Committee
Chairs Introduce Bill to Strengthen GAO
Chairman Henry A. Waxman and 18 other committee chairs introduced
legislation to strengthen the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and
restore GAO’s authority to pursue litigation if documents are improperly
withheld from the agency.
Committee to Hold
Hearing on Air Force Refueling Tanker Contract
Chairman Waxman announced that the Oversight Committee would hold a
hearing July 15 to examine the actions of the Air Force in awarding the
contract to manufacture aerial refueling tanker aircraft.
Committee
Holds Hearing on Governance and Financial Accountability of Rural
Cooperatives: The Pedernales Experience
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing titled,
“Governance and Financial Accountability of Rural Cooperatives: The
Pedernales Experience” on Thursday, June 26, 2008, in 2154 Rayburn House
Office Building.
June 24, 2008
Committee Holds
Hearing on Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at K-Town: One Year Later
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing
titled, “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at K-Town: One Year Later” on Wednesday,
June 25, 2008, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.
June
20, 2008
White House Asserts
Executive Privilege over Environment Documents
President Bush has asserted executive privilege over thousands of
pages of documents that would show whether the President and his staff
complied with the Clean Air Act in overruling EPA Administrator Stephen
Johnson on important environmental decisions.
June 19, 2008
Committee Holds
Hearing on Grantmaking Practices at the Department of Justice
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing
titled, “Examining Grantmaking Practices at the Department of Justice” on
Thursday, June 19, 2008, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.
June 16, 2008
Agencies
Submit 5-year Action Plan for Uranium Contamination in the Navajo Nation
In response to a request by Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis,
five federal agencies jointly submitted to the Committee a five-year
action plan to begin cleaning up the widespread uranium contamination in
the Navajo Nation.
June 11, 2008
Committee
Holds Hearing on 2010 Census
The Full Committee and the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census
and National Archives held a joint hearing on “2010 Census: Assessing the
Census Bureau’s Progress,” at 10:00 a.m. on June 11, in 2154 Rayburn
House Office Building.
June 9, 2008
Committee
Releases Proposed Abramoff Report
Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis issued a proposed Committee
report on White House contacts with Jack Abramoff that concludes that Mr.
Abramoff had personal contact with President Bush, that high-level White
House officials held Mr. Abramoff and his associates in high regard and
solicited recommendations from them on policy matters, that Mr. Abramoff
and his associates influenced some White House actions, and that Mr.
Abramoff and his associates offered White House officials expensive
tickets and meals.
June 4, 2008
Chairman
Waxman Announces Second Hearing on FEMA’s Toxic Trailers
As a follow up to last year’s hearing on FEMA’s toxic trailers,
Chairman Waxman announced that the Committee will hold a hearing
Wednesday, July 9, regarding the elevated levels of formaldehyde in the
travel trailers FEMA provided to victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes of
2005. Chairman Waxman requested information from four manufacturers of
the travel trailers with significantly higher levels of formaldehyde and
has invited them to testify at the hearing.
June 3, 2008
New
Questions about Vice President Cheney’s Role in CIA Leak
Chairman Waxman urged Attorney General Mukasey to turn over the FBI
interviews of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, citing new
information from the FBI interview of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and the
recent disclosures by Scott McClellan.
May 29, 2008
Rep. Waxman's
Statement Commemorating the Armenian Genocide
May 22, 2008
House
Passes Waxman Clean Contract Amendment
The House of Representatives voted to include in the Defense
Authorization bill the Waxman Clean Contracting amendment, which is a
response to pervasive waste, fraud, and abuse uncovered by congressional,
GAO and Inspector General investigations. The Clean Contracting amendment
would (1) require agencies to enhance competition in contracting, (2)
limit the use of abuse-prone contracts, (3) rebuild the federal
acquisition workforce, (4) strengthen anti-fraud measures, and (5)
increase transparency in federal contracting.
`
Committee Holds
Hearing on Accountability Lapses in Multiple Funds for Iraq
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a hearing titled,
“Accountability Lapses in Multiple Funds for Iraq” in 2154 Rayburn House
Office Building.
May 19, 2008
White House Involved
in California Waiver Denial
New documents and testimony obtained by the Committee show that EPA
career staff unanimously supported granting California’s request for a
waiver to enforce its greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and
trucks. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson also supported granting the
petition, at least in part, until he communicated with the White House.
May 15, 2008
Committee Holds
Hearing on Defense Base Act Insurance
Chairman Waxman and the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform held a hearing titled, “Defense Base Act Insurance: Are
Taxpayers Paying Too Much?” on Thursday, May 15, 2008, in 2154 Rayburn
House Office Building.
May 13, 2008
Committee Holds
Hearing on Whether FDA Regulation Should Bar Liability Claims
Chairman Waxman and the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform held a hearing titled, “Should FDA Drug and Medical
Device Regulation Bar State Liability Claims?” on Wednesday, May 14,
2008, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.
April 23, 2008
Oversight Committee Holds
Hearing Assessing the Evidence of Domestic Abstinence-Only Programs
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a hearing titled
“Domestic Abstinence-Only Programs: Assessing the Evidence”.
April 22, 2008
Chairman Waxman,
Chairman Markey, and Rep. Inslee Release Principles for Global Warming
Legislation
Today on Earth Day, three Congressional leaders on climate and energy
issues laid out principles for any effective legislative solution to the
challenge of global warming. Chairman Henry A. Waxman, Chairman Ed Markey
and Rep. Jay Inslee released “Principles for Global Warming Legislation,”
which are designed to provide a framework for Congress as it produces
legislation to establish an economy-wide mandatory program to cut global
warming emissions.
April 17, 2008
Oversight Committee
Passes Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act
On Wednesday, April 16, the Committee passed H.R. 5781, the Federal
Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2008, which would provide four weeks
of paid parental leave for all federal employees. Employees will also for
the first time be allowed to use their accrued sick leave for an
additional eight weeks of paid leave. By combining the four weeks of paid
parental leave with earned sick leave, many federal employees will now be
able to get paid for the full 12 weeks of parental leave that is their
right under the existing Family and Medical Leave Act.
April 16, 2008
Healthcare-Associated
Infections: A Preventable Epidemic
The Committee held a hearing titled, “Healthcare-Associated
Infections: A Preventable Epidemic”.
April 14, 2008
House Passes Contracting
and Tax Accountability Act of 2007
On April 14, 2008, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4881, the
Contracting and Tax Accountability Act of 2007, which prohibits companies
with seriously delinquent federal tax debts from receiving new contracts.
April 11, 2008
Joint Statement of
Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis
Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Ranking Minority Member Tom Davis
released a joint statement in response to an announcement by Major League
Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association that they have
agreed on an enhanced drug policy.
April 2, 2008
Rep. Waxman's
Statement on H.R. 5501, the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States
Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
Reauthorization Act of 2008
March 31, 2008
Chairman Waxman's
Statement on EPA’s Final Rule on Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting
Chairman Henry A. Waxman released a statement in
response to EPA’s issuance of a final rule on lead renovation, repair,
and painting.
March 27, 2008
Chairman
Waxman's Statement on EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Decision
Chairman Henry A. Waxman released a statement in
response to a letter from EPA Administrator Johnson.
March 14, 2008
Oversight
Committee Releases GAO Report on CDC Budget
Chairman Waxman released a new GAO report, which
examines how spending at CDC changed between 2003 and 2006, following the
2005 administrative restructuring of the agency. Among the report’s
findings is that spending at the division level, where most funds go to pay
for public health projects, declined faster than at the leadership and
management levels.
March 13, 2008
GAO Report Finds
EPA Library Closures Flawed
A new report by the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) found that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)
efforts to close regional and research libraries around the country have
been plagued by managerial problems.
March 12, 2008
EPA Efforts to
Regulate Carbon Dioxide Stymied
Senior EPA officials have told the Committee
that after the agency concluded in December that CO2 emissions
were a danger to the United States and proposed significant cuts in motor
vehicle emissions, the agency’s regulatory efforts were halted.
March 12, 2008
Oversight
Committee Releases Report “FDA and Fresh Spinach Safety”
The Committee released a report that found significant lapses in the
FDA’s current inspection regime for packaged fresh spinach, which is the
agency’s primary means of ensuring the safety of such products.
March 11, 2008
Chairman Waxman
Introduces H.R. 5575, the "Moratorium on Uncontrolled Power Plants
Act"
Today Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Chairman Edward J. Markey
introduced H.R. 5575, the “Moratorium on Uncontrolled Power Plants Act of
2008.” The legislation addresses the largest new source of global warming
pollution — new coal-fired power plants that are being built without any
controls on their global warming emissions.
March 7, 2008
Committee
Holds Hearing on CEO Pay and the Mortgage Crisis
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
held a hearing titled, “Executive Compensation II: CEO Pay and the
Mortgage Crisis.”
March 3, 2008
The Administration's Medicaid Regulations: State-By-State Impacts
Today Chairman Henry A. Waxman released a new
report: The Administration’s Medicaid Regulations: State-by-State
Impacts. The report details the state-by-state impacts of seven
regulations issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service
(CMS) that would make major, wide-ranging changes in Medicaid, the
nation’s largest low-income health care program.
February 29, 2008
New
Inspection Reports Reveal Deficiencies in the Construction of the U.S.
Embassy in Iraq
New documents released by Chairman Waxman identify
“critical” and “major” deficiencies in the construction of the new U.S.
Embassy in Baghdad, raising questions about the decision of the State
Department to certify in December that the Embassy compound was
“substantially complete.”
February 26, 2008
Committee
Holds Hearing on Electronic Records Preservation at the White House
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing entitled “Electronic Records Preservation at the White House.”
February 13, 2008
Chairman
Waxman Holds Second Day of Hearings on the Mitchell Report and Steroids
in Baseball
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing entitled “The Mitchell Report: The Illegal Use of Steroids in
Major League Baseball, Day 2.” This hearing examined allegations of
steroid use by Roger Clemens and several other major league players that
appeared in Senator George Mitchell’s Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an
Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other
Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball.
February 12,
2008
Oversight
Committee Holds Hearing on Myths and Facts about Human Growth Hormone,
B12, and Other Substances
The Oversight Committee held a hearing examining
the myths and facts about performance-enhancing substances such as human
growth hormone, B12 and other substances.
January 29, 2008
Chairman Waxman Holds Hearing on
CDC Program Providing Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing that examined the National Breast and Cervical Cancer program,
which is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and provides mammograms, pap smears, and other screening exams for
breast and cervical cancer to low-income women without another source of
coverage.
January 15, 2007
Chairman Waxman Holds Hearing on Steroids in Major League Baseball and
the Mitchell Report
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing entitled “The Mitchell Report: The Illegal Use of Steroids in
Major League Baseball.” This hearing examined Senator George Mitchell’s
investigation into the illegal use of steroids in Major League Baseball.
December 19, 2007
Chairman
Waxman’s Statement on EPA Denial of California Waiver Request
Chairman Henry A. Waxman released a statement in
response to EPA’s denial of California’s waiver request.
December 13, 2007
Chairman
Waxman and Rep. Davis Issue Joint Statement on Mitchell Report
Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Ranking Minority Member
Tom Davis released a statement following the release of the Mitchell
Report. Chairman Waxman has scheduled a hearing on January 15, 2008 to
further examine steroid use and the Mitchell report.
December 13, 2007
Oversight Committee Hearing
Assesses Veterans' Charities
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing to examine whether all the charitable groups raising money for
the purpose of helping our nation’s veterans are genuinely serving that
need. Concerns have been raised that some charities are conducting high
volume mail and telemarketing campaigns that enrich the organizations and
fundraisers but fail to provide meaningful assistance to veterans.
December 12, 2007
Committee
Report: White House Engaged in Systematic Effort to Manipulate Climate
Change Science
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee
approved a report that concludes that the Bush Administration has
censored climate change scientists, edited climate change reports, and
misled policymakers and the public about the dangers of global warming.
December 6, 2007
Speech:
“Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines: The importance of
reaching a balance between innovation and access”
December 5, 2007
Chairman
Waxman Holds Hearing Examining Executive Pay and Compensation Consultants
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing to examine the role played by compensation consultants in
determining the pay packages of senior executives at the largest publicly
traded corporations.
November 15, 2007
One Year Later: Have TSA Airport
Security Checkpoints Improved?
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee
examined whether TSA’s airport security checkpoints have improved over
the last year. The hearing reviewed the findings of an investigation
conducted by GAO into the effectiveness of airport security checkpoints. A GAO report
detailed an undercover investigation that found significant
vulnerabilities in airport security.
November 14, 2007
Chairman Waxman Holds Hearing
Assessing the State Department Inspector General
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing to assess the performance of State Department Inspector General
Howard J. Krongard following a series of allegations that the Inspector
General halted investigations, censored reports, and refused to cooperate
with law enforcement agencies.
November 8, 2007
Chairman Waxman Holds Hearing
Examining Implications of EPA's Failure to Address Global Warming
Pollutants
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing that examined the implications of the Environmental Protection
Agency’s refusal to consider the global warming effects of a coal-fired
power plant’s greenhouse gas emissions in a recent permitting decision.
