Government Oversight

Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) late last week introduced a bill that would prohibit members of Congress from ever lobbying Congress after they leave.

The bill, H.R. 3491, would amend current law that prohibits senators from lobbying until two years after they leave office and blocks members of the House from lobbying until one year after they leave office. Cicilline said a permanent ban is needed in order to help restore trust in Congress.

House Republicans will return to their deregulation agenda next week by pressing ahead on three bills that would require federal agencies to be more mindful of how rules affect companies and give Congress more authority to approve major regulations.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) indicated on Monday that House Republicans continue to see easing regulations as a way to create an environment for job creation, and said they would continue along these lines in the wake of the failure of the supercommittee to find a way forward on deficit reduction.

"While I am disappointed, the House will forge ahead with the commitments we have made to reducing government spending and removing barriers standing in the way of private-sector job creation," Boehner said. "Doing otherwise is not an option."

Freshman Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) on Friday put forward legislation that would terminate congressional pensions, which he said could be a stepping stone to a larger discussion about the need to trim pension plans for all federal workers.

"There's going to have to be some reform there," he said in reference to the federal pension system. "And my view is that before we can discuss reform there, it seems to me we're going to have to set an example."

Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are proposing that disciplinary hearings against auditors held by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) be made public, so companies and investors know when and for what reasons auditors are being scrutinized by the PCAOB.

"The PCAOB's secret proceedings are not only shielded from the public but from Congress as well," Reed said last week. "The public and Congress have a role in ensuring that not just auditors are held to account but also that the PCAOB is held to account as well for its oversight of the auditors and audit firms."

After the House failed to pass a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, a Republican last week proposed another way to reduce government spending — not by amending the Constitution, but by printing less of it.

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) proposed a resolution on Friday that would call for printing up to 235,500 copies of the pocket-sized Constitution that most members carry with them, or however many $114,849 can buy, whichever is less. The resolution, H.Con.Res. 90, would authorize the 25th edition of the pocket Constitution.

Rep. Betty Sutton's office said "super-PACs" have concentrated power "in the hands of the political elite."

Rep. Jackson Lee said her bill would immediately suspend all federal funding for institutions that have covered up sexual abuse.

Business groups have criticized the labor board rule, which calls for quick union elections.

Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) on Tuesday afternoon criticized the Obama administration for suing South Carolina over its immigration law that requires local law enforcement to coordinate with federal officials when they suspect someone of being in the U.S. illegally.

Speaking on the House floor, Poe said the administration is once again showing that it will look to sue states that try to get a handle on the growing illegal immigration problem that the federal government is failing to resolve.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, introduced a bill on Monday that would establish background checks for Washington, D.C., employees similar to the one now used at the federal level.

Issa said this change is needed to help control what he said are "outrageous abuses" in the local D.C. government.