Cummings, Quigley Transparency Bills Advance through Oversight Committee

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee passed "The Government Accountability Office Improvement Act," one of five reform bills included in H.R. 1144, which was introduced by Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings and all Committee Democrats in March.

The bill, which will strengthen the authority of GAO to access agency records, was added as an amendment to Chairman Issa's "Digital Accountability and Transparency Act," which passed the Committee without objection.

"Today was a small, but important step toward increasing Americans' access to their government," said Cummings. "Making it easier for our constituents to hold government accountable should be a bipartisan goal, and I am pleased that Chairman Issa has joined me in moving this important legislation forward."

Issa also agreed to consider two additional component pieces of Cummings' bill at the Committee's next business meeting. One is the Presidential Records Act Amendments, which would increase public access to presidential records by establishing statutory procedures prior to FOIA releases, and the other is the Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments, which would require agencies to disclose more information about advisory committees.

The Committee also passed Rep. Mike Quigley's bill, which will make all reports written for Congress by federal agencies available to the public.

"Thousands of reports to Congress containing vital information are sitting on shelves collecting dust," said Quigley. "Today is an important step toward passing a bill that ensures government's business is done transparently and is accountable to the people it serves."