November 7, 2007
Chairman
Waxman Holds Hearing Examining the Public Health Consequences of
Drug-Resistant Infections
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing to examine the public health consequences of infections of
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) outside of hospitals
and other healthcare settings.
November 7, 2007
Rep. Waxman's
Statement in Support of the Employee Non-Discrimination Act
November 7, 2007
Rep. Waxman's
Statement in Support of the U.S. - Peru Free Trade Agreement
November 6, 2007
Rep. Waxman's
Statement Regarding H.R. 333, a Motion Recommending the Impeachment of
Vice President Dick Cheney
November 6, 2007
Rep. Waxman's Statement in Opposition to Abstinence-Only
Funding in the Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill
November 1, 2007
Chairman
Waxman Holds Hearing Examining Regulatory Actions on Medicaid
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing to examine a range of regulatory changes regarding the Medicaid
program that have recently been made by the Department of Health and
Human Services.
October 31, 2007
Chairman
Waxman Holds Hearing Examining Oil and Gas Exemptions from Federal
Environmental Protections
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing examining the applicability of federal environmental and health
requirements to onshore oil and gas development.
October 25, 2007
Representative Waxman's
Floor Speech on H.Res. 759, Recognizing the 40th Anniversary of the Mass
Movement for Soviet Jewish Freedom and the 20th Anniversary of the
Freedom Sunday Rally for Soviet Jewry on the Mall in Washington, D.C.
October 25, 2007
Chairman
Waxman Holds Hearing on the State Department and the Iraq War
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testified at an
Oversight Committee hearing focusing on the State Department’s
performance on several significant issues relating to the Iraq war,
including the impact of the activities of Blackwater USA and corruption
within the Iraqi ministries on the prospects of political reconciliation
in Iraq.
October 18, 2007
Chairman Waxman
Holds Hearing Examining Black Carbon and Global Warming
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing to examine the role of black carbon as a factor in climate change
and receive testimony from experts regarding its global and regional
impacts, its sources, and the risks it raises for public health.
October 16, 2007
House Passes Resolution on Iraq
Corruption
Today the House with a vote of 395-21 passed the
Iraq Corruption Resolution, introduced on Friday, October 12, 2007, by
Chairmen Waxman and Tierney. In his statement on the House floor,
Chairman Waxman called the State Department abuses of the classification
system “outrageous” and demanded answers to questions about corruption in
Iraq.
October 10, 2007
Fictitious American Spectator
Story Creates Confusion
On October 8, 2007, the American Spectator printed a fictitious story alleging that Congressman Waxman
and the House Oversight Committee were investigating conservative and
Republican talk show radio programs. The American Spectator report is
completely false and was written without any documentation or
attribution. There is not now nor has there ever been any investigation
of this subject. But even though there is no truth to the story, the hoax
has been repeated on Fox News (transcript)
and several blogs (Family Research Council, Instapundit,
RenewAmerica).
The American Spectator should immediately retract
its report and apologize for the confusion its fictitious report has
caused. Moreover, anyone concerned about the false reporting should
contact the American Spectator at (703)807-2011 to register your views.
October 4, 2007
Chairman
Waxman Holds Hearing on the State of Iraqi Corruption
Chairman Waxman held a hearing to evaluate the status of
corruption in the Iraqi government and to assess whether U.S. government
efforts to address this continuing problem have been adequate.
October 2, 2007
Chairman
Waxman Holds Hearing on Private Security Contracting in Iraq and
Afghanistan
Chairman
Waxman held a hearing to examine the mission and performance of private
military contractor Blackwater USA in Iraq and Afghanistan. Erik Prince,
the CEO of Blackwater USA, testified as well as three State Department
officials.
September 19, 2007
Rep. Waxman's
Floor Statement on the FDA Reauthorization Bill of 2007
September 17, 2007
Rep. Waxman's Statement on the
Blackwater USA Controversy
Chairman Henry A. Waxman released a statement
following press reports that Iraq revoked the license of U.S. contractor
Blackwater.
September 10th, 2007
Speech: Professional Services Council
September 6th, 2007
Speech: Generic Pharmaceutical Association's 2007 Annual
Policy Conference
August 28, 2007
Rep. Waxman's
Statement Regarding Santa Monica Airport
Rep. Waxman's statement for the August 28, 2007
meeting of the Santa Monica City Council to consider the FAA's
presentation on runway safety enhancements at Santa Monica Airport.
August 1, 2007
Chairman Waxman Holds Hearing
Regarding the Tillman Fratricide
Chairman Waxman and the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform held a hearing to examine what senior Defense
Department officials knew about U.S. Army Corporal Patrick Tillman’s
death by fratricide.
July 26, 2007
Chairman Waxman Examines
Allegations of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at the New U.S. Embassy in Iraq
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing to examine the performance of the State Department and its
contractors in the construction of the new $600 million U.S. embassy in
Baghdad.
July 24, 2007
Oversight Committee Holds
Hearing on Inadvertent File Sharing over Peer-to-Peer Networks
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing to examine recent developments regarding inadvertent file sharing
over peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, the impact of such sharing on
consumers, corporations and government entities, and whether such sharing
creates privacy or security risks for users.
July 19, 2007
Chairman Waxman Probes FEMA's
Response to Reports of Toxic Trailers
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing investigating formaldehyde levels in FEMA trailers provided for
victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes and FEMA’s response to these
reports. The Committee heard from current residents occupying FEMA
trailers, experts who are familiar with the health impact of
formaldehyde, and FEMA Administrator Paulison.
July 12, 2007
Rep.
Waxman's Statement Expressing Support for the Freeing of Israeli Soldiers
Rep. Waxman's statement marking the 1-year
anniversary of the killing of three Israeli soldiers and the kidnapping
of two others, Eldad Regev and Udi Goldwasser.
July 11, 2007
Rep.
Waxman's Statement Condemning Decision
Rep. Waxman's statement condemning the decision by
the University and College Union of the United Kingdom to support a
boycott of Israeli academia.
July 11, 2007
Rep.
Waxman's Statement Expressing Support for H.R. 2900
Rep. Waxman's statement regarding H.R. 2900, the
Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007.
July 10, 2007
Chairman
Waxman Holds Hearing on Surgeon General's Vital Mission
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing focusing on the importance of the Surgeon General’s Office, the
need to preserve the Surgeon General’s independence, and recent
limitations on the Surgeon General’s ability to carry out his public health
education mission.
June 28, 2007
Chairman Waxman Holds Hearing
Investigating DoD Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at Ramstein AFB
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a
hearing entitled “Waste, Fraud, and Abuse at K-Town: How Mismanagement
Has Derailed DOD’s Largest Single Facility Construction Project.” The
hearing reviewed the preliminary findings of a Government Accountability
Office investigation into the construction of the Kaiserslautern Military
Community Center, a hotel and retail facility being built on the grounds
of the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
June 22, 2007
Oversight Committee Holds Hearing on Nation's Emergency Room Crisis
Chairman Waxman and the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform held a hearing on the response of the Department of
Health and Human Services to the nation’s emergency room crisis.
June 14, 2007
Rep.
Waxman Delivers Speech Discussing Congressional Medicaid Agenda
Rep. Waxman spoke to the Second Annual Medicaid
Congress about the Congressional Medicaid agenda for 2007.
May 21, 2007
Rep. Waxman Meets with
Thailand's Health Minister to Discuss Making HIV/AIDS Drugs More
Affordable
In conjunction with his meeting with Thailand’s
Health Minister Mr. Mongkol Na Songkhla, Congressman Henry A. Waxman
reiterated that the U.S. should respect the decision of the Thai
government to issue compulsory licenses on essential medicines.
May 21, 2007
Chairman
Waxman Announces Hearing on FDA’s Role in Evaluating Safety of Diabetes
Drug
Chairman Waxman announced a hearing for June 6,
2007, on FDA’s role in the safety evaluation of Avandia, a diabetes drug,
following an article reporting that the drug may be associated with an
increase in heart attacks and death.
May 14, 2007
Rep. Waxman Delivers a Speech on Federal Contracting
Rep.
Waxman highlighted the government’s increasing reliance on private
contractors and the need for more oversight and accountability to protect
against waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer money in a speech to the
Center for American Progress.
May 2, 2007
Committee
Examines Oversight Adequacy of the Pediatric Dental Program for Medicaid
Eligible Children
Chairman
Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a hearing examining the adequacy
of CMS oversight mechanisms used to evaluate the ability of Medicaid
programs to ensure children’s access to dental health.
May 1, 2007
Oversight
Committee Examines FDA's Vital Mission and Challenges for the Future
Chairman
Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a hearing that examined several
key facets of FDA’s responsibilities as well as major concerns and
challenges facing FDA’s ability to fulfill its important role and restore
public confidence.
April 25, 2007
Oversight
Committee Issues Three Subpoenas To Further Investigations
Chairman
Waxman and the Oversight Committee approved the issuance of three
subpoenas related to ongoing investigations.
April 24, 2007
Oversight
Committee Holds Hearing on Tillman, Lynch Incidents
Chairman Waxman and the Oversight Committee held a hearing on
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 focusing on misleading information following the
death of Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan and the
capture and rescue of Army Private Jessica Lynch in Iraq.
April 24, 2007
Rep.
Waxman's Statement Commemorating the 92nd Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide
Rep. Waxman's
statement delivered on the floor of the House of Representatives
commemorating the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
April
19, 2007
Joint Statement
of Rep. Henry A. Waxman and Rep. Gary L. Ackerman
Reps. Waxman and
Ackerman respond to Nathan Guttman's article in the Forward.
March
23, 2007
Rep. Waxman's
Statement on the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill
Representative Waxman's statement on H.R. 1591, the U.S. Troop
Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act.
March 22, 2007
Statement of Rep. Waxman on FDA
Efforts to Ensure a Safe Drug Supply
Rep. Waxman's statement at the House Energy and Commerce
Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing
regarding the adequacy of FDA efforts to ensure a safe drug supply.
March 16, 2007
Hearing
Examines Exposure of Covert CIA Agent Valerie Plame Wilson's Identity
Oversight Committee Chairman Waxman held a hearing on whether
White House officials followed appropriate procedures for safeguarding
the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. At the hearing, the
Committee received testimony from Ms. Wilson and other experts regarding
the disclosure and internal White House security procedures for
protecting her identity from disclosure and responding to the leak after
it occurred.
March 14, 2007
Chairman Waxman Applauds Passage
of Four Good Government Bills
The House of Representatives passed four good
government bills. H.R. 985 enhances protections offered to federal
whistleblowers; H.R. 1255 strengthens the Freedom of Information Act;
H.R. 1255 makes clear that presidential records belong to the public; and
H.R. 1254 requires organizations that raise money for presidential
libraries to disclose information about their donors.
February 16, 2007
Rep. Waxman's Statement on Iraq Troop Increase
Rep.
Waxman spoke in support of H.Con.Res. 63, The Iraq War Policy Resolution.
January 30, 2007
Committee
Holds Hearing on Political Influence on Government Climate Change
Scientists
The
Oversight Committee held a hearing on January 30 regarding political
interference in the work of government climate change scientists. In
preparation for the hearing, Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis
requested documents from the Council on Environmental Quality related to
allegations that officials edited scientific reports and took other
actions to minimize the significance of climate change.
January 23, 2007
Statement
of Rep. Waxman on the State of the Union Address
Chairman
Waxman's response to the State of the Union address.
January 18, 2007
Oversight
Committee Adopts Rules and Determines Subcommittee Jurisdictions
The
Oversight and Government Reform Committee held an organizational meeting
adopting the rules of the committee for the 110th Congress, as well as establishing
subcommittee jurisdictions and approving member assignments.
January 12, 2007
Rep.
Waxman Announces Democratic Membership of Oversight Committee
Rep.
Waxman, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee,
announced the appointment of the Democratic members of the committee for
the 110th Congress.
December 19, 2006
GAO Analysis Refutes Industry Myths About Drug
Development
Rep.
Waxman, along with Sens. Durbin and Kennedy, today released a new GAO
analysis revealing a decline in new drug development by the
pharmaceutical industry. The report contradicts the myth that higher research
expenditures have resulted in more treatment options for patients.
December 11, 2006
Dangerous Lead Levels in Capitol Gift Shop Products
Rep.
Waxman and Sen. Obama today released a report finding that products from
the Capitol gift shop contain dangerous amounts of lead. Jewelry and
other inexpensive children's gifts sold in the four Capitol gift shops
contain enough lead to cause permanent medical harm and may be fatal to
small children if ingested. Rep. Waxman and Sen. Obama call on the Bush
Administration to ban lead in children's products.
December 9, 2006
House, Senate Pass Historic Postal Reform Legislation
In the
final hours of the 109th Congress, key legislators from the House and
Senate brokered a compromise that allows the Postal Service to modernize
its operations to remain viable in the 21st Century. Rep. Waxman called
the passage of the bill a "historic accomplishment."
December 7, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Speaks Out Against Former President Carter’s New Book
December 6, 2006
Rep.
Waxman Opposed the “Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2006”
Rep.
