[House Report 119-29]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { REPORT
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 119-29
======================================================================
RESOLUTION OF INQUIRY REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES TO FURNISH CERTAIN INFORMATION TO THE HOUSE OF RE-
PRESENTATIVES RELATING TO THE OPERATIONS OF THE SOCIAL SEC-
URITY ADMINISTRATION AFTER JANUARY 20, 2025, INCLUDING INFORMA-
TION ON THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY'S ACCESS TO
THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION AND TO INFORMATION IN THE
POSSESSION OF SUCH ADMINISTRATION
_______
March 21, 2025.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. Smith of Missouri, from the Committee on Ways and Means, submitted
the following
ADVERSE REPORT
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H. Res. 195]
The Committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the
resolution (H. Res. 195) of inquiry requesting the President of
the United States to furnish certain information to the House
of Representatives relating to the operations of the Social
Security Administration after January 20, 2025, including
information on the Department of Government Efficiency's access
to the Social Security Administration and to information in the
possession of such Administration, having considered the same,
reports unfavorably thereon without amendment and recommends
that the resolution not be agreed to.
CONTENTS
Page
I. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND...........................................2
A. Purpose and Summary................................. 2
B. Background and Need for Legislation................. 2
C. Legislative History................................. 3
Background......................................... 3
Committee Action................................... 3
II. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL..........................................3
III. VOTES OF THE COMMITTEE...........................................3
IV. BUDGET EFFECTS OF THE BILL.......................................4
A. Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects............. 4
B. Statement Regarding New Budget Authority and Tax
Expenditures Budget Authority...................... 4
C. Cost Estimate Prepared by the Congressional Budget
Office............................................. 4
V. OTHER MATTERS TO BE DISCUSSED UNDER THE RULES OF THE HOUSE.......4
A. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations.... 4
B. Statement of General Performance Goals and
Objectives......................................... 4
C. Information Relating to Unfunded Mandate............ 5
D. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and
Limited Tariff Benefits............................ 5
E. Duplication of Federal Programs..................... 5
VI. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, As Reported............5
A. Changes in Existing Law Proposed by the Bill, as
Reported........................................... 5
VII. DISSENTING VIEWS.................................................6
I. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND
A. Purpose and Summary
H. Res. 195 requests that the President of the United
States provide the House of Representatives with any document,
record, audio recording, memorandum, call log, correspondence,
activity logs, audit trails, audit logs, written agreements, or
other communication relating to the Department of Government
Efficiency's (DOGE) access to, or usage of, the Social Security
Administration's (SSA) information technology systems; visits
to the SSA by DOGE, Elon Musk, or any member of his team; SSA's
compliance with certain Executive Orders; number of calls per
day to the national toll-free telephone number maintained by
the SSA; the number of calls per day and visitors per day to
the SSA field offices; the closure or consolidation of offices
of the SSA; and reduction in staff at the SSA.
B. Background and Need for Legislation
On March 5, 2025, H. Res. 195 was introduced by
Representative John Larson. H. Res. 195 is a resolution of
inquiry, which is a method infrequently used by the House of
Representatives to obtain certain factual information from the
Executive Branch. Under clause 7 of rule XIII, a resolution of
inquiry is subject to a motion to discharge from committee if
the resolution is not reported by the committee to which it was
referred within 14 legislative days of its introduction.
Accordingly, the Committee on Ways and Means scheduled a markup
of H. Res. 195 within the 14-day period.
