Union Calendar No. 441 109TH CONGRESS "!REPORT 2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 109–739 ACTIVITIES OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS FIRST AND SECOND SESSIONS 2005–2006 (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 DECEMBER 29, 2006.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 31–582 PDF WASHINGTON : 2006 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 13:04 Dec 29, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5012 Sfmt 5012 D:\DOCS\31582.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM TOM DAVIS, Virginia, Chairman CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut HENRY A. WAXMAN, California DAN BURTON, Indiana 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 GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois CHRIS CANNON, Utah WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR., Tennessee DIANE E. WATSON, California CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland DARRELL E. ISSA, California LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California JON C. PORTER, Nevada C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland KENNY MARCHANT, Texas BRIAN HIGGINS, New York LYNN A. WESTMORELAND, Georgia ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of PATRICK T. MCHENRY, North Carolina Columbia CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania ——— VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio (Independent) BRIAN P. BILBRAY, California DAVID MARIN, Staff Director BENJAMIN CHANCE, Clerk PHIL BARNETT, Minority Chief of Staff/Chief Counsel (II) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:04 Dec 29, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\DOCS\31582.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, DC, December 29, 2006. 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 109th Congress. TOM DAVIS, Chairman. (III) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:04 Dec 29, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 D:\DOCS\31582.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:04 Dec 29, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 D:\DOCS\31582.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 C O N T E N T S Page FORWARD ............................................................................................................... 1 I. Jurisdiction and History of the Committee ................................................. 2 II. Rules of the Committee ................................................................................. 4 III. Members and Organization ........................................................................... 11 PART ONE: LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES ............................................................ 13 I. Legislative Accomplishments ........................................................................ 13 A. Legislation Enacted Into Law ............................................................. 16 B. Legislation Considered by House ....................................................... 24 C. Legislation Reported by Committee ................................................... 29 D. Postal Facility Designations Considered by the Committee or the House .................................................................................................. 32 E. Resolutions Considered by the Committee or the House ................. 48 II. Legislative Hearings ...................................................................................... 64 PART TWO: OVERSIGHT ACTIVITIES ............................................................... 67 I. Full Committee .............................................................................................. 67 II. Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources 98 III. Subcommittee on Energy and Resources ..................................................... 116 IV. Subcommittee on Federalism and the Census ............................................ 138 V. Subcommittee on Federal Workforce and Agency Organization ................ 154 VI. Subcommittee on Government Management and Accountability .............. 165 VII. Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and Inter- national Relations ...................................................................................... 183 VIII. Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs ........................................................... 202 APPENDIX I. Committee Prints ........................................................................................... 211 II. Investigative Reports ..................................................................................... 211 III. Legislative Reports ........................................................................................ 211 IV. Committee Meetings ...................................................................................... 213 1V. Oversight Plan for the 109th Congress ........................................................ 217 VIEWS Views of Ranking Minority Member Henry A. Waxman ...................................... 250 (V) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:04 Dec 29, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\DOCS\31582.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:04 Dec 29, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 D:\DOCS\31582.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 Union Calendar No. 441 109TH CONGRESS REPORT "! 2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 109–739 ACTIVITIES OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM DECEMBER 29, 2006.—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, 109TH CONGRESS, 1ST AND 2D SESSIONS, 2005 AND 2006 FORWARD In the 109th Congress, the committee and its seven subcommit- tees convened 256 investigative hearings on a very diverse portfolio of subjects, from contracting in Iraq to steroids in professional baseball. On the legislative front, the Committee on Government Reform was very active promoting stronger management practices at Fed- eral departments and agencies and improving the operations and effectiveness of Federal programs. Whether transforming the orga- nizational structure of the General Services Administration or granting the right to vote to citizens of the Nation’s Capitol, the committee remained focused on making the Federal Government more responsive to the needs of the people it serves. At the committee’s request, the Government Accountability Of- fice [GAO] produced 359 reports, testimonies and briefings in sup- port of oversight investigations and program reviews. As a result of the Government Reform Committees oversight, billions of dollars worth of outright savings, avoidable costs and increased revenues have been identified and captured. In the course of that oversight, the committee and subcommittees uncovered wasteful spending, mismanagement, ineffective policy VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:04 Dec 29, 2006 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 D:\DOCS\31582.TXT HGOVREF1 PsN: HGOVREF1 2 implementation, and poor interagency coordination. Direct savings and other financial benefits identified as a result of the committee’s GAO work alone now total $6.5 billion.1 Current oversight yielded savings in areas such as the Department of Defense excess prop- erty reutilization system ($42 million) and information technology investments at the Department of Interior ($80 million). Other quantifiable fiscal achievements accrued from earlier GAO reports to the committee. I. JURISDICTION AND HISTORY 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 and 109th 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 was created by consolidating the 11 Committees on Expenditures previously responsible for overseeing