Waxman opposed the “Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2006”
because there is no scientific information to support the statement that
a fetus experiences pain. Rep. Waxman believes strongly that medical
information provided by a doctor to a patient should be accurate and
scientifically sound. This bill failed in the House of Representatives by
a roll call vote on December 6, 2006.
December 4, 2006
Senior Democrats Urge USDA to Protect Americans from
Contaminated Chicken
Reps.
Waxman and DeLauro today called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to
set a federal standard for detecting campylobacter, a bacteria found in
raw chicken that causes foodborne disease. Although USDA currently has a
standard to protect against the salmonella bacteria in raw chicken, there
is no such standard for campylobacter. A recent report found that 8 out
of 10 chickens in supermarkets are contaminated with campylobacter.
October 13, 2006
US
Trade Policies Threaten Access to Medicines
Rep.
Waxman and Sen. Kennedy have requested that GAO investigate the impact of
US trade policy on access to medicines in the developing world. The
request stemmed from a concern that despite the US obligation to respect
public health in its trade negotiations, the Administration has
prioritized intellectual property rights above access to medicines.
October 6, 2006
Rep.
Waxman Statement on Resignation of Susan Ralston
Rep. Waxman
responds to the White House announcement that Susan Ralston, aide to Karl
Rove, has resigned because of findings in the Committee's report on
lobbyist Jack Abramoff's ties to the White House.
September 29, 2006
Abramoff
Ties to White House More Extensive Than Previously Known
Following Mr.
Abramoff's guilty plea in January, President Bush and other top White
House officials issued repeated statements that Mr. Abramoff was a
virtual stranger to the White House. The documents reviewed by the
Committee tell a different story. They show that between January 2001 and
March 2004, there were 485 lobbying contacts between Mr. Abramoff and his
associates and White House officials.
September 28, 2006
Rep.
Waxman Statement on Iraq Reconstruction Efforts
At a hearing
today, Rep. Waxman highlighted a new report from the Special Inspector
General for Iraq Reconstruction regarding the dilapidated facilities at
the Baghdad Police College, which the Army and the Parsons Company spent
$75 million to build, as well as a new report by the Government
Accountability Office identifying a record $3.5 billion in questioned and
unsupported contractor charges in Iraq. Rep. Waxman called for a
fundamentally new direction in Iraq.
September 28, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Reluctantly Opposes the Ryan White Reauthorization Act to Protect Funding
Vital to California
On the House
floor, Rep. Waxman reluctantly opposes H.R. 6143, “Ryan White
HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006” which jeopardizes
funding for critical HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs in California.
September 28, 2006
Speech:
Institute for International Research 7th Annual Generic Drugs Summit
September 21, 2006
Rep.
Waxman's Remarks on Climate Change
At a hearing
today, Rep. Waxman spoke about the Bush Administration's poor record on
climate change and the need for a new direction in overcoming the
challenges presented by global warming.
September 20, 2006
House
Passes Bill to Allow Subway Tunneling Along Wilshire Boulevard
The
House of Representatives passed Rep. Waxman’s legislation (H.R. 4653)
that would allow subway tunneling along Wilshire Boulevard. A tunneling
prohibition was enacted after a 1985 methane gas explosion demolished a
Ross Dress for Less store. Last year, Congressman Waxman worked with
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to appoint a panel of scientific experts to
conduct an independent safety review of the methane gas area. These
experts made a unanimous determination in a November 2005 report that
tunneling in this area can be done safely if proper procedures and
appropriate technologies are used. The legislation passed the House of
Representatives without objection.
September 19, 2006
Speech: Generic
Pharmaceutical Association’s Annual Policy
Conference 2006
September 19, 2006
Drug
Company Profits Soar Under Medicare Drug Plan
Today the
Democratic Truth Squad released a new analysis that reveals
pharmaceutical industry profits increased by over $8 billion in the first
six months after the Medicare drug plan went into effect.
September 18, 2006
Rep.
Waxman's Remarks at Congressional Oversight Symposium
Rep. Waxman's
remarks focus on the need for effective congressional oversight to rein
in the excesses of the executive branch.
September 13, 2006
Rep.
Waxman's Statement on Iraq Reconstruction Efforts
In a
statement at a subcommittee hearing on Iraq reconstruction, Rep. Waxman
says that the U.S.'s effort has been largely a failure and asks the Bush
Administration and Congress to have an honest discussion on how to move
forward.
September 13, 2006
Democratic
Truth Squad Introduces "Clean Contracting Act"
Today the
House Democratic Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Truth Squad introduced the
"Clean Contracting Act of 2006." The bill would end the abusive
contracting practices that have been rampant under the Bush
Administration and promote greater transparency and accountability in
federal contracting.
September 13, 2006
Rep.
Waxman Supports the Creation of a Searchable Database of Federal Grants
and Contracts
Rep. Waxman
supports S.2590, which requires the Office of Management and Budget to
create a searchable database of federal grants and contracts accessible
to the public via the internet. The bill is more exhaustive than the bill
passed by the House in June because the database created under this new
legislation will include all federal grants and contracts. If this bill
is implemented properly, any citizen with web access will be able to
examine a comprehensive set of records for information about federal
spending.
July 27, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Welcomes Testimony of Global Warming Experts
The House
Energy & Commerce Committee held a second day of hearings on the
science of global warming. Rep. Waxman expresses concern that despite a
scientific consensus that human activities are warming the planet, the
Committee is using its resources to attack an eight year old study which
has withstood scrutiny from the National Academy of Sciences and doesn’t
even form the primary evidence supporting global warming.
July 27, 2006
Homeland
Security Contracts Waste Hundreds of Millions of Taxpayer Dollars
Ranking
Member Waxman and Chairman Davis release a comprehensive report on
homeland security contracting that finds pervasive mismanagement and
waste. According to the report, noncompetitive contracts have soared over
700% in just three years, and the total value of the Department’s
wasteful contracts exceeds $34 billion.
July 26, 2006
GAO
finds EPA Failing to Protect Public Health from Toxic Air Pollution
In a new
report, GAO finds that sixteen years after Congress passed the 1990 Clean
Air Act Amendments, EPA has failed to carry out many of the Act’s
requirements to protect Americans from cancer-causing toxic air
pollution.
July 25, 2006
Rep.
Waxman’s Statement
Opposing the Marriage Protection Amendment
Rep. Waxman
speaks out against the “Marriage Protection Amendment,” a bill
that would have amended our Constitution to permanently deny same-sex
couples the right to marry. He exposes the reality of the bill as a
partisan, political ploy, accusing Republicans of exploiting the lives of
gays and lesbians for their own political gain.
July 20, 2006
Rep.
Waxman Urges Committee to Address the Threat of Global Warming
The House
Government Reform Committee held its first hearing on global warming
since 1999. Rep. Waxman described the urgency of addressing global
warming and explained how the Bush Administration has failed to lead on
the important issue.
July 20, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Supports Israel’s Right to Defend Itself
The House
overwhelmingly passed H.Res. 921, which condemns the recent attacks
against Israel, holds terrorists and their state-sponsors responsible for
the attacks and supports Israel’s right to defend itself.
Read the text of the
resolution
July 19, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Urges Committee to Show Leadership on Global Warming
The House Energy
& Commerce Committee held only its second hearing on global warming
in twelve years. Rep. Waxman believes the Committee’s time would
have been better spent focusing on the scientific consensus about global
warming and practical solutions to this enormous threat, instead of
attacking a well-respected climate researcher and two studies he
conducted eight years ago.
July 19, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Condemns Bills that May Eliminate Important Federal Agencies
At a hearing before
the House Government Reform Committee, Rep. Waxman opposes two Republican
bills that would abolish federal agencies in an attempt to streamline
government and reduce waste. With no specifications offered, on the
chopping block could be the EPA, the Social Security Administration, and
the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Education. These legislative
proposals are backdoor assaults on the laws that protect the health,
safety, and security of American families.
July 18, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Condemns Bills that May Eliminate Important Federal Agencies
At a House
Government Reform Committee hearing on the Bush Administration’s
global war on terror, Rep. Waxman states that the waste, fraud, and abuse
in Iraq contracting must stop now. The cost of the war is spiraling out
of control with inadequate accountability, and the Administration’s
actions have actually incited terrorism.
July 11, 2006
Rep.
Waxman Statement on Administration's Strategy in Iraq
At a hearing today,
GAO issued a new report that challenges key assumptions of US strategy in
Iraq. In Rep. Waxman's statement at the hearing, he called for
"specific, substantive, and straightforward" answers from the
Administration on how the Administration plans to lead Iraq and the
United States out of war.
July 10, 2006
GAO
Finds Medicare Drug Plans Fail to Accurately Answer Consumer Questions
A new GAO report
released today by Reps. Waxman, Dingell, Rangel, Stark, and Brown finds
that the call centers run by private Medicare drug plans provide
inaccurate and incomplete information most of the time. According to GAO,
the private plans that are responsible for running the new Medicare drug
benefit “did not consistently provide callers with accurate and complete
information.”
July 4, 2006
Committee
Agrees to Waxman Request for Subpoena of Rumsfeld
Since last fall,
Rep. Waxman has been investigating specific allegations of detainee abuse
at Abu Ghraib prison made by military whistleblower, Sgt. Samuel
Provance. After the Pentagon refused to respond to multiple written
requests, the Committee agreed on Friday to Rep Waxman's request to
subpoena Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, compelling him to provide
documents about the abuse allegations and reports of retaliation against
Sgt. Provance.
June 28, 2006
Speech:
International Strategy & Investment and Cowen 8th Annual Health Care
Policy Conference
June 26, 2006
Prescription
for Harm: The Decline in FDA Enforcement Activity
A new report by Rep.
Waxman examines how the Bush Administration has carried out FDA's
historic enforcement responsibilities. The report is the result of a
15-month investigation that included a review of thousands of pages of
internal agency enforcement records. It finds that there has been a
precipitous drop in FDA enforcement actions over the last five years.
June 21, 2006
New
Documents Reveal Problems with Alaska Native Contracts
Rep. Waxman today
released new federal agency documents that highlight significant problems
with no-bid contracts with Alaska Native companies, including political
interference with the contracting process and serious performance
deficiencies.
June 15, 2006
Waste,
Fraud and Abuse Mar Iraq Reconstruction
Rep. Waxman today
addressed the floor of the House of Representatives to highlight waste,
fraud and abuse in the reconstruction of Iraq. Despite $50 billion in
expenditures, oil and electricity production remains well below pre-war
levels. The Bush Administration's gross mismanagement of the war has
wasted taxpayer dollars and produced lackluster results.
June 8, 2006
Recent Data
Theft from VA Represents Ongoing Lack of Data Security at Federal
Agencies
At a hearing of the
House Government Reform Committee regarding the security of personal
information at federal agencies, Rep. Waxman expresses deep concern over
the recent theft of sensitive data on 26.5 million veterans from the
Department of Veterans Affairs. This breach represents a violation of
trust of a remarkable magnitude. Rep. Waxman urges the Administration to
provide a thorough accounting of this incident and to swiftly prepare
plans to prevent these lapses in security from happening in the future at
the VA and across all government agencies.
May 24, 2006
Lessons from
Hurricane Katrina Require Attention as 2006 Hurricane Season Arrives
At a hearing before
the House Government Reform Committee entitled, “Getting Ready for the
'06 Hurricane Season," Rep. Waxman warns that this week's forecast
of another active hurricane season underscores the importance of
addressing the problems exposed by the failed response to Hurricane
Katrina. The government's plans, organizational structure, and personnel
were inadequate to provide the rapid and massive response that was needed
for Katrina. Additionally, weak leadership from top officials at the
White House and the Department of Homeland Security spelled disaster for
our vulnerable residents at a critical time.
May 23, 2006
Jewish American
Heritage Month
May 22, 2006
H.R. 4861: The
Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act
May 11, 2006
Pandemic Flu
Plan Must Be Streamlined and Implemented Quickly
At a hearing before
the House Government Reform Committee entitled, “Working Through an
Outbreak: Pandemic Flu Planning and Continuity of Operations,” Rep.
Waxman states that pandemic preparedness requires a clear and coherent
leadership structure that is capable of responding in an emergency.
Unfortunately, the President’s Implementation Plan, which was
released last week, creates divided authority. It would establish the
same type of structure that led to tragic confusion and delay in the
response to Hurricane Katrina.
May 9, 2006
Speech:
Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
May 4, 2006
Katrina Contracts Rife with Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
At a hearing before the House Government Reform
Committee entitled, "Sifting Through Katrina's Legal Debris:
Contracting in the Eye of the Storm," Rep. Waxman states that the
Katrina contracts have been a lose-lose-lose proposition. Private
contractors exploited the system to make a bundle, taxpayers were gouged
and the residents devastated by the hurricane in Louisiana and
Mississippi did not get the help they deserved.