The Committee reported the resolution unfavorably because,
among many flaws, much of the information requested is already
publicly available. In the first months of President Trump's
administration the SSA has been transparent with both Congress
and the public with its service delivery data and the changes
they are making to improve efficiencies across the program. The
SSA regularly publishes and updates various performance
measures of the National 800 Number and other service delivery
metrics including average speed of answer, percent of callers
who reach a representative, and average wait time.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Social Security Administration, 800 Number Performance (March 4,
2025), https://www.
ssa.gov/ssa-performance/800-number-performance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Acting Commissioner of Social Security has
affirmatively stated that DOGE employees are not permitted to
make changes to agency systems, benefit payments, or other
information, that these individuals are subject to the same
legal penalties for improper disclosure of sensitive
information that all SSA employees face, and that if they fail
to follow the law, they will be referred to the Department of
Justice for possible prosecution.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\Social Security Administration, Statement from Lee Dudek, Acting
Commissioner, about Commitment to Agency Transparency and Protecting
Benefits and Information (February 19, 2025), https://www.ssa.gov/news/
press/releases/2025/#2025-02-19.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rooting out fraud and waste is imperative to ensure the
right benefit is paid to the right person at the right time.
With the SSA's Office of the Inspector General finding $72
billion in improper payments from 2015-2022,\3\ it is obvious
that the mission DOGE has been tasked with is long overdue. For
these reasons, the Committee reported the resolution adversely.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General,
Preventing, Detecting, and Recovering Improper Payments (August 2024),
https://oig.ssa.gov/assets/uploads/072401.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
C. Legislative History
Background
H. Res. 195 was introduced on March 5, 2025, and was
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Committee Action
The Committee on Ways and Means marked up H. Res. 195 on
March 12, 2025, and ordered the resolution reported adversely
(with a quorum being present) by a roll call vote.
II. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL
H. Res. 195 requests that the President of the United
States furnish certain information to the House of
Representatives relating to the operations of the Social
Security Administration after January 20, 2025, including
information on the Department of Government Efficiency's access
to the Social Security Administration and to information in the
possession of such Administration.
III. VOTES OF THE COMMITTEE
In compliance with the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the following statement is made concerning the
vote of the Committee on Ways and Means during the markup
consideration of H. Res. 195, Of inquiry requesting the
President of the United States to furnish certain information
to the House of Representatives relating to the operations of
the Social Security Administration after January 20, 2025,
including information on the Department of Government
Efficiency's access to the Social Security Administration and
to information in the possession of such Administration on
March 12, 2025.
H. Res. 195 was ordered adversely reported to the House of
Representatives by a roll call vote of 24 yeas to 18 nays (with
a quorum being present). The vote was as follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Representative Yea Nay Present Representative Yea Nay Present
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Smith (MO)..................... X ...... ......... Mr. Neal............. ...... X .........
Mr. Buchanan....................... X ...... ......... Mr. Doggett.......... ...... X .........
Mr. Smith (NE)..................... X ...... ......... Mr. Thompson......... ...... ...... .........
Mr. Kelly.......................... ...... ...... ......... Mr. Larson........... ...... X .........
Mr. Schweikert..................... X ...... ......... Mr. Davis............ ...... X .........
Mr. LaHood......................... X ...... ......... Ms. Sanchez.......... ...... X .........
Mr. Arrington...................... X ...... ......... Ms. Sewell........... ...... ...... .........
Mr. Estes.......................... X ...... ......... Ms. DelBene.......... ...... X .........
Mr. Smucker........................ X ...... ......... Ms. Chu.............. ...... X .........
Mr. Hern........................... X ...... ......... Ms. Moore (WI)....... ...... X .........
Mrs. Miller (WV)................... X ...... ......... Mr. Boyle............ ...... X .........
Dr. Murphy......................... X ...... ......... Mr. Beyer............ ...... X .........
Mr. Kustoff........................ X ...... ......... Mr. Evans............ ...... X .........
Mr. Fitzpatrick.................... X ...... ......... Mr. Schneider........ ...... X .........
Mr. Steube......................... X ...... ......... Mr. Panetta.......... ...... X .........
Ms. Tenney......................... X ...... ......... Mr. Gomez............ ...... X .........
Mrs. Fischbach..................... X ...... ......... Mr. Horsford......... ...... X .........
Mr. Moore (UT)..................... X ...... ......... Ms. Plaskett......... ...... X .........
Ms. Van Duyne...................... X ...... ......... Mr. Suozzi........... ...... X .........
