Paul Gosar

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer one final amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for the fiscal year 2015. Let me first say that I am especially grateful to Chairman Crenshaw and Ranking Member Serrano for working with me on my variety of amendments to this bill. They have been exceptionally cooperative and congenial. I would also like to thank the staff of the Financial Services Subcommittee. They have also been very courteous and cooperative with my staff. My final amendment to the bill seeks to effectuate a policy of accountability in government. Historically, the IRS has never been liked by the American people. The agency takes our hard-earned wages and enforces the Internal Revenue Code. I would argue that the power wielded by this agency is matched only by the Department of Defense because, as we all know, the power to tax is the power to destroy, and although no one ever liked the IRS, most Americans quietly trusted them. They trusted that the agency was enforcing the law with fairness and impartiality and were beyond reproach in terms of political pressure. That trust has not only been questioned, it has been annihilated. This year, House Republicans have gone above and beyond to hold this President and his lawless administration accountable for their actions and inactions, and this is another opportunity to act rather than to speak. My final amendment to the bill follows in the footsteps of another that I cosponsored and supported in the MilCon-VA Appropriations Act just a few weeks ago. This amendment would prohibit bonuses or performance awards to be paid to senior executive employees at the IRS. The saying goes with great power comes great responsibility. The IRS is responsible for administering tax laws fairly and justly. They have failed at that responsibility, and they now must be held accountable. Senior management should never have let this happen. Moreover, they should not be given performance awards in the wake of one of the largest scandals in recent history. Giving out bonuses is ludicrous and amounts to a slap in the face to the American public. I would also like to quickly note that I appreciate the committee's inclusion of a provision, section 112, in the bill. That section prescribes that, before a bonus may be awarded to an IRS employee, an assessment of the employee's conduct, in addition to a mandatory check for back taxes or delinquent taxes, must be performed and taken into account. As a duly-elected Member of Congress representing hundreds of thousands of Arizonans, I cannot, in good conscience, allow any sort of bonus to be awarded to senior management at this rogue agency. As long as I remain a Member of this body, I will seek to ensure that this policy becomes law each and every fiscal year. It is my hope that this amendment will ultimately be signed into law and that no bonuses at all will be awarded in the next fiscal year. None should have been given this last year, but Commissioner John Koskinen decided to dole out bonuses anyway, despite the anger he knew it would cause. Overall, my hope is that this amendment will incentivize one of these senior executives at the IRS to come forth with copies of Lois Lerner's magically vanishing emails. Should that day come and should the Congress and the American people receive closure to this scandal, I will cease my efforts to prohibit these awards, and the IRS may begin the process of rebuilding the trust it has so blatantly violated. This agency has shown contempt for the American taxpayer, and the ensuing outrage at the IRS has been bipartisan. When the House voted on House Resolution 565 to demand that Attorney General Eric Holder appoint a special counsel to look into the scandal, 26 Democrats voted to support that measure. As I mentioned with my last IRS amendment, if you disapprove of the IRS leaking tax information about the President's political opponents, then support my amendment. If you disapprove of the IRS targeting conservative groups for their political beliefs, then support my amendment. If you disapprove of the IRS ignoring congressional subpoenas, then support my amendment. If you disapprove of this agency stonewalling Congress, destroying evidence, and lying to the American people, then support my amendment. Finally, if you disapprove of IRS senior executives receiving bonuses for their failures, then support my amendment. Again, I thank the chairman and ranking member for their continued work on the committee.

