Government Oversight

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) on Thursday proposed legislation that would give taxpayers the chance to fill out a survey on their 1040 tax forms about what federal budget priorities should be.

"Congress should receive substantive information about taxpayer's budget priorities," Harkin said. "My bill would provide taxpayers with details about how federal funds are now being spent, while also providing them with an opportunity to make their views known on how Congress should allocate dollars."

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Thursday introduced a resolution that says it is the sense of the House that President Obama made four recess appointments in January when Congress was not in recess.

The resolution, H.Res. 604, points out that the House met on Jan. 3 and 6, and the House never agreed to a recess, but that Obama nonetheless made four recess appointments on Jan. 4. On that day, he appointed three people to serve on the National Labor Relations Board and installed Richard Cordray as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and 28 other Senate Republicans on Tuesday introduced a bill that would allow people authorized to carry concealed weapons in their home state to do the same in other states that allow concealed carry, without requiring a federal permit.

The Respecting States' Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, S. 2213, is meant to ensure that the Second Amendment rights of people are not infringed upon when they travel between states. But rather than set up a federal permitting process for concealed weapons, the bill would essentially require states with concealed-weapons permits to honor the permits of other states.

Sens. Barbara Boxer and Charles Grassley would limit the use of public money to fund the salaries of all government contractors.

Sen. Scott Brown's legislation would require members of Congress and federal workers to disclose any delinquent federal or state tax liabilities.

Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday delayed a rule for 60 days that will require public access swimming pools around the country to install handicapped-accessible ramps or lifts — or face fines of up to $100,000.

The controversial rule has hotels and other community pools worried about the possible ramifications of non-compliance, and has prompted the Justice Department to conduct outreach to these groups as the March 15, 2012, implementation date approached. But on the compliance date, Holder signed an order that extended the date for 60 days, and also signed a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) seeking public comment on whether even more time is needed before the rule takes effect.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and two other senators on Tuesday introduced a bill that would overturn a Supreme Court decision they say has weakened federal law preventing age discrimination.

Harkin, along with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), said the bill is a response to the 2009 ruling in which the Supreme Court said an Iowa employee, Jack Gross, had the burden of showing that age discrimination was the decisive factor that led to his demotion. The senators said that weakened the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which had required workers only to argue that age discrimination was a factor in an adverse employment decision, and put the burden on employers to show that there were other reasons for this decision.

The new Justice Department regulations take effect Thursday and require pools to have handicapped-accessible ramps, lifts.

Democrats including Rep. Elijah Cummings want to provide more flexibility for punishing federal workers who engage in partisan activities.

House Democrats on Thursday proposed a way to mitigate state-level voter ID laws by introducing a bill that would require states with these requirements to offer free photo IDs for residents.

The Voter ID Accessibility act, H.R. 4126, is a Democratic response to identification laws that they say make it harder for seniors, students, minorities and others to vote.