Jason Chaffetz

Mr. CHAFFETZ

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 1777, the Presidential Allowance Modernization Act. The act updates an arcane law which no longer reflects day-to-day reality in order to reduce unnecessary costs to the taxpayers. H.R. 1777 decreases the pension of former Presidents, increases the pension of surviving spouses, and limits the allowances provided for post-Presidential expenditures. This important piece of legislation amends and modernizes the Former Presidents Act of 1958 by authorizing a $200,000 annual pension for each former President and a $100,000 annual survivor benefit for each surviving spouse. We thank these Presidents and their spouses for the unbelievable toll and service that they have given to their country. Currently, former Presidents receive an annual pension of roughly $203,700, and a surviving spouse's pension is $20,000. The Presidential Allowance Modernization Act also sets an annual allowance of $200,000 for costs such as travel, staff, and office expenses that are associated with post-Presidential life. For those former Presidents that earn outside income, which most do, the $200,000 annual allowance is reduced dollar for dollar for every dollar a former President earns in outside income in excess of $400,000. So, in essence, if former Presidents want to ride off into the sunset and go fishing and enjoy the Utah sunsets, they can go do that. They will be very healthily compensated to lead that kind of lifestyle. If they choose to go out and sell books and give speeches and do all those things, more power to them. If that is what they choose to do, they can go out and make that type of money. For some, they make millions of dollars doing so. At that point, I just don't think that the taxpayers should necessarily supplement their income. They don't need it at that point. So we worked in a very good, bipartisan way with Ranking Member Elijah Cummings from Maryland. We worked to do this together. We introduced this in a bipartisan way. I want our Members to know that, if this bill passes, it would save nearly $10 million in the first 5 years. In fiscal year 2015, Congress appropriated $3.2 million for pensions, office staff, and related expenses for former Presidents. Of that amount, the General Services Administration made $1.1 million in rental payments for office space. The annual allowance provision under H.R. 1777 replaces the millions of dollars currently provided for travel, staff, and office expenses of former Presidents and ends an unnecessary government handout to former Presidents that decide to make millions after leaving office. This bill does not affect the security or protection of former Presidents or family members of a former President. But, rather, H.R. 1777 brings an end to the American taxpayer subsidizing expenditures for former Presidents. Unfortunately, both sides of the aisle recognize that, no matter who the President is, in this modern age, they are going to have security concerns the rest of their lives. Under this bill, all of those expenses for the Secret Service and those type of expenditures will continue to be paid for, at no expense. No matter their income, it is a duty and obligation of the Federal Government to protect these former Presidents, and they will continue to do so. The Presidential Allowance Modernization Act modernizes the Former Presidents Act while reducing unnecessary costs to the taxpayers. Again, I want to thank Ranking Member Cummings, who was an original cosponsor of this bill. I also want to thank Representative Grothman from Wisconsin, who cosponsored and worked on this piece of legislation. I urge Members to vote in favor of this. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers. I urge its passage. I really and truly enjoyed working with Members on both sides of the aisle to get this through and urge its adoption. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1629) to revise certain authorities of the District of Columbia courts, the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia, and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this is a bipartisan bill from the Senate that we are considering. Senator Johnson of Wisconsin has put forward this bill. It has cleared the Senate, we are happy to bring this up, but I would urge its adoption. It is S. 1629, with a very long title to it: The District of Columbia Courts, Public Defender Service, and Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency Act of 2015. It just rolls off the tongue. This bipartisan bill was introduced, as I said, by Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, and it gives judicial officials in the District of Columbia the authority they need to make personnel and managerial decisions. In 1997, Congress reorganized the District of Columbia judicial agencies, making them Federal agencies with Federal employees. This bill improves the efficiency and functions of the D.C. judicial branch by extending them authorities that are available to other Federal agencies. S. 1629 allows the D.C. courts system to collect debts and erroneous payments made to employees through installment plans of reasonable amounts. Additionally, the courts will be able to provide uniforms to nonjudicial employees. This helps address safety concerns by giving these employees greater visibility in the courthouse and in the community. Further, these reforms will allow the D.C. judicial offices to operate certain incentive programs, make use of the donations and contributions, and utilize unpaid volunteers. It brings sensible authorities to the District's judicial agencies that will allow these officers to increase efficiencies and conduct their work more effectively. We had an opportunity to mark up this bill, and I appreciate the input of Ms. Norton certainly, being from the District of Columbia. And we would urge its final passage here on the floor now. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, this is a good bipartisan piece of legislation. It is common sense. We should pass it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I really want to, first, thank Senator Fischer for the great work done in a bipartisan way in order to move this bill forward. That combination, working with a Member who serves on our committee, Mr. Walberg, and the relentless work on this piece of legislation, it is often referred to as the GONE Act, Grants Oversight and New Efficiency Act. It is a good piece of bipartisan, bicameral legislative effort. I believe the bill will be effective in bringing about greater reforms for the grants closeout process, allowing agencies to save dollars and make better use of constrained resources. We cannot afford to allow grants to remain open year after year of their expiration date. The GONE Act is an important step in addressing this issue. Again, I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan for championing this bill and working through this through his work on H.R. 3089, as well as working with the Senate in order to bring it to this point this day. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), who is the lead person sponsoring this piece of legislation here in the House companion.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, it is a good bipartisan bill. I urge its passage. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ

