Inspector General Access Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge Congress to pass the Inspector General Access Act of 2019. This act, I am pleased to underscore, enjoys broad bipartisan support from this body now and has in the past, but its approval is more urgent now.

The actions, for example, of former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta have drawn intense scrutiny since new revelations surrounding a plea deal he offered to a serial pedophile came to light.

Based on newly reported documents and a group of brave women who came forward to share their stories, it appears that Acosta gave a sweetheart deal to a wealthy and well-connected sex offender and hid it from his victims, some of whom were still in the midst of coming forward.

Acosta is now the U.S. Secretary of Labor, a position that handles workplace harassment and sex trafficking policies, yet he has refused to discuss the new allegations. This IG Access Act would explicitly allow the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General to investigate allegations of such alleged misconduct.

It is a power that the IG office--as has been pointed out by both the chair and ranking member here, it is a power that the IG office already has when it comes to investigating allegations made against any of the DOJ's many law enforcement agents, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the U.S. Marshals Service.

This act has received broad bipartisan support, both in successive Congresses and from the Government Accountability Office, but because of an unusual carve-out, the DOJ's inspector general is believed to be, as the ranking member said, the only Federal agency that has no explicit power to review the conduct of its own attorneys.

If professional misconduct was involved in Acosta's handling of Jeffrey Epstein's plea deal, potentially dozens of victims of this connected multimillionaire have a right to know. Acosta's seemingly unethical decision to drastically reduce the criminal penalties against this vile sexual predator and to shield his other coconspirators is simply unacceptable.

The American people and the victims of these horrific crimes deserve to know why justice was not served in this disturbing case, and the lack of transparency still cloaking it is deeply disturbing.

Giving the DOJ's inspector general more explicit and independent power to pull back the cloak of secrecy on Acosta's sweetheart deal goes to the heart of transparency and accountability that this office stands for and that this bill would insist upon.

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, again, I urge the adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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