Mr. Feenstra....................... X ...... .........
Ms. Malliotakis.................... ...... ...... .........
Mr. Carey.......................... X ...... .........
Mr. Yakym.......................... X ...... .........
Mr. Miller (OH).................... X ...... .........
Mr. Bean........................... X ...... .........
Mr. Moran.......................... X ...... .........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. BUDGET EFFECTS OF THE BILL
A. Committee Estimate of Budgetary Effects
With respect to clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, a cost estimate provided by the
Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was not made available to the
Committee in time for the filing of this report.
B. Statement Regarding New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures Budget
Authority
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states that the
bill involved no new or increased budget authority. The
Committee states further that the bill involves no new or
increased tax expenditures.
C. Cost Estimate Prepared by the Congressional Budget Office
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
Congressional Budget Office did not provide a cost estimate of
the resolution.
V. OTHER MATTERS TO BE DISCUSSED UNDER THE RULES OF THE HOUSE
A. Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
With respect to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee made findings and
recommendations that are reflected in this report.
B. Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
With respect to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
bill does not authority funding, so no statement of general
performance goals and objectives is required.
C. Information Relating to Unfunded Mandates
This information is provided in accordance with section 423
of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-
4).
The Committee has determined that the bill does not contain
Federal mandates on the private sector. The Committee has
determined that the bill does not impose a Federal
intergovernmental mandate on State, local, or tribal
governments.
D. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits
With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee has carefully reviewed
the provisions of the bill, and states that the provisions of
the bill do not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax
benefits, or limited tariff benefits within the meaning of the
rule.
E. Duplication of Federal Programs
In compliance with clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee states that no
provision of the bill establishes or reauthorizes: (1) a
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program; (2) a program included in any report
from the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant
to section 21 of Public Law 111-139; or (3) a program related
to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance, published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Pub. L. No. 95-220, as amended by Pub. L. No.
98-169).
VI. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Pursuant to clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee advises that H. Res.
195 does not make any changes to existing law.
VII. DISSENTING VIEWS
Social Security has been the bedrock of Americans'
financial security ever since President Franklin D. Roosevelt
signed it into law nearly 90 years ago. Today, almost all
workers contribute to Social Security and earn its benefits,
and nearly one in 3 households include at least one person who
receives Social Security. The income Social Security provides
is vital for retirees, families who have lost a breadwinner,
and workers who have experienced a career-ending injury or
illness--helping them to put food on the table, pay the rent,
heat their homes, cover medical bills, and more. Social
Security's importance to the American people and its
approximately 70 million beneficiaries cannot be overstated.
Yet for years, the Social Security program has been
threatened by efforts to undermine it, reduce benefits, and
move the program toward privatization. Now, President Trump is
spreading widely discredited information about the program and
its integrity; Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, is
calling Social Security a ``Ponzi scheme''; and the Trump
Administration is taking a wrecking ball to the Social Security
Administration (SSA). Undermining SSA's ability to serve the
public is the next step in a calculated effort to dismantle
trust in Social Security and open the door to privatization--an
outcome that rewards Wall Street but jeopardizes the benefits
working families rely on.
This Resolution of Inquiry (ROI) seeks to ensure Congress
carries out necessary oversight of the Trump Administration and
activities of individuals affiliated with the so-called, faux
``Department of Government Efficiency'' (DOGE) at SSA. This ROI
asks for documents related to: (1) access to, and usage of
SSA's information technology systems by Mr. Musk and DOGE,
including the agency's beneficiary records and payment systems;
(2) visits to SSA by Mr. Musk and representatives of DOGE; (3)
actions taken by SSA to comply with Executive Orders issued by
President Trump that jeopardize service to the public by
slashing agency budgets, workforce, and offices; attack
diversity, equity, and inclusion; and upend agency
policymaking; (4) the volume of calls to SSA's national 1-800
toll-free number after January 20, 2025; (5) the volume of
calls and visitors to SSA's field offices after January 20,
2025; (6) current and planned closures of SSA offices,
including field offices and hearing offices, in 2025; and (7)
current and planned reductions of SSA staff, in 2025.
Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Larson captured
the importance of this resolution in seeking transparency from
the executive branch:
``Where's the independence of the committee? Where's
the legislature? We're an equal branch of government
and you start off with a blather and yet look at the
empty seats here. Where's Elon Musk? I'm sure he's a
genius and is a very credible person because of the
wealth he's accumulated. But that does not put him
above the law or the responsibility to come before this
committee in this Congress.''
He has also heard significant concerns from constituents
who receive Social Security benefits and are alarmed by Mr.
Musk and his DOGE affiliate's actions, including these two:
``If my husband (age 76) and I (age 77) don't get our
Social Security, we would be forced to rapidly deplete
our savings before the end of our expected life spans.
My husband paid into Social Security for 53 years and
I've paid into it for 55 years. Musk's approach of
``slash and burn'' as a way to save money must be
stopped!! It is a ruthless and irresponsible approach
to obtaining government efficiency or savings. Do
everything you can to get moderate Republicans to join
the Democrats and fight back on this!'' (Anonymous
Constituent)
``I am a Senior Citizen that relies on Social
Security as the main source of income to pay my rent as
well as monthly expenses. if my benefits are reduced or
if there is any disruption in my monthly payments, this
will cause me to lose my ability to remained housed.
This feeling of instability is ever present as long as
the current Maga administration and Elon Musk are
allowed access to our sensitive personal information.
This chaos and confusion is leading to total economic
instability for all Americans.'' (Anonymous
Constituent)
Mr. Musk and individuals affiliated with DOGE first gained
access to U.S. Treasury payment systems that deliver Social
Security benefits and store millions of Americans' personal and
confidential information, without anyone disclosing exactly
what data they accessed and copied. This is an extreme breach
of privacy. Under the guise of addressing fraud, Mr. Musk and
DOGE affiliates then turned their attention to SSA, accessing
its databases. SSA's beneficiary payment systems manage some of
the most sensitive personal information, such as banking
information, home addresses, and Social Security numbers
(SSNs). SSA establishes SSNs for nearly all Americans, and
SSA's confidential files can also include the reasons for
benefit receipt, such as whether a person is receiving benefits
because a parent or spouse has died; whether a person is
receiving benefits due to a disability, and their specific
medical conditions; or whether a child is receiving foster care
services. Seniors, survivors, people with disabilities, and
children who rely on Social Security benefits must be able to
trust that their personal information is safeguarded,
especially from those whose only interest is their own wealth.
Member offices have been flooded with calls from constituents
who have been alarmed that their personal information may be
compromised by Elon Musk or those associated with DOGE--or even
worse, who are frightened that their Social Security benefits
will be cut off. No one should be rummaging around in
confidential information of Social Security beneficiaries and
the public. This is especially true for uncleared,
unaccountable, and unelected people with no experience in
managing or auditing government systems and programs.
Under the guidance of DOGE, SSA officials also have
announced plans to close offices and to cut its workforce by
7,000 employees, or nearly one out of every 8 employees.
Shuttering field and hearing offices and gutting SSA staffing
has nothing to do with ``governmental efficiency.'' SSA already
operates with a customer service budget of under one percent of
benefit payments, and staffing is at a 50-year low, all while
serving a record number of beneficiaries. Years of
understaffing and lack of resources have led to a customer
service crisis at SSA. Closing the very field and hearing
offices that beneficiaries rely on and gutting staff would only
deepen the crisis. If this plan becomes a reality, the public
will face longer backlogs, delayed payments, and strained
customer service, all of which are backdoor cuts to Social
Security that will harm millions of Americans.
The risks are real. As former Commissioner of Social
Security Martin O'Malley recently noted, there is a significant
danger ``that for the first time in over eight decades, Social
Security benefits could be interrupted.'' In addition,
Americans' personal data could be leaked, lost, sold, or used
to enrich a few. Identity theft is a threat that too many
Americans have already experienced. Thus, it is imperative that
we receive information requested in this ROI.