Mr. CHAFFETZ. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), the prime author of this bill.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, this is a good bipartisan, bicameral bill. Again, I thank the good work of our colleague Mr. Walberg in helping to champion this through, the good work on both sides of the aisle in a bipartisan, bicameral way. I urge its passage. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This is a good, much-needed piece of legislation. It is hard to believe that FOIA, the Freedom of Information Act, was passed nearly 50 years ago. We are a little different in the United States. We are self-critical. We do look at things. We do examine things. We do it in the spirit of making this country better. We also have to remember who we work for. We work for the American people. The American people are paying the tab. It is their government, and they have the right to know. Updating this piece of legislation is something that, in particular, Congressman Issa sought to do some time ago. He put the wheels in motion and started to draft a good and much-needed bill. Coming together with the ranking member, Mr. Cummings, has made this all possible. We have had some good, vibrant discussions. We had 2 days of hearings in our committee. We heard from citizens. We heard from the media. We heard from a host of people. I think it is fair to say that, in large part, the FOIA, the way it operates now, is broken. I do agree and concur with the ranking member that, if we are going to have such a bombardment of requests, they need to be properly funded and there needs to be the personnel in order to make sure they can fulfill these requests. When appropriation season comes, I want to stand with Mr. Cummings and with others and make sure that it is properly funded so that those good people can do their good work. There were a number of reforms and improvements that needed to happen. I do appreciate the flexibility of working and of offering suggestions and then another set of suggestions. This would not have been possible, Mr. Speaker, without some good work in the Office of Legal Counsel. Sally Walker dealt with us time and time again. On our side of the aisle, we had it spearheaded with Katy Rother, and I know that Krista Boyd particularly, on Mr. Cummings' staff, was vital to making this happen. There are vital pieces of information that are needed and that are rightfully requested by the American people, but this piece of legislation will make that FOIA process smoother. It will make it more effective, more efficient, and I think it is much needed as we go into the 50th year of FOIA. I look forward to its passage. I urge a ``yes'' vote. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate the good, bipartisan work. It was through a lot of labor and a lot of listening to what the public needs and to what the media needs. I do think this will make the Freedom of Information Act better as it is the spirit by which we operate in this country. I urge the bill's passage. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Washington, DC, January 8, 2016. Hon. Jason Chaffetz, Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform , Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Chaffetz: On January 7, 2016, your committee ordered H.R. 653, the ``FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act of 2015,'' reported. As you know, H.R. 653 contains several provisions that implicate the work of agencies within the jurisdiction of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The bill addresses how elements of the Intelligence Community (IC), as defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of 1947, may protect sensitive information from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). On the basis of your consultations with the Committee, I understand that H.R. 653 has been crafted to avoid compelling the disclosure of any properly classified information, or other information where disclosure would adversely affect intelligence sources and methods protected by an existing FOIA exemption. In particular, I understand that H.R. 653 does not allow or require FOIA requesters to obtain IC records or information, without regard to the age of the records or information, if such disclosure would adversely affect intelligence sources and methods. I further understand that H.R. 653 does not alter an Intelligence Community element's discretion over the language it chooses to use in denying records or information sought pursuant to FOIA. Specifically, I understand that the requirement in Section 2(f)(3) for federal agencies to include ``a list'' of all denied records preserves an Intelligence Community element's discretion regarding the contents of the required ``list.'' To the extent that elaboration of any list would adversely affect intelligence sources and methods, an IC element may cite to the applicable FOIA exemption to meet the list requirement. I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming these understandings and would request that you include a copy of this letter in the Congressional Record during its floor consideration. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, Devin Nunes, Chairman.