May 4, 2006
Committee
Refuses to Investigate White House's Knowledge of Deficit Reduction Act's
Infirmities
Despite Democrats' efforts, the Committee votes
down a resolution to investigate whether the President knew in advance
that the version he signed of S.1932, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005,
had not passed both
May 4, 2006
2006 USTR Special 301 Report
May 3, 2006
New GAO Report Finds Widespread Problems with Information
Provided by Bush Administration about New Medicare Drug Benefit
Rep. Waxman, along with Reps. Dingell, Rangel,
Stark, and Sherrod Brown, release a GAO report that finds that the
information provided by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
about the complicated new drug benefit is rife with problems. According
to GAO, the federal handbooks, website, and 1-800 Medicare hotline failed
to provide information that was "consistently clear, complete,
accurate, and usable."
May 2, 2006
Bush Administration Increases Number of Political
Appointees; Minority and Female Appointees Plunge
Rep. Waxman, along with Committee Democrats Danny
K. Davis, Major R. Owens, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Elijah E. Cummings, and
Chris Van Hollen, releases a report finding that in the Bush
Administration's first five years, the number of political appointees on
the federal payroll has soared while the number of minority and female
political appointees has declined dramatically.
April 27, 2006
Rep. Waxman Urges Resolution to Military Pay Problems
Plaguing Our Soldiers
At a hearing before the House Government Reform
Committee regarding military pay problems. Rep. Waxman expresses his
concern that newly discovered accounting errors have incorrectly assigned
millions of dollars in debt to hundreds of Guard and Reserve soldiers. The
errors have caused hardships that are both burdensome and stigmatizing.
Whether it is struggling to pay household bills, car payments, mortgages,
or being hounded by debt collectors for bad credit, our veterans continue
to suffer after they return from the battlefield.
April 27, 2006
Reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act is Crucial
for Vulnerable Citizens
At a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce
Committee's Subcommittee on Health, Rep. Waxman urges reauthorization of
the Ryan White CARE Act. The programs funded by this Act have literally
been lifesavers for people who live with the HIV virus. It has provided
critical support to cities that have been the center of the epidemic and
to States funding critical drug programs to treat the disease.
April 27, 2006
Holocaust Remembrance Day 2006
April 26, 2006
Commemorating
the 91st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
April 26, 2006
Gas
Prices Have Doubled Since 2005
Rep. Waxman releases
a chart that shows that gasoline prices have doubled since 2000, despite
the Administration's aggressive implementation of it energy plan. He
explains that Washington is mired in scandal and in order to address the
Administration's failed energy policy, Congress must clean up corrupt
lobbying practices.
April 26, 2006
H.R. 282, The
Iran Freedom Support Act
April 26, 2006
Rep.
Waxman's Statement on Reclassification Audit
Rep. Waxman
describes the results of an audit conducted by the Information Security
Oversight Office at the National Archives, which shows retroactive
classification of documents at the Archives has been more extensive than
first believed.
April 25, 2006
Government
Reform Committee Hearing Examines Iraq Reconstruction, Governance and
Security
At a hearing of the
House Government Reform Committee Subcommittee on National Security,
Emerging Threats and International Relations, Rep. Waxman states that the
Administration's management of the Iraq reconstruction has been
fundamentally incompetent. Billion-dollar contracts have been awarded
with little or no competition to favored contractors, and competition for
discrete projects was suppressed by dividing the country into a handful
of fiefdoms.
April 6, 2006
Bureaucracy and
Mismanagement of Donated Funds Frustrate Efforts to Rebuild Gulf Coast
At a hearing of the
House Government Reform Committee entitled, "Looking a Gift Horse in
the Mouth: a Post-Katrina Review of International Disaster Assistance,"
Rep. Waxman shares his hope that reform will come following the release
of a new GAO report revealing serious waste and mismanagement of
international donations.
April 6, 2006
Committee
Approves Bill to End Secret Contracts between Lobbyists and Executive
Branch Officials
The best and worst
of Congress were on display today in the Government Reform Committee, as
the Committee unanimously approved a bipartisan bill containing landmark
reforms of the executive branch on the same day that it also approved
legislation containing sham reforms of Congress written by the Republican
leadership.
April 5, 2006
H.R. 3127,
Darfur Peace and Accountability Act
April 5, 2006
H.Con.Res. 370,
Expressing the sense of the Congress that Saudi Arabia should fully live
up to its World Trade Organization commitments and end all aspects of any
boycott on Israel
April 4, 2006
Current
Government Policy on Visas May Threaten Culture, Economy and Innovation
At a hearing of the
House Government Reform Committee entitled, "A Symphony in F Minor:
the Impact of Visa Processing Delays on the Arts, Education, and American
innovation," Rep. Waxman suggests that the government must strike
the right balance between security and openness to culture and innovation
in their policy on issuing visas to visitors wishing to enter the United
States. Visa processing delays have created a six-month backlog in India
between the time that an application is first submitted and an interview
occurs at a U.S. consulate office.
March 30, 2006
In the Wake of
Hurricane Katrina, Rep. Waxman Renews Call for Disaster Preparedness and
Response
Rep. Waxman
delivered a statement at a House Government Reform Committee hearing
entitled, “The Need to Know: Information Sharing for Disaster Response”.
Last year’s hurricanes showed that communication channels across all
levels of government must be reliable in order to report accurate
real-time information.
March 30, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Announces Resolution Seeking Investigation of Signing of the
Reconciliation Act
Rep. Waxman and
other committee members announce they will introduce a Resolution of Inquiry
directing the President to submit to Congress all documents relating to
the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which the President signed on February
8. The version that the President signed was different in substance from
the version the House passed on February 1, 2006.
March 29, 2006
Waxman
Criticizes Bush Administration's New Fuel Standards
Rep. Waxman makes a
statement about the Bush Administration's new fuel standards for SUVs and
light trucks. These new fuel standards favor the oil and auto industries
over the security and safety of our nation.
March 20, 2006
Speech: Annual Meeting of
the National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems
March 16, 2006
Electronic
Medical Records Must Protect Privacy
In his opening
statement at a hearing in the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s
Subcommittee on Health, Rep. Waxman cautions that while advances in
health information transfer systems may improve efficiency, safeguarding
patients’ privacy and preventing discrimination must be primary concerns.
March 15, 2006
Transparent
Drug Pricing Must be Part of Real Healthcare Reform
At a hearing in the
House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, Rep. Waxman
urges his colleagues to remember that while transparent pricing is a
positive step for consumers, it does not solve the major affordability
and coverage problems facing our healthcare system.
March 14, 2006
Waxman Dingell
Amendment Would Protect Iraq Reconstruction Contracts from Companies Who
Overcharge
Reps. Waxman and
Dingell offer an amendment to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations
Bill prohibiting the Administration from using funds to award new
contracts to any company that has overcharged the government by $100
million or more in Iraq. The war has cost hundreds of billions of dollars
and resulted in rampant waste, fraud, and abuse in the awarding of
federal contracts under the Bush Administration.
March 14, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Condemns Secrecy in the Bush Administration
Rep. Waxman
discusses policies on handling of classified and sensitive information at
a hearing of the Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on National
Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations. He urges House
oversight over the Bush Administration’s abuse of designations such as
“sensitive but unclassified” to block the public release of government
information and the Administration's legendary penchant for secrecy.
March 9, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Promotes Consumer Safeguards for Dietary Supplements
Rep. Waxman made a
statement at the Government Reform Committee hearing on “The Regulation
of Dietary Supplements: A Review of Consumer Safeguards.” Most
supplements are safe, but there are some on the market that pose risks.
Rep. Waxman discusses ways to protect the public against potentially
dangerous dietary supplements.
March 8, 2006
Statement on
H.R. 1053, Extending Normal Trade Relations Treatment to Ukraine
Rep. Waxman made a
statement concerning H.R. 1053, legislation to extend permanent normal
trade relations and graduate Ukraine from the conditions of the Jackson-Vanik
amendment. The statement recognizes the strides Ukraine has taken
on human rights issues and expresses concern about the need for stronger
action against rampant anti-Semitic activities at a private
university known in Ukraine as MAUP.
March 7, 2006
Speech: America's Health
Insurance Plans (AHIP) 2006 National Policy Forum
March 7, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Supports Stem Cell Research
Rep. Waxman
delivered a statement at a hearing of the House Government Reform
Committee’s Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human
Resources entitled, “Human Cloning and Embryonic Stem Cell Research after
Seoul: Examining Exploitation, Fraud and Ethical Problems in Research.”
Many opponents of stem cell research would like use to use the South
Korea experience as a basis for banning embryonic stem cell research, but
this research may help cure diseases that cause untold suffering to
millions of Americans and hundreds of millions more around the world.
March 2, 2006
Rep. Waxman
Fights Bill that Would Preempt Strong State Food Safety Laws
As H.R. 4167,
"The National Uniformity for Food Act of 2005", comes to the
floor, Rep. Waxman leads opposition to the bill, which would hamper
California's - and all states' - ability to implement laws regulating
food safety. Rep. Waxman spoke on the House floor in opposition to the
bill.
March 1, 2006
Medicare Part
D: Implementation of the New Drug Benefit
Rep. Waxman made a
statement at the hearing of the Subcommittee on Health, concerning his
disappointment with the Medicare prescription drug program. January 1
should have been the day when America’s seniors and persons with
disabilities finally got simple and dependable coverage of their
prescription drugs as a regular part of Medicare instead of the confusion
and disruption they experienced.
February 23, 2006
Rep.
Waxman Commends Groups For Suing To Stop Administration's Promotion of
Unethical Human Pesticide Experiments
Rep. Waxman releases
a statement in reaction to the announcement that several public interest
environmental and labor groups were suing the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency over the new rule to promote the testing of pesticides
on humans.
February 21, 2006
New
Reports Show Medicare Drug Prices Are High and Rising Rapidly
Rep. Waxman releases
three new reports that show (1) Medicare drug plans have raised prices
for popular brand-name drugs by more than 4% since January 1; (2)
Medicare drug plans now charge 14% more for these drugs than the
discredited Medicare drug cards previously charged; and (3) Medicare drug
card providers negotiated negligible discounts of at most 3% to 5% from
drug manufacturers. One of the three reports was prepared by GAO; it also
finds that the Administration had advance warning that its systems would
not be able to reconcile enrollment and eligibility data satisfactorily.
February 17, 2006
Speech: Generic
Pharmaceutical Association’s Annual Meeting - Challenges and
Opportunities for Generic Drugs in an Ever-Changing Healthcare System
February 15, 2006
S.Con.Res. 79
Calling for
no direct United States assistance to be provided to the
Palestinian Authority if any political party holding a majority of
parliamentary seats maintains a position calling for the destruction
of Israel.
February 13, 2006
GAO Finds Federal Departments Spent More than $1.6
Billion in Media Contracts
Rep. Waxman and
other senior Democratic leaders release a new Government Accountability
Office study that identifies more than $1.6 billion in public relations
and media spending by the Bush Administration over the last two and a
half years.
February 2, 2006
New
GAO Report Raises Questions About President's Health Proposals
Rep. Waxman and Rep.
Stark release a new GAO study of enrollees in Health Savings Accounts, a
centerpiece of his domestic agenda. The report validates a number of
concerns about the President's proposals.
January 30, 2006
Democrats
Announce Bill to Get Needed Medicines for Seniors
Leader Pelosi and
Reps. Waxman, Dingell, Stark, Sherrod Brown, and Marion Berry unveiled
their legislation to provide emergency relief to senior citizens and
people with disabilities who are having trouble navigating the new
Medicare prescription drug program.
January 28, 2006
Rep.
Waxman Gives Radio Address on Medicare Drug Plan Flaws
Rep. Waxman delivers
the Saturday Democratic Radio Address, discussing the crisis surrounding the
Medicare Prescription Drug benefit that went into effect January 1 and
how the crisis could have been prevented through honest, open government.
January 23, 2006
Rep.
Waxman, Sen. Boxer, and Rep. Solis Denounce Leaked Bush Administration
Plan to Promote Human Pesticide Experiments
The Democrats
criticize a Bush Administration plan to promote pesticide experimentation
upon humans. The plan, contained in a final draft rule, was leaked to the
legislators by a concerned Administration official who requested that the
original copy of the plan not be duplicated in its entirety and widely
distributed out of concern for anonymity. According to the EPA’s
communications plan, the Administration will officially announce the
pesticide experimentation plan later this week as a final regulation.
January 20, 2006
Rep.
Waxman Holds Briefing on Medicare Drug Benefit
Rep. Waxman hosted a
briefing to examine how the new Medicare drug benefit is working.
Medicare beneficiaries, doctors, and pharmacists, as well as state health
officials, testified about their experiences with the benefit's
implementation.
December 7, 2005
Rep.
Waxman Statement on the President's Speech on Iraq Reconstruction
Rep. Waxman explains
that the President's description of "quiet, steady progress" in
Iraq’s reconstruction is misleading and ignores the facts. Independent
auditors confirm that billions of dollars have been squandered without
increasing Iraq’s oil or electricity production. Yet the Administration
has done nothing to halt rampant waste, fraud, and abuse in Iraq.
November 18, 2005
Rep.
Waxman Speaks Out Against Duncan Hunter Resolution
On the House floor,
Rep. Waxman speaks against the Republican resolution and calls for answers
to long-standing questions about the Administration's use of forged
evidence as the cornerstone of the case for war in Iraq. These concerns
were raised by Rep. Waxman before the war started in a letter to
President Bush on March 17, 2003.
