WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the House Rules Committee, today issued the following statement after voting in favor of a bill to limit donations made pursuant to settlement agreements to which the United States is a party:
“In the last two years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has funneled as much as $880 million to third-party groups through lawsuit settlements. It was found that some of the groups benefitting from such donations lobbied the DOJ or had their funding cut by Congress. In one example, a company was required to give $150 million to housing non-profits, bypassing the Congressional appropriations and grant-oversight processes.
“Congress controls the power of the purse, not unelected bureaucrats. The DOJ is circumventing this important power of the legislative branch, and I proudly supported this bill to rein in executive branch overreach.”
For more information on H.R. 5063, Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016, click here.
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