaccompanied alien
children, and illegal immigration's effects on the American
taxpayer, public services, public safety, and the legal
immigration system. The Subcommittee also jointly held a field
hearing with the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee
on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance on August 8, 2023,
in Arizona to hear from local officials and expert witnesses on
the devastating impact the border crisis is having in American
communities and the challenges it presents for law enforcement.
U.S. COAST GUARD
In June 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) briefed the
Committee on the existence of an investigation conducted by the
U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) dubbed,
``Operation Fouled Anchor'' (OFA). This report and the
investigation that led to it, though in the works for years,
had been withheld from both Congress and the public by USCG.
Again, in November 2023, USCG briefed the Committee that it had
withheld a 2015 ``Culture of Respect'' study from Congress and
the public. USCG informed the Committee that the report
discussed racism, hazing, discrimination, and sexual assault
issues across the agency. Following these two briefings, the
Committee launched an investigation into USCG's mishandling of
serious misconduct and withholding of internal investigations
from Congress and the public.
On December 8, 2023, Chairman Comer and Subcommittee
Chairman Grothman sent a letter to Admiral Linda Fagan,
Commandant of USCG, requesting documents and information
relating to ``Operation Fouled Anchor,'' the ``Culture of
Respect'' study, and communications relating to the withholding
of this information from Congress. The Committee then conducted
transcribed interviews with several former senior leaders of
the USCG, including: Ms. Sandra Stosz (Ret.), Former
Superintendent of the USCG Academy (2011 to 2015); Admiral Thad
Allen (Ret.), Former Commandant of the USCG (2006 to 2010);
Admiral Karl Schultz (Ret.), Former Commandant of the USCG
(2018 to 2022); Mr. Michael Berkow (Ret.), Former Director of
the USCG Investigative Service (CGIS) (2012 to 2022).
Following the December 8 letter, Chairmen Comer, Grothman,
and Ranking Members Raskin and Garcia, sent a follow-up letter
on June 11, 2024, requesting additional documents relating to
Operation Fouled Anchor, the Culture of Respect Report, and the
Accountability Transparency Review. Additionally, the letter
requested communications relating to these reports as well as
communications relating to Congressional interests reports
internal to the U.S. Coast Guard. On September 17, 2024, an
additional letter was sent by Chairmen Comer and Grothman to
Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, threatening
the compulsory process should DHS continue to refuse to provide
withheld materials. Committee investigators are continuing to
work with DHS to reach an accommodation to deliver these
outstanding documents to the Committee.
V-22 OSPREY PROGRAM
DoD's V-22 Osprey program, operational since the 1990s, has
faced persistent challenges, including frequent crashes,
grounding, and mechanical issues. Over a dozen crashes since
1992 have resulted in deaths of more than 60 service members,
all occurring during routine exercises. The November 2023 crash
that killed eight crew members, prompted a three-month
grounding of the fleet, and in December 2024, the military has
grounded the Osprey again after technical issues when
transporting White House staffers. Despite nearly $140 billion
in lifecycle costs, oversight of the Osprey program has been
insufficient, with DoD only recently initiating a comprehensive
review of the program.
On December 21, 2023, Chairman Comer sent a letter to DoD
requesting documents and information related to the Osprey
program. Among these requested documents were the safety
investigations of every Osprey crash from the last ten years.
The Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign
Affairs held a hearing on June 12, 2024, hearing from witnesses
Vice Admiral Carl Chebi, Commander of U.S. Naval Air Systems
Command, Peter Belk, performing the duties of the Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Readiness, and Gary Kurtz, the Program
Executive Officer for Air Anti-Submarine Warfare and Special
Missions Programs. In that hearing DoD refused to commit to
sharing the safety investigations of V-22 Osprey crashes with
the Subcommittee's members. DoD claims that the information
included in the safety investigations is ``military safety
privileged information,'' and not available to be shared with
Members of Congress. On July 16, 2024, Chairmen Comer and
Grothman sent a letter to DoD reiterating that this posture was
unacceptable and again requesting the safety investigations.
The Committee continues to work with DoD to reach an
appropriate accommodation regarding this critical information.
OVERSIGHT OF PROGRESSIVE IDEOLOGIES AT THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Concerned about DoD prioritizing progressive initiatives
like Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, critical
race theory in the service academies, and policies aiding
airmen to navigate state transgender laws, the Subcommittee
held two hearings to examine this issue. The first hearing, on
March 28, 2023, included witnesses Jeremy Hunt, the Chairman of
a non-profit organization called Veterans on Duty and a combat
veteran, Ms. Meaghan Mobbs, a senior fellow at the Independent
Women's Forum, and one minority witness, Lieutenant General
David Barno, a visiting professor of strategic studies at Johns
Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The second
hearing, held on January 11, 2024, included witnesses Will
Thibeau, the Director of the American Military Project and
Matthew Lohmeier, a U.S. Space Force Veteran and author. One
minority witness was Brigadier General Ty Seidule (Ret.).
