Washington, D.C. -Today, Elijah E. Cummings, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, spoke at a press conference following the House passage of H.Res. 430, which authorizes committee chairs to go directly to court to fully enforce their subpoenas without a full House vote.
Below is a transcript of Chairman Cummings’s remarks:
Today marks a pivotal moment for Congress and our ability to conduct oversight as an independent branch of government.
None of us wanted to be in this position.
But the Trump Administration is challenging the very Constitutionality of congressional oversight-and it is happening in broad daylight.
This is not just about Russia.
This is a broad, coordinated campaign to stonewall investigations across the board-and it is being directed from the very top.
This entire year, the White House has not produced one document to the Oversight Committee.
Let me say that again-in all of our investigations, the White House has not turned over one single shred of paper in response to any of our requests.
* The hurricanes in Puerto Rico-the White House has produced nothing.
* Security clearance abuses-the White House has produced nothing.
* Efforts to transfer nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia-the White House has produced nothing.
* Hush money payments-the White House has produced nothing.
* Even on issues like spending taxpayer dollars to pay for private jets-the White House has again produced nothing.
It does not matter what the topic is-the tactics are the same. And this begs the question-what are they hiding? What are they hiding?
The Oversight Committee is being forced to vote tomorrow on whether to hold the Attorney General and the Secretary of Commerce in contempt of Congress for refusing to produce documents relating to the Census.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are in the fight for the soul of our democracy.
And we will use every tool available to us to hold this Administration accountable for its actions and ensure the government is working effectively and efficiently on behalf of all the people.
Thank you.
Watch his full remarks here.
