FEDERALhearing transcript

Congressional Hearing on Federal Agency Document Delays

Original title: DOCUMENT PRODUCTION STATUS UPDATE: OPM, FBI AND GSA

January 1, 2019

congressional oversight government transparency document production federal agency accountability

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

The Frame

What this does

This hearing represents a formal effort by Congress to compel federal agencies to release internal records, which is a core mechanism for ensuring government accountability and transparency.

Who is mentioned in the record

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

OPM, FBI, and GSA

These agencies are required to justify their document production delays and provide solutions for future compliance.

House Committee on Oversight and Reform

The committee is attempting to exercise its constitutional oversight authority by obtaining records from executive agencies.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2019.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The House Subcommittee on Government Operations held a hearing on June 27, 2019, to address delays in by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the General Services Administration (GSA). The committee sought to understand why these agencies had not complied with previous congressional requests and to demand timely cooperation with oversight investigations.

Key Facts

The hearing was held on June 27, 2019, by the Subcommittee on Government Operations.
The primary purpose was to address the failure of OPM, the FBI, and the GSA to comply with congressional document requests.
The committee alleges a lack of cooperation and the use of stall tactics by these agencies.
Witnesses included representatives from OPM, the FBI, and the GSA.
The committee issued Questions for the Record (QFRs) to the FBI and GSA as part of the official record.
The hearing was convened to identify hurdles preventing compliance and to seek solutions for timely document production.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was this hearing held?

The hearing was held because the OPM, FBI, and GSA had not provided documents requested by the committee several months prior.

What are QFRs?

QFRs are 'Questions for the Record,' which are formal written questions submitted by committee members to witnesses to be answered after the hearing.

Why It Matters

This hearing represents a formal effort by Congress to compel federal agencies to release internal records, which is a core mechanism for ensuring government accountability and transparency.

News Coverage

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

Discoveries

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

policy shift90% confidence

Formalization of Oversight

The use of a dedicated hearing to address document production delays indicates a breakdown in standard informal information-sharing between the executive and legislative branches.

Office of Personnel Management Federal Bureau of Investigation General Services Administration

Connected Entities

personRobert Borden“Chief of Staff, General Services Administration”Map →

personGerald E. Connolly“Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations”Map →

organizationGeneral Services Administration“Subject of document production inquiry”Map →

organizationFederal Bureau of Investigation“Subject of document production inquiry”Map →

personStephen Billy“Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Office of Personnel Management”Map →

organizationOffice of Personnel Management“Subject of document production inquiry”Map →

personJill C. Tyson“Assistant Director, Office of Congressional Affairs, FBI”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance65
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy60
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment30
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

Publisher tools