The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is tasked with ensuring the responsible use of taxpayer dollars, eliminating wasteful and duplicative government programs, and serving as the chief investigative panel of the House of Representatives. I am proud to serve on this committee and to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fight for a more transparent and efficient federal government.
Subcommittee Assignments
As Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations I am working to ensure our federal government employs an efficient, and productive workforce that is accountable to the American taxpayer. The subcommittee has jurisdiction over the U.S. Postal Service, Department of Treasury, the Executive Office of the President, the Department of Labor, and the Office of Management and Budget. I also serve on the Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits, and Administrative Rules where I am focused on conducting oversight on Obamacare, harmful federal regulations, and the Executive branch.
Combating Government Waste, Increasing Transparency
I continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to fight for a more transparent and efficient federal government. To that end, I introduced the Grants Oversight and New Efficiency (GONE) Act, to require federal agencies to take action to identify and close out thousands of expired grant accounts with a zero balance - an action which could save the government millions each year. The President signed this bipartisan, bicameral legislation into law on January 28, 2016. In addition, I introduced H.R.598, the Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act, which requires federal agencies to identify their programs and provide basic information on what the program does and how much they cost. H.R.598 passed the House by a vote of 413-0 on January 11, 2016.
To provide greater transparency and help restore the integrity of the federal government’s rulemaking process, I introduced H.R. 5226, the Regulatory Integrity Act. It requires agencies to post, in a central location, all communications they issue during the proposed rule stage so that the public can fully participate and trust that the rulemaking process is neutral and unbiased. This bipartisan bill passed the House on September 14, 2016.
IRS
The committee has helped lead Congress’ investigation into the unlawful and unwarranted targeting of conservative and religious groups by the IRS. While our work has uncovered important information about the personnel involved and the extent of the harassment, more must be done to hold responsible parties accountable. Despite promises made by IRS Commissioner John Koskinen that the IRS would produce all of Lois Lerner’s emails, the IRS has repeatedly failed to provide full and complete information to Congress about the agency’s targeting. In addition we have learned that management failures at the IRS directly led to the destruction of up to 24,000 emails relevant to the congressional investigation.
In light of the Commissioner’s failure to assist in getting to the truth, on July 27, 2015 I joined members of the Oversight Committee
in calling on the President to remove Commissioner Koskinen from his position. In addition, I am a cosponsor of
H.R.709, the Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act, which would add political targeting to the existing list of fireable offenses at the IRS.
Benghazi
Oversight and Government Reform has actively pursued answers into what happened on the September 11, 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya that resulted in the loss of four American lives. Despite the Administration’s unwillingness to provide the necessary documents and assistance for our investigation, the Committee held several hearings seeking answers about the lack of a military response, the decisions made by senior officials during the night of the attack, and the failure of interagency cooperation that resulted in this tragedy. Last Congress, I voted with my House colleagues to pass H.Res.567 to establish a Select Committee to investigate the events surrounding the attacks in Benghazi. On July 8, 2016, the Select Committee published its proposed final report. You can read the final report at: http://benghazi.house.gov/NewInfo.
Whistleblowers
If you have knowledge about systemic waste, fraud and abuse of federal taxpayer dollars at your agency or other government organization, please contact my office at 202-225-6276 or use the form provided by the Committee. Your personal information will be kept in strict confidence.
RELATED ITEMS
VIDEOS
09/15/2016 – Walberg Champions Bipartisan Good Government Transparency Bill
07/07/2016 – Walberg Question Director Comey About Clinton Email Investigation
05/17/2016 – Walberg Questions White House Narrative on the Iran Nuclear Deal
05/17/2016 – Bipartisan Regulatory Integrity Act Clears Oversight Committee
04/28/2016 – Walberg Presses DHS on Policies About Releasing Criminal Aliens
01/11/2016 – Walberg Bill to Cut Government Waste Heads to the President’s Desk
01/11/2016 – Walberg Champions Bipartisan Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act
12/17/2015 – Walberg Presses DHS About Vetting and National Security Concerns
07/22/2015 – Taxpayers Right-To-Know Act Passes Oversight Committee
07/22/2015 – Grants Oversight and New Efficiency (GONE) Act Passes Oversight Committee
06/25/2015 – Walberg questions IRS watchdog over missing emails
02/12/2015 – Walberg Questions IRS for Answers on Rehiring Ex-Employees with Troubled Records.
12/09-2014 – Rep Walberg Questions Jonathan Gruber on ObamaCare's "transparency."
06/24/2014 – Rep Walberg Questions U.S. Archivist on Whether IRS Broke the Law
06/23/2014 – Rep. Walberg Questions IRS Commissioner About His Knowledge of Lois Lerner's Lost Emails
LEGISLATION
05/13/2016 – Sponsored: H.R.5226 Regulatory Integrity Act
01/08/2016 – Sponsored: H.R.4358 Senior Executive Service Accountability Act
02/25/2016 – Sponsored: H.R.4612 Midnight Rule Relief Act
07/16/2015 – Sponsored: H.R.3089 GONE Act
01/28/2015 – Sponsored: H.R.598 Taxpayers Right To Know Act
03/13/2015 – Cosponsor: H.R.653 FOIA Act
02/04/2015 – Cosponsor: H.R.709 Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act
REPORTS
09/07/2016 – OPM Data Breach: How the Government Jeopardized Our National Security for More than a Generation
07/08/2016 – Select Committee on Benghazi Proposed Final Report.
05/02/2016 – Fast and Furious Documents Reveal DOJ Efforts to Obstruct Congressional Investigation
01/11/2016 – Freedom of Information Act is Broken
12/03/2015 – U.S. Secret Service, An Agency in Crisis
10/27/2015 – IRS Staff Report