Mr. GOSAR. I will certainly yield to the chairman.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4185) 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. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. I thank the chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer a simple, but important, amendment, which will redirect resources in the bill to important entrepreneurial development programs with the SBA. Specifically, the amendment reduces a $3.8 million increase, above the fiscal year 2014 level, that was slated to go towards administration and bureaucracy. Instead, the amendment prioritizes spending and redirects those funds to important programs that actually help small businesses, like the HUBZone program, Small Business Development Centers, SCORE, women's business centers, the State and trade export promotion, Native American outreach, and veterans business outreach centers. If programs with the SBA are going to get an increase above fiscal year 2014 levels, it should be for worthwhile SBA programs, not bureaucracy. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and create on average seven out of every 10 new jobs. The SBA needs to continue to support worthwhile efforts that foster economic growth. The entrepreneurial development programs within the SBA do exactly that. In 2013, Small Business Development Centers helped nearly 15,000 entrepreneurs start businesses, providing counseling for nearly 65,000 others. SBDCs assist more than 530,000 clients annually and are a critical program for creating jobs and helping small businesses grow. In 2013, the SCORE program assisted with the creation of nearly 70,000 new jobs. The program provided important services that helped open the doors of nearly 40,000 businesses. I could go on about several other of the entrepreneurial development programs, but I think you get my point, so in the interest of time I will not. I will discuss, however, the offset of this amendment. The committee was critical of the Small Business Administration in the committee report accompanying this bill. I would like to quickly read a few excerpts from that report: The committee believes the SBA should especially focus on these ``true'' small businesses and less on larger businesses in ``high-growth'' areas that have more capacity and access to capital. The committee remains concerned about the quality of lender oversight at SBA. SBA's loan programs depend on an array of outside parties to be executed. In fiscal year 2011, the SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that more than half of the loan dollars guaranteed by the SBA were made using delegated authorities with limited oversight. In an OIG report released June 6, 2014, the OIG found that the SBA's Loan Guarantee Processing Center (LGPC) ``emphasized quantity over quality for 7(a) loan reviews,'' and loan specialists were not provided adequate guidance and training to conduct 7(a) loan review assignments. The committee has consistently provided SBA with robust resources and expects the SBA to appropriately fund the LGPC in order to provide a thorough review of all loans made by the center. SBA loans made without an effective review process leaves taxpayers on the hook for any defaults. The committee expects SBA to adopt the recommendations included in the OIG report and will continue to monitor the SBA's progress in this area. I ask my colleagues to support my commonsense amendment, and I thank the chairman and ranking member for their continued work on the committee. With that, I yield to the gentleman from Florida, the chairman.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act for the fiscal year 2015. My amendment is simple. It transfers resources from the General Services Administration, also known as GSA, to the U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. district courts, our Nation's bankruptcy courts, and other related judicial programs. Specifically, it gives the U.S. court system an additional $42 million, and it comes directly from the wasteful spending within the GSA. The $42 million transfer to the courts will put their budget in line with the budget request for fiscal year '15. Let me say that I have taken issue with government waste since my very first days in Congress. I knew it was bad, but I did not fully comprehend how bad things were until I actually got here and started to get my hands dirty while digging around for waste, fraud, and abuse. I take particular issue with the GSA. The mission of the GSA is to ``deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to government and the American people.'' Given the major GSA scandal involving wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars on conferences with clowns and fortunetellers and on YouTube rap videos, it is clear employees within this agency have lost sight of this mission. Furthermore, by our government's own estimates, there may be 77,000 empty or underutilized buildings across the country. The Office of Management and Budget estimates these buildings could be wasting hard- earned taxpayer dollars at a rate of up to $1.7 billion a year--yes, $1.7 billion. That is astonishing. We are even spending money on buildings that are completely empty because the grass needs mowing, the pipes must be maintained, the fences surrounding the buildings must be checked and repaired, and the list goes on and on. Again, I truly appreciate and applaud the excellent work the committee has done on this bill. It is a particularly tough one to craft this year in the wake of the IRS scandals and others. I do take issue with any increase whatsoever to GSA's budget for rental of space. We are wasting billions on empty buildings, and we are worried about billions in rental agreements--$5.5 billion in rental agreements. I would also like to note that the amount proposed in the underlying bill is over $700 million more than the entire court system of the United States. We are talking the Supreme Court, appellate courts, circuit courts, bankruptcy courts, and other Justice offices and initiatives. They are the third branch of government, and their budget is still $700 million less than the money spent on rental agreements. The judiciary enforces the rule of law, and it administers justice in a fair and impartial manner. In fact, it is our justice system that is possibly America's most attractive component to others around the world that yearn to be free and have a fair day in court, those who yearn for rights under the law. So, you see, there is something wrong with this disproportionate appropriation. One is for billions in waste, while the courts struggle with a steady rise in their caseload. Again, we are spending more than $700 million more on rent space than our courts, and we are wasting nearly $2 billion a year on buildings being empty or underutilized. At this point, this amendment should speak for itself. We are wasting billions on rent when we have empty spaces all over the place. We must either sell the empty buildings or cut GSA's rental of space budget. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of my commonsense amendment. I thank the chairman and ranking member for their continued leadership on the committee, and with that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I would like to point out that this is a 3 percent reduction, and it brings it back to 2007 levels. The Treasury inspector general has reported that the IRS has been wasting upwards of $15 billion a year--more than $140 billion since 2003--due to its failure to comply with Federal law to curb improper payments. I think what we could do is save taxpayers a lot more money if they just didn't call the IRS. This is a blatant disregard of basic civil liberties in the use of a government agency to harass, target, intimidate, and threaten lawful, honest citizens. We need to bring the IRS into compliance. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer a simple but important amendment which will save taxpayer money and demand accountability for one of the Federal Government's most invasive and rogue agencies--the IRS. This amendment reduces overall appropriations in the bill for the Internal Revenue Service by approximately 3 percent and brings funding for the IRS down to the FY 2007 appropriations. Current funding is between 2007 and 2008 levels. Additionally, my amendment still allows for more than $10.5 billion to go to the IRS. In this time during which we have over $7 trillion in debt and a deficit this year exceeding $500 billion, this is a modest reduction at best. Again, this amendment only makes a 3 percent reduction to bring the appropriations in line with the 2007 appropriations. More directly than the financial condition of the country is the fact that this agency has shown contempt for the American taxpayer. It has ignored Congress and ignored subpoenas. It has stonewalled. It has destroyed evidence. It has lied. It has abused its powers and targeted honest Americans for exercising their political beliefs. The list of scandals and examples of mismanagement within the IRS seems to grow every day. This agency, which aggressively pursues American citizens it believes deserve extra scrutiny, must understand that the IRS is, first and foremost, accountable to the American people, not the other way around. John Adams said that facts are stubborn things. In April, this body held former IRS Commissioner Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress for her role and testimony in relation to the IRS' targeting of conservative groups. Ms. Lerner acted with reckless disregard for the constitutional rights of United States citizens while working at the IRS, and she must be held accountable. The blatant disregard of basic liberties and the use of a government agency to harass, target, intimidate, and threaten lawful, honest citizens was the worst form of authoritarianism. President Obama erroneously claimed that there isn't even a ``smidgen of corruption'' in the IRS targeting scandal, and yet a trail of emails proves otherwise. Further, Ms. Lerner is still refusing to testify on the grounds that she fears criminal prosecution. She should. She lied to Congress. She abused her position. She violated the rights of Americans. She tried to harm the electoral process and intimidate voters. Getting the truth and demanding accountability from President Obama's IRS should not be too much to ask for. Yet officials in this administration continue to offer excuses and half-truths for what has developed into a disturbing trend of waste, fraud, and abuse. Tax information about the President's political opponents has been leaked, Americans were targeted for their political beliefs, and senior executives were given bonuses for their work. Waste and inefficiency have plagued the agency for years. The Treasury inspector general has reported the IRS has been wasting upwards of $15 billion a year--yes, that is 15 billion with a ``b''--more than $140 billion since 2003, due to its failure to comply with Federal law to curb improper payments. Democrats and Republicans across the country have been demanding that Congress do something other than hold hearing after hearing about the problems at the IRS. This amendment does something that Congress has the complete power to do--it uses the power of the purse. As you know, we don't have a lot of other options, but we do know that the IRS scandal is one of the most serious scandals ever engaged in by any administration. How can the American people trust the Federal Government to use their tax dollars efficiently when the agency tasked with collecting them squanders billions before they can even be appropriated? This amendment simply brings IRS funding to the 2007 levels. The IRS must prove that it can be trusted with the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people before it asks Congress to increase its budget. If you disapprove of the IRS' targeting of conservative groups for their political beliefs, then support my amendment. If you disapprove of the IRS' ignoring of congressional subpoenas, then support my amendment. If you disapprove of this agency's stonewalling of Congress, destroying evidence, and lying to the American people, then support my amendment. I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their continued work on the committee. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk, No. 178.

