Goodlatte Praises Passage of Bill to Stop the Executive Branch from Funding of Liberal Pet Projects Through Bank Settlements
September 7, 2016
Washington, D.C. —House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) praised the bipartisan passage of the “Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016” (H.R. 5063) by the House of Representatives by a vote of 241-174.
Introduced by Chairman Goodlatte, this bill bars the Department of Justice (DOJ), and all other government agencies, from requiring defendants to donate money to outside groups as part of their settlement agreements with the federal government.
Need for this legislation became apparent after a 20-month House Judiciary Committee investigation found that DOJ had engaged in a “pattern or practice” of systematically subverting Congress’s spending power by using settlements from financial institutions to funnel money to left-wing activist groups. This bill would end this practice and restore accountability to the appropriations process.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte released the following statements upon passage of the bill:
“Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, the Constitution is clear: Congress shall have the power to appropriate. “The practices discovered within the DOJ must be stopped. The passage of this bill by the House ensures the recovered funds are used to benefit direct victims and not special interests, and brings accountability to the Executive Branch as a whole.” Background:
- The “Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016”prohibits 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, the 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 a hearing, in February 2015to question DOJ officials regarding these troubling settlement practices.
- The Committees also sent multiple oversight letters, including two to the DOJ (November 2014and May 2015) seeking documents and answers.
- Documents obtained by the Committee confirm 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.
- A legislative hearingon the bill was held on April 28, 2016 within the Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law.