Chairman Goodlatte Introduces Bill to Halt DOJ Slush Fund Money to Activist Groups

Washington, D.C.— House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today introduced the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016 (H.R. 5063) to stop the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) “pattern or practice” of systematically subverting Congress’s budget authority by using settlements from financial institutions to funnel money to left-wing activist groups. This bipartisan bill bars the DOJ from requiring settling defendants to donate money to outside groups. An eighteen-month investigation by the House Judiciary and Financial Services Committees has revealed that DOJ has engaged in a "pattern or practice" of directing settlement funds to third-party groups.  In just the last 20 months, DOJ has used mandatory donation provisions to funnel as much as $880 million to third-party groups entirely outside of the Congressional appropriations and oversight process. On Thursday, April 28, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law will hold a hearing on the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016. Thursday’s hearing will feature witnesses with experience in Separation of Powers issues, Congress and the Justice Department:

• The Honorable Daniel Lungren, former Member of Congress and Attorney General of California.  Current Principal, Lungren Lopina LLC.
• Paul Figley, former Civil Division attorney. Current Associate Director of Legal Rhetoric, American University Washington College of Law.
• David Uhlmann, Jeffrey F. Liss Professor from Practice, University of Michigan of Law School.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law Subcommittee Chairman Tom Marino (R-Pa.) released the following statements prior to the hearing. Chairman Goodlatte: “This is fundamentally a bipartisan, institutional issue.  Congress’s spending power is its most effective tool for oversight and reining in Executive overreach. We must defend it. “This common sense bill merely ensures that settlement money goes either to direct victims or to the Treasury for the people’s elected representatives to decide how best to allocate these resources with appropriate oversight to ensure accountability. It is critical that we act. DOJ is ignoring Congress’s concerns -- increasing the use of mandatory donation terms, even as we object. “The purpose of DOJ enforcement actions should be punishment and redress to actual victims. Carrying that concept to communities at large or community groups, however worthy, is a matter for the Legislative branch and is not to be conducted at the unilateral discretion of the Executive.” Subcommittee Chairman Marino: “Over the past year and a half, our investigation has brought to light the unnerving lengths the Obama administration will go to promote its agenda. Even more disturbing are the efforts by the Department of Justice to impede the oversight responsibilities of this committee. Our Constitution ensures separation of powers by giving Congress the power of the purse. Executive agencies cannot simply divert funds intended for taxpayers and the U.S. Treasury to fulfill their own personal agendas. This type of blatant disregard for our Constitution is not only an affront to our system of checks and balances, but threatens our democratic process. I look forward to continuing this investigation and our sustained oversight of this administration.” Background:

• The Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016prohibits settlement terms that require donations to third-parties.  It states explicitly that payments to provide restitution for actual harm directly caused, including harm to the environment, are not donations.
• An investigation by the House Judiciary and Financial Services Committees reveals that, in just the last two years, DOJ has used mandatory donations to direct as much as $880 million dollars to activist groups.
• These payments occur entirely outside of the Congressional appropriations and oversight process.
• The House Judiciary Committee held two hearings in February 2015and May 2015 to question DOJ officials regarding these troubling settlement practices.
• The Committees also sent multiple oversight letters (November 2014and May 2015) to the Attorney General seeking documents and answers.
• DOJ continues to resist the information requests, but what information has been provided confirms that activist groups which stood to gain from mandatory donation provisions were involved in placing those provisions in the settlements.
• This bill is modeled after Chairman Goodlatte’s 2015 amendmentto the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 (H.R. 2578), which passed the House by a voice vote.
• The investigation is ongoing.

The hearing will take place in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building and will be webcast live at /. Camera crews wishing to cover must be congressionally credentialed and RSVP with the House Radio-TV Gallery at (202) 225-5214. Click here to learn more about this hearing.