The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) inspector general has come out with a report about Operation Fast and Furious, an ill-conceived gun-smuggling investigation to identify the cartel leaders behind a firearms trafficking network that resulted in more than 2,000 high-powered weapons ending up in the hands of dangerous thugs. Two of …
On the heels of the Obamacare Supreme Court ruling that upheld the individual mandate, the House of Representatives voted 244–185 to fully repeal the law. Recent hearings before the Ways and Means and Oversight and Government Reform committees provide further reason why full repeal is necessary. The Ways and Means …
President Obama claims he’s overseen the creation fewer regulations than his predecessors. But his administration has actually issued far more expensive and economically costly regulations, adding billions of dollars in compliance costs for businesses and job creators. The red tape is documented in a new report by the House Oversight …
The House of Representatives will vote today on contempt charges for Attorney General Eric Holder related to his involvement in Operation Fast and Furious. The vote follows Holder’s refusal to produce documents requested by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, led by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA). The following is …
President Obama invoked executive privilege to prevent further congressional oversight of the Justice Department’s Fast and Furious operation on the same day it bemoaned the supposed lack of transparency among some conservative non-profits. Jim Messina, Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, touted efforts on the campaign’s website to get Crossroads GPS, a …
As a strong defender of executive power (when properly exercised) and executive privilege (when properly invoked), I am concerned when claims of executive power or privilege are abused for any reason—especially if they are invoked to shield potential wrongdoing. In addition to shielding the wrongdoing, it jeopardizes the very executive …
Congressional investigators are probing potential cronyism in a pair of federal green energy programs, including the Energy Department loan program that guaranteed a $535 million loan to now-bankrupt solar company Solyndra. In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar sent on Tuesday, embedded below, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), chairman of …
Congressional investigators are probing a decision by the Federal Elections Commission to drop a case against a major teachers’ union that allegedly violated federal law by forcing union members to donate to its political action committee. Claire Waites, an eighth grade science teacher and member of the National Education Association, …
Food-stamp fraud and the government’s failed attempts to stop it were the focus of a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing yesterday. Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) called the hearing in response to a Scripps Howard News Service investigative report exposing widespread abuse. The investigation revealed that retailers who lost …