Government Oversight

Chairwoman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Monday that she wouldn’t tolerate the kind of waste discovered by the inspector general (IG) at the Veterans Affairs Department.

The IG’s report found that the agency spent $6.1 million on two conferences held in Orlando, Fla., causing some VA Human Resources staff to resign.

Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) called for an agreement between the National Hockey League's (NHL) owners and players on Monday in order to avoid the current lockout continuing into the regular season.

In a letter to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Players’ Association Executive Director Donald Fehr, the senators expressed concern that the cancellation of games would harm their state’s economy as well as the entire country.

“A delayed or canceled regular season would be a major setback for Newark,” the letter stated. “It could mean millions of dollars in lost economic activity, and more people out of work when our state unemployment rate is already at a 30-year high. As you consider your next steps, we encourage you to keep in mind the communities, workers and families that would be hurt by a further disruption in the season.”

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Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on Monday called on the Obama administration to review the Consumer Product Safety Commission's decision to sue a New York company in an effort to stop the sale of its products that the CPSC says is harming children.

The CPSC in July filed suit against Maxfield and Oberton Holdings, which markets magnetic desk accessories for adults known as Buckyballs and Buckycubes. The products contain up to several hundred small magnets, and while they are marketed for adults, the CPSC found that a dozen surgeries had been performed on children who swallowed one or more of these magnets.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) asked Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner again on Friday for documents related to Treasury's involvement in the Delphi pension scandal, and warned that a failure to respond by Oct. 9 could force the committee to subpoena those documents.

"If the Department does not produce all the requested material by October 9, 2012, the Committee will be forced to consider use of compulsory process," Issa and Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio) wrote in a letter to Geithner.

The lawmakers say Napolitano's failure to answer questions suggests DHS is trying to conceal information.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) expressed concerns Tuesday over a decision made by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to oppose South Carolina’s voter ID law.

The GOP members sent a letter to Holder requesting documents from the Department of Justice pertaining to the case.

House Republicans accused Hilda Solis of trying to hide the effects of the coming spending cuts on private-sector jobs.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said this week that he will delay his planned lawsuit against the Obama administration for its June announcement that it would stop deporting younger illegal immigrants and instead offer them work permits.

King said in mid-June that he would sue the administration in a matter of weeks for selectively enforcing U.S. law to avoid deporting young illegal immigrants. He later pushed back his suit until around Labor Day.

Before leaving for the November elections, the Senate accepted House changes to two bills, ensuring that the legislation is on its way to the president’s desk.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act, S. 300, and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced the Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act, S. 710.

The GOP is trying to shut down the practice after reports Sen. Kirk used it to benefit his ex-girlfriend