November 17, 2005
Speech: Center for Business
Intelligence 5th Annual Forum
November 16, 2005
FDA’s “Unusual”
Review of Plan B's Application for Over-the-Counter Sales
In its review of
whether emergency contraception should be approved for over-the-counter
sales, FDA diverged sharply from usual agency procedures and overrode the
recommendations of agency scientists.
November 16, 2005
Rep.
Waxman's Statement on the Investigation into Rafael Palmeiro’s March 17,
2005 Testimony
Rep. Waxman makes a
statement as the report on its investigation of Rafael Palmeiro’s March
17, 2005 testimony is submitted to the Committee.
November 10, 2005
Rep. Waxman
Introduces H.R. 4308, "The Kids Safe Chemicals Act of 2005"
Rep. Waxman
introduced H.R. 4308, “The Kid Safe Chemicals Act” to respond to the
growing body of scientific literature which identifies chemical exposures
as a factor in the rise of disorders and diseases such as birth defects,
asthma, neurological and developmental disorders, infertility and certain
types of cancer. H.R. 4308 will reform the nation’s failed approach to
chemical regulation and protect kids by recognizing their special
vulnerabilities and requiring manufacturers to provide health and safety
information prior to distributing a chemical in consumer products.
November 4, 2005
Problems
Remain With Administration Flu Plan
At a Committee
hearing on flu preparedness, Rep. Waxman identifies significant problems
in the Administration's flu preparedness plan, including FEMA's
protection role, liability shields for manufacturers, and inadequate
funding.
November 3, 2005
Former
CPB Chair Resigns in Face of Inspector General’s Report
CPB Chair Ken
Tomlinson resigns six months after Democrats ask for an investigation
into whether the Corporation for Public Broadcasting had violated a law
prohibiting interference by Federal officials into content or
distribution of programming. In recent days, the CPB board has met to
consider the Inspector General's initial investigative findings.
November 3, 2005
GAO Finds
Illegal Steroids Easily Purchased, Difficult to Police
Rep. Waxman and Rep.
Davis release a new GAO report that finds that illegal steroids are
easily obtained over the Internet and that law enforcement authorities
face significant challenges in efforts to investigate, prosecute, and
deter steroid trafficking.
November 3, 2005
Rep.
Waxman Decries Dangerous Secrecy
Rep. Waxman speaks
on the House floor about how Congress is failing to meet its
constitutional responsibility to act as a check on executive branch
misconduct.
October 26, 2005
Contact
Lens Safety Bill Passes
Rep. Waxman and Rep.
Boozman's bill to apply the highest safety standards and consumer
protections to all contact lenses passes both the House and Senate. The
legislation will stop needless eye injuries caused by unsafe lenses.
October 21, 2005
GAO:
Continued Federal Efforts Needed to Improve Electronic Voting
A new GAO report
released by Rep. Waxman, Chairman Davis, and eleven other members of
Congress finds security and reliability flaws in the electronic voting
process.
October 18, 2005
Iraq
Reconstruction Efforts Are Failing
A new report
released by Rep. Waxman assesses the progress of reconstruction in Iraq.
The report finds that despite the expenditure of billions of dollars,
Administration objectives set two years ago have not been met and
measurable improvements in the critical oil, electricity, and water
sectors are small or nonexistent.
October 7, 2005
Rep.
Waxman Supports Stupak Substitute for H.R. 3893
In a House floor
speech, Rep. Waxman supports the Stupak amendment for H.R. 3893, which
would address the problem of gas price gouging.
October 7, 2005
Republican
Energy Bill (H.R. 3893) is 'Crass Opportunism'
Rep. Waxman speaks
on the House floor about the Republican bill H.R. 3893, which benefits
oil companies and relaxes necessary environmental regulations but does
nothing to alleviate gas price spikes.
September 29, 2005
Committee
Democrats Push to Strengthen Whistleblower Protections
In a Committee
markup of H.R. 1317, The Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act,
Committee Democrats offered amendments that would strengthen protections
for federal employees who come forward to report waste, fraud, abuse, and
national security violations. Two of these important amendments were
offered by Democrats, but were defeated on party line votes.
September 28, 2005
"Gasoline for America's
Security Act of 2005" is the Legislative Equivalent of Price Gouging
During a markup in
the Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Waxman stated that, "This
Committee is trying to use this tragedy and misery to undermine our
environmental laws and pass more special-interest giveaways to the oil
industry. It wants to exploit Katrina for a special interest bonanza."
September 20, 2005
Speech: Generic Pharmaceutical Association's First Annual Policy
Conference
September 20, 2005
Rep.
Waxman and Democratic Leader Pelosi Introduce Legislation to Oversee Gulf
Coast Contracting
Democratic Leader
Pelosi and Rep. Waxman announce their Hurricane Katrina Accountability
and Clean Contracting Bill, H.R. 3838, which would ensure accountability
in reconstruction of the Gulf Coast and establish an independent
anti-fraud commission to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in relief and
recovery contracts.
September 15, 2005
Rep.
Waxman Decries Partisan Approach to Hurricane Katrina Oversight
On the floor of the
House, Rep. Waxman assails legislation creating a Republican-dominated
commission to examine the response to the hurricane disaster, arguing
instead for an independent commission.
September 15, 2005
Committee
Holds Hearing on Katrina-Related Issues
The Committee holds
a hearing called by Chairman Davis to compare and contrast emergency
plans in Washington DC, Miami, and Los Angeles. Rep. Waxman had earlier
requested a hearing to examine the failed federal response to Hurricane
Katrina
September 7, 2005
Rep.
Waxman's Statement on Human Papillomavirus
In a subcommittee hearing on women's gynecologic cancers, Rep. Waxman
discusses the dangers of HPV.
August 16, 2005
Waxman-Davis
Statement on Palmeiro Documents
Reps. Waxman and
Davis release a statement on the ongoing review of documents related to
Rafael Palmeiro's positive drug test and suspension from Major League
Baseball.
August 3, 2005
Waxman-Davis
Statement on Palmeiro Document Request
Chairman Davis and
Ranking Member Waxman request documents from Major League Baseball
related to Rafael Palmeiro's positive drug test and suspension.
August 1, 2005
Rep.
Waxman's Statement on the Suspension of Rafael Palmeiro
Statement of Rep.
Henry A. Waxman, Ranking Member, Committee on Government Reform, on the
Suspension of Rafael Palmeiro from Major League Baseball.
July 28, 2005
Vaccines
for Adults” Legislation Would Provide Access to Life-Saving Vaccines
Rep. Henry A.
Waxman, Rep. Sherrod Brown, and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard introduce
legislation establishing a program to provide access to recommended
vaccines for uninsured and underinsured adults.
July 22, 2005
Former
Intelligence Officials Testify About Damage Caused by Outing of Covert
CIA Agent
At a hearing
co-chaired by Rep. Waxman and Senator Byron Dorgan, several former
intelligence officials testify about the damage to national security
caused by the White House outing of covert CIA official Valerie Plame
Wilson.
July 21, 2005
House
and Senate Democratic Panels to Hold Oversight Hearing on Consequences of
Disclosing Covert Intelligence Identities
Rep. Waxman and
Sens. Dorgan and Lautenberg request that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld
investigate Halliburton’s efforts to prevent an American contractor from
delivering fuel from Kuwait to Iraq just two weeks after the contractor
testified before Congress about Halliburton’s excessive fuel charges and
lack of infrastructure work.
July 14, 2005
Reps.
Waxman, Holt, and Inslee Move to Force Administration to Provide
Information about Plame Outing
Reps. Waxman, Holt,
and Inslee introduce a resolution of inquiry to require the Bush
Administration to provide information about who revealed the identity of
covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson.
July 11, 2005
Rep.
Waxman Calls for Hearing on Rove's Role in Plame Outing
In light of mounting
evidence that Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove may have been involved in
the outing of a covert CIA agent, Rep. Waxman once again called for
Chairman Davis to hold a hearing to investigate whether White House
officials breached national security law by disclosing the agent's
identity. In on a one-minute speech on the House floor, Rep. Waxman cited
former-President Bush's statement that those who expose the identity of
such agents are "the most insidious of traitors."
July 7, 2005
CAFTA Hinders
Developing Nations' Access to Needed Medicines
Rep. Waxman releases
a report detailing how CAFTA and other Bush Administration trade
agreements are impeding the rights of developing nations to acquire
essential medicines at affordable prices.
June 30, 2005
Legislation
Makes Clear Federal Employees Are Protected From Anti-Gay Discrimination
Rep. Waxman, with
nine other lead cosponsors, introduces legislation to reaffirm that
federal employees are protected from discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation and to repudiate any assertion to the contrary.
June 29, 2005
Jeffords,
Sarbanes, Norton and Waxman Introduce Lead-Free Drinking Water Act
Sens. Jim Jeffords
and Paul Sarbanes and Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton and Henry A. Waxman
introduce legislation to overhaul and strengthen the federal rules
governing lead testing and standards in the nation's public water
systems.
June 28, 2005
Statement
Concerning the Brazilian Government's Decision to Issue a Compulsory
License for a Key HIV/AIDS Medication
June 28, 2005
New
EPA Proposal Encourages Human Pesticide Experiments
Reps. Waxman and
Solis, along with Sen. Boxer, release an analysis of the new draft EPA
rule, slated for proposal next month, would allow the systematic testing
of pesticides on humans. The proposed rule fails to adopt key recommendations
of the National Academy of Sciences and EPA's own advisory committee, and
it includes loopholes that invite abuse.
June 27, 2005
Halliburton's
Questioned and Unsupported Costs in Iraq Exceed $1.4 Billion
Rep. Waxman and Sen.
Dorgan release a new report, prepared jointly by the minority staff of
the House Government Reform Committee and the staff of the Senate
Democratic Policy Committee, that is the first comprehensive assessment
of the magnitude of Halliburton's unreasonable billings in Iraq.
June 24, 2005
Rep.
Waxman's Statement on the United States' Second Confirmed Case of Mad Cow
Disease
Rep. Waxman comments
on the second case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the United
States.
June 22, 2005
Rep.
Waxman's Opening Statement before the Subcommittee on Health of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee
At a hearing on
Medicaid prescription drugs and options for payment reform, Rep. Waxman
urges appropriate drug payment policy reforms and asks that the savings
achieved in this area be reinvested in Medicaid to help make necessary
changes in the program to better serve beneficiaries.
June 21, 2005
Bill
Would Establish Independent Commission to Investigate Detainee Abuses
Rep. Waxman,
Democratic Leader Pelosi, and other senior Democrats announced they will
introduce legislation to establish an independent Commission to
investigate abuses of detainees in connection with Operation Iraqi
Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, or any operation within the Global
War on Terrorism.
June 21, 2005
U.S.
Mismanaged Iraqi Funds
At the first
congressional hearing on the Development Fund for Iraq, Rep. Waxman
releases a report on the U.S. mismanagement of Iraqi funds. The report
details the billions in cash transferred from the Federal Reserve Bank to
U.S. officials in Iraq, the lack of financial controls in Iraq, and the
evidence of substantial waste, fraud, and abuse in the spending of these
funds.
June 16, 2005
Waxman
and Boxer Release Report on Human Pesticide Experiments
Rep. Waxman and Sen.
Boxer release a detailed analysis of 22 human pesticide experiments that
the Bush Administration is currently reviewing or plans to review in the
future.
June 15, 2005
Committee
Holds Hearing on Steroid Use Among Women
Today the Government
Reform Committee holds a hearing examining steroid use among young women
for athletic training and body image.
June 9, 2005
Rep.
Waxman Calls for End to Secrecy, Waste in Department of Homeland Security
In a Committee
hearing on the Department of Homeland Security's mission effectiveness,
Rep. Waxman asks DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff to put an end to the
department's excessive secrecy and wasteful spending and instead promote
openness and accountability in government.
June 7, 2005
GAO:
Pentagon Squandering Billions on Excess Property
The Government
Reform Committee National Security Subcommittee holds a hearing to
examine a new GAO study on waste and inefficiency in the Defense
Department. The report finds that the Department has improperly disposed
of valuable equipment at a cost to taxpayers of more than $3.5 billion.
May 27, 2005
Democrats
to Introduce Legislation to Create Select Committee to Investigate
Prisoner Abuse
Today Rep. Henry A.
Waxman, along with Democratic Leader Pelosi, Armed Services Ranking
Member Skelton, and other senior congressional leaders, announced plans
to introduce legislation to create a House select committee to
investigate the abuses of detainees held in U.S. custody in connection
with the war in Iraq and the global war on terrorism.
May 26, 2005
Committee
Approves Clean Sports Act of 2005 (H.R. 2565)
Today the Committee
unanimously approved the Clean Sports Act of 2005 (H.R. 2565), a bill to
strengthen the testing procedures and toughen the penalties for the use
of performance-enhancing drugs in professional American sports.
May 24, 2005
Speech: National Coalition to Support
Sexuality Education
May 24, 2005
Waxman,
Davis, and McCain Introduce Clean Sports Act of 2005 (H.R. 2565)
Today Rep. Waxman,
Chairman Davis, and Sen. McCain introduced a bill to address the problem
of performance enhancing drugs in sports.