The Subcommittee learned about the long-term, negative
ramifications of prioritizing DEI programs in the military
services. In this hearing Mr. Lohmeier presented the Committee
with evidence that he had obtained showing comments from over
two hundred active and retired service members with concerns
regarding DEI programs in the military. With the evidence Mr.
Lohmeier provided, on May 20, 2024, Chairman Grothman joined
House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel
Chairman Jim Banks in a letter to DoD with concerns of the
newly created office called, the Defense Advisory Committee on
Diversity and Inclusion (DACODAI). DACODAI was to publish a
report with independent recommendations on matters related to
DEI in the Armed Forces. Mr. Lohmeier had reported the same
comments to the DACODAI but failed to incorporate comments from
the study provided.
CHALLENGES IN NAVAL SURFACE SHIP CONSTRUCTION
Following an increase in concerns being raised by U.S. Navy
shipbuilders to Members of Congress, the Committee initiated an
investigation into the challenges being faced by the U.S. Navy
procurement process. Significant delays, waste, fraud, and
abuse were brought to the Committee's attention by members of
the U.S. Navy and private industry. As a result, the Committee
reviewed, and continues to review, the Navy's internal
processes and procurement challenges.
On May 11, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing with
witnesses Rear Admiral Thomas J. Andersen, Program Executive
Officer (PEO) for Ships, U.S. Navy, and Rear Admiral Casey
Moton, Program Executive Officer (PEO) for Unmanned and Small
Combatants, U.S. Navy. This hearing revealed significant issues
in the Navy's ability to procure combat ready ships in a timely
manner. On August 7, 2023, Chairman Comer, Subcommittee
Chairman Grothman, and Congressman Higgins sent a letter to
Secretary of the Navy Del Toro requesting additional
information and documents relating to the Navy's internal
procurement processes. Following that letter, in October 2023
the Committee led a bipartisan staff delegation to Naval
Station Norfolk and met with senior Navy leaders regarding ship
development and construction.
On July 24, 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing examining
DoD platform performance and costs, with witnesses Moshe
Schwartz, Senior Fellow of Acquisition Policy, National Defense
Industrial Association; Mackenzie Eaglen, Senior Fellow,
American Enterprise Institute; Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow and
Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson
Institute; and Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Director of Government
Affairs, Project on Government Oversight. This hearing revealed
significant waste, fraud, and abuse within the U.S. Navy's ship
procurement processes. In addition to the hearings held and
letters sent, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of State, and DoD
provided the Committee six other briefings on these pressing
matters. This investigation remains ongoing.
UNIDENTIFIED ANOMALOUS PHENOMENA
Recent declassifications, the creation of the All-domain
Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), and the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration's (NASA) report have spurred
widespread public interest in unidentified anomalous phenomena
(UAP). With the federal government spending increasingly more
taxpayer dollars investigating these instances, the Committee
initiated an investigation into potential waste, fraud, and
abuse of taxpayer funds and the concealment of highly
classified programs from Congressional oversight.
The first hearing took place in the Subcommittee on July
26, 2023, with witnesses Ryan Graves, Executive Director,
Americans for Safe Aerospace; Commander David Fravor (Ret.),
Former Commanding Officer, United States Navy; and David
Grusch, Former National Reconnaissance Officer Representative,
Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force, Department of
Defense.
The second hearing took place jointly with the Subcommittee
on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government
Innovation on November 13, 2024, with witnesses Dr. Tim
Gallaudet, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (RET.); Chief Executive
Officer, Ocean STL Consulting, LLC; Luis Elizondo, Author, and
Former Department of Defense Official; Michael Gold, Former
NASA Associate Administrator of Space Policy and Partnerships,
Member of NASA UAP Independent Study Team; and Michael
Shellenberger, Founder of Public.
The Committee's overall investigation examined transparency
issues surrounding the DoD and the Intelligence Community (IC),
including disclosure of spending information and policies and
procedures regarding classification and declassification.
Additionally, the investigation examined the work of DoD's
Congressionally mandated AARO and their insight into federal
research programs. In addition to these hearings, the Committee
has received multiple briefings from federal agencies involved
in UAP issues, including in classified settings.
BIDEN-HARRIS FAILURES ON IRAN
In response to the Biden-Harris Administration's failures
on Iran, the Committee initiated an investigation into the
policies, actions, and individuals that have empowered Iran at
the expense of American security interests. Evidence suggests
that the Biden-Harris Administration was quietly making deals
with Iran relating to hostage exchanges, and oil and drone
sales. Additionally, the Biden-Harris Administration likely
violated the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (INARA)
by not alerting Congress of deals related to nuclear capability
negotiations.
In late June of 2023, it was reported that President Biden
had placed the Special Envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, on leave
without pay. Following this action, the Committee learned that
his clearance had been suspended earlier in the year due to an
investigation of his handling of classified information.
