On the recordJune 28, 2018
Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers. If the gentleman is ready to close, I will be as well. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, as I said at the outset, there are lots of things that we should be doing oversight on and that they we are not. The Oversight Committee has chosen not to look into all the scandals in this White House. They have chosen instead to look the other way. I mentioned EPA Administrator Pruitt. He has demonstrated over and over that he has no regard for taxpayer money. He is living a lifestyle of the rich and famous at EPA. He has no respect for his position and no desire to follow our ethics law. His many abuses of his position demand that we fully investigate his actions. For example--I love this--he spent $43,000 on installing a soundproof booth in his office. Who does that? GAO stated that he was required to notify Congress before spending more than $5,000 on office improvements, but he goes ahead and spends $43,000 on a soundproof booth, I guess to make private phone calls. He racked up nearly $200,000 flying first class and luxury aircraft on the taxpayers' dime. One of those trips was to Italy. It cost $30,000. He rented an apartment from an energy lobbyist for $50 a night here in Washington. He enlisted an aide to help find his wife a job. You can't make this stuff up. And crickets from the Oversight Committee and my Republican friends in Congress.…