Federal Information Systems Safeguards Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I am not sure what bill my friends on the other side are talking about, but I am glad to be talking about a great bill that my friend, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer), has introduced. I appreciate his work on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee to craft H.R. 4361, the Government Reform and Improvement Act of 2016. It includes a series of good government reforms that will provide more accountability and transparency to Federal bureaucracy that is sorely lacking each.

I am proud the legislation includes two of my bills: the Senior Executive Service Accountability Act and the Midnight Rule Relief Act. The Senior Executive Service Accountability Act brings much-needed reform and gives agencies commonsense tools to hold senior leaders more accountable for their taxpayer-funded work.

Specifically, the bill ensures employee performance is measured, eliminates loopholes that allow reprimanded officials from keeping perks like executive pay, and expedites the removal process for individuals who have been found to have engaged in misconduct.

To be clear, there are many in the Federal workforce, including senior executives, who are hardworking public servants. We thank them for their hard work. However, as we have seen repeatedly in hearings before our committee, there are also bad actors who have grossly abused their position, and the Senior Executive Service Accountability Act is an important step towards holding these bad actors accountable and restoring public trust.

The underlying bill also contains the Midnight Rule Relief Act. It establishes a moratorium period between the Presidential election and the inauguration on regulations that result in major costs or price increases for consumers and small businesses.

Pushing costly regulations at the last minute has been an issue with previous administrations of both political parties. The Midnight Rule Relief Act will hold the current and future outgoing administrations in check to ensure small businesses in Michigan and across the country aren't faced with a surprise onslaught of excessive regulations that stifle wages, job creation, and economic growth.

I want to, again, commend the work of Mr. Palmer and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee for their great work to ensure a more accountable and transparent Federal Government.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4361.

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