Accountability
Transparency is not a partisan issue. The American people deserve accountability from their elected officials in Washington. I am committed to bringing transparency to my work by sharing information about each of my meetings on my website, introducing and supporting legislation to strengthen independent watchdog groups, and work to ensure that our government is accountable to the American people.
Introduced Legislation:
- Clean Legislating and Ethical Accountability Now (CLEAN) Act: makes the Office of Congressional Ethics a permanent body, protecting it from politically motivated changes, and giving it the tools it needs, including subpoena power, to investigate ethics violations.
- No Ongoing Perks Enrichment (NOPE) Act: prohibits first-class flights for members of Congress and staff, freezes Congressional pay, withholds pay unless a budget is passed, and increases the lobbying ban for members of Congress and staff from two years to five years.
- Government Shutdown Accountability and Economic Report Act of 2017: withholds Congressional pay during a government shutdown and requires daily reports on the impact and cost of the shutdown on the economy.
Cosponsored Legislation:
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Government By the People Act of 2017: reforms the financing of congressional elections by broadening participation by small dollar donors.
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Protecting Our Democracy Act: creates the National Commission on Foreign Interference in the 2016 Election to examine any attempts or activities by the Russian government or other governments, persons or entities to use electronic means to influence, interfere with, or sow distrust in the 2016 elections.
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No Budget, No Pay Act: withholds Congressional pay after October 1 of any fiscal year in which Congress has not approved a concurrent resolution on the budget and passed the regular appropriations bills.
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Establishing a Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress: Establishes an ad hoc committee to study the organization, operations, functions, and relevant interactions of the Members of Congress and to make recommendations to make such operations and organization more effective and efficient; make Congress and its Members more accountable; improve the orderly, timely, and effective consideration and disposal of legislation
More on Accountability
WASHINGTON—Today, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to block the administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Following news of the court’s decision, Congressman Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01) issued the following statement:
Opinion: Shape the future of your community, respond to the census
This year, Americans have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to participate in one of our government’s most important processes: the census.
Today, Congressman Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01) joined 137 other House Members in a bipartisan letter to Senate leadership urging them to pass legislation providing $25 billion in emergency grants to the United States Postal Service (USPS).
WASHINGTON—Today, Congressman Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01) announced his cosponsorship of the Justice in Policing Act, bicameral legislation to address police reform by improving transparency, setting standards for accountability, and helping rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they are sworn to protect and serve.
Sophia Sayles was excited to get her business back on track in January after taking time off to have a baby, now 2. Sayles, a citizen of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, said she had just invested in new technology and equipment as well as explored new services for her visual services business. “I have a photobooth, I do photo shoots, shoot and edit videos, and create slide shows for events,” she said.
VILLAGE OF OAK CREEK – Today, Congressman Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01) joined a bipartisan group of House members to cosponsor the Great American Outdoors Act, legislation to fully and permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and address priority repair needs in our national parks and other land management agencies.
VILLAGE OF OAK CREEK—Today, Congressman Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt urging the Departments to disburse the funding provided to the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) under the CARES Act as soon as possible.
VILLAGE OF OAK CREEK— Yesterday, Congressman Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01), along with Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01) and Congressman Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) held a conference call with FEMA leadership to discuss the significant delay tribal communities have experienced receiving COVID-19 resources and PPE from the federal government during this global pandemic.
Speaking with the Representatives were the Deputy Director of the Resource Support Section at the National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) and FEMA’s National Joint Information Center Tribal Liaison Officer.
Bipartisanship key to an effective pandemic response
Every day, I hear from Arizonans who are having trouble feeding their families or keeping the lights on at their small business—a complete 180 from two months ago.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected every facet of our lives, and Americans are looking to their elected leaders to find lasting, effective solutions to the issues we’re facing.