Ig Independence and Empowerment Act
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COMER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, through their work, inspectors general help improve government efficiency and effectiveness. Their nonpartisan audits and investigations work to root out waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in all Federal agencies. In fact, the Committee on Oversight and Reform and IGs have this common mission, but IGs occupy a unique spot within the Federal Government. They have a responsibility to their respective agency and to Congress through the notice requirements.
When the political parties of the executive branch and Congress are different, political fights can understandably erupt. Unfortunately, this has recently led to a politicization of IG investigations.
That takes us to today's bill. Many provisions in this bill are a step in the right direction to empower IGs to conduct robust oversight. However, I remain concerned about some of the provisions in this bill.
Title I in this bill would unnecessarily constrain the President's ability to remove an IG, shifting the delicate balance between the executive branch and Congress. Maintaining the current balance would enable Congress to use its own oversight authority if it believes there is wrongdoing by the President or an agency head in the removal of an IG.
Next, in title III, the majority has proposed to dramatically limit who can be appointed as an acting inspector general if the IG has voluntarily left office or been removed. In doing so, this hinders the President's ability to appoint an IG with whom they have confidence.
While there are legitimate concerns about IGs serving at multiple agencies, this provision goes too far in limiting the President's authority over a subset of executive branch employees.
Finally, I have serious concerns with title V, the provision authorizing an inspector general to issue testimonial subpoena authorities to compel testimony from former Federal employees.
While it may be helpful for IGs to investigate certain allegations of misconduct, it also provides IGs with a tool that can be easily abused for political purposes. For example, this authority would enable new Biden-appointed inspectors general to subpoena former Trump administration officials under the guise of any investigation, regardless of the real purpose for the investigation.
Finally, this provision does not provide the necessary protections for former Federal employees who may be subjected to the legal fees of dealing with a subpoena, instead forcing them to pay for counsel to defend against and respond to these subpoenas. Without meaningful protections to ensure that testimonial subpoena authority would not be used to seek out political retribution, I cannot support this provision.
Rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, and misconduct is one of the most important jobs of this committee, and inspectors general serve on the front lines with us in this mission. We must ensure that all of our inspectors general have the tools they need to conduct robust oversight of their respective agencies.
That is why committee Republicans offered multiple amendments at the markup to address these concerns but still empower our IGs. We again offered compromise amendments at the Rules Committee yesterday, but my Democrat colleagues have only allowed one of these amendments to be made in order.
I am hopeful that Democrats will take the opportunity to pass a major bipartisan bill by adopting this amendment. If they choose to continue down their partisan path, I hope my Democrat colleagues can stop the repeated attacks on the Trump administration.
Instead, we should focus on ensuring our inspectors general are focused on and equipped to conduct robust oversight over agency operations and spending.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader of the House, an important leader on this legislation, and a steadfast leader on this and on so many issues before this body.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez), the vice chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COMER.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Porter), the vice chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations of the Oversight Committee.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for her amendment, her hard work on this bill, and her leadership on the subcommittee and committee.
Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, first, I would like to recognize the hard work of the chairman of the subcommittee. He authored two proposals that were included in the bill and was a major leader on it. I thank Mr. Connolly.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Oversight Committee and a member of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis of the Oversight Committee.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COMER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am excited to listen to the enthusiasm from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and their newfound passion for oversight. The Republicans on the Oversight Committee have been asking for many hearings on many different areas of potential oversight, potential waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the Federal Government. But thus far, in this new Congress, my friends on the other side of the aisle have only been interested in oversight of the previous administration.
I am getting really excited for the taxpayers of America because I feel like, today, I am hearing that my friends on the other side of the aisle are interested in ensuring that there is good government, that we have transparency.
One thing that I would like to mention in this bill is that the Oversight Committee is responsible for oversight, and we want to work with the inspectors general. We have a lot of agreement in this bill, and I will talk about that during my closing remarks. But I do believe there is the potential for us to compromise and have a bipartisan bill that actually might have a chance to become law down the hall.
But I hope that this newfound enthusiasm for oversight will carry over, and we can do what the Oversight Committee is supposed to do and not rely as heavily on unelected bureaucrats.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman, my dear friend and colleague, for having great enthusiasm for oversight and combating waste, fraud, and abuse. I would respectfully offer to him that the best way to conduct that is to give the power to the IGs to conduct legitimate investigations. What we have seen is that when there comes a legitimate investigation, they are often moved aside, fired, or retaliated against.
So, I welcome the gentleman's enthusiasm. I hope he will join with me in supporting giving the power to IGs to conduct legitimate investigations of waste, fraud, and abuse.
As I said in my opening remarks, for every dollar we spend on IGs, we get back $17, really hundreds of millions of dollars back from their oversight and work.