May 23, 2005
IAMB
Audits Raise More Questions About the Administration's Management of the
Development Fund for Iraq
On May 23, 2005, the
International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) released several
audits of the Oil for Food Program's successor, the Development Fund for
Iraq (DFI). These audits suggest serious U.S. mismanagement of DFI funds,
and have led Rep. Waxman to call for hearings looking into the matter.
May 22, 2005
West
Hills Post Office Dedication in Honor of Sergeant Evan Ashcraft
Fallen Soldier
Sergeant Evan Ashcraft was remembered at a post office dedication in his
community. As the sponsor of legislation to rename the post office, Rep.
Waxman commended Sergeant Ashcraft's leadership in Iraq and extended his
sincere appreciation for ongoing service of our troops around the world.
Sergeant Ashcraft's family and local officials attended the dedication,
and a plaque was placed at the post office to honor his life commitment
to his country.
May 19, 2005
Committee
Holds Hearing on Steroids in the NBA
Today the Government
Reform Committee holds a hearing on the National Basketball Association's
steroid testing policy and its effectiveness in eliminating the use of
performance enhancing drugs.
May 16, 2005
No
Congressional Hearings to Date on DFI Abuses
At today's 13th
congressional hearing into allegations regarding the U.N. Oil for Food
program, Rep. Waxman noted that there have been no hearings on abuses in
the Development Fund for Iraq, the successor to the Oil for Food program
run by the Bush Administration, despite numerous critical reports by U.S.
and other independent auditors and investigators.
May 12, 2005
Rep.
Waxman Introduces Legislation to Restore Transparency and Open Government
Laws
Today Rep. Waxman
introduced legislation to reverse the Bush Administration’s assault on
open government by restoring laws promoting transparency.
May 6, 2005
The Real Costs
of the Republican Energy Policy
Rep. Waxman decries
that the Republican Energy Policy is an anti-environment, anti-consumer,
anti-taxpayer bill and will not help meet the nation’s energy needs.
May 5, 2005
Merck
Documents Show Aggressive Marketing of Vioxx After Studies Indicated Risk
Rep. Waxman releases
an analysis of over 20,000 pages of documents that suggests that Merck
sent more than 3,000 highly trained representatives into doctor's offices
and hospitals armed with misleading information about Vioxx's risks.
April 28, 2005
Speech: American Occupational
Health Conference
April 28, 2005
Speech: Institute for
International Research
April 27, 2005
Committee
Holds Hearing on NFL and Steroids
The Government
Reform Committee holds a hearing examining the National Football League's
steroids policy and its effectiveness in reducing the use of prohibited
performance-enhancing drugs.
April 27, 2005
Lead-Contaminated
Candy Still for Sale in District of Columbia
Rep. Waxman,
Congresswoman Norton, and Rep. Schakowsky write to the DC Department of
Health about a brand of candy known to contain unsafe lead levels
available for purchase in the District.
April 27, 2005
Rep. Waxman's
Opening Statement before the Subcommittee on Health of the House Energy
and Commerce Committee
At a hearing on
long-term care and Medicaid, Rep. Waxman states that there should be a
role for both private and public approaches to helping people with their
long-term care needs. But reducing our fiscal commitment to Medicaid, or
finding ways to deny its help to needy seniors and persons with
disabilities, is not the right answer.
April 26, 2005
Commemorating
the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
April 20, 2005
Waxman
Amendment Would Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil
During debate on the
energy bill, Rep. Waxman urged House colleagues to support an amendment
that would require that the Administration reduce oil demand in the U.S.
by 1,000,000 barrels per day by 2013. The amendment failed 166-262.
April 5, 2005
Opening
Statement: Energy Policy Markup
The Energy and
Commerce Committee begins marking up the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Rep. Waxman urges Members of the Committee to oppose the “fundamentally
flawed legislation,” because it fails to reduce the nation’s dependence
on foreign oil, protect the environment, or safeguard consumers.
March 18, 2005
Committee’s
Issuance of Subpoena for Terri Schiavo
Rep. Waxman:
"These subpoenas are a flagrant abuse of power. Congress is turning
the Schiavo family's personal tragedy into a national political farce.
The committee has no business inserting itself in the middle of an
excruciating private family matter."
March 17, 2005
Steroids
in Baseball
On March 17, the House
Government Reform Committee held a hearing on allegations of steroid use
in Major League Baseball and the adequacy of the league's response.
March 16, 2005
H.R.
1268, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global
War on Terror, and Tsunami Relief
March 10, 2005
Davis
and Waxman Respond to MLB's Objections to Steroid Investigation
Chairman Davis and
Rep. Waxman detail the basis for the Committee's investigation into
steroid use and reject the premise that Major League Baseball and its
players are above responsible scrutiny.
March 9, 2005
Speech: Brookings Institute Speech on
Public Health Policy
March 7, 2005
Lax
Oversight of Medicaid Drug Pricing Costs Millions
Rep. Waxman releases
a new GAO study that shows that the federal agency responsible for
Medicaid has failed to ensure that the program get the "best
possible" prices from prescription drug manufacturers, as required
under law.
February 25, 2005
Speech: Generic
Pharmaceutical Corporation
February 16, 2005
Bill
Would Restore Scientific Integrity to Research and Policymaking
Reps. Waxman and
Gordon introduce H.R. 839, legislation to protect federal science from
political interference. The bill includes bars on manipulating science,
suppressing research, and using political litmus tests to appoint members
of scientific advisory committees.
February 14, 2005
Whistleblowers:
Iraq 'Wild West' Under CPA
At a Senate
Democratic Policy Committee hearing, a former Coalition Provisional
Authority official and other whistleblowers testify on the waste, fraud,
and abuse of Iraqi funds under the stewardship of the Bush
Administration.
February 10, 2005
H.R. 418, The "Real
ID" Act
Rep. Waxman raised
serious concerns that the bill imposes costly new state requirements that
simply cannot be achieved in the three years allowed. With unreasonable
deadlines and inadequate funding, it will serve to create confusion and
frustrate the public.
February 9, 2005
Press Statement: Energy bill
Rep. Waxman joins
Members of the Energy and Commerce Committee in denouncing Republican
plans to pass an energy bill that will allow the nation’s dependence on
foreign oil to continue to increase and to hand out giveaways to the
energy companies.
February 3, 2005
Bill
Would Ban Lead in Products for Young Children
Citing the failure
of the Consumer Product Safety Commission to protect children from
hazardous levels of lead in consumer products, Rep. Waxman announces
plans to introduce legislation to ban lead from toys, toy jewelry, and
other items for children under age six.
January 24, 2005
CA
Youth With Mental Illness Incarcerated When Community Services
Unavailable
Rep. Waxman releases
a report finding that over half of California’s juvenile detention
facilities inappropriately incarcerate youth waiting for mental health
treatment.
January 13, 2005
Recalls
Show Need to Protect Children from Dangerous Levels of Lead in Toy
Jewelry and Other Products
In a letter to the
Consumer Products Safety Commission, Rep. Waxman calls for strengthened
standards to protect children from dangerous levels of lead in toy
jewelry and other children's products.
December 1, 2004
Federally
Funded Abstinence-Only Programs Teach False And Misleading Information
A report released by
Rep. Waxman shows that many federally funded abstinence-only education
programs use curricula that distort information about the effectiveness
of contraceptives, misrepresent the risks of abortion, blur religion and
science, treat stereotypes about girls and boys as scientific fact, and
contain basic scientific errors.
December 1, 2004
Speech: Food and Drug
Law Institute regarding Hatch-Waxman
November 17, 2004
Speech: Center for
Business Intelligence regarding Hatch-Waxman
November 17, 2004
FDA
Failed to Oversee Vaccine Plant
New FDA documents
raise serious questions about the agency’s oversight of the Chiron
facility that was scheduled to deliver half of the nation’s flu shot
supply this year.
October 7, 2004
H.R. 10, The 9/11
Recommendations Implementation Act
Rep. Waxman made statements on the House floor
expressing opposition to the Republican leadership's intelligence reform
proposal and expressing support for the Democratic leadership's
alternative bill to fully adopt the 9/11 Commission's recommendations.
H.R. 10, The 9/11
Recommendations Implementation Act
Menendez
Substitute Amendment
October 19, 2004
Call
for GAO Investigation into Overseas Voting Problems
Reps. Waxman and
Maloney ask GAO to investigate whether the Defense Department is
fulfilling its obligation to ensure that Americans living abroad, both
military and civilian, can vote.
October 14, 2004
DOJ
Unprepared to Handle Allegations of Voting Irregularities
A new GAO report
released by Reps. Waxman and Conyers finds that the Justice Department is
not prepared to respond to reports of voter intimidation and
disenfranchisement in next month’s elections.
October 12, 2004
Southern
California Veterans Wait Months For Disability Benefits
A new report
released by Rep. Waxman finds that thousands of disabled veterans in
Southern California wait months before receiving veteran’s disability
benefits.
October 6, 2004
H.R.
10 Fails to Address 9/11 Commission Recommendations
Rep. Turner, Ranking
Member on the Select Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Waxman
release a new analysis that compares the 41 recommendations made by the
9/11 Commission to H.R. 10, the legislation developed by House Republican
leadership being considered tomorrow on the House floor. The analysis
finds that the Republican bill fully implements only 11 of the
Commission's recommendations and contains over 50 extraneous provisions.
October 5, 2004
House
Subpoenas Documents on Administration Mismanagement of Iraqi Funds
New FDA documents
raise serious questions about the agency’s oversight of the Chiron
facility that was scheduled to deliver half of the nation’s flu shot
supply this year.
September 30, 2004
H.J.Res.
106, the Federal Marriage Amendment
Rep. Waxman
spoke in opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would deny
basic rights under the Constitution to gays and lesbians. This resolution
was a cynical ploy to foster division and diversion for the election
campaign.
September 29, 2004
House
Bill Fails to Implement 9-11 Commission Recommendations
Rep. Waxman
urges a bipartisan effort to pass legislation that would fully implement
the recommendations made by the 9-11 Commission, rather than the deeply
flawed House bill, drafted by the Republican leadership, that fully
implements just 11 of the 41 recommendations in the Commission's report.
September 27, 2004
H.R.
3193, the Assault Weapons in DC Act
On Sept. 29, the
House will consider H.R. 3193 -- legislation that would make it legal to
carry fully loaded assault weapons and possess armor-piercing ammunition
in the nation’s capital city. Members of Congress, the D.C. City Council,
and others have spoken out against the measure.
September 22, 2004
DOD
Blocking Access to Overseas Voting Assistance Website
Reps. Waxman,
Maloney, and Clay write DOD regarding recent reports that the Department
is blocking access to the Federal Voting Assistance Program website for
many Americans overseas.
September 14, 2004
Report:
Secrecy in the Bush Administration
Rep. Waxman has
released a comprehensive examination of the unprecedented assault on the
principle of open government under the Bush Administration.
August 3, 2004
Reviewing
9-11 Commission’s Recommendations
At a Government
Reform Committee hearing, Rep. Waxman expressed concerns about the fate
of the 9-11 Commission’s recommendations.
July 21, 2004
Two
New Reports Criticize Halliburton’s Iraq Contracts
Reps. Waxman and
Dingell release two reports on Halliburton’s work in Iraq. The first
report, prepared by GAO, finds systematic problems in the planning,
implementation, and oversight of Halliburton’s contract to provide troop
support services. The second report, by the minority staff, finds
extensive overcharges in Halliburton’s gasoline prices.
July 19, 2004
Speech: Center for
Business Intelligence Regarding biogenerics
July 7, 2004
Youth
with Mental Illness Incarcerated Unnecessarily
At a Senate
Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Rep. Waxman and Senator Collins
release a Special Investigations Division report revealing that nearly
2,000 youth are incarcerated each day because community mental health
services are unavailable. In 33 states, youth are locked up in detention
facilities to wait for treatment even though no charges have been filed
against them.
Report
June 23, 2004
Bipartisan
House Group Calls on EPA to Issue Stronger Mercury Rule
Reps. Waxman,
Cooper, Allen, Grijalva, E.B. Johnson, McCollum, Schakowsky, Solis, and
172 other members of Congress urge EPA to issue a rule on mercury
emissions that meets the requirements of federal law and acts decisively
to address the urgent threat that mercury poses to the nation’s public
health.
June 23, 2004
H.Res.
690, Creating a Select Committee on Prison Abuses
Rep. Waxman,
alongside Democratic Leader Pelosi, Armed Services Ranking Member
Skelton, and nine other congressional leaders, introduces legislation to
create a select committee in the House to investigate the abuses of
detainees held in U.S. custody in Abu Ghraib prison and elsewhere.
Bill Text
June 8, 2004
Mourning the
Passing of President Ronald Reagan
May 27, 2004
Noncompetitive
Contracts Soar under Bush Administration
A new report
released by Rep. Waxman shows that the Bush Administration awarded $107
billion in sole-source and other noncompetitive contracts in fiscal year
2003, an increase of 60% compared to the last year of the Clinton
Administration.
