GOP calls for budget reductions for agencies that do not cooperate with House Oversight Committee

EXCLUSIVE — Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are calling for budget cuts to federal agencies that have refused to cooperate with lawmakers’ investigations, accusing the Biden administration of obstructing congressional oversight.

In a letter sent to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) on Friday, a group of 22 House Republicans urged the Oklahoma Republican to “leverage the power of the purse” to compel government agencies to respond to document requests and other inquiries related to oversight investigations.

Lawmakers pressed Cole to include language in forthcoming appropriations bills to reduce or withhold funding from agencies that fail to cooperate, according to the letter, which was first obtained by the Washington Examiner.

“The Biden Administration has taken countless opportunities throughout this Congress to obstruct the Oversight Committee’s investigations aimed at ensuring federal agencies are accomplishing their duties for the American people,” Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) told the Washington Examiner. “These agencies must now face consequences for failing to comply with congressional requests, or we risk setting a dangerous precedent that response to future investigations is decided at the whims of agencies.”

The letter cites multiple instances in which the committee submitted information requests to Biden administration agencies, specifically naming the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Defense.

In all listed cases, the agencies either failed to comply or did so with delay, according to the letter.

“The appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2025 must signal to the Administration that its behavior will no longer be tolerated,” the lawmakers wrote. “And they can do that by clearly mandating that failure to comply with congressional oversight requests for documents and information will result in a loss or reduction of funding at a given agency to gain compliance.”

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The letter comes as House Republicans have repeatedly called on party leaders to leverage the power of the purse in order to advance certain agenda items. GOP lawmakers have frequently threatened to tank must-pass appropriations bills in exchange for border legislation, although those efforts have been largely unsuccessful over the last year.

It’s not clear how the Appropriations Committee will respond as lawmakers work over the next several weeks to craft spending legislation for the next fiscal year. The Washington Examiner contacted a spokesperson for Cole for comment.