Despite this concern, Malley was still authorized by the Biden-
Harris Administration to continue work without his security
clearance until he was suspended upon the investigation being
turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The Biden-Harris Administration also failed to oversee
funds used in the negotiation of American hostages. President
Biden authorized the unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian assets
in exchange for the release of six illegally detained American
hostages in Iran. While the Committee supports efforts to bring
illegally detained Americans home, the Biden-Harris
Administration failed to provide guardrails in preventing that
$6 billion to be used for or to offset expenses associated with
military and terrorist activities by the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard Corps.
On September 13, 2023, the Subcommittee held a hearing on
the Biden-Harris Administration's failures on Iran, including
witnesses Michael Makovsky, President and CEO of the Jewish
Institute for National Security of America (JINSA); Richard
Goldberg, Senior Advisor, Foundation for Defense of
Democracies; and Victoria Coates, Vice President of the Kathryn
and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and
Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation. Additionally,
Chairman Comer and Subcommittee Chairman Grothman sent
Secretary of State Blinken a letter on October 11, 2023,
regarding the Department of State's ongoing violations of
INARA. This letter requested documents, calendars, and
information pertaining to State's lack of transparency and
ongoing violations of federal law. The Committee has reviewed a
substantial number of documents, many largely redacted by the
State Department, and also received multiple briefings,
including in classified settings, related to its oversight of
the Biden-Harris Administration's posture with respect to Iran.
GLOBAL RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
The subcommittee is greatly concerned with the Biden-Harris
Administration's inaction regarding those persecuted globally
for their religious beliefs. The Subcommittee held a hearing on
October 25, 2023, on issues of global religious persecution and
the U.S. posture with respect to violations of religious
liberty by hostile regimes with witnesses Mr. David Curry, the
President and CEO of Global Christian Relief, Dr. Eric
Patterson, President of the Religious Freedom Institute, and
Dr. Meaghan Mobbs, a Senior Fellow at the Independent Women's
Forum.
The Committee learned in this hearing that religious
minorities face severe discrimination and violence in many
nations such as the Uyghurs in China, Christians in Nigeria,
and Baha'i in Iran. Nigeria alone accounted for 90 percent of
the 5,621 Christians killed worldwide for their faith in 2022.
The Committee was alarmed to learn that the Biden-Harris
Administration removed Nigeria from the State Department's
``Countries of Particular Concern'' list, which limits funding
as a consequence to address these atrocities.
Witnesses also informed the Committee of theocratic
regimes, particularly in Afghanistan, that have rolled back
progress for women and girls, denying them education, work, and
basic freedoms under laws with oppressive religious undertones,
and that women globally are subjected to forced marriages,
sexual violence, and other abuses tied to religious extremism.
Meanwhile, Christians face near genocidal levels of persecution
worldwide from North Korea to India.
MISMANAGEMENT OF FOREIGN AID
In response to increasing taxpayer funds going to foreign
conflict zones and other high-risk locations around the world,
House Oversight Republicans sent several letters to Biden-
Harris Administration officials asking for answers on wasteful
spending. On February 6, 2024, House Oversight Committee
Republicans along with then-Senator J.D. Vance, sent a request
to DoD for documents and information on how they track weapons
and equipment going to Ukraine. This letter came after DoD IG
released a report detailing how DoD did not fully comply with
monitoring of enhanced weapons and equipment, including
missiles, unmanned aircraft, and night vision devices.
Additionally, on October 24, 2023, the Committee sent a letter
to U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Director
Samantha Power, requesting documents and information related to
how the agency assesses the risk of funding, and other agency
actions that could support activities that are contrary to U.S.
interests. The letter was in response to the Committee's
concern about plans the Biden-Harris Administration announced
on October 18, 2023, to provide hundreds of millions of dollars
of U.S. taxpayer-funded humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West
Bank, despite the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel on
October 7, 2023.
On February 16, 2024, the Committee sent a request to
Secretary of State Antony Blinken for documents and information
related to the decision by the Biden-Harris Administration to
reverse course from the Trump administration and reinstitute
funding to the United Nation's Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
In addition to limited documents reviewed by the Committee,
State officials provided a briefing revealing that the White
House had pushed through a restart of UNRWA funding early on in
the Biden-Harris Administration despite a known lack of
adequate oversight mechanisms at the U.N. for preventing the
funds from being used to support terrorism or antisemitic
activities.
On March 21, 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing on
reviewing controls to prevent mismanagement of foreign aid, to
include witnesses Jim Richardson, the former Director of the
Office of Foreign Assistance at the U.S. Department of State
under the Trump Administration and Max Primorac, a senior
research fellow from the Heritage Foundation. The Committee
Minority requested the invitation of Charles Kenny, a senior
fellow at the Center for Global Development. Ultimately, all
witnesses in attendance agreed that better control mechanisms
need to be in place to track and monitor foreign assistance
spending.
CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY INFILTRATION OF MILITARY BASES
Following public reporting in the fall of 2023 that
nationals of the People's Republic of China (PRC) were posing
as tourists and illegally trespassing on U.S. military
instillations for the purposes of espionage, the Committee
launched an investigation to better understand the prevalence
of the issue. On October 2, 2023, Chairman Comer and
Subcommittee Chairman Grothman sent a letter to Secretary of
Defense Austin and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director
Wray, requesting a briefing on the matter, which ultimately
occurred in a classified setting.
On May 16, 2024, the Subcommittee on National Security, the
Border, and Foreign Affairs held a closed, classified hearing
to assess the CCP's ongoing infiltration of U.S. military
installations, to include witnesses John Dixon, Director for
Defense Intelligence, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense
for Intelligence and Security, U.S. Department of Defense, and
Jill Murphy, Deputy Assistant Director, China Branch,
Counterintelligence Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation.
This hearing provided in-depth context relating to the issue of
PRC nationals trespassing on U.S. military installations and
gave the Committee a greater understanding of the overall
issue.
H. Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
INVESTIGATION INTO THE ORIGINS OF COVID-19
Beginning with its March 8, 2023, hearing, the Select
Subcommittee focused significant efforts on investigating the
origins of COVID-19. This included several subsequent hearings
with government and non-government officials, and numerous
letters and transcribed interviews which were primarily focused
on COVID-19 origins. As a result, the Select Subcommittee
gathered and reviewed hundreds of thousands of pages of
relevant documents, communications, and testimony during its
investigation. The Select Subcommittee's Final Report--which
was reported favorably on December 4, 2024--concluded that
COVID-19 most likely emerged as a result of a laboratory
related incident in Wuhan, China. This incident most likely
involved gain-of-function research, which the report found was
insufficiently regulated by the U.S. government.
The Final Report also found that ``The Proximal Origin of
SARS-CoV-2'' publication--which was used repeatedly by public
health officials and the media to discredit the lab leak
theory--was prompted by Dr. Anthony Fauci to push the preferred
narrative that COVID-19 originated in nature. Details of Dr.
Fauci's prompting of Proximal Origin were also highlighted in
the Select Subcommittee's July 11, 2023, interim staff report
titled ``The Proximal Origin of a Cover-Up: Did the `Bethesda
Boys' Downplay a Lab Leak?'' Relatedly, the Select
Subcommittee's Final Report found that government officials,
including Dr. Fauci, played a critical role in disparaging the
lab-leak theory and dubbing it a ``conspiracy theory.''
INVESTIGATION OF ECOHEALTH ALLIANCE
A major element of the Select Subcommittee's investigation
into COVID-19 origins was the investigation of EcoHealth
Alliance--a U.S.-based nonprofit which received grants
taxpayer-funded grants to conduct coronavirus research in
Wuhan, China. As part of this investigation, the Select
Subcommittee sent numerous letters and conducted several
transcribed interviews, including with EcoHealth Alliance's
President Dr. Peter Daszak. The Select Subcommittee also held a
public hearing with Dr. Daszak on May 1, 2024, during which it
appears that Dr. Daszak provided false statements in violation
of federal law.
The Select Subcommittee's investigation into EcoHealth
Alliance and Dr. Daszak ultimately found that EcoHealth used
taxpayer dollars to facilitate dangerous gain-of-function
research in Wuhan, and that it violated the terms of its NIH
grant. On May 1, 2024, the Select Subcommittee released an
interim staff report detailing its investigation and
recommended EcoHealth and Dr. Daszak's be debarred and
criminally investigated. Following the Select Subcommittee's
oversight efforts, HHS commenced official debarment proceedings
against and suspended all funding to EcoHealth. The Select
Subcommittee also discovered evidence that the DOJ has opened
an investigation into EcoHealth's pandemic-era activities.
INVESTIGATION OF MISCONDUCT BY DR. DAVID MORENS
Dr. Fauci's Senior Advisor, Dr. David Morens, deliberately
obstructed the Select Subcommittee's investigation, likely
liked to Congress on multiple occasions, unlawfully deleted
federal COVID-19 records, and shared nonpublic information
about NIH grant processes with EcoHealth president Dr. Peter
Daszak.
The Select Subcommittee held two transcribed interviews
with Dr. Morens. The first on December 22, 2023, was cut short
due to objections and impediment from HHS attorneys. The second
transcribed interview was on January 18, 2024. The Select
Subcommittee also held a hearing with Dr. Morens on May 22,
2024.
As a result of the investigation into Dr. Morens, the
Select Subcommittee also uncovered evidence that he may have
received assistance from an NIH FOIA Office employee, Margaret
Moore, to delete records and avoid FOIA. The Select
Subcommittee first wrote to Ms. Moore on May 31, 2024, to
arrange a voluntary transcribed interview. After several months
of negotiations, on August 5, 2024, Ms. Moore formally refused
to testify. Subsequently, the Select Subcommittee issued a
subpoena for a deposition with Ms. Moore on October 4, 2024,
during which she invoked her Fifth Amendment right against
self-incrimination.
