Hearings

TAKEAWAYS: Criminal justice reform is a bipartisan/bicameral effort. The federal prison population is growing at an unsustainable rate and is nearly 40 percent over capacity. Populations have grown from 24,000 federal prisoners in 1980, to 219, 000 in 2013. The Bureau of Prisons budget has grown right along with the prison population. It takes up 25 percent of the Department of Justice’s budget and is expected to swell to ...

CLICK HERE TO VIEW GAO REPORT TAKEAWAYS: Construction of the Kabul Embassy Compound is now projected to come in at least 27 percent over budget and more than three years behind schedule. The project was originally expected to cost $625 million. It is now estimated to cost at least $792 million. The Government ...

 PURPOSE: To review the process by which Veterans Affairs (VA) leases outpatient clinics. To identify efficiencies that will benefit veterans who seek access to nearby, modern medical facilities through the examination of specific cases, such as the Community-Based Outpatient Clinic of St. Johns County, Florida.

PURPOSE: To focus on the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s (TIGTA) findings with respect to Lois Lerner’s recovered e-mails and to examine the ...

PURPOSE: To provide Members an opportunity to gain additional information on the security of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) information systems and the data it is entrusted to protect. To examine OPM compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).   BACKGROUND: On June 4, OPM announced a data breach and its plan to notify approximately 4 million individuals whose ...

PURPOSE: To examine the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) implementation of the President’s executive actions on immigration. To review the approval of benefits to aliens unlawfully present in the United ...

PURPOSE: To discuss the challenges and economic impact of regulating emerging technology for personal and commercial uses, as well as the privacy concerns inherent with the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles, referred to as “drones.”   BACKGROUND: On February 15, 2015 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a proposed rule on the commercial use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). ...

PURPOSE: To examine the Universal Postal Union (UPU) terminal dues rate setting structure and process to better understand the challenges facing the United States, the inequities that result from the current system, and opportunities for reform. BACKGROUND: Established in 1874, the UPU coordinates international postal policies and ...

PURPOSE: To provide Members an opportunity to gain information on the nature and extent of the recent U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) data breach. To discuss federal agency compliance with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). BACKGROUND: On