Congressional Oversight Act

Bill: 115-hr-6245
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Gonzalez, Vicente [D-TX-15]
Introduced: 2018-06-27
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional oversight

Congressional-executive branch relations

Government buildings, facilities, and property
Latest action: action_date: 2018-06-27
text: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Summaries:
action_date: 2018-06-27
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Congressional Oversight Act</b></p> <p>This bill requires federal agencies to grant access to federal facilities for which Members of Congress have provided proper notice using specified procedures. </p> <ul> </ul>

tv_txt: I 115th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6245 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 27, 2018 Mr. Gonzalez of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform A BILL To require access to Federal facilities by Member of Congress, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Congressional Oversight Act . 2. Access to Federal buildings required for Members of Congress (a) Findings The Congress finds the following: (1) Members of Congress have a responsibility to conduct oversight and investigations over the agencies of the Federal Government. (2) Members of Congress must determine appropriate funding levels for the agencies of the Government. (3) Certain agencies have self-determined that they have the power to deny Members of Congress access to Federal facilities. (4) Members have the right and duty to inspect and observe any Federal agency, building, or facility at a time of their choosing and upon twenty-four hours’ notice. (b) Requirement The head of an agency must grant access to the Federal facility for which a Member of Congress has provided proper notice in accordance with subsection (c). (c) Proper notice For purposes of this section, proper notice means a Member of Congress has submitted a written notice (including by email, fax, or hand delivery) to an agency that— (1) the Member intends to visit a facility of the agency at least 24 hours before the time of the intended visit; (2) includes a description of the date and time of the visit, the facility to be visited, and the purpose of the visit; and (3) may be submitted to the head of the agency. (d) Agency defined The term agency has the meaning given that term in section 101 of title 31, United States Code.