OVERSIGHT OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
The World Health Organization is the most recognized global
public health institution, yet the WHO's response to the COVID-
19 pandemic was an abject failure. The WHO caved to pressure
from the Chinese Communist Party and placed China's political
interest ahead of its international duties. Further, the WHO's
newest effort to solve the problems exacerbated by the COVID-19
pandemic, via the Pandemic Treaty, is harmful to the U.S.
The Select Subcommittee held a hearing on December 13,
2023, focusing on the shortcomings of the WHO and how it can
return to becoming a trusted member of public health. Members
and staff also visited WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
OVERSIGHT OF THE U.S.' STRATEGIC NATIONAL STOCKPILE
The Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) is the nation's
leading inventory of pharmaceutical drugs, medical products,
and ancillary supplies. It is a network of strategically placed
storehouses designed to supplement local emergencies. While the
SNS was not designed to respond to a national, or global
emergency, such as COVID-19, there were still significant
shortcomings during the pandemic. Aiding the fortification of
the SNS is an optimal decision in future pandemic preparedness.
Escorted by the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and
Response, Members of the Select Subcommittee and staff toured
one of the SNS warehouses and learned about the behind-the-
scenes functions of running this nationwide network. On
September 19, 2023, the Assistant Secretary provided a
classified briefing to Select Subcommittee Members.
INVESTIGATION OF FORMER NY GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO'S MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
The Select Subcommittee held two hearings focusing on
nursing home fatalities occurring as a result of misguided
``must-admit'' orders that were issued by numerous states. In
particular, the Select Subcommittee examined the directive
issued by the administration of former New York State Governor
Andrew Cuomo. The Select Subcommittee also investigated the
attempt by the Cuomo Administration to withhold the number of
fatalities occurring to nursing home residents and the
administration's issuance of a report that blamed nursing home
staff, rather than the must-admit directive, for nursing home
fatalities.
In May 2023, the Select Subcommittee requested documents
and information from New York and two other states that had
orders similar to New York's directive. On October 10, 2023,
The Select Subcommittee sent a follow-up request to the New
York Executive Chamber. On November 6, 2023, the Select
Subcommittee sent a third letter to the Executive Chamber. As
of November 29, 2024, the Executive Chamber has produced nearly
375,000 documents. However, the Select Subcommittee issued a
subpoena on September 10, 2024, for documents that the
Executive Chamber withheld.
The Select Subcommittee also conducted transcribed
interviews with former Governor Andrew Cuomo and 10 members of
his administration. Prior to holding a hearing with former
Governor Cuomo on September 10, 2024, the Select Subcommittee
released a staff memorandum finding that the Executive Chamber
was involved in the issuance of the directive and made the
decision to not release out-of-facility fatality data. On
September 25, 2024, the Select Subcommittee released an
addendum to the staff memorandum that found that former
Governor Cuomo acted in a manner consistent with an attempt to
inappropriately influence the testimony of a witness and
obstruct the Select Subcommittee's investigation. On October
30, 2024, the Select Subcommittee referred former Governor
Cuomo to the DOJ for making false statements in his transcribed
interview related to his involvement in and knowledge of the
July 6 Report.
INVESTIGATION OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC SCHOOL CLOSURES
On March 28, 2023, the Select Subcommittee held a hearing
examining the consequences of school closures. That day, the
Select Subcommittee sent a letter to American Federation of
Teachers (AFT) and 13 other non-governmental groups to provide
documents and information related to their role in the CDC's
reopening guidance. The Select Subcommittee also requested
transcribed interviews with Weingarten and other AFT staff.
On April 5, 2023, the Select Subcommittee invited Randi
Weingarten, the President of AFT, to testify to the Select
Subcommittee regarding her and AFT's role in prolonging
closures. Ms. Weingarten testified before the Select
Subcommittee on April 26, 2023. Ms. Weingarten testified to
having contact with CDC Director Walensky related to the
development of the reopening guidance.
The Select Subcommittee subsequently held three transcribed
interviews with AFT and CDC officials related to the reopening
guidance. On December 4, 2024, the Select Subcommittee voted
favorably on its final report finding that prolonged school
closures were not supported by available science and that
school closures resulted in negative consequences for students'
academics and mental and physical health. The final report also
made several findings related to AFT's support of school
closures and their role in pushing for non-scientific
restrictions in the CDC's reopening guidance. The report also
documented concerns related to the CDC accepting edits from AFT
into the final guidance.
OVERSIGHT OF COVID-19 VACCINES
Beginning on July 27, 2023, the Select Subcommittee held
five separate hearings focusing on various issues surrounding
COVID-19 vaccines, including vaccine safety surveillance,
vaccine injury compensation, vaccine mandates, and the doctor-
patient relationship. In addition, Select Subcommittee staff
conducted a transcribed interview with former Acting FDA
Commissioner, Janet Woodcock, which focused on allegations that
the FDA accelerated its approval of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine
in August 2021 to facilitate vaccine mandates.
