Hearings

Apr 28, 2016

Criminal Aliens Released by the Department of Homeland Security

TAKEAWAYS: The discretionary release of dangerous criminals by ICE places local communities at risk. The Administration's policies have led to the release of 86,288 criminal aliens who committed 231,074 crimes since 2013. President Obama’s executive actions on ...
Apr 27, 2016

The Best and Worst Places to Work in the Federal Government

PURPOSE: To examine the health of agencies continuing to rank at the top and at the bottom of the Best Places to Work BACKGROUND: The Office of Personnel Management administers the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey which provides federal ...
Apr 27, 2016

Examining Management Practices and Misconduct at TSA: Part I

  TAKEAWAYS: As a result of a chilling culture of intimidation and retaliation at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), security gaps go unaddressed, and senior employees are not held ...
Apr 21, 2016

Barriers to Endangered Species Act Delisting, Part II

PURPOSE: To continue the examination of the current barriers the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service face when making a determination and attempting to delist species from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). BACKGROUND: The ESA provides for the conservation of species endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant portion of their range, and the conservation of the ecosystems ...
Apr 20, 2016

Barriers to Endangered Species Act Delisting, Part I

PURPOSE: To explore barriers the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service face when making a determination and attempting to delist species from the ESA. BACKGROUND: The Endangered Species Act (ESA) provides for the conservation of species endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant portion of their range, and the conservation of the ecosystems on which they depend. ...
Apr 20, 2016

Federal Cybersecurity Detection, Response, and Mitigation

PURPOSE: To examine federal agencies’ capabilities and procedures to detect and mitigate cybersecurity vulnerabilities. BACKGROUND: The increasing use of common and shared hardware, software, and information infrastructure across the federal government increases the likelihood for cybersecurity vulnerabilities to occur, as well as the resulting level of damage if vulnerabilities persist. Recent media reports ...
Apr 19, 2016

DATA Act: Monitoring Implementation Progress

PURPOSE: To examine the Administration’s efforts to implement the DATA Act. To discuss actions taken by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) to respond to prior Government Accountability Office and Treasury Inspector General recommendations. BACKGROUND: The DATA Act modernizes federal spending data by requiring agencies to report detailed, program level ...
Apr 19, 2016

Document Production Status Update, Part II

TAKEAWAYS: OMB is intentionally misleading Congress by withholding subpoenaed documents and information related to the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rulemaking process. Chairman Chaffetz announced his intention to enforce the subpoena, and raised the prospect of holding Office of Information and Regulatory (OIRA)  Administrator Howard  Shelanksi in contempt if OIRA continues to withhold the documents. DHS was
Apr 15, 2016

The Taxpayer Advocate Annual Report to Congress

PURPOSE: To examine the most serious problems facing the American taxpayer as identified by the Taxpayer Advocate in the 2015 annual report.   BACKGROUND: The National Taxpayer Advocate is an independent office within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) The advocate, appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, was established to help taxpayers handle issues with the IRS, identify problem areas for taxpayers, ...
Apr 14, 2016

Connecting Veterans with PTSD with Service Dogs

PURPOSE: To examine the benefits service dogs can provide to veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). To question the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on its existing policy and issues related to its problematic study. BACKGROUND: The FY2010 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the VA to conduct a three-year study on the costs and benefits of providing service dogs to veterans with PTSD ...