Interior Newswire Report News
Wenstrup to Hold Hearing on COVID-19 Therapeutic and Naturally Acquired Immunity
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) will hold a hearing titled “Investigating Pandemic Immunity: Acquired, Therapeutic or Both” to examine the role COVID-19 vaccinations and naturally acquired immunity played in public health discussions and final government policies. Global vaccination research and available coronavirus studies proved that antibodies acquired through previous infection provided robust immunity against COVID-19 reinfection. This hearing seeks to explore the effect of the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine policy decisions and wide-sweeping vaccine mandates.
Grothman Announces Hearing Examining U.S. Shipbuilding Capacity
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) will hold a hearing titled “Strengthening the Fleet: Challenges and Solutions in Naval Surface Ship Construction.” The subcommittee hearing will examine overall U.S. shipbuilding capacity and projects that have cost taxpayers billions and failed to perform their intended mission.
McClain to Hold Hearing with FDA’s Food Safety Director on Infant Formula Crisis
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
Health Care and Financial Services Subcommittee Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) today announced a hearing titled “FDA Oversight Part II: Responsibility for the Infant Formula Shortage.” The hearing will continue the Oversight Committee’s investigation into the 2022 nationwide infant formula crisis and examine the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) response.
Comer & Fallon Seek Information on Biden Admin’s Sweeping Actions Driving Americans’ Regulatory Burdens to Record-Breaking Levels
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Chairman Pat Fallon (R-Texas) are pressing for more information on recent actions by the Biden Administration to upend the regulatory review and analysis process that would open the doors to vast economy-crushing regulations. In a letter to the Director of the OMB and Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Chairman Comer is requesting a staff briefing on the development, purposes, and planned implementation of the Biden Administration’s actions that upend the regulatory review process.
Comer Probes Loophole in EPA’s Federal Grant Process Potentially Hiding Foreign Influence
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is investigating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) administration of research grants that open the door to foreign influence in U.S. taxpayer-funded research. In a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Chairman Comer requests a staff-level briefing, documents, and information related to EPA’s processes for administering grants and how EPA plans to prevent foreign influence in its federally funded awards.
Comer: U.S. Attorney for District of Columbia Must Testify About Failure to Prosecute Majority of Crimes
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) today is reiterating his request to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) for U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves to testify at an upcoming oversight hearing on the District of Columbia, including crime, safety, and city management. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Chairman Comer threatens to use the compulsory process if DOJ does not voluntarily permit U.S. Attorney Graves to testify at the Committee’s hearing schedule for May 16, 2023.
Comer Announces Hearing on Damaging ESG Practices with Attorneys General
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) will hold a hearing titled “ESG Part I: An Examination of Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices with Attorneys General.” This full committee hearing will examine the concerns of state attorneys general related to the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards by asset managers and how these ESG principles are being used by activist shareholders to shape corporate behavior.
Grassley, Comer Demand FBI Record Alleging Criminal Scheme Involving Then-VP Biden
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member and long-time whistleblower advocate Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) today are demanding the FBI produce an unclassified record alleging a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national. The document, an FBI-generated FD-1023 form, allegedly details an arrangement involving an exchange of money for policy decisions. Comer issued a subpoena today following legally protected disclosures to Grassley’s office.
Comer, Scalise Lead Bipartisan Oversight of FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers are investigating the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) after recent reports show that for nearly four million Americans the Risk Rating 2.0 version of the program has caused premiums to increase, causing flood insurance to be unattainable for many. In a letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, the lawmakers are requesting certain documents and information in addition to a staff-level briefing on the effects of the increases on all aspects of the various marketplaces such as the housing market.
Chairman Comer, Senator Cruz Team Up Seeking Answers on Coordinated Efforts to Ban Gas Stoves
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
In an effort to reveal the details of a hidden pressure campaign run by environmental activists and the Biden administration to ban gas stoves, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have sent bicameral letters to Consumer Reports, the Climate Imperative Foundation, and Stacey Abrams’ Rewiring America group.
Comer Opens Probe into National Labor Relations Board Inspector General’s Efforts to Obstruct Congressional Oversight
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) opened a probe into the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Office of Inspector General (OIG) over its efforts to undermine a legitimate congressional inquiry by investigating a subpoena issued by Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) based on whistleblower accounts. In a letter to NLRB Inspector General David Berry, Chairman Comer requests all documents or communications between any employees of the NLRB and the OIG relating to the decision to initiate an investigation into the congressional subpoena.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten Testifies to Uncommon Influence Over CDC School Reopening Guidance
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic held a hearing titled “The Consequences of School Closures, Part 2: The President of the American Federation of Teachers, Ms. Randi Weingarten” to delve into any role Ms. Weingarten and the AFT may have played in influencing the CDC’s COVID-19 school reopening guidance and keeping schools closed longer than necessary. Select Subcommittee members inquired about the process for editing CDC guidance, asked Ms. Weingarten about AFT’s scientific understanding of COVID-19, and pressed for further testimony from union officials. Ms. Weingarten confirmed that the CDC accepted two recommendations from her organization and conceded that political activism is an essential part of AFT’s mission. The Select Subcommittee will use Ms. Weingarten’s testimony to further their investigation into prolonged school closures and work to ensure children never again suffer from these unscientific policy decisions.
