Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Virginia for yielding, and I thank Mr. Knight and Mr. Mitchell for their leadership on this. I also want to thank Ranking Member Elijah Cummings for all that he has done to try to get the answers about executive branch background checks. For over 6 months, various Oversight and Government Reform Committee members have been working to get basic answers from the White House about its process for granting security clearances. In a February 2017 hearing, my colleague, Congresswoman Plaskett, asked the Director of the National Background Investigations Bureau if any senior administration officials with access to sensitive material were under criminal investigation. Chairman Chaffetz specifically asked the Office of Personnel Management to get back to Representative Plaskett about her request. Unfortunately, neither OPM nor NBIB have answered these basic questions. That is why I am pleased that the Oversight and Government Reform Committee unanimously adopted my amendment during consideration of H.R. 3210 last week. My amendment is very simple. It requires the NBIB to report to Congress on the process for conducting and adjudicating security clearances at the White House. This bill is a necessary first step for Congress to conduct the oversight necessary to ensure that all personnel in the U.S.…”