These oversight efforts gleaned important information that
helped inform numerous findings in the Final Report, which the
Select Subcommittee voted to report favorably on December 4,
2024. Specifically, the Select Subcommittee found that the FDA
rushed their approval of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to align
with the Biden-Harris Administration's arbitrary vaccine
mandate timeline, which were not supported by science. The
Select Subcommittee also found that the government's vaccine
injury compensation systems are failing to efficiently and
transparently adjudicate claims for the COVID-19 vaccine
injured. Similarly, the government's vaccine safety
surveillance system created mass confusion and failed to
properly inform the American public about vaccine injuries and
deteriorated public trust in vaccine safety. However, the
Select Subcommittee concluded Operation Warp Speed was highly
successful and helped save millions of lives.
MINORITY VIEWS
During the 118th Congress, Ranking Member Jamie Raskin led
Committee Democrats and fought to protect Americans from
climate change, gun violence, and efforts to strip them of
their reproductive rights, working to make our government more
effective and transparent and exposing Donald Trump's schemes
to sell it out for his personal profit, and exposing
disinformation that harms our public discourse.
Committee Democrats combatted Republican
efforts to push Russian disinformation, including the
false allegations at the center of Republicans' sham,
failed impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
Despite Republicans' efforts to
hide important testimony in their impeachment
inquiry from the American public, Committee
Democrats publicly rebutted cherry-picked
information with the truth. Throughout the
118th Congress, Committee Democrats released
numerous reports, fact sheets, and memos
dispelling Republican misrepresentations and
distortions of the facts in Chairman Comer's
bogus investigation into President Biden.
In September 2023, Ranking
Member Jamie Raskin highlighted the failures of
Chairman James Comer's sham investigation into
President Biden, most notably the voluminous
exculpatory evidence.
In December 2023, Oversight
Committee Democrats pushed back on claims made
by Republicans in their sham impeachment
investigation, circulating a memo showing
Republicans' lack of evidence of wrongdoing by
President Biden.
On March 11, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin rebuked Chairman Comer for
turning the Committee into a ``mouthpiece for
Russian propaganda and misinformation.'' In his
letter, he demanded Chairman Comer shed more
light on his decision to release an FBI memo
containing unverified, uncorroborated, and
unsubstantiated allegations against President
Biden.
On March 12, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin called out Republicans' complete
lack of evidence pointing even remotely towards
any impeachable offense committed by President
Biden. This was in response to Republicans
requesting 15 years of Hunter Biden's phone
records, after finding no evidence in 100,000
pages of documents, and nearly 20 witness
testimonies.
On March 20, 2024, Committee
Democrats published a scathing fact-check,
dispelling any lies told by Republicans
surrounding the impeachment inquiry. The fact-
check concluded that Republicans' dependence on
testimony from ``two discredited Trump-tied
characters'' had ``already been thoroughly
discredited, and Chairmen Comer and Jordan's
impeachment inquiry has already debunked
itself.''
On March 21, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin led Democrats in further
embarrassing Republicans' failed impeachment
inquiry, shining a light on the mountain of
evidence showing no evidence of an impeachable
offense by President Biden. Committee Democrats
underscored how the Ukraine-Burisma lie has
been promoted for years by prominent
Republicans like Donald Trump, as well as the
fact that their sources lack any credibility.
On April 5, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin renounced Committee Republicans'
repeated promotions of foreign disinformation.
Ranking Member Raskin called on Chairman Comer
to release relevant information related to his
unfounded and baseless claims that the Central
Intelligence Agency attempted to obstruct the
Department of Justice's (DOJ) Hunter Biden
investigation.
On August 19, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin released Committee Democrats'
final report rebutting the ``same old lies and
Russian propaganda'' that defined Chairman
Comer and Committee Republicans' failed
political hit job against President Biden.
On December 17, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin again highlighted the phony
bribery claims that were at the heart of
Chairman Comer's failed impeachment inquiry
following the guilty plea of one of their key
witnesses who worked with Russian intelligence
agencies in an effort to smear President Biden.
Despite Committee Republicans' obstruction,
Ranking Member Raskin and Committee Democrats exposed
how Donald Trump used the Presidency to line his
pockets while endangering national security and selling
out Americans' right to clean air and water.
In March 2023, Ranking Member
Raskin released a staff report showing that the
Trump family failed to disclose more than
$250,000 worth of gifts from foreign
governments.
On January 4, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin released a staff report
establishing that while former President Trump
was in office, he received at least $7.8
million from 20 governments, including the
governments of China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Malaysia, through
his businesses. Upon becoming Chairman of the
Committee in January 2023, Rep. James Comer
worked in coordination with Donald Trump's
attorneys to end the court-ordered document
production between Mazars and the Committee. As
a result, the $7.8 million detailed in the
staff report is based on records for just two
years of former President Trump's presidency,
involving only four of his more than 500
businesses, is likely just a small fraction of
the payments he received from foreign
governments while in office, in violation of
the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause.