Madam Speaker, I want to remind the gentleman, as he knows from our hearings, there are many provisions in this bill that are bipartisan, several that Mr. Connolly just mentioned that we were working on. I look forward to working with him and passing this bill.
It should be bipartisan. Oversight and accountability should be bipartisan. I hope the gentleman joins us in voting for this important bill.
Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Speier), the chair of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel of the Armed Services Committee. She also serves on the Oversight and Reform Committee and is the co-chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COMER.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COMER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Just a couple of things I want to make sure that everyone understands with respect to this bill. This bill is a combination of 10 different bills. Republicans support seven of the 10 bills. Seven of the 10 bills we could pass pretty close to unanimously in this Chamber that would strengthen the IGs and not hamper a President's ability to terminate an IG that may not agree with their ideology.
No one in Congress would hire a staffer that adamantly opposed their ideology. No one in the private sector would have a staffer be a spokesperson or an employee that fundamentally disagreed with the direction that person wanted to lead their company. And the same should be true with the President of the United States.
With respect to President Trump's termination of inspectors general, I want to mention a couple of terminations that the President did. President Trump removed the Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson because he flaunted strict whistleblower procedures to provide the Ukraine whistleblower report to Chairman Schiff.
Now, we support good government. We want to protect whistleblowers. We want to encourage whistleblowers to come forward. Adam Schiff did more to damage prospective whistleblowers than any Member of this body. And the IG was complicit with him in that. That was a rightful termination by President Trump.
Acting Inspector General Christi Grimm purposely released an outdated and misleading report claiming there were shortages of medical equipment at hospitals which was found to be entirely inaccurate and likely was politically motivated. That is why President Trump terminated her.
So there are examples of a President rightfully terminating an inspector general, and I don't think that this bill is the right path to move forward. This is overlegislating.
We are passing a lot of bills out of this Chamber that are dead upon arrival in the Senate. When we pass a bill that has bipartisan support, that makes a difference in the Senate.
So with respect to oversight, I think the American people are upset over COVID-19. Speaker Pelosi created a Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, which is a subsidiary of the House Oversight Committee, we share the same staff. We have been asking for hearings on the origins of COVID-19 and had no response, no luck from my friends across the aisle, so we had a hearing today. We had a forum. And it was very productive. And I think the people of America appreciated that. That is oversight.
So our committee can go a lot further with respect to oversight, and I think that we could come to a bipartisan compromise to strengthen the IGs without politicizing the IGs, without hampering a President's ability to get rid of a bad IG.
I strongly oppose this bill. I hope through the amendment process it can get better, that it can pass in a bipartisan manner, and we can strengthen the IGs, and we can send a message to the Senate that we have a bipartisan bill that you should take up and President Biden can hopefully sign into law.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Independence is the bedrock principle of inspectors general, and this legislation would protect and enhance their critical work.
As I mentioned earlier, this legislation has the support of several nonpartisan, good government groups, including the Project on Government Oversight, the Government Accountability Project, Taxpayers for Common Sense, and many, many others. It also contains several bipartisan bills that are part of the overall inspector general reform bill. I ask that the support letters from the good government groups be included in the Record. June 28, 2021.
Dear Representative: The undersigned organizations write to express our support for the IG Independence and Empowerment Act (H.R. 2662) and to urge you to vote for this critical legislation.
Our federal inspectors general (IGs) identify and investigate waste, fraud, and abuse within the executive branch. The importance of their work cannot be overstated. Executive branch officials and Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle rely on oversight conducted by inspectors general to inform their policy-making. These watchdogs continually return substantial savings for taxpayers. In fiscal year 2020 alone, inspectors general identified potential savings of approximately $53 billion. And perhaps most importantly, inspectors general investigate and expose abuses of power that may infringe on constitutional rights.
If enacted, this legislation would address critical weaknesses in laws that have limited the effectiveness and threatened the independence of these watchdogs.
For example, most inspectors general lack the authority to compel former agency officials, subcontractors, or subgrantees to cooperate with IG investigations. This has limited the ability of our watchdogs to effectively review federal programs for waste and fraud and to investigate federal employees accused of misconduct. The IG Independence and Empowerment Act would address this by giving inspectors general the authority to compel testimony from former agency officials, subcontractors, or grantees where that testimony would be relevant to ongoing investigations.
Another weakness is that the president can fire these watchdogs and replace them with unqualified or conflicted individuals, exposing the work of these offices to unnecessary political interference. The public and Congress depend on inspectors general to ensure our federal agencies are functioning effectively, but these watchdogs must be confident they will not be fired for doing that job well. As nine former inspectors general recently wrote to Congress, ``Forcing inspectors general to choose between doing their jobs with integrity and keeping their positions is not an acceptable model of governance and oversight.'' The IG Independence and Empowerment Act places reasonable limits on when a president can remove an inspector general and who can serve in the event of a vacancy, and will further insulate the critical oversight offices from politics.
