Government Oversight

Members of Congress this week will be closely listening to President Obama's Thursday speech at the State Department for a clarification on whether U.S. military forces will continue operations in Libya beyond late May, which many believe would require congressional approval.

The United Nations on March 17 voted to enforce a no-fly zone in Libya, and military operations began on March 19. The Obama administration authorized the participation of U.S. military forces under the War Powers Resolution, which allows the president to commit U.S. forces for up to 60 days without congressional approval.

House Republicans last week introduced legislation that would prohibit executive Branch agencies from requiring that companies bidding for federal contracts disclose their political contributions.

The Fairness in Federal Contracting Act, H.R. 1906, is meant to override an executive order the Obama administration is drafting that would require political contributions be disclosed by companies seeking to win federal contracts. The idea is opposed by both Republicans and Democrats, including 27 Senate Republicans who urged Obama to reject the idea last month.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) this week introduced a bill that would force members of Congress to disclose any delinquent taxes liabilities they have, and even allow for the garnishment of their wages to pay off that liability.

His bill, the Members of Congress Tax Accountability Act, would also require an ethics inquiry into any tax liability that is reported.

"Lawmakers have an obvious obligation to the American people to lead by example, and should not enjoy a double standard when it comes to paying their taxes," Chaffetz said. "In fact, they should be held to an even higher standard because of the public trust placed in them. Not even Members of Congress are above the laws they write."

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) on Wednesday reintroduced a bill that would allow for the distribution of unpasteurized milk across state lines, an act that is now illegal under Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules. Paul also introduced a bill allowing states to grow industrial hemp.

"Hard as it is to believe, the federal government is actually spending time and money prosecuting small businesses for the 'crime' of meeting their customers' demand for unpasteurized milk!" Paul said.

A group of GOP senators is criticizing the White House for seeking political contribution information from would-be federal contractors.

Freshman Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) on Sunday night flatly rejected a recommendation from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that the U.S. should start bombing Col. Moammar Gadhafi's inner circle in order to force him to leave Libya.

Amash was responding to Graham's CNN appearance on Sunday, when Graham said the U.S. should be prepared to ignore the United Nations Security Council and step up attacks on Libya.

"You can't let the Russians and the Chinese veto the freedom agenda," Graham said. "So any time you go to the United Nations Security Council, you run into the Russians and the Chinese. These are quasi-dictatorships, so I wouldn’t be locked down by the U.N. mandate."

"Let's be clear: Sen. Lindsey Graham does not speak for the 'freedom agenda,' as he implies, nor does he speak for the Republican Party," Amash responded in a Facebook post. "He believes a president can commence war without congressional authorization, in direct contravention of the Constitution. Nobody should mistake his views for the views of Republicans or genuine conservatives."

To the delight of reporters everywhere, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) last week introduced legislation that would establish a committee to investigate the endless delays routinely faced by people seeking information from the government under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Sherman's bill, H.R. 1564, would set up the Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays, which would have 12 commissioners. Four would be picked by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and four more would be chosen by the House Committee on Government Reform.

Legislation by Rep. Tom Reed would use a debt clock as a "visual gesture" of the need to reduce spending.

Freshman Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) called the spending fight over the 2011 fiscal budget "absurd political theatre" and said he would not support a second stopgap spending measure.

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Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) stepped back from remarks he made on the Senate floor Thursday in which he associated Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Hosni Mubarak with Republicans who want to do away with unions. 

In a statement on Friday, Brown said he should not have mentioned the tyrants in the context of the fight over public service unions in Ohio, Wisconsin and other states.

“I am passionate about fighting for the middle class,” Brown said in the statement. “Ohio's teachers and nurses and police and firefighters are facing the loss of their collective bargaining rights, and I think that's wrong. But in speaking about this, I should not have mentioned the hostility of tyrants, like Hitler, to unions. I don't want my mistake to distract from the critical debate in Ohio, and I apologize for it.”