Government Oversight

Republicans next week will push legislation through the House that would freeze the work of the National Labor Relations Board.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) on Tuesday became the latest member of Congress to try to force a pay cut on members of Congress in order to make them share in the pain of the sequester.

"It is the very definition of unfairness for well-paid members of Congress to subject federal employees, who earn less, to effective pay cuts that the members who mandate salary reductions are not willing to take themselves," Norton said.

Massachusetts Republicans on Tuesday filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee charging that Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has violated campaign rules in his bid to become the next Bay State senator.

"It is our hope that the Committee quickly gets to the bottom of Ed Markey's apparent reliance on taxpayer funded resources to benefit his campaign," MassGOP Executive Director Nate Little said. "Markey has been in office for so long, he either forgot the rules or thinks they don't apply to him. He should be held accountable for neglecting the rules set up to protect taxpayer dollars."

Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.) on Wednesday called on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to restore cuts to funding for U.S. border patrol agents made under the sequester and said failure to take this step would further jeopardize border security.

"Congress passed and the president has signed into law a continuing resolution that provides the department with additional funding for Border Patrol salaries," he wrote in a letter to Napolitano.

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) announced that he’s working on legislation to protect privacy rights against the use of private drone operators.

"I am working to finalize legislation that will respond to the concerns of Coloradans who want to ensure that there are common-sense safeguards to protect them from the improper use of drones," Udall said in a press release Monday.

Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) on Monday called on the House to support his proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution so that Congress can enact laws that immediately cut the salaries of its members.

The issue of cutting member pay came up as Congress debated the No Budget, No Pay act, which was approved earlier this year and would temporarily withhold member pay if the House or Senate fail to pass a budget. It was determined that the act could not be used to immediately and permanently deny the salaries of members because of the 27th Amendment to the Constitution.

Obama is not expected to produce a budget this year until April — about two months later than normal.

Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.) urged his colleagues on Monday to take up and pass his bill aimed at preventing bullying in schools.

“Children deserve to go to school without fear or intimidation,” Casey said Monday. “Bullying and harassment affect millions of students every year. This legislation will help ensure that we are providing children with a quality education that builds self-confidence.”

The bill from Rep. Dave Camp says explicitly that the administration cannot waive the work requirement.

Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) on Tuesday introduced legislation that would prevent actions taken by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) since last year from having any effect until the courts sort out whether President Obama's appointments to that board were constitutional.

The introduction of Womack's bill, H.R. 976, comes on the heels of a January decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington that the recess appointments of Sharon Block, Terence Flynn and Richard Griffin to the NLRB were unconstitutional because they were made during a pro-forma session of Congress. President Obama re-nominated both Block and Griffin last month; Flynn resigned last year.