There are many other critical reforms in this comprehensive legislation that have been crafted to address problems with inspector general independence and authority long raised by Congress, civil society, and our inspectors general. We strongly urge Congress to pass this legislation to empower our independent watchdogs to serve the public even more effectively. Sincerely, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Common Cause, Demand Progress, Government Accountability Project, Government Information Watch, Mainers for Accountable Leadership, National Security Counselors, Open The Government, Project On Government Oversight (POGO), Protect Democracy, Public Citizen, Stand Up America, Taxpayers for Common Sense, The Digital Democracy Project.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. The reforms we are considering today are only one part of the work Congress needs to prevent future Presidents from abusing power. I also strongly support the broad Protecting Our Democracy Act, which Chairman Schiff has spearheaded, and I look forward to that bill's consideration very soon.
I do want to say that the Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis, unlike the description from my good friend and colleague, has held 15 hearings of oversight. They have disclosed and recovered millions of dollars of illegal spending or corrupt spending. There is a hearing tomorrow, which will be the 16th hearing of the committee, and we welcome you to join us at that subcommittee hearing if you so wish.
The inspector general community just, in general, has been attacked in recent years. By passing this IG Independence and Empowerment Act, Congress would send a strong message in the strongest terms that no administration, regardless of President or party, can bully or retaliate or act against an IG when the IG is doing their job. They can only be removed for just cause, such as violating the law or gross mismanagement.
In passing this legislation, we will be strengthening our democracy, and we will send a strong message that Congress supports accountability and an effective government.
I urge all my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill. It should be a bipartisan bill.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COMER. Madam Speaker, I rise to oppose the amendments en bloc.
Madam Speaker, some of the amendments in the proposed package attempt to be helpful and improve the bill, but most are just Band-Aids attempting to cover up flawed provisions.
For example, one amendment attempts to paper over the flaws in title I by expanding the requirement for the President to provide his or her rationale to Congress detailing why an IG was removed.
Yes, understanding the President's rationale for removing an IG is very important to Congress. This amendment, however, fails to address the fundamental issue in the section, specifically limiting the reasons for an IG's removal or transferred to only nine constraining reasons.
Another provision in this package seeks to amend title II, but title II already passed earlier this Congress as a standalone bill by voice vote under suspension. This amendment to title II would undermine that broadly supported bill by creating an easy-to-abuse loophole for a President to remove an IG immediately, rather than waiting the 30 days for Congress to review the required notice of removal.
My Democrat colleagues have stated constantly that the goal of their legislation is to ensure that it is incredibly difficult to remove an IG, yet they support an amendment that would gut this and allow our President to circumvent the will of Congress. This is what happens when the majority decides to go it alone rather than seeking to work together to craft strong bipartisan legislation.
This bloc of amendments is the perfect analog for this legislation-- many good provisions mixed with a few poison bills, which undermine the intent of the legislation as a whole. Therefore, I must ask my colleagues to vote against this package of amendments.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Carter), one of the newest members of our caucus. He serves on the Committees of Transportation and Infrastructure and Small Business.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I support all of the en bloc amendments, including Mr. Carter's, and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COMER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COMER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COMER. Madam Speaker, this amendment strips out the three provisions of this legislation that do not have bipartisan support in order for the IG Independence and Empowerment Act to move forward with the full support of the U.S. House. Both sides of the aisle can then come back to the table to fix the remaining provisions in a manner that addresses concerns on both sides of the aisle.
Specifically, my amendment strikes title I, which would artificially constrain the President from removing or reassigning an IG to one of nine specific reasons listed in the provision.
As drafted, title I would have the effect of prohibiting a President from removing an IG who is acting in bad faith and undermining a duly elected President's policies in a purely partisan manner.
My amendment also strikes title III, which strictly limits who the President could name as the acting inspector general to the ``first assistant.'' This provision does not include any commonsense exceptions, creating unintended consequences.
For example, it could elevate an individual to acting IG who may be engaged in the same misconduct which caused the original IG to have been removed.
Lastly, my amendment strikes title V of the bill, which grants inspectors general the authority to issue subpoenas to compel the testimony of former Federal officials, including political appointees.
While I support granting IGs testimonial subpoena authority, the current provision lacks necessary safeguards and could result in it being used in a politically abusive manner.
Madam Speaker, I support the goals behind these provisions, as well as the other seven titles of the bill, which have strong bipartisan support. However, my amendment addresses the problematic language in these three sections. That is why I ask my Republican and Democrat colleagues to pass this amendment to enable us to negotiate a bipartisan solution for the inspector general community that can be signed into law.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this amendment
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COMER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. COMER. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question are postponed.
Amendments En Bloc Offered by Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source