On May 14, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin demanded answers from nine Big Oil CEOs
on their meeting with former President Trump
where he allegedly made quid pro quo
propositions to scrap environmental regulations
in exchange for campaign donations. On
September 10, 2024, Ranking Member Raskin, Sen.
Sheldon Whitehouse, Chairman of the Senate
Budget Committee, and Sen. Ron Wyden, Chairman
of the Senate Finance Committee, followed up on
the request, urging immediate compliance.
On September 3, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin demanded answers from Donald
Trump after a bombshell report by the
Washington Post raised concerns that the former
president may have accepted a $10 million cash
bribe from Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-
Sisi during the 2016 presidential campaign and
that appointees in his own DOJ covered it up.
On October 23, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin sent a letter to Donald Trump and
JD Vance, urging the Republican presidential
campaign to stop obstructing the transition
process and to sign key documents that ensure
continuity of government and help facilitate a
peaceful and orderly transition of power.
On October 28, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin released a report revealing how
Donald Trump used the Trump International Hotel
to unlawfully take hundreds of payments from
the U.S. Secret Service and legally and
ethically questionable payments from federal
and state officials, federal job seekers, and
presidential pardon recipients, violating the
Constitution's Emoluments Clause.
On December 13, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin sent another letter to the Trump-
Vance Transition requesting that they commit
immediately to requiring that all nominees
submit to a full vetting by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) following reports that
the Transition was still planning to skirt
traditional FBI vetting by outsourcing to
private firms, and that some incoming personnel
may be refusing to undergo vetting before the
Trump Administration takes office.
Although Chairman James Comer
introduced the Presidential Ethics Reform Act,
a ``landmark federal ethics reform bill''
claiming to deliver transparency to the
American people and enable robust congressional
oversight, he failed to bring the Presidential
Ethics Reform Act to the Committee for its
consideration. Furthermore, following the
election of Donald Trump, Chairman Comer
refused to commit to even pursue presidential
ethics, something he previously claimed was not
``a partisan problem.''
Ranking Member Raskin and Committee
Democrats exposed the ongoing ethics crisis at the
Supreme Court.
In November 2023, Committee
Democrats called on Chairman James Comer to
investigate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence
Thomas after revelations that he failed to
report or repay a $267,230 loan from a wealthy
businessman.
On June 11, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin, Vice Ranking Member Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez, and other Democratic Committee Members
hosted a roundtable with expert panelists to
examine how Supreme Court Justices beholden to
right-wing dark money networks and unencumbered
by any binding code of ethics are imposing an
extremist agenda that undermines American
democracy, deprives Americans of basic civil
rights, and guts environmental protections.
On June 20, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin and Vice Ranking Member Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez sent a letter to U.S. Supreme
Court Chief Justice John Roberts, calling on
him to make clear what steps, if any, he is
taking to investigate allegations of serious
ethical misconduct by conservative Justices on
the Supreme Court.
On October 4, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin and Vice Ranking Member
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent a letter to Chief
Justice John Roberts, demanding an explanation
for his decision to replace Justice Samuel
Alito as the author of the Supreme Court's
opinion in Fischer v. United States, a case
involving the January 6 insurrection, just days
after the public learned that he repeatedly
flew flags and banners supportive of the
January 6 insurrectionists while allowing him
to remain on the case.
Ranking Member Raskin and Committee
Democrats continued to fight for American's civil
rights, including defending reproductive rights and
working to protect Americans from gun violence.
In March 2023, Ranking Member
Jamie Raskin and Rep. Debbie Dingell issued
statements on the Government Accountability
Office's (GAO) report showing the persistence
of the gender pay gap and the under-
representation of women in management positions
across industries.
In May 2023, Committee Democrats
and the Black Maternal Health Caucus
highlighted GAO's report examining maternal
health and access to midwife care.
In July 2023, Ranking Member
Jamie Raskin, Rep. Cori Bush, and Rep. Jasmine
Crockett held a roundtable on medication
abortion access and Republican efforts to ban
abortion nationwide.
On May 16, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin pressed health insurers and Pharmacy
Benefit Managers (PBMs) on how they would
comply with revised federal guidance designed
to improve patient access for no-cost birth
control, guidance that was recommended by the
three Departments that regulate contraceptive
coverage (Health and Human Services, Labor, and
Treasury) following a Committee Democrats' 2023
staff analysis showing that as many as 49
million women of reproductive age could
potentially benefit from revised federal
guidance.
On June 28, 2024, Vice Ranking
Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez led Oversight
Committee Democrats in safeguarding basic civil
rights while Republicans work to rollback
nondiscrimination protections.
July 11, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin and Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost
requested information from GAO on federal
funding for fraudulent anti-abortion Crisis
Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) that have a long
history of both deceiving women and mishandling
patient data.
On September 20, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin, Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost,
and Rep. Jared Moskowitz led Committee
Democrats in holding a roundtable on the long-
term consequences and costs of gun violence
with a panel of school leaders, policy
advocates, and legal experts. The roundtable
followed Democrats call for Chairman Comer to
hold hearings on the urgent crisis of gun
violence plaguing the country.
