Moving Our Nation Forward
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Improving Americans’ Quality of Life: Homes, Health, Jobs, and Education

Oversight Committee Democrats are focused on preserving home ownership, getting America back to work, ensuring quality, affordable health care, and giving all students access to a high-quality education.

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Making Government Work for All Americans

Our aggressive agenda works to root out waste, fraud and abuse in government spending, enhance transparency, and ensure that the needs of Americans are put ahead of corporate special interest.

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Promoting the Safety and Well-Being of the American People

We are committed to supporting our troops and veterans, protecting American consumers, and safeguarding national and homeland security.

For a PDF version of the Democratic Agenda, please click here.

Investigation of ATF's Fast and Furious Operation PDF Print

The Latest...

June 26, 2012 -- RAPID RESPONSE: Chairman Issa’s Letter to the President Mischaracterizes “Seminal Case” on Executive Privilege

On June 25, 2012, Chairman Issa released a letter to the President challenging the legal basis for his assertion of executive privilege over deliberative Justice Department documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious, but his letter omitted key information from the primary judicial case on which his argument relies.

June 24, 2012 -- Cummings Calls on Speaker Boehner To Meet With Attorney General Holder

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called on House Speaker John Boehner to meet with Attorney General Eric Holder to resolve the dispute over requested documents regarding the Committee's investigation of Operation Fast and Furious.

June 22, 2012 -- Committee Democrats File Official Views Opposing Issa Contempt Citation

On Wednesday, all Democratic Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted unanimously to reject the contempt citation proposed by Committee Chairman Darrell Issa against Attorney General Eric Holder.  The Democrats—who represent districts in Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vermont, Virginia, Iowa, Missouri, and California, among others—concluded that holding the Attorney General in contempt would be an extreme, unprecedented action based on partisan election-year politics rather than the facts uncovered during the investigation.

June 20, 2012  -- Cummings Issues Statement on Committee Contempt Vote

Rep. Elijah Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued the following statement today about the Committee’s vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.

“What we just witnessed was an extreme, virtually unprecedented action based on election year politics rather than fact,” said Cummings. “Even in the face of an assertion of executive privilege, the Republicans didn’t even pause to consider the law and instead decided to take this extreme step.

“The House has never held an Attorney General in contempt, and the only precedent for what this Committee did today was in the 1990s when then-Chairman Burton held Janet Reno in contempt. It was so extreme that even then-Speaker Newt Gingrich refused to bring it to the floor for a vote. If Speaker Boehner brings this contempt citation to the floor, he will be known as one of the most extreme Speakers in history.”


June 20, 2012 -- House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Holds Business Meeting to Consider Holder Contempt Citation

Rapid Response: Issa Set to Push Through Extreme Contempt Vote Despite Assertion of Executive Privilege

Chairman Issa is set to push forward with a vote to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress despite the Administration’s assertion of executive privilege this morning. Previous Chairmen have suspended contempt proceedings to conduct a careful and responsible review of executive branch privilege assertions before proceeding to contempt, but Chairman Issa dismissed requests from multiple Committee members to do so. Follow this link to learn more. 

Opening Statements

A YouTube playlist is included below which includes videos of the Opening Statements from House Oversight Democrats. Click on the button at the bottom of the player to see the list of videos.

Posted below are a sampling of letters from organizations and individuals in opposition of holding Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress: 

National Bar Association

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

National Asian Peace Officers Association

National Immigration Law Center

National Legal Aid & Defender Association

Brady Campaign

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey

Tucson shooting survivor Patricia Maisch

National Action Network

National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE)

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

House Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings appeared on CNN’s Starting Point June 20, 2012 to talk about the impending vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.

June 19, 2012

Cummings appears on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and "Mitchell Reports"


June 18, 2012 -- Cummings Issues Statement on Proposed Agreement On Fast and Furious

On June 18, 2012 Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued a following statement in response to a letter from Attorney General Eric Holder to the Committee proposing an in-person meeting on Tuesday, June 19, to finalize a proposed agreement between the Department and the Committee to avoid a contempt vote scheduled for Wednesday June 20, 2012. 