Mr. GOSAR. I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to thank Chairman Crenshaw and, indeed, Ranking Member Serrano for their leadership and the hard work that they have dedicated to the subcommittee. I would further like to thank the committee for including in the markup a language request I made during the programmatic request period. The policy I mentioned would preclude the agencies funded by this bill from hiring or contracting with outside organizations for the purpose of teaching the employees of those agencies how to support or defeat legislation being considered here in Congress. I first learned of this practice when reviewing Senator Tom Coburn's annual Wastebook and found that NASA and other agencies had multimillion-dollar contracts out so that their employees could learn more about Congress and the legislative process. Though I appreciate anyone's interest in Congress and the processes involved with conducting legislative business, I do not find this a prudent use of taxpayer money. So today I humbly request that, in any conference committee proceedings between the House and Senate, the chairman push to include such language in the government-wide provisions title of any final bill that would be voted upon by both Chambers rather than limiting this policy to those agencies funded directly by this bill. It is important to me and to my constituents that Congress does not appropriate any money to Federal agencies so that those Federal agencies can use the money to pay outside organizations to teach agency personnel to support or defeat legislation before Congress or so that they may learn about the legislative process. There are endless no-cost resources available on legislative process, committee memberships, budget outlays, and the like. My office has taken meetings with representatives from many agencies, and during those meetings, those agency representatives are free to ask about the legislative process. It should not take multimillion-dollar contracts and symposiums to achieve these ends. Again, I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their work and their consideration of this request.

