Letter to Ed Cassidy, Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives

Letter

Dear Chief Administrative Officer Cassidy:

I understand that the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the U.S. House of Representatives may have instituted a new policy in the last year that has resulted in the dismissal of several District of Columbia residents and others who worked for the U.S. House of Representatives vendor Capitol Host. My office was informed that the CAO has begun requiring all employees of Capitol Host to obtain House identification badges, and I commend you for that step. However, several D.C. residents who worked for Capitol Host were not able to obtain these badges because of their prior offenses and were therefore fired. It is possible that some of these individuals may have been dismissed for minor or for no more than marijuana-related offenses on their records.

I fully support your important effort to protect Members of Congress, staff, and visitors. However, it is very important that any approach taken to ensure safety here be fair and balanced, and based on security expertise. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), for example, does not use general prohibitions against employing people with criminal records in the federal government. While there are some OPM regulations that prohibit ex-offenders from working in certain positions if they have specific convictions, this is not a blanket prohibition and decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis. It is important to note that the entire congressional staff, and even interns, for every Member of Congress receive identification badges without background checks.

I ask that you send me within 30 calendar days the written CAO policy on identification badges for contract and concession workers.

Sincerely,

Eleanor Holmes Norton

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