Union Calendar No. 500 ACTIVITIES
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Union Calendar No. 500 108TH CONGRESS "!REPORT 2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 108–815 ACTIVITIES OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS FIRST AND SECOND SESSIONS 2003–2004 (Pursuant to House Rule XI, 1(d)(4)) Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house http://www.house.gov/reform JANUARY 3, 2005.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 97–129 PDF WASHINGTON : 2005 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:30 Jan 10, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5012 Sfmt 5012 D:\DOCS\97129.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM TOM DAVIS, Virginia, Chairman DAN BURTON, Indiana HENRY A. WAXMAN, California CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut TOM LANTOS, California ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida MAJOR R. OWENS, New York JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York JOHN L. MICA, Florida PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland DOUG OSE, California DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio RON LEWIS, Kentucky DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts CHRIS CANNON, Utah WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri ADAM H. PUTNAM, Florida DIANE E. WATSON, California EDWARD L. SCHROCK, Virginia STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland NATHAN DEAL, Georgia LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan C.A. ‘‘DUTCH’’ RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland TIM MURPHY, Pennsylvania ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio Columbia JOHN R. CARTER, Texas JIM COOPER, Tennessee MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota PATRICK J. TIBERI, Ohio ——— KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas (Independent) MELISSA WOJCIAK, Staff Director DAVID MARIN, Deputy Staff Director/Communications Director KEITH AUSBROOK, Chief Counsel ROB BORDEN, Senior Counsel/Parliamentarian TERESA AUSTIN, Chief Clerk PHIL BARNETT, Minority Chief of Staff/Chief Counsel (II) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:30 Jan 10, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\DOCS\97129.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, DC, January 3, 2005. Hon. J. DENNIS HASTERT, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC. DEAR MR. SPEAKER: Pursuant to House Rule XI, clause 1(d)(4), I submit the enclosed the activities report of the Committee on Government Reform for the 108th Congress. TOM DAVIS, Chairman. (III) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:30 Jan 10, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 D:\DOCS\97129.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:30 Jan 10, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 D:\DOCS\97129.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 C O N T E N T S Page Part One. Committee Organization ........................................................................ 1 I. Jurisdiction and History of the Committee ................................................. 1 II. Rules and Organization of the Committee .................................................. 4 Part Two. Committee Accomplishments ................................................................ 13 I. Legislative Accomplishments ........................................................................ 13 A. Legislation enacted into Law .............................................................. 14 B. Legislation considered by the House .................................................. 21 C. Legislation considered by the Committee .......................................... 23 D. Postal facility designations considered by the Committee or the House .................................................................................................. 25 E. Resolutions considered by the Committee or the House .................. 47 II. Oversight and Investigative Accomplishments ........................................... 65 Part Three. Full Committee Meetings ................................................................... 69 I. Full Committee Hearings .............................................................................. 69 II. Full Committee Business Meetings .............................................................. 105 Part Four. Subcommittee Accomplishments .......................................................... 107 Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization ................................ 107 Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources ........ 128 Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs . 171 Subcommittee on Government Efficiency and Financial Management ........... 191 Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness ................................................. 211 Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and Intergovern- mental Relations ............................................................................................... 221 Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Rela- tions and the Census ........................................................................................ 248 APPENDIX Committee Prints ..................................................................................................... 271 Investigative Reports ............................................................................................... 271 Legislative Reports .................................................................................................. 271 VIEWS Views of Ranking Minority Member Henry A. Waxman ...................................... 274 (V) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:30 Jan 10, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\DOCS\97129.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:30 Jan 10, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\DOCS\97129.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 Union Calendar No. 500 108TH CONGRESS REPORT "! 2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 108–815 ACTIVITIES OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM JANUARY 3, 2005.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. DAVIS OF VIRGINIA, from the Committee on Government Reform, submitted the following REPORT ACTIVITIES OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM, 108TH CONGRESS, 1ST AND 2D SESSIONS, 2003 AND 2004 PART ONE. COMMITTEE ORGANIZATION I. HISTORY AND JURISDICTION OF THE COMMITTEE The Committee on Government Reform serves both as the House of Representative’s government operations committee and also as its chief investigative and oversight body, reviewing allegations of waste, fraud and mismanagement across the Federal Government. Alone among the House committees, the Committee on Govern- ment Reform has legislative jurisdiction over the operations of all Federal agencies including, human resources, information tech- nology, procurement, and financial and general management policy. Unlike other House committees, the committee has the authority to conduct oversight and investigations outside of its legislative ju- risdiction. The committee’s unique legislative jurisdiction and over- sight authority make it one of the most influential committees in the House of Representatives. Congressman Tom Davis (R–VA) served as the chairman of the committee in the 108th Congress. The ranking minority member was Congressman Henry Waxman (D–CA). The Committee on Government Reform first appeared in 1927 as the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments. It VerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:30 Jan 10, 2005 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 D:\DOCS\97129.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 2 was created by consolidating the 11 Committees on Expenditures previously responsible for overseeing how taxpayer moneys were spent at each executive branch department. Under the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, the committee was renamed the Committee on Government Operations. The name change was intended to communicate the primary function of the committee to study ‘‘the operations of Government activities at all levels with a view to determining their economy and efficiency.’’ The Government Operations Committee’s oversight jurisdiction over all Federal agencies and departments was unprecedented in the legislative branch. On January 4, 1995, Republicans assumed control of the House of Representatives for the first time in over 40 years. Republicans immediately implemented several internal reforms, including an initiative to reduce the number of standing committees in the House and cut committee staffs by one-third. The Committee on Government Reform exemplified the changes that took place in the House. Both the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service and the Committee on the District of Columbia were consolidated into the newly named Government Reform and Oversight Committee. The name change highlighted the Republican view that the Federal Government needed reform to ensure accountability. This consoli- dation of three committees into one resulted in millions of dollars in savings and a nearly 50 percent reduction in staff. At the start of the 107th Congress, the committee’s name was shortened to the Committee on Government Reform. House Rule X, clause 1(h) sets forth the committee’s jurisdiction,