Mr. GOSAR

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

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

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California, Chairman Issa, my distinguished colleague and the chairman of the committee.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The Federal Register Modernization Act is an important bill that will allow our government to better adapt to 21st century technology while both serving the public better and saving money. Much of the Federal recordkeeping and document publishing includes outdated requirements for printed version of documents. This is especially true for the Federal Register. Today, there are only 124 paid subscribers to the print version of the Federal Register. Despite this fact, the Federal Government is legally required to continue to produce a print version of the Register. Moreover, statutes biased towards paper-based communication also require Federal agencies to submit multiple physical copies of the same document for publication. The result is a nonsensical situation in which agencies must hand-deliver CDs to the Office of the Federal Register with identical versions of the same documents saved on it. This commonsense legislation will fix both of these issues. First, it will allow the Register to be published rather than printed, allowing for an eventual switch to a digital-only version, patterned off of the Federal Register's already award-winning Web site. Second, it will streamline the document submission process to eliminate the requirement for multiple copies and give the Register more freedom in how documents may be submitted. Importantly, this bipartisan proposal has the support of the administration, and I encourage all Members to support this legislation. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. 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 material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4195) to amend chapter 15 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Register Act), to modernize the Federal Register, and for other purposes.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California, Chairman Issa, my distinguished colleague and the chairman of the full Committee of Oversight and Government Reform.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The Smart Savings Act, H.R. 4193, would change the default investment fund for Thrift Savings Plan, or TSP, participants from the G Fund to an age-appropriate asset allocation fund consistent with a recommendation from the TSP governing board. The change would help ensure TSP participants are better prepared for retirement by investing their contributions in a fund designed to yield higher returns over the course of their career. Currently, new TSP participants are defaulted into the Government Securities Investment Fund, or the G Fund, and remain invested there until they can make an election reallocating their account balance into one or more of the other funding options. The G Fund comes with some risk. The TSP warns G Fund investors that their account may not grow enough to offset the reduction in purchasing power that results from inflation. The TSP's asset allocation funds are a mix of the TSP's offerings designed to help yield higher returns while decreasing risk as individual participants near retirement. While the funds expose participants to market risk, they address such risk in their design. In making its legislative recommendation to Congress, the TSP found that, had the asset allocation funds been the default investment option since the beginning of the automatic enrollment in 2010, participants would have achieved greater returns. Participants who do not want to assume the market risk associated with the L Fund will, of course, maintain their ability to determine their own allocation. That can include, for instance, transferring their entire balance to the G Fund if that is their desire. I appreciate the bipartisan support of Representatives Cummings, Woodall, Lynch, Farenthold, Connolly, and Delegate Norton, and urge support for this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. 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 material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4193) to amend title 5, United States Code, to change the default investment fund under the Thrift Savings Plan, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 4197, a great attempt to make sure there is fair and equitable access to the fair facts so that justice can be served. I urge all Members to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from the State of California (Mr. Issa).