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FEDERALhearing transcript

House Oversight Committee Hearing on Government Accountability and Transparency

Original title: IMPROVING GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY

January 1, 2021

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The Frame

What this does

The hearing serves as the formal record for legislative discussions regarding potential changes to whistleblower protections, the disclosure of political appointees, and the oversight powers of Inspectors General.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Federal employees

Proposed changes to whistleblower protections and political appointee disclosures directly impact federal workplace rights and reporting requirements.

Inspectors General

The Inspector General Access Act would alter the scope of their investigative authority.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2021.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

This document is the official record of a May 3, 2021, House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing. The committee met to discuss legislative proposals aimed at increasing transparency and accountability within federal government operations.

Key Facts

  • The hearing was held on May 3, 2021, in the Rayburn House Office Building.
  • The committee reviewed support for the PLUM Act, which concerns the publication of information on political appointees.
  • The committee reviewed support for the Whistleblower Protection Improvement Act.
  • The committee reviewed support for the Inspector General Access Act.
  • The committee reviewed support for reforms to the Federal Advisory Committee Amendments Act.
  • The committee reviewed support for the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act.
  • Numerous documents were entered into the record, including GAO reports and letters from advocacy organizations regarding government reform.
  • The hearing record includes a November 23, 2020, letter from former GSA Administrator Emily Murphy to then President-elect Joe Biden.

Why It Matters

The hearing serves as the formal record for legislative discussions regarding potential changes to whistleblower protections, the disclosure of political appointees, and the oversight powers of Inspectors General.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the purpose of this hearing?
The hearing was held to examine legislative proposals intended to improve government accountability and transparency.
Who testified at the hearing?
Witnesses included representatives from the Partnership for Public Service, the Project on Government Oversight, the Democracy Fund, and The Heritage Foundation.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Lobbying Activity

AARP

$4,110,000

2026

HEALTH ISSUESMEDICARE/MEDICAIDLAW ENFORCEMENT/CRIME/CRIMINAL JUSTICEPHARMACY

P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 8867, Planning for Long-term Aging Needs (PLAN) Act H.R. 5861, Legacy Act of 2025 H.R. 9393, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. H.R. 9396, the Prior Authorization Accountability Act. S. 4916, the Aging with Artificial Intelligence Act. H.R. 8100, Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act. S. 3886, Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act. H.R. 6766/S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. H.R. 7966/S. 4118, Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. S. 2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 H.R. 5575, the Firefighters Assisting Seniors to Emergency Response (FASTER) Act of 2025. H.R. 3954/S. 4641, Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act. H.R.5554/S.2831, Stand Strong for Medicare Act. S. 3439/H.R. 6735, Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act and efforts related to the bill S. 1227/H.R. 2491, Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act S. 668/H.R. 3183, Supporting Access to Falls Education and Prevention and Strengthening Training Efforts and Promoting Safety Initiatives (SAFE STEPS) for Veterans Act of 2025 CMS-1851-P, Hospice Proposed rule. CMS-1843-P, Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed rule. CMS-1844-P, Home Health Proposed rule. No bill number. Health care transparency. No bill number. Discussed use of artificial intelligence and health data technology. No bill number. Discussed health-related policies and activities around the fall respiratory virus season. No bill number. Discussed health insurance affordability proposals. No bill number. Discussed Nursing Home staffing standards, safety, and quality. No bill number. Discussed Nursing home transparency and ownership requirements. No bill number. Discussed home health, hospice, and long-term care. No bill number. Discussed falls prevention. No bill number. Discussed social isolation. No bill number. Discussed HUD Assisted Living Requirements No bill number. Discussed family caregiving. No bill number. Discussed AARP paper on Medicare Caregiver Training Services. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid community engagement interim final rule, including the family caregiver exemption. No bill number. Discussed the paid direct care workforce in long-term care. No bill number. Discussed the unaffordability of long-term care. No bill number. Discussed Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and Medicaid HCBS spousal impoverishment protections. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid fraud and family caregivers, Medicaid self-direction programs. No bill number. Discussed sandwich generation family caregiver hearing and submitted a statement for the record discussing family caregivers and sandwich generation caregivers, programs that support them, AARP caregiving resources, and federal policies to support sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers more broadly. No bill number. Discussed long-term care. No bill number. CMS-2453-NC; Medicaid Program; 2028 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set Submitted comments No bill number. Discussed expanding access to home care. No bill number. Discussed the increasing cost of home care No bill number. Discussed HSA use for telehealth chronic care management services/subscriptions. No bill number. Discussed artificial intelligence and technology

Sponsors

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Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

cross reference90% confidence

Legislative Package Focus

The hearing served as a clearinghouse for multiple transparency-related bills, grouping them together for committee review.

Connected Entities

personCarolyn B. MaloneyChairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and ReformMap →
personElizabeth HempowiczWitness, Director of Public Policy at Project on Government OversightMap →
personJames ComerRanking Minority Member of the CommitteeMap →
personJames-Christian BlockwoodWitness, Executive Vice President of Partnership for Public ServiceMap →
personZack SmithWitness, Legal Fellow at The Heritage FoundationMap →
personRudy MehrbaniWitness, Senior Advisor at Democracy FundMap →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance60
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy20
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz15
    Current news / social attention level

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