Comer, McClain Open Investigation into SF Fed’s Role in Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) today opened an investigation into the role the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (SF Fed) and other state and federal regulators played in the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse. In a letter to the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the lawmakers are requesting documents and information related to SF Fed’s oversight of SVB.
Chairman Comer, Senator Johnson Renew Request for CMS to Review Improper Payment Rate
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure renewing their request for information on what safeguards CMS has in place to address improper payments in the Medicaid program.
McClain: China Playing Major Role in Enriching Cartels, Funding Deadly Fentanyl Epidemic
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
Health Care and Financial Services Subcommittee Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) opened today’s subcommittee hearing on “China in Our Backyard: How Chinese Money Laundering Organizations Enrich the Cartels” by outlining how cartels have partnered with Chinese Money Laundering Organizations to make more money and traffic deadly fentanyl into the United States. She emphasized the importance of Congress working to understand the extent of the Chinese Communist Party’s complicity in these money laundering schemes. She closed by thanking the witnesses appearing before the subcommittee for providing Congress with information that can be used to curb and dismantle Chinese crime rings working with cartels.
Comer: We Must Safeguard Taxpayer Dollars and Combat Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) delivered opening remarks at a full committee hearing titled “The Government Accountability Office’s 2023 High Risk List.” In his opening statement, Chairman Comer emphasized that the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) 2023 High Risk List will assist the committee’s efforts to combat waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the federal government and safeguard taxpayer dollars. The High Risk List is a critical tool for evaluating whether federal programs are working as designed for the American people. Chairman Comer stressed that federal government programs created and funded by Congress must fulfil their missions, but the GAO has determined that many are bloated, struggle to meet their objectives, and have become vulnerable to serious fraud and waste. To prevent waste and ensure accountability, he concluded that Congress must conduct more oversight, tracking, and data collection to determine how taxpayers’ dollars are being spent.
Comer & McClain Continue Probe of Rampant Fraud in California’s Unemployment Insurance System
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) are continuing their investigation into the state of California’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) System which has been plagued by rampant waste, fraud, and abuse of U.S. taxpayer dollars. In the letter, which follows previous requests, the Republican lawmakers again press California Employment Development Department (EDD) Director Nancy Farias for documents and information which the Department has refused to produce.
Hearing Wrap Up: Congress Must Utilize GAO’s High Risk List to Effectively Combat Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing titled “The Government Accountability Office’s 2023 High Risk List.” At the hearing, members emphasized that federal government programs created and funded by Congress must fulfil their intended purpose and meet mission objectives. However, massive programs have struggled to fulfill their responsibilities and are vulnerable to serious waste and fraud. Outside of COVID relief programs, members highlighted how the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) has identified roughly $250 billion taxpayer dollars lost to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement annually. Members stressed that the GAO’s 2023 High Risk List will assist the committee’s efforts to prevent waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement and safeguard taxpayer dollars.
Wenstrup: Americans Deserve to Know if the American Federation of Teachers Role in Editing CDC School Reopening Guidance was More Political than Scientific
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) opened today’s hearing “The Consequences of School Closures, Part 2: The President of the American Federation of Teachers, Ms. Randi Weingarten” by emphasizing the importance of investigating school closure decisions — specifically the role the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) played in developing and influencing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) “science-based” school reopening guidance. Chairman Wenstrup highlighted the scientific support for safely reopening schools and laid out the inaccurate recommendations promoted by the AFT. He also cited emails between the CDC and AFT that called into question whether Ms. Weingarten and her organization had political motivations which prevented our children from returning to the classroom. To prepare our country to address a future pandemic, the Select Subcommittee will continue its investigation into all available evidence and hold Ms. Weingarten accountable if the facts prove that she prioritized politics over the education of America’s children.
Hearing Wrap Up: Chinese Criminal Rings Provide Financial Services and Materials Used by Cartels for Fentanyl and Illicit Drug Trafficking; Biden Administration Must Do More
By Interior Newswire Report | May 7, 2023
The Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services held a hearing titled, “China in Our Backyard: How Chinese Money Laundering Organizations Enrich the Cartels.” Subcommittee members discussed with witnesses how Chinese Money Laundering Organizations (MLOs) have taken a central role in washing illicit funds stemming from cartels’ production and sale of fentanyl and other illegal narcotics in addition to providing cartels with the necessary precursor elements to produce fentanyl coming across the U.S. southern border. Subcommittee members also examined measures that Congress can take the crack down on Chinese MLOs and why the Biden Administration has not exhausted its tools in combating these illicit activities through sanctions and other measures.