June 14, 2012 -- Cummings Circulates “Dissenting Views” on Issa’s Contempt Citation of Attorney General Ahead of Scheduled Vote on Wednesday

Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent Committee Democrats draft “Dissenting Views” based on a thorough review of the Contempt Citation circulated by Committee Chairman Darrell Issa on May 3 proposing to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.

After reviewing the legal and historical precedents of the Committee and Congress, the Dissenting Views conclude that going forward with Issa’s Contempt Citation would be “an extreme and blatant abuse of the congressional contempt power that undermines the credibility of the Committee.”

Although the Committee and the Department have been in negotiations to arrive at a mutually agreeable accommodation, Cummings circulated the Dissenting Views because a Committee business meeting to vote on Issa’s Contempt Citation remains on the Committee’s calendar for next Wednesday. 

Download the document here or view it in the space below.



June 12, 2012 -- Cummings Talks "Fast and Furious" On "Politics Nation"

June 12, 2012 -- Cummings Asks Issa For Meeting With Deputy AG on Fast and Furious

Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Chairman Darrell Issa requesting that they accept an offer from Deputy Attorney General James Cole to meet with them to discuss outstanding issues relating to the Committee’s investigation of Operation Fast and Furious.  Issa scheduled a business meeting next week to vote on his draft contempt citation against the Attorney General.

June 11, 2012 -- Cummings Issues Statement on Scheduled Contempt Notice

 Representative Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement today in response to the Committee’s official notice scheduling a business meeting next week to consider holding Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. in contempt of Congress.

“It is unfortunate that the Committee scheduled a contempt vote against the Attorney General when federal law prohibits him from turning over many of the subpoenaed documents, but I am guardedly optimistic that a path forward exists that will serve the legitimate interests of the Committee in conducting rigorous oversight, protect the legitimate interests of the Department in its ongoing investigations and prosecutions, and avoid the needless politicization of this very serious issue.”

June 7, 2012 -- Cummings Issues Statement on Fast and Furious Investigation

In light of public statements today by Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa that he never issued a subpoena to the Justice Department demanding copies of wiretap applications relating to Operation Fast and Furious, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings issued the following statement:

“The Chairman has been demanding these wiretap applications for months and even threatened to hold the Attorney General in contempt for not providing them, yet today he claimed he never wanted them in the first place.  It makes no sense to hold the Attorney General in contempt for withholding documents that Chairman Issa claims he never requested.  These changing demands raise fundamental questions about the investigation and suggest that it is designed to promote an election-year political agenda rather than obtain needed information.”

Read more...

The Latest...

June 6, 2012 -- Cummings Sends Letter to Issa Regarding Fast and Furious Investigation

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to Chairman Issa regarding Operation Fast and Furious.  The letter includes redactions of information to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations and prosecutions.

Recent Stories

New York Times -- Boehner Aides In Talks With Justice Dept. on Gun-Running Inquiry June 5, 2012

Politico -- Darrell Issa, Dems Brawl over [redacted] June 5, 2012

The Hill -- June 5, 2012

April 27, 2012-- Cummings To Issa: Stop Partisan Political Feud Over Operation Fast And Furious

Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Chairman Darrell Issa raising concerns about his 48-page draft contempt citation for Attorney General Eric Holder relating to the Committee’s investigation into Operation Fast and Furious that was provided to the press and House Speaker John Boehner’s office. To date, Members of the Committee have not seen the draft citation

Click here for the letter.

February 2, 2012-- Oversight Democrats Call For Public Hearing With Former Attorney General Mukasey on "Gunwalking" Operations

Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Chairman Darrell E. Issa requesting that the Committee hold a public hearing with former Attorney General Michael Mukasey about so-called “gunwalking” operations run by the Phoenix Field Division of ATF and the Arizona U.S. Attorney’s Office beginning in 2006.

Click here for the letter.

