Oversight Committee Advances Legislation to Require Census Bureau to Include Citizenship Question, Minimize the Risk of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse of Taxpayer Dollars

WASHINGTON – The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a markup yesterday to consider a series of bills that require the Census Bureau to include a citizenship question on the decennial census questionnaire, minimize the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars, and instruct the Office of Management and Budget to set an annual, government-wide regulatory budget.

The following bills were reported favorably to the House by the Committee:

H.R. 7109, the Equal Representation Act: The bill, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), amends title 13 to add a citizenship inquiry to the decennial census and exclude noncitizens from the apportionment base for the 2030 census and any future decennial census. The bill would also exclude from the apportionment base “individuals who are not citizens of the United States” for the 2030 census and any future decennial census.

“We just want to know, very simply, are you a citizen, or are you a noncitizen? It’s an easy question, it isn’t confusing, and it doesn’t reveal anything about an individual’s specific immigration status,” said Chairman James Comer. “My amendment in the nature of a substitute simplifies the citizenship question that would be asked on the census questionnaire.

“Are you a citizen of the United States? Yes or no. That’s it. By requiring this question, the United States government will be able to collect accurate data on the makeup of our population.”

H.R. 7868, the FEHB Protection Act: The bill requires federal agencies to verify that an employee is eligible to add a family member to their Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) health coverage plan. This bill also requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to consider coverage of ineligible individuals when conducting FEHBP fraud risk assessments and requires a comprehensive audit be conducted of employee family members currently enrolled in the FEHBP. Finally, the bill requires OPM to disenroll any ineligible individual found to be receiving FEHBP coverage. The bill addresses the findings of a Govermental Accountability Office (GAO) report that estimates the lack of consistently applied controls in federal agencies is costing taxpayers an estimated $250 million to $3 billion annually in fraudulent and improper payments in the FEHBP.

“The Federal Employee Health Benefits program provides quality health insurance coverage for nearly 8 million federal employees, retirees, and their family members. With nearly $60 billion dollars in combined annual premiums paid by the government and enrollees, this Committee has a vested interest in ensuring the program is free of waste, fraud, and abuse,” said Chairman James Comer.

“The American people deserve to know that their tax dollars that they earned are being spent appropriately, free from fraud or waste. And in its current form, this program is susceptible to fraud and abuse as demonstrated by the numerous cases of individuals rolled in and receiving coverage through the program even though being in ineligible for that coverage. This is why I’ve introduced the FEHB Protection Act to combat fraud and abuse within the program and implements common sense changes,” said Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), the sponsor of the bill.

H.R. 7524, the GSA Technology Accountability Act: The bill, as amended and co-led by Representatives Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to provide an annual report to Congress regarding expenditures made through the Citizen Services Fund (CSF) and some expenditures made through the Acquisition Services Fund (ASF) by the end of each fiscal year.

“This is straightforward legislation that would bring basic transparency to technology projects from the General Services Administration. As it stands now, the government’s internal technology consultancy is mostly opaque in its operation, resulting in a lack of competition and a few instances of serious failures of GSA projects…we held hearings last year that were on a bipartisan basis and this is the legislation that falls from that,” said Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), the sponsor of the bill.

H.R. 7887, the Allowing Contractors to Choose Employees for Select Skills (ACCESS) Act: The bill, co-led by Representiatives Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), prohibits the use of minimum education or experience requirements for proposed contractor personnel in federal contract solicitations, except when the needs of the agency cannot be met without such requirements.

“I see this as a great opportunity for a lot of different agencies, a lot of different departments, and a lot of different people, who don’t need those burdensome and expensive four-year degree requirements when they can do those jobs without them. And they can do them very, very well…under this bill, OMB will ensure agencies will follow this new protocol and will provide them guidance on how alternative certifications, industry recognized credentials, and work based learning programs such as apprenticeships, will satisfy educational requirements,” said Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), the sponsor of the bill.

H.R. 7867, the Renewing Efficiency in Government by Budgeting Act (REG Budgeting Act): The bill builds on Executive Order 13771 by amending the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 with requirements that federal regulatory agencies constrain unfunded new costs imposed by federal regulations. The bill requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to set an annual, government-wide regulatory budget that restricts the amount of new, unfunded regulatory costs agencies can impose each fiscal year.

“The REG budgeting Act makes regulatory budgeting a permanent feature of the regulatory system and putting some brakes on these running away regulatory costs…bottom line here is Congress needs to stop the way we have been doing business and step up and be accountable for any increases in total regulatory cost,” said Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), the sponsor of the bill.

H.R. 272, the Astronaut Safe Temporary Ride Options (ASTRO) Act: The bill, co-led by Representatives Brian Babin (R-Texas) and Jeff Jackson (D-N.C.), amends existing law pertaining to passenger carrier use and transportation for an official purpose by authorizing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to use federal funds for the transportation of government astronauts who have returned from space, for the purpose of monitoring, diagnosis, treatment, or other official duties prior to their receiving post-flight medical clearance to operate motor vehicles.

“The ASTRO Act will amend current law to enable NASA to authorize the use of official transportation between residence and worksite without the contemporaneous reporting requirement…. While it may sound like a mundane problem, the underlying need for this bill is anything but that. We owe it to these courageous women and men who leave behind family and friends to spend months in space to cut through the red tape and take care of them upon their return,” said Chairman Comer

H.R. 3019, the Federal Prison Oversight Act: The bill, co-led by Representatives Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) and Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), requires the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to conduct risk-based assessments of Bureau of Prisons (BOP) correctional facilities, including requirements to visit facilities with higher risk scores more frequently to evaluate conditions for staff and inmates and release a public report after each inspection to which the BOP must respond. The bill also creates an ombudsman within DOJ tasked with handling complaints from incarcerated individuals, friends and family of incarcerated individuals, staff, or others regarding safety and health issues. The bill provides both the OIG and Ombudsman access to BOP facilities and relevant documents and specifies that all communication with the OIG and Ombudsman is confidential.

“The Federal Bureau of Prisons operates 122 facilities nationwide. Conducting meaningful oversight with an organization of this size can be challenging. The Department of Justice of the Inspector General handles criminal complaints on behalf of incarcerated people and bureau staff, however this office is overwhelmed with criminal complaints from incarcerated people, their friends and family, and prison staff. Examples of common complaints include: poor prison conditions and civil rights violations…the Federal Prison Oversight Act addresses this issue by ensuring that incarcerated people, their families, and bureau staff have a reliable mechanism to file complaints,” said Chairman Comer

H.R. 7869, the CBPO Retirement Technical Corrections Act: This bill, co-led by Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), modifies the calculation of retirement benefits for a small group of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. This bill also directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on CBP processes regarding the enhanced benefit to ensure proper management and implementation. 

“I am pleased this bill provides an opportunity to right a wrong for American CBP officers while providing accountability and measures to protect against similar mistakes from happening again. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill,” said Chairman Comer.

Various post office naming measures.