The constant stream of operational changes and missteps
associated with DOGE's access to SSA is also sowing chaos and
confusion. For example, the targeted and abrupt cancellation of
Maine's access to SSA's Enumeration at Birth and Electronic
Death Registry--now reinstated--would have ended the ability of
parents to apply at the hospital for a SSN for their newborn,
and for bereaved family members to report deaths through a
funeral home. It also would have hindered the very SSA database
that safeguards against payments to dead people. In another
example of the chaos, recent and seemingly routine updates to
SSA's Terms of Service for mySSA online accounts sparked panic
among constituents, who were already alarmed over access by Mr.
Musk and DOGE to Social Security's payment systems and
confidential beneficiary files. Finally, during the Committee's
markup of this ROI, The Washington Post broke news of pending
Trump Administration plans to end SSA's 1-800 number phone
service for millions of Americans filing retirement and
disability claims. These changes would have significantly
reduced access to benefits, especially for older beneficiaries
who have challenges with internet services or live far from a
field office. Due to outcry from the public, SSA reversed its
decision hours later. Minority members submitted The Washington
Post's article into the record.
The steps the Trump Administration and Mr. Musk have taken
are alarming. The President and Mr. Musk should be answering
the questions members of Congress and the American people are
asking: Why they are seeking access to private and confidential
information at SSA, behind closed doors, while telling the
public something different? Why are they gutting SSA's staff
when the agency is at a fifty-year low and in the midst of a
customer service crisis? Why are they restricting access for
beneficiaries by closing field offices and hearing offices?
Executive oversight is a fundamental responsibility of
Congress. Passing this resolution would have helped to ensure
transparency in our government. Yet the Majority voted to
reject this resolution, allowing the executive branch to hide
in the darkness from the American people and from Congress,
unchecked as they rifle through the people's data.
For these reasons, we believe our Majority colleagues were
wrong to adversely report this Resolution of Inquiry to the
full House of Representatives.
Sincerely,
Richard E. Neal,
Ranking Member.
DISSENTING VIEWS
Americans' right to privacy is under attack. Privacy is
next to liberty in our democratic system, yet the President and
his billionaire cabinet are jeopardizing that value for their
own power and enrichment. This Resolution of Inquiry (ROI) is
an important step in ensuring Congress continues its important
job of oversight over the Executive Branch.
Elon Musk and the so-called, faux ``Department of
Government Efficiency'' (DOGE) have accessed, and are
attempting to access, millions of Americans' personal and
confidential information without anyone knowing exactly what
data they accessed and copied, how the data is or will be used,
and the names, clearance levels, and training of the
individuals accessing this data. This is an extreme breach of
privacy.
This ROI asks for documents related to DOGE's access to,
and usage of: (1) the Treasury payment systems, (2)
confidential taxpayer information protected by federal tax law,
and (3) screenshots taken of Treasury payment systems' data by
a member of DOGE.
Mr. Musk and members of DOGE are ignoring two federal
privacy laws: (1) Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code and
(2) the Privacy Act of 1974. Section 6103 provides that tax
returns and return information shall be confidential unless an
exception applies. The term ``return information'' is very
broad and includes, among other things, a taxpayer's name,
address, social security number, and nearly all information
received or collected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
with respect to a tax return. Unauthorized disclosure of tax
returns or return information is a felony and is punishable by
a fine not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment of not more than 5
years, or both.
As the court noted in Comm. on Ways & Means, U.S. House of
Representatives v. U.S. Dep't of Treasury, 575 F. Supp. 3d.53,
59-60 (D.D.C. 2021), Section 6103 was expanded after President
Nixon issued two executive orders authorizing the Department of
Agriculture to inspect for ``statistical purposes'' the tax
returns of all farmers. Congress objected, and President Nixon
revoked the orders. More troubling to Congress, however, was
that members of the Nixon White House obtained IRS records,
including tax returns, for many of President Nixon's political
opponents. These revelations worried the House committee
members enough that they proposed an article of impeachment
alleging that President Nixon had violated the constitutional
rights of taxpayers.