Ranking Member Raskin and Committee
Democrats continued their efforts to promote
transparency and good government.
In March 2023, Ranking Member
Jamie Raskin released a step-by-step Citizen's
Guide to using the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) to request government records.
On March 6, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin and Chairman Comer introduced the
Federal AI Governance and Transparency Act,
which focuses government resources on
increasing transparency, oversight, and
responsible use of federal AI systems while
protecting the public's privacy, civil rights,
and civil liberties. The bill was reported
favorably by the Committee with bipartisan
support.
On March 13, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin and bipartisan leaders released
the findings of a GAO report entitled ``Freedom
of Information Act: Additional Guidance and
Reliable Data Address Agency Backlogs,''
showing the Freedom of Information Act request
backlog rose sharply over the last decade and
highlighting a pathway to regaining public
trust.
On April 15, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin introduced the Government
Spending Oversight Committee Act, which would
place federal inspectors general (IGs) at the
center of fraud reduction.
Ranking Member Raskin and Committee
Democrats rebutted Republican attacks on the federal
workforce and the Biden-Harris Administration's efforts
to deliver for the American people.
During multiple hearings,
Committee Democrats defended the federal
government's use of remote work, highlighted
lessons learned from pandemic telework
policies, and rebutted Republican attacks on
federal workers.
In November 2023, Committee
Democrats underscored their steadfast
commitment to improving government services for
the American people in a hearing with the
General Services Administration.
On March 21, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin and Sen. Brian Schatz introduced
a bill to codify federal labor-management
forums, empowering workers to communicate
efficiently with agency officials and improving
overall workplaces.
On May 1, 2024, Oversight
Committee Democrats stood with the Office of
Management and Budget and highlighted their
attempts to increase transparency and
accessibility and deliver vital services.
On May 7, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin and Committee Democrats sought to make
the federal government more accessible to
military and civilian spouses and their
families, requesting information about each
agency's efforts to eliminate barriers and
advance employment opportunities.
On May 23, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin and Oversight Committee Democrats fought
back against former President Trump's dangerous
plan to destroy the federal workforce under
Project 2025 and replace nonpartisan experts
with political lackies.
On December 5, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin sent letter to IGs, reaffirming
his support for their work ahead of the
upcoming presidential transition.
Committee Democrats continued their fight to
protect Americans from the effects of the climate
crisis and foil Big Oil's climate disinformation
campaign.
On March 12, 2024, Oversight
Committee Democrats examined the efforts for
the U.S. power grid to transition to clean
energy.
On April 30, 2024, Oversight
Committee Democrats released a joint report
with the Senate Budget Committee on Big Oil's
decades of disinformation surrounding their
renewable energy efforts. The report revealed
the industry's efforts to deliberately avoid
accountability for climate change, all while
engaging in deception about their practices
publicly.
On May 22, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse pressed DOJ
to investigate Big Oil companies for their long
running misinformation campaigns surrounding
their efforts to transition to clean energy.
On May 24, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin led Oversight Committee Democrats in
highlighting the historic investments the
Biden-Harris Administration made in combatting
the climate crisis.
On July 11, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin led Committee Democrats in standing with
the Environmental Protection Agency and
Administrator Michael Regan to fight the
climate crisis, reduce pollution, and safeguard
community health.
On November 4, 2024, Ranking
Member Raskin, Rep. Frost, and Rep. Moskowitz
sent letters to state insurance regulators amid
concerns that fraudulent industry practices are
targeting vulnerable communities in the wake of
Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
On November 21, 2024, at a
hearing with the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), Administrator Deanne Criswell,
Ranking Member Raskin led Committee Democrats
in highlighting the sweeping response by
thousands of FEMA employees to assist hurricane
victims.
Our Committee and Subcommittees conducted
crucial oversight of agencies across the federal
government.
On June 11, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin and Ranking Member Robert Garcia pressed
the U.S. Coast Guard over their failure to
cooperate with investigations into their own
misconduct and possible coverups.
On June 28, 2024, Ranking Member
Gerald E. Connolly led Subcommittee Democrats
in examining how Project Labor Agreements (PLA)
can help deliver major construction projects
on-time and on budget.
On July 15, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin and Ranking Member Robert Garcia
advocated for the Department of Defense (DOD)
to stop using federal tax dollars to subsidize
the sale of military-grade assault weapons and
ammunition to civilians. On August 7, 2024,
Ranking Members Raskin and Garcia, and Rep.
Andy Kim, introduced the Stop Militarizing Our
Streets Act of 2024 to prohibit DOD owned
manufacturing plants and contractors from
selling military-grade assault weapons and
ammunition to civilians.
On July 22, 2024, Ranking Member
Raskin and Chairman Comer sent a letter to the
United States Secret Service Director Kimberly
Cheatle, calling for her resignation after her
complete inability to explain the historic
failures under her leadership in preventing the
attempted assassination of President Trump, the
killing of an innocent victim, and multiple
injuries on July 13, 2024.