Government Oversight

Sponsors of the bill include conservative Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and liberal Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.). 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday called on Congress to “take a very hard look” at the PATRIOT Act, after reports that the government has the right to monitor U.S. citizen’s phone calls and web browsing.

“It is clear to me that the United States Congress has to take a very hard look at the USA PATRIOT Act specifically section 215,” Sanders said on the Senate floor Tuesday evening. “We must be strong and effective in combating terrorism, but it is my belief that we can do that without compromising the Constitutional rights that make us a free country.”

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) said Sunday the recent scandals in the Obama administration about the right to privacy undermine the trust Congress needs to have when it comes to PRISM, the controversial surveillance program that the National Security Agency (NSA) has run for years.

"If they aren't going to tell us the truth on Benghazi and similar types of issues, then it tends to undermine the trust that is necessary for we the people to bestow upon the government the information-gathering capabilities that they demand, they say, in order to protect us," Brooks told WHNT News in Alabama.

Cantor said Obama administration officials would start briefing Capitol Hill today on the leaks and secret NSA programs.

Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) has introduced a bill that would prohibit the awarding of performance bonuses to senior government officials while a sequester is in effect.

Fitzpatrick introduced his bill, H.R. 2222, to shut off the millions of dollars in bonuses that members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) are still eligible to receive under current law, even while bonuses for other employees have been cut. These senior officials have averaged about $80 million in bonuses each year from 2008 to 2011.

As the number of explosive Inspector General reports detailing government waste and mismanagement pile up, some House Republicans are proposing that the government create a new website that makes it easier to find and read these reports.

Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) on Monday proposed the Sunshine on Government Act, H.R. 2221, which would require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to manage the new site.

Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) last week dropped his support for creating a select committee on last year's attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.

Mica added his name to the resolution calling for a select committee in late March. But last Thursday, he asked that his name be removed from that resolution, which was introduced by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.).

Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) on Tuesday introduced legislation that would put in place limits on the ability of the government to compel the disclosure of information from the press.

Poe's Free Flow of Information Act is a reaction to news that the Justice Department seized two months of phone records of Associated Press reporters. Justice's decision seemed aimed at furthering its investigation of leaks related to how U.S. agents foiled a terrorist plot.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed that as more details come out on the IRS scandal, he intends to “find out the relevant details.”

Last week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) admitted that officials in Ohio had targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status, with higher scrutiny. Many groups were singled out for having the words "Tea Party" or "patriot" in their name.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. said his bill would allow the government to focus on “crash prevention programs, not national helmet mandates.”