Report
May 18, 2004
Conflicts
of Interest Leave Iraq Reconstruction Vulnerable to Waste, Fraud, and
Abuse
A joint report
released by Rep. Waxman, Sen. Dorgan, Rep. Dingell, and Sen. Wyden
reveals that the private contractors hired to oversee the reconstruction
of Iraq have ongoing business relationships with the construction firms
they are supposed to supervise.
Report
May 17, 2004
Members
File Suit To Force Administration To Release Medicare Cost Estimates
All 19 members of
the Government Reform Committee minority file suit against the Secretary of
Health and Human Services to compel the Administration to release cost
estimates prepared by the HHS Actuary during congressional consideration
of Medicare reform legislation.
April 29, 2004
Current
Mercury Rulemaking Plan Compromised in Process and Substance
Reps. Waxman, Allen,
and Schakowsky and Sen. Leahy urge the EPA to rescue the rulemaking
process on power plant emissions by analyzing legally viable options and
issuing a new or supplemental proposal.
April 27, 2004
Commemoration
of the Armenian Genocide
April 24, 2004
Taekwondo
Rule Change Raises Safety Concerns for Young Athletes
Rep. Waxman, Rep.
Jackson, and Sen. Jeffords write the U.S. Olympic Committee to express
concerns about a taekwondo rule change that encourages young black belts
to disable opponents with kicks to the head – a rule change that medical
experts say puts children at risk of serious injury.
April 12, 2004
Government
Reform Committee Approves Legislation to Transform Postal Service
The Committee has
approved bipartisan legislation that will allow the Postal Service to
continue to fulfill its universal service mission at a reasonable cost by
establishing a modern system for regulating rates, giving needed flexibility
to the Postal Service, and ensuring a level playing field for the Postal
Service and its competitors.
March 31, 2004
Failure to Pass
Extension Results in Loss of Unemployment Benefits for 83,000 LA Area
Workers
A new report
prepared for Rep. Waxman and 12 other Los Angeles-Long Beach area members
details the local impact of Congress's failure to pass a temporary
federal extension of unemployment benefits.
March 18, 2004
California
Members Support Waiver of Ethanol/MTBE Requirements
Fifty-two members of
the California House delegation write EPA to express support for a waiver
that would allow the state to sell cleaner blends of gasoline without the
oxygenates mandated by the Clean Air Act.
March 18, 2004
Rep.
Waxman's Opening Statement before the Subcommittee on Health of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee
At a hearing on
intergovernmental transfers, Rep. Waxman urges a very cautious approach
to interfering with a long-established and fragile system of fiscal
support for this program at this time of critical need, with safety net
institutions tottering on the brink and the number of uninsured rising
every day.
March 11, 2004
Rep.
Waxman Details Halliburton Audit, Other New Information on Iraq
Contracting
At a Committee
hearing and in a briefing memo to colleagues, Rep. Waxman details new
information from the Defense Contract Audit Agency, GAO, and the Defense
Energy Support on Halliburton’s work in Iraq.
February 12, 2004
EPA
Questioned on Lobbyist Role in Mercury Rulemaking
Reps. Waxman and
Allen ask for information on reports that portions of the latest air
pollution control proposal may have been copied directly from industry
lobbyist memos.
February 5, 2004
Budget
Asks for Fraction of Needed AIDS Funding Increase
Eight members call
on the Administration to ensure that a new CDC initiative will not leave
thousands of Americans with an HIV diagnosis but without access to life
saving drugs.
January 26, 2004
GAO
Asked to Investigate White House Leak
House Democratic
Leader Pelosi, Senate Democratic Leader Daschle, and Ranking Members
Waxman, Lieberman, Rockefeller, and Conyers today request a GAO
investigation into whether the White House complied with internal
security procedures for protecting covert CIA operative Valerie Plame's
identity from disclosure and responding to the leak after it occurred.
January 15, 2004
Members
Demand Information on Energy Department Contacts with Industry Groups
More than a dozen
members demand the release of information regarding reports that the
Department of Energy worked with industry groups to plan a "lobbying
blitz" in support of the energy bill.
January 15, 2004
Members
Demand Information on Health and Energy Policies
More than a dozen
members demand the release of information on the political interference
with science at HHS and on reports that the Department of Energy worked
with industry groups to plan a "lobbying blitz" in support of
the energy bill.
January 6, 2004
Rep.
Waxman's Opening Statement before the Senate Democratic Policy Committee
At a hearing on the
problem of the uninsured, Rep. Waxman urges action on an indefensible
problem in this country: 43.6 million people without health insurance. He
demands a commitment of our nation's resources to provide the services
that our citizens need and deserve.
November 29, 2003
Speech: Center for Business
Intelligence
October 29, 2003
Halliburton
Paid Exorbitant Price Per Gallon
Reps. Waxman and
Dingell reveal that Halliburton was paid $2.65 per gallon to import
gasoline from Kuwait into Iraq -- much more than previously estimated.
The Administration's role in approving these exorbitant prices is
questioned.
October 28, 2003
Protecting
Against Unsafe Dietary Supplements
Reps. Waxman, S.
Davis, and Dingell introduce H.R. 3377, the Dietary Supplement Access and
Awareness Act, to increase FDA's authority to protect consumers from
those dietary supplements that pose health risks and preserve access to
safe dietary supplements.
October 16, 2003
Iraq
Supplemental Appropriations Act
Reps. Waxman and
Dingell introduce an amendment to the Supplemental Appropriations Act to
reduce by $250 million the amount paid to Halliburton to purchase
gasoline.
October 15, 2003
Industry
Experts Call Halliburton Gasoline Prices "Highway Robbery"
Reps . Waxman and
Dingell reveal the prices that Halliburton has charged to import gasoline
into Iraq. Oil industry experts say Halliburton's prices are
"outrageously high," "a huge ripoff," and
"highway robbery."
October 2, 2003
Speech: Washington Science Policy Alliance Regarding Politics and
Science
October 2, 2003
USDA
IG Releases Report on Agency Handling of ConAgra Beef Recall
The USDA Inspector
General releases the results of its audit of the USDA Food Safety
Inspection Service's oversight of 2002 ConAgra beef recall.
September 25, 2003
Government
Network Security Act
The Government
Network Security Act of 2003 (H.R. 3159), introduced by Rep. Waxman and
Chairman Davis, requires that federal agencies protect their computers
and networks from the security risks posed by peer-to-peer file sharing.
September 16, 2003
Government
Reform Committee Hearing on "Holocaust Era Insurance Restitution
after AIA v. Garamendi: Where Do We Go From Here?"
The Committee on
Government Reform held a hearing to examine the impact of the recent
Supreme Court decision in American Insurance Association v. Garamendi,
which overturned a California state law proposing sanctions against
insurance companies that fail to publish information about Holocaust-era
policies.
September 8, 2003
GAO
Study Shows Prescription Drug Cards Fail to Provide Meaningful Savings to
Seniors
Reps. Waxman, Stark,
Brown and Ross release a GAO study showing prescription drug discount
cards produce only minimal savings at best.
August 25, 2003
GAO
Releases Final Report on Cheney Energy Task Force
Reps. Waxman and
Dingell and Sens. Lieberman, Hollings, Levin, and Dorgan release GAO's
final energy task force report which details the refusal of the White
House to provide even basic information on the task force's operations.
July 23, 2003
Head
Start at Risk; Program Serves 33,000 Children in LA Area
A new report
prepared for Reps. Waxman, Becerra, Sanchez, and other members from Los
Angeles examines the proposed overhaul of Head Start and its impact in
Los Angeles. Head Start provides early education, health care and other
services to over 33,000 children in Los Angeles. Proposals by the Bush
Administration and Republican leaders in the House could turn the program
into a state block grant and place these services at risk.
July 8, 2003
Committee on
Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality hearing on the
Administration's "Clear Skies" bill
June 26, 2003
Members
Call for Independent Commission on Iraq
Over twenty members
of Congress who supported the resolution to use force in Iraq introduced
legislation today to establish an independent commission - modeled after
the September 11 Commission - to examine the intelligence about Iraq and
the representations made by executive branch officials about this
intelligence.
June 23, 2003
Supreme
Court Strikes Down Law Compelling Release of Policy Information
The Supreme Court
struck down a California law that would have required insurance companies
to release information on Holocaust-era insurance policies.
June 12, 2003
New
Questions on President's Use of Forged Nuclear Evidence
The Administration's
new account of why the President cited forged evidence about Iraq's
nuclear capabilities in his State of the Union conflicts with known facts
and is clearly incomplete.
June 3, 2003
Risks
of New “Reduced Risk” Tobacco Products
Rep. Waxman and Rep.
Schakowsky release a new report which finds striking parallels between
the marketing of new “reduced risk” tobacco products and the deceptive
marketing 30 years ago of “light” and “low tar” cigarettes.
May 23, 2003
Bipartisan
Bill to Protect Consumers from Unsafe Contact Lenses
Rep. John Boozman
and Rep. Waxman have introduced legislation that would reverse an April
2003 FDA decision to classify noncorrective lenses as cosmetics, a move
which weakened safety standards. Manufactured improperly or used without
medical supervision, colored contact lenses can cause serious eye
infections and loss of vision.
May 15, 2003
Privacy
and Security Risks of P2P File-Sharing
At a Committee on
Government Reform hearing, Rep. Waxman and Chairman Davis released a
report on the privacy and security risks posed by the use of popular
peer-to-peer file-sharing programs like Kazaa.
May 7, 2003
Services
Acquisition Reform Act
The Government
Reform Committee has approved a bill which would make major changes in
how the federal government buys goods and services worth billions of
dollars. While the aim of the bill is to "streamline" the
federal purchasing process, in key areas its effect will be to diminish
the government's ability to protect taxpayer dollars against waste,
fraud, and abuse.
April 9, 2003
Commemoration
of the 88th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
Rep. Waxman made a
statement in remembrance of the annual commemoration of the Armenian
Genocide.
April 9, 2003
H.R. 1036, The
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
Rep. Waxman made a
statement in strong opposition to H.R. 1036, which would provide immunity
from liability to gun manufacturers and gun dealers, when the bill was
considered on the House floor. Rep. Waxman voted against this legislation
and is disappointed that it passed the House by a vote of 285 - 140.
April 8, 2003
Postal
Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act
The House has passed
S. 380, the Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act,
which will credit the Postal Service for the real value of past
retirement contributions and will change how future contributions are
calculated.
April 1, 2003
Speech: Rep. Waxman
Delivered a Speech to the Food and Drug Law Institute
March 26, 2003
Fifty-Two
Members Support California in Garamendi Case
Rep. Waxman, joined
by 51 Members of Congress, filed an amicus brief supporting the State of
California in American Insurance Association et. al. v. Garamendi.
March 13, 2003
Internet
File-Sharing Hearing
The Committee on
Government Reform held a hearing on children's access and exposure to
pornography through Internet file-sharing programs. At the hearing, a GAO
report and a staff report on the issue were released, as well as helpful
recommendations for parents.
March 5, 2003
Rep. Waxman
Calls for Hearings and Investigation of Energy Sector Abuses
Rep. Waxman made a
statement in opposition to the Energy and Commerce Committee energy bill
which fails to reflect the most dramatic events that have happened in the
energy sector since consideration of the last energy bill in August 2001
and calls for hearings and investigations before legislation can be
passed.
February 27, 2003
Speech: American Jewish
Committee Speech on American Oil Dependence
February 13, 2003
Rep.
Waxman Introduces Smallpox Vaccination and Compensation Act
Rep. Waxman today
introduced legislation to provide compensation for health care workers
and others injured by the smallpox vaccine. The legislation also includes
provisions to assist state efforts against smallpox and to protect health
care workers and their employers during the vaccination campaign.
Legislation
Summary
More
on Smallpox Vaccine Compensation
February 12, 2003
Cheney
Energy Task Force
Rep. Waxman gave
remarks about the serious implications of GAO's decision to abandon its
efforts to obtain Cheney task force records.
January 28, 2003
Speech: Rep. Waxman
delivered a speech to the Generic Pharmaceutical Association
January 10, 2003
Concern
Over Justice Department Takeover of Insurance Company
Rep. Waxman and
other members have expressed concern about the Justice Department's
failure to prosecute the French bank Credit Lyonnais for its fraudulent
takeover of Executive Life Insurance Company in 1991.
December 11, 2002
Midnight
Trade Deal Ends Tariffs on U.S. Cigarettes Sold in Chile
Rep. Waxman and Rep.
Doggett call for a full investigation into a midnight trade deal by U.S.
Trade Representative Robert Zoellick that will phase out tariffs on U.S.
cigarettes sold in Chile, an abandonment of the Administration’s
previously stated position that cigarettes would not be included in the
trade negotiations.
December 9, 2002
Cheney
Energy Task Force
Rep. Waxman made a
statement regarding access to the Cheney Energy Task Force records.
Flaws
in the District Court Decision »
November 13, 2002
The
Homeland Security Act of 2002
Rep. Waxman made a
statement regarding the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
More
on Homeland Security
November 2, 2002
Speech: Energy / Environmental Issues
Rep. Waxman gave a
speech regarding energy and environmental issues to the Group Against
Smog and Pollution (GASP).
