On the same day on which former President Donald Trump (R) was indicted on seven federal counts (the first time a President has ever been charged federally), Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) introduced the Agency Subpoena Compliance Act.
The bill would require the Executive Branch to bring forth reports to Congress concerning subpoenas handled by any federal agency in the past fiscal year.
Failure to produce the report would result in a two percent reduction of funding for the Executive Office of the President. For every week that the report fails to reach Capitol Hill, another two percent of the funding would be rescinded.
Moreover, the legislation necessitates that the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Senate Homeland Security Committee hold respective hearings on the Executive Branch’s report to “determine whether agencies complied with lawfully issued subpoenas.” Should they find that an issued subpoena was not properly complied with, Congress would then be required to reduce the agency’s funding by one-half of a percent.
“Joe Biden and the Democrats like to use the balance of Democracy as a cheap political slogan while consistently subverting the rule of law and the very system of government they claim to be saving,” stated Rep. Donalds. “Congress has the constitutional obligation to place checks on the Executive, and efforts by this administration to evade accountability won't fly under the House GOP majority. I am proud to introduce this bill and bring much-need accountability to this lawless administration.”
Co-sponsors of the bill include Congresswomen Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Marjory Taylor Greene (R-GA).
Both Reps. Donalds and Paulina Luna voted against the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, the debt ceiling agreement bill that allowed the government to pay its bills.
However, some Republicans such as Donalds believe that the agreement is a win for the Biden administration.
"This bill actually keeps the Biden baseline intact for the federal agencies. The Republicans in Congress have been saying for months that we need to get back to pre-Covid spending levels. This bill canonizes post-Covid spending levels brought to us by Joe Biden and the Democrats. This bill keeps all of Joe Biden's policies, all of Joe Biden's spending intact," Donalds stated.
This is the 34th bill that the Florida Representative has introduced in the 118th Congress.