As referenced above, Mr. Musk and DOGE are also ignoring
the Privacy Act, which was designed to provide individuals with
more control over the gathering, dissemination, and accuracy of
agency information about themselves. See Alliance for Retired
Americans, et al., v. Bessent, United States District Court for
the District of Columbia (Case No. 25-03013) (Mar. 7, 2025). It
was Congress's response to a growing awareness that
governmental agencies were accumulating an ever-expanding
stockpile of information about private individuals that was
readily susceptible to both misuse and the perpetuation of
inaccuracies that the citizen would never know of, let alone
have an opportunity to rebut or correct.
The Privacy Act imposes burdens on federal agencies and
creates rights for individuals when agencies collect, maintain,
use, and disseminate information about an individual. It
provides criminal penalties for willful violations of its
requirements. Notably, it is also a federal crime for any
person to request or obtain any record concerning an individual
from an agency under false pretenses.
Courts rightfully have been concerned about the misuse of
ever-expanding information that government agencies accumulate
about private citizens. Let's consider the personal and
confidential information that DOGE has or is attempting to
access.
Members of DOGE first gained access to the Treasury
Department and its payment systems operated by the Bureau of
the Fiscal Service (BFS). These payment systems contain
extensive details about individual recipients of federal
payments. For any given payee, these details may include: name;
social security number; employer identification number, or
other agency identification or account number; date and
location of birth; physical and/or electronic mailing address;
telephone numbers; payment amount; date of issuance; trace
number or other payment identification number, such as Treasury
check number and symbol; financial institution information,
including the routing number of his or her financial
institution and the payee's account number at the financial
institution; and vendor contract and/or purchase order number.
Next, members of DOGE gained access to the IRS and sought
broad access to the most sensitive IRS data systems, which are
protected under Section 6103. According to reports, this broad
access gave DOGE the ability to ``read'' the data, and in some
cases even were granted ``read/write access'', to detailed
information--including bank accounts, payment balances, Social
Security and other personal identification numbers and, in some
instances, medical information--on virtually every individual,
business, and nonprofit in the country. After multiple media
reports and lawsuits on this issue, the President and Treasury
Department officials ``agreed'' to prohibit DOGE from accessing
personal taxpayer data.
Despite this agreement, we know that DOGE successfully
gained this information another way by accessing personal and
confidential worker and taxpayer information at the Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS). The HHS holds the National
Directory of New Hires (NDNH). The NDNH contains information
about every wage earner in the United States and their
employers, including wages, employer tax identification
numbers, social security numbers, verified dates of birth,
addresses, unemployment insurance benefit information, and
other information derived from IRS wage forms. By gaining this
information, DOGE essentially made an end-run around the
confidential taxpayer information protected by the IRS.
It is both unclear and unsettling why DOGE continues to
seek access to private and confidential information at agencies
across government, behind closed doors, while telling the
public something different. No one should be rummaging around
in the confidential information of private citizens at any
agency where protected information resides. This is especially
true for unaccountable and unelected people with no experience
in managing or auditing government systems and programs.
The risks are real, Americans' personal data could be
leaked, lost, sold, or used to enrich a few. Identity theft is
a threat that too many Americans have already experienced.
Thus, it is imperative that we receive information requested in
this ROI.
The President and Elon Musk should be answering the
questions members of Congress and the American people are
asking: what data they are harvesting, who is harvesting it,
and what do they plan to do with it. Executive oversight is a
fundamental responsibility of Congress. Passing this resolution
would have helped to ensure transparency in our government. Yet
the Majority voted to reject this resolution, allowing the
executive branch to hide in the darkness from the American
people and from Congress, unchecked as they rifle through the
people's data.
For these reasons, we believe our Majority colleagues were
wrong to adversely report this ROI to the full House of
Representatives.
Sincerely,
Richard E. Neal,
Ranking Member.
[all]