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house Bill H.R. 72

Does the Government Accountability Office Need More Power to Investigate Fraud?

Argument in favor

The Government Accountability Office shouldn’t be stonewalled by federal agencies that don’t want potential fraud revealed, and this bill clarifies that they have the authority to carry out their investigations.

Heidi's Opinion

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01/17/2017

Constituents are really scared. I'm 54 and have never felt terrified of my government before. We are heading down a dark, dark path. No one seems willing or able to stand up and lead effectively. The office of oversight is one of the few voices we have left. Please...senators and house members, search your souls and stand up for American democracy. We are going to lose it on Friday the 20th of January.

Like (199)

Diane's Opinion

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01/18/2017

Let's start with investigating Trump for fraud

Like (135)

Noah's Opinion

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01/17/2017

To those who oppose this: why should bipartisan support be the deciding factor for supporting this? This is not an issue of political parties; this is an issue of protecting our democracy. The president's fondness of dictators and authoritarian regimes is too serious to be seen as a joke.

Like (105)

Argument opposed

The Government Accountability Office can investigate fraud and improper payments in unemployment insurance programs without accessing the National Directory of New Hires database.

Jlshannon's Opinion

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01/17/2017

This is, as presented, far too vague and seemingly benign. If it's hiding something, it could, as others have said, lead to ideological witch hunts, which are already far too debilitating to our system of government. We already have watchdog groups with adequate power, if not political backing. If this bill is as benign as it seems, it's likely, therefore, unnecessary. We should instead perhaps give (back) more power to the ethics board overseeing Congress, which, despite announcements, has had cuts to its authority and utility. And, if we're frank, Congress probably needs greater oversight at this point than our various agencies, which are already monitored and, when properly done, held accountable. Let's instead propose a bill that more closely and independently monitors our Congresspeople and their actions or lack thereof.

Like (67)

Jeff's Opinion

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01/17/2017

As an ardent supporter of our government accountability organizations. I initially wanted to support this bill. However, I then remembered that the Holman rule exists, that President-elect Trump demanded the names of federal employees working on politically-sensitive projects, and that agencies successfully thwarted his request. This bill would empower the GAO to access the federal new hires list, which is surely categorized by agency and reveals new employees' job titles. While this would likely prevent fraud on occasion, it would also provide a new tool for Congress to more-easily cripple individual government agencies by essentially firing new employees they hire for politically-sensitive projects. The provision of standing to sue for information is also great, but is concerning for the same reasons. In more reasonable times, this would be a great bill. But not now.

Like (53)

Ivanfdez00's Opinion

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01/17/2017

This sounds like yet another opportunity for congress to perform witch hunts with a goal to take away power and authority from federal agencies. Ensure there are controls in place so individual members aren't misusing this new power. Comparing this to the wishes of congress to remove power from the ethics review board, and it sounds like the house and senate are trying to consolidate power in congress while taking away the people's ability to have oversight over congress itself by hiding access to information that is supplied and investigated because of ethics cases.

Like (39)

bill Progress

EnactedJanuary 31st, 2017
The President signed this bill into law
The senate Passed January 17th, 2017
Roll Call Vote 99 Yea / 0 Nay
The house Passed January 4th, 2017
Passed by Voice Vote
IntroducedJanuary 3rd, 2017

Bill Activity

01/03/2017
action
Introduced in House
01/03/2017
referral
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
01/04/2017
action
Mr. Chaffetz moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
01/04/2017
action
Considered under suspension of the rules.
01/04/2017
action
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 72.
01/04/2017
vote
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
01/04/2017
action
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
01/05/2017
referral
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
01/17/2017
action
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
01/17/2017
vote
Passed Senate without amendment by Yea-Nay Vote. 99 - 0. Record Vote Number: 28.
01/17/2017
action
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
01/23/2017
topresident
Presented to President.
01/31/2017
signed
Signed by President.
01/31/2017
enacted
Became Public Law No: 115-3.

bill Progress

EnactedJanuary 31st, 2017
The President signed this bill into law
The senate Passed January 17th, 2017
Roll Call Vote 99 Yea / 0 Nay
The house Passed January 4th, 2017
Passed by Voice Vote
IntroducedJanuary 3rd, 2017

Bill Data

Issues

Government

Committees

Committee on Oversight and Reform
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Sponsor

Rep Buddy Carter

(R - GA)

0 Cosponsors

Introduced 01/03/2017

Full text of Bill

Heidi's Opinion In Favor

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01/17/2017

Like (199)

Jlshannon's Opinion Against

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01/17/2017

Like (67)

Diane's Opinion In Favor

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01/18/2017

Let's start with investigating Trump for fraud

Like (135)

Noah's Opinion In Favor

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01/17/2017

Like (105)

Jeff's Opinion Against

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01/17/2017

Like (53)

Ivanfdez00's Opinion Against

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01/17/2017

Like (39)

William's Opinion In Favor

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01/18/2017

In the tumultuous times of corruption we live in, we need all the accountability we can get.

Like (24)

billyaugust's Opinion In Favor

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01/17/2017

Accountability and ethics are going to be the most important ideas moving forward with the next administration. When you have a President who lies as easily as breathing air, that attitude will trickle down through every department unless kept in check.

Like (19)

Ladd's Opinion Against

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01/17/2017

I won't support this bill without a bipartisan co-sponsor. UPDATE: It's apparently already a done deal. Had virtual bipartisan support, apparently.

Like (15)

Leo's Opinion In Favor

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01/17/2017

Agencies should not hide what they do. That practice indicates that something fishy is going on.

Like (11)

Nicole's Opinion In Favor

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01/17/2017

The GAO is more necessary than ever. It needs more information and training first, and then more authority, to deal with fraud. The best thing would be to hire professional investigators and go from there.

Like (10)

partlycloudypatriot's Opinion Against

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01/17/2017

While this looks safe on the surface, this will be used for witch hunts when the office is restaffed. They don't need this power when the justice department already has the power to prosecute fraud. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Like (10)

Stephen's Opinion In Favor

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01/18/2017

Conservatives are always claiming there's lots of waste and fraud, especially the President-Elect. Let's give the GAO the power to investigate that.

Like (9)

DavisTrev's Opinion In Favor

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01/18/2017

Washington has a corruption problem! Money rapidly flowing in from corporations and special interest groups (check out ALEC scandal in GA) through lobbyists and "nonprofit" 501c "charity" groups is - no exaggeration - undermining our democratic republic. We need more ethics and honesty in Washington. Toward that end we must have more independent watch dogs, more transparency, and ultimately more accountability. Strong independent ethics, such as the office of congressional ethics (OCE) should not be gutted (literally the first attempted act of the 115th Congress) or "defanged" - instead we need to bolster ethics commitments in Congress. If your representative is against this, ask them why? What have they got to hide? When our elected leaders spend taxpayers dollars they should be accountable, never attempting to "plead the fifth" on their spending accounts! We the People deserve moral leaders, not figureheads that are for sale to the highest bidder.

Like (7)

Jeannette 's Opinion In Favor

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01/18/2017

This would not save millions but billions. To stop fraud inside government and out then provide the tools necessary and clear the way. I wish this was made so before our fraudulent BHO had started his 8 years or even Bush for that matter!

Like (7)