October 28, 2002
Speech: Generic Drugs
and Drug Pricing
Rep. Waxman gave a
speech on generic drugs and drug pricing to the American Academy of
Pharmaceutical Physicians.
October 17, 2002
Prosperity
Index Is Falling Under Bush
A new report
released by Reps. Richard Gephardt, Henry Waxman, and John Spratt uses
the 'Prosperity Index' to assess the health of the nation's economy. The
report shows that since President Bush took office, the Prosperity Index
has experienced its sharpest decline in 20 years.
The
Prosperity Index: Measuring the State of the Nation's Economy
Prosperity Index Chart
October 16, 2002
Medical
Privacy
Rep. Waxman made a
statement regarding H.R. 5646, The Stop Taking our Health Privacy Act of
2002.
October 10, 2002
Regarding War
with Iraq
Despite his
misgivings about the President’s approach, Rep. Waxman believes it’s
essential that Congress send the strongest bipartisan signal of unity
possible so the UN will act. The resolution was supported by 77 of 100
Senators and 296 of 435 Representatives, including Rep. Waxman.
PDF
Version
October 9, 2002
Competition
in the Pharmaceutical Marketplace
Rep. Waxman made a
statement during a hearing before the Subcommittee on Health
titled 'Examining Issues Related to Competition in
the Pharmaceutical Marketplace:
A Review of the FTC Report "Generic Drug Entry
Prior to Patent Expiration"'
October 3, 2002
United
States Relations with Saudi Arabia
Rep. Waxman made a
statement before the Committee on Government Reform regarding relations
between the United States and Saudi Arabia. He cited that there are
fundamental differences between democratic governments like ours and
Saudi Arabia.
October 2, 2002
Mark-up
of Medical Device Legislation
Rep. Waxman opposes
new medical device legislation that authorizes the payment of user fees
by device manufacturers for FDA reviews because the bill includes a
program to partially privatize inspections of medical device plants.
October 1, 2002
H.R.
2357, The "Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act"
Rep. Waxman made a
statement in strong opposition to H.R. 2357, which would change the tax
code to allow religious nonprofit organizations to engage in political
activity, use tax-exempt contributions for political purposes, and enable
religious leaders to endorse candidates from their pulpit.
September 25, 2002
Markup
of The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
Rep. Waxman made a
statement opposing H.R. 2037, which would grant extensive immunity to gun
dealers and manufacturers, even if they engage in reckless or negligent
behavior.
April
18 - Rep. Waxman's speech during a hearing on the bill
September 24, 2002
Amendment
to the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act
Rep. Waxman made a
statement before the Rules Committee asking for an amendment to be made
to H.R. 4691, the "Abortion Nondiscrimination Act".
September 24, 2002
Disclosure
of Holocaust-Era Insurance Policy Information
The Subcommittee on
Government Efficiency, Financial Management and Intergovernmental
Relations held a hearing on H.R. 2693, the 'Holocaust Victims Insurance
Relief Act of 2001', which would require insurance companies operating in
the United States to disclose information about their Holocaust-era
policies issued in Europe during the Nazi era.
September 18, 2002
Markup
of the HEALTH Act of 2002
Rep. Waxman made a
statement at the Energy and Commerce Committee markup regarding the
"Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Health Care (HEALTH)
Act of 2002".
September 18, 2002
Drug
Pricing Loopholes
Rep. Waxman's
statement in support of discharge petition for a bill that would lower
drug prices by eliminating loopholes that drug companies use to delay
competition.
September 17, 2002
Tobacco
Companies Still Deny Harm of Cigarettes
As criticism of the
tobacco industry has accelerated in recent years and calls for product
regulation have grown, tobacco companies have defended themselves by
saying they are now "responsible" corporations that aim to
communicate honestly about their products. A new report released by Rep.
Waxman examines recently submitted filings by the five largest cigarette
manufacturers in the civil suit brought by the United States Department
of Justice to evaluate the truthfulness of company statements.
July 17, 2002
Hearing on Harming
Patient Access to Care: The Impact of Excessive Litigation
July 16, 2002
Hearing
on EPA Cabinet Elevation
The Government
Reform Committee's Energy Policy, Natural Resources, and Regulatory
Affairs Subcommittee held a hearing entitled "EPA Cabinet Elevation:
Agency and Stakeholder Views".
July 9, 2002
Anti-Semitism
in Europe
Rep. Waxman voted
for H.Res. 393, a resolution calling for the governments of Europe to
protect the safety and well-being of their Jewish communities, condemn
anti-Semitic attacks, and prosecute perpetrators of anti-Semitic
violence. The resolution passed the House unanimously.
Text
of the Bill
June 27, 2002
Rep.
Waxman Releases Analysis of House Energy Bill
The conference
between the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on energy
legislation began today. Rep. Waxman released a detailed
section-by-section analysis of H.R. 4, the House energy bill, which shows
that H.R. 4 is not a coherent national energy policy but is instead a
collection of special interest giveaways to large energy industry
campaign contributors.
June 20, 2002
Hearing
on The Department of Homeland Security: An Overview of the President's
Proposal
White House Office
of Homeland Security Director Ridge testifies at a Committee hearing on
"The Department of Homeland Security: An Overview of the President's
Proposal."
June 19, 2002
Hearing
on Vaccine Safety
In his opening
statement at a hearing on vaccine safety, Rep. Waxman states that, with
this series of hearings, Chairman Burton has repeatedly provided a forum
for unsubstantiated allegations about vaccine safety that have alarmed
and confused parents. Rep. Waxman also urges Chairman Burton drop his
threats to subpoena patient information from the Vaccine Safety Datalink
(VSD) project, a national database for monitoring vaccine safety, and
instead accept the CDC's solution of working with the HMOs to create a
process for allowing independent researchers access to the data.
June 6, 2002
Statement
on the Permanent Estate Tax Repeal
The effort to make permanent the repeal of the estate tax would enrich a
small group of wealthy Americans, while worsening the existing federal
budget deficit.
May 22, 2002
Statement
on the Rangel Substitute to the Customs Border Security Act
May 14, 2002
Statement on the
Nursing Home Improvement Act of 2002
May 8, 2002
Hearing
on Affordable Pharmaceuticals
The Senate Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a hearing on "Closing
the Gaps in the Hatch-Waxman Act: Assuring Greater Access to Affordable
Pharmaceuticals".
May 6, 2002
Speech: Postal Issues
Rep. Waxman gave a
speech on postal issues to American Business Media.
May 01, 2002
Rep.
Waxman Introduces Nursing Home Staffing Improvement Act of 2002
Rep. Waxman and
other members introduced the Nursing Home Staffing Improvement Act (H.R.
4715) to establish minimum staffing levels for nursing homes. This bill
implements staffing levels identified by the Department of Health and
Human Services and would require that all nursing home residents receive
at least four hours of nursing care each day.
April 24, 2002
Rep.
Waxman Gives Statement on H.R. 4187, The Presidential Records Act
In a hearing on The
Presidential Records Act, Rep. Waxman stated, "The Bush executive
order, which changes the management of the Presidential Records Act, is
seriously flawed. The order takes a law that was designed to make
documents readily available to the public and establishes procedures that
are designed to block access."
April 23, 2002
Hearing on Energy
Policy
The Government
Reform Committee´s Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources and
Regulatory Affairs held a hearing on fuel standards and the environment.
The Enron Investigation
April 23, 2002
Hearing on Welfare
Reform
The Energy and
Commerce Committee´s Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on Welfare
Reform Programs.
April 18, 2002
Statement on
the Future of Yucca Mountain, Nevada
The Energy and
Commerce Committee´s Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality held a markup
of the President's Recommendation to Develop a Nuclear Waste Repository
at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
April 18, 2002
Hearing
on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
The Energy and
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer
Protection held a hearing on legislation to provide immunity from
liability to gun manufacturers and gun dealers
April 16, 2002
HHS
Posts Complete Information on Nursing Home Violations
A report released in
February by Rep. Waxman and Sen. Charles E. Grassley found that the
federal website 'Nursing Home Compare' was incomplete because it did not
include tens of thousands of recent violations of federal health
standards. Rep. Waxman and Sen. Grassley wrote to HHS Administrator Tom
Scully to urge that the information be added to the site, and asked the
minority staff to create a temporary searchable database of these
complaint violations. In May 2002, HHS began posting the information on
their website 'Nursing Home Compare'.
April 11, 2002
Historians
on the Importance of Access to Presidential Records
In a full Committee
oversight hearing on the Presidential Records Act, four prominent
historians criticized efforts by the Bush Administration to restrict
access to presidential records. According to Dr. Stanley Kutler, "If
his action stands, Bush will substantially shut down historical research
of recent presidents."
April 10, 2002
Nicotine
Lollipops Illegally Sold
One week after Rep.
Waxman called on the Department of Health and Human Services to halt the
sale of nicotine lollipops, the FDA announced its finding that these
products are illegal and directed sellers to move to discontinue sales
within 15 days.
March 26, 2002
Letter
from PaineWebber on Financial Advice to Enron Employees
In response to a
letter sent by Rep. Waxman, UBS PaineWebber provides information on the
financial advice it gave to Enron employees.
March 14, 2002
Minority
Members Submit Views on Clinton Pardon Report
Minority members of
the Government Reform Committee respond to the majority's report,
"Justice Undone: Clemency Decisions in the Clinton White
House." The minority's response concludes that the pardons were the
result of a clemency process in disarray and poor judgment. The
majority's report, however, does not recite facts and draw reasonable
conclusions. Rather, it mixes facts with suppositions, unfairly questions
the motives and integrity of the individuals involved, and makes numerous
unsupported allegations of wrongdoing.
March 6, 2002
Hearing
on Reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act
The Energy and
Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health held a hearing regarding the
rapid speed in which new drugs are reviewed in the United States.
February 28, 2002
Understanding
Congressional Operations Address to Public Health Prevention Specialists
& Preventive Health Residents
Rep. Waxman´s
statement at the Brookings Institution
February 27, 2002
Antibiotic
Resistance Caused by Overuse of Antibiotics in Healthy Farm Animals
Rep. Waxman's
statement upon introduction of a bill to address the problem of
antibiotic resistance caused by overuse of antibiotics in healthy farm
animals. Antibiotic resistance can render drugs to treat life-threatening
illnesses ineffective, and the bill would ensure that antibiotics that
have important uses in humans are not routinely given to healthy animals
unless there is good evidence it will not endanger human health.
February 26, 2002
House
Energy Bill Includes Huge Taxpayer Subsidies to Energy Industries
A new report
prepared for Rep. Waxman analyzes the House energy bill in detail. The
report shows that the Administration's energy policy contained in H.R. 4
is mainly an assemblage of tax breaks and subsidies to energy companies.
February 22, 2002
GAO
Files Suit for Information on Contacts with Outside Parties
GAO filed suit in
the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to obtain access to
information about the task force's contacts with outside parties. This is
the first time that GAO has filed suit against a federal official in
order to obtain access to records. In a statement released the same day,
GAO said that it took this step "reluctantly" but added that "given
GAO's responsibility to Congress and the American people, we have no
other choice."
February 22, 2002
Rep.
Waxman Testifies on Fifty Caliber Weapons
Rep. Waxman
testified before the California Assembly Select Committee on Gun
Violence, calling fifty caliber weapons "among the most dangerous
and powerful weapons available today."
February 13, 2002
Hearing
on Enron and Energy Markets
At a hearing held by
the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee, Rep. Waxman explained how
deregulation of electric utilities has led to a string of failures and
broken promises.
'The
Broken Promise of Deregulation' Charts
February 6, 2002
Hearing
on Developments Relating to Enron Corporation
The House Energy and
Commerce Committee held a hearing on the Enron collapse. Rep. Waxman
stated his desire for a comprehensive investigation.
January 28, 2002
Speech: Rep. Waxman delivered
a speech to the Center for Business Intelligence
January 10, 2002
Rep.
Waxman Releases Enron Statement
Rep. Waxman issues a
statement in response to news reports that the Bush Administration had
prior knowledge of the Enron collapse.
December 12, 2001
Markup
of H.R. 3406, the "Electric Supply and Transmission Act of
2001"
The House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality convened a markup on
sweeping and controversial policy changes to the nation's electricity
laws. Although opening statements were made at the markup, the
Subcommittee never actually acted upon H.R. 3406. The Subcommittee did
not consider amendments, debate, vote on or report the legislation. Rep.
Waxman stated his strong opposition to the legislation.
December 6, 2001
Criticism of DOJ
Gun Records Policy
Rep. Waxman
participated in a press conference in which he criticized Attorney
General John Ashcroft for refusing the FBI's requests to investigate the
gun records of suspected terrorists.
December 3, 2001
Bush
Refuses to Turn Over Records
Rep. Waxman
criticized the Bush Administration for invoking executive privilege and
withholding important documents from Congress.
November 28, 2001
Bill
to Open Secret Social Security Commission Meetings
Reps. Waxman and
Matsui introduce legislation that will require