Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment which seeks to bolster funds for the Department of Justice inspector general in order to meet the fiscal year 2016 budget request.

As a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, I am a firm believer in the proper oversight of the Federal Government. The more sunlight on Federal activity, the more honest and efficient it will be.

I am also a strong proponent of our inspector general community. Since the Inspector General Act was passed into law, the IG community has saved taxpayers billions of dollars and has uncovered countless examples of wrongdoing in the Federal Government.

It seems only fitting that the inspector general's office receive the budget requested resources, particularly at the expense of the office it will likely need to investigate first.

In the committee report, the committee noted, ``The DOJ OIG has had significant investigative and audit workload.'' In fact, we have seen numerous scandals and coverups from within this agency and at the recommendation of the previous Attorney General.

I applaud the committee for including language in this bill to permanently prohibit funds for Fast and Furious-like programs and for the many other reforms contained in this legislation, but I do believe more needs to be done to ensure additional transparency and accountability within the DOJ.

Let's give the DOJ OIG the resources it needs to investigate this agency and to ensure the Justice Department adheres to the law.

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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer a simple good governance to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act for the fiscal year 2016. The amendment seeks to hold the Department of Justice accountable for its failure to enforce the rule of law. Specifically, my amendment decreases available funding for the salaries of individuals who concoct ways to undermine Federal criminal immigration laws.

This amendment is very similar to an amendment that passed this body last year in relation to the DOJ's lack of enforcement of Federal marijuana laws and was offered by my friend and colleague Congressman Fleming. My amendment reduces Department of Justice's general legal account by $1 million, specifically targeting the Deputy Attorney General's Office. I will continue to seek similar amendments until the Attorney General decides to enforce the Federal criminal immigration laws on the books.

In 2014, the Department of Justice instructed the U.S. Attorney's Office in some States to no longer prosecute persons that violate certain criminal immigration laws. I have heard firsthand from law enforcement in my district that such actions have placed unnecessary burdens on these officers, increased costs, put local communities at risk, and encouraged more illegal immigration.

The committee raised similar concerns about the selective enforcement of these laws in the committee report stating: ``The committee is concerned with the inconsistent enforcement of Federal criminal immigration laws and supports programs like Operation Streamline. The Attorney General is directed to submit a report to the committee ..... The report shall describe steps the Department is taking to ensure that the Federal criminal immigration law is enforced vigorously and consistently across the country to include prosecution guidelines and policies by district.''

My amendment is consistent with the concerns expressed by the committee and echo this message without harming the overall operation of the Department.

I thank the chair and ranking member for their leadership on this bill.

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