Mr. CHAFFETZ

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3231) to amend title 5, United States Code, to protect unpaid interns in the Federal government from workplace harassment and discrimination, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 3231, the Federal Intern Protection Act of 2015, as introduced by the ranking member, Mr. Cummings. This is a bill brought to my attention by him. We took it through the process in our committee and marked it up, and here we are on the floor. The bill establishes some important protections against the workplace discrimination and harassment of both unpaid Federal interns and applicants for Federal internships. Currently, there are no specific provisions in law to protect these unpaid interns. H.R. 3231 makes it illegal to discriminate, to sexually harass, or to retaliate against unpaid Federal interns and applicants for Federal internships. Specifically, the bill protects against discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin under the Civil Rights Act of 1967, under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and under the handicapping condition under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Unpaid interns, similar to paid employees, are to be considered protected against discrimination and harassment. I thank Mr. Cummings for his passion on this issue to guard against this discrimination and harassment. I look forward to supporting this bill. I am glad we could bring it to the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, there are some good young people who are getting their education. They are excited. They have their whole life in front of them. They get this amazing opportunity to do this internship. Maybe it is a month, maybe it is 3 months, maybe it is 6 months. It is just a limited portion of time. That is where they are going to get a base of knowledge and experience that they are going to be able then to parlay and take into the workforce. It is going to help shape and mold their futures. As Members, every one of us rely on interns. We have them in our offices in our districts and we have them in our offices in Washington, D.C. We see them in the private sector. We see them all over the place. They provide a valuable role. Unfortunately, there are some young people--and we have heard these stories, and they are horrific--who go into this situation, and somebody in power, somebody who does get a paycheck, somebody who does control their time, does ask them to do tasks--does the unforgivable and asks them--or does something to them that they should never do. To hear this story that there isn't a law on the books so the courts can help take care of it, that is just not an excuse. We do a lot of things in this body, and I would like to think this is one of the really good things that we do here today, is pass a piece of legislation like this so we can protect these young people, because if somebody does break the law and does go forward and does do something unforgivable, they have some recourse. If we are going to take their time and we are going to use the resources of these young people, those people in charge should be held accountable. I think that is the good we are doing here today. So to those particularly young women--I am sure there are young men out there too, I just haven't heard as many of their stories--to those young women, at least, I hope we are listening and we are doing something good. That is why I encourage the passage of this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the kind words, and I appreciate the dedication and commitment of Mr. Cummings, Mr. Scott of Virginia, and others who care deeply about this. I do as well. To be able to play a role to help shepherd it to this point is an honor and a privilege. I urge its passage. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. CHAFFETZ

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous remarks on H.R. 712.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 712, the Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2015. H.R. 712 includes H.R. 1759, the All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act of 2015, or the ALERT Act, which the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform favorably reported on May 29, 2015. We have had some good pieces of legislation that made their way through the process, and we really do appreciate the great work of Congressman Ratcliffe. I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ratcliffe).