House Dems call for hearing with NLRB watchdog

By Kevin Bogardus - 05/11/12 12:43 PM ET

House Democrats are calling for the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) inspector general to appear before Congress.

In a letter sent Friday to Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Rob Andrews (D-N.J.) said Kline should hold a hearing on recent ethics sandals at the agency and call Dave Berry, the NLRB’s inspector general, before the panel.

The Democrats cited three recent reports by the IG that looked into Republican members of the labor board, Brian Hayes and Terence Flynn.

“While the Department of Justice is responsible for investigating whether any of the subjects in the Inspector General’s investigative reports committed crimes, we are responsible for directly overseeing the effective and efficient performance of the Board. According to the Inspector General’s latest report, such performance is in peril. With the Board’s ability to properly function at stake, it is incumbent upon us to fully engage as the oversight committee,” Miller and Andrews write in their letter.

Miller is the ranking member on the committee, while Andrews is the ranking member on the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions subcommittee.

The IG is willing to comply with any request from Congress, according to an agency spokeswoman.

“The Inspector General would comply with any request from Congress,” Nancy Cleeland, the NLRB spokeswoman, said.

In a statement, Kline said he takes allegations of misconduct by public officials seriously and has confidence that the IG has referred this matter to federal authorities who will decide whether or not more action is warranted. But the committee chairman said there were no plans to hold a hearing since this is "an ongoing investigation."

"Ranking Member Miller is right: we must continue to conduct vigilant oversight over the Obama labor board, particularly in light of the so-called 'recess appointments’ that sidestepped the constitutional confirmation process entirely. As this is an ongoing investigation, however, the House Education and the Workforce Committee has not scheduled any hearings on this matter at this time. Rest assured, committee members on both sides of the aisle will continue to monitor any and all developments closely, and will be prepared to take necessary steps as warranted," Kline said.

Miller and Andrews’s letter follows Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, threatening to call Flynn before his panel earlier this week.

The IG cleared Hayes in a report that looked into whether he was offered enticements to resign from the labor board.

Flynn, who was recess-appointed to the NLRB by President Obama in January, has denied any wrongdoing in response to two different reports by the IG. Those reports alleged that Flynn broke ethics rules by leaking confidential information to people outside of the agency.

— This story was updated at 1:49 p.m with a statement from Rep. Kline.