January 31, 2012 -- Cummings Issues Report Detailing Five Years of Gunwalking Operations in Arizona

On January 31, 2012, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings issued a 95-page minority staff report entitled “Fatally Flawed:  Five Years of Gunwalking in Arizona.”  The report describes the results of the Committee’s year-long investigation into the actions and circumstances that led to multiple gunwalking operations in Arizona from 2006 to 2010.

According to a letter Cummings sent to Committee Members accompanying the report, “this report tells the story of how misguided gunwalking operations originated in 2006 as ATF’s Phoenix Field Division devised a strategy to forgo prosecutions against low-level straw purchasers while they attempted to build bigger charges.”

The report finds that this strategy failed to include sufficient operational controls to stop these dangerous weapons from getting into the hands of violent criminals, creating a danger to public safety on both sides of the border.  Rather than halting operations after flaws became evident, ATF’s Phoenix Field Division launched several similarly reckless operations over the course of several years, according to the report, also with tragic results.

The report appears below.

  • To read the executive summary, please click here.
  • To read the report's recommendations, please click here.
  • To read Ranking Member Cummings' letter, please click here.

Timeline: Five Years of Gunwalking in Arizona

 

Download the report by clicking here.


The release of the Minority Staff report on January 31, 2012 follows a report released on June 30, 2011 entitled, "OUTGUNNED: Law Enforcement Agents Warn Congress They Lack Adequate Tools To Counter Firearms Trafficking."

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December 8, 2011-- Why Are Republicans Ignoring the “Mukasey Memo” on Botched Gunwalking Operations During the Bush Administration?

In 2007, then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey received a memo about a botched ATF gunwalking operation.  The memo, which was prepared prior to a meeting with Mexican Attorney General Medina Mora, described "the first-ever attempt to have a controlled delivery of weapons being smuggled into Mexico by a major arms trafficker."  The memo warned, however, that "the first attempts at this controlled delivery have not been successful.”

Despite these failures, the memo proposed expanding such operations in the future:  “ATF would like to expand the possibility of such joint investigations and controlled deliveries—since only then will it be possible to investigate an entire smuggling network, rather than arresting simply a single smuggler.”

There are serious questions about what Attorney General Mukasey did with this memo, including whether he approved of the recommendation to authorize the expansion of further gunwalking operations after several unsuccessful attempts.

Although Attorney General Holder has now testified on four separate occasions about Operation Fast and Furious, former Attorney General Mukasey has not been asked a single question about this memo, about his decisions after receiving the memo, or about the expansion of gunwalking operations during the previous Administration.

Click here for Mukasey letter.

November 4, 2011-- Cummings Seeks Information from Former Attorney General on Prior “Gun-Walking” Operations

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sends letter to Chairman Darrell E. Issa requesting a hearing with former Attorney General Michael Mukasey to address new questions about so-called “gun-walking” operations during the previous administration.  Cummings’ letter provides new details about documents obtained by the Committee indicating that the former Attorney General may have been personally briefed on botched programs in the past.

Click here for Mukasey letter.

October 28, 2011-- Cummings Calls for Public Hearing with Former Director of ATF on Operation Fast and Furious

Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings requests a public hearing with Kenneth Melson, the former Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), regarding Operation Fast and Furious.

Click here for the letter.

October 16, 2011-- CBS News Dem: Issa is on "Fast and Furious" witch hunt

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the Oversight & Government Reform Committee, said Sunday he thinks committee Chair Darrell Issa is conducting a witch hunt regarding the ATF "Fast and Furious" gunwalking scandal - and that Issa has issued "some very unfortunate statements about the chief law enforcement officer in our country," Attorney General Eric Holder.

Read the story here.

October 16, 2011 -- Issa Confirms Guns Also Went To Mexico Under Bush Administration

In an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, Rep. Darrell E. Issa, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, officially confirms for the first time recent press reports alleging that so-called “gun-walking” programs occurred during the Bush Administration, much earlier than previously known.

October 12, 2011 -- Cummings Statement on Subpoena to Department of Justice

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued a statement in response to a subpoena issued by Chairman Darrell E. Issa to the Department of Justice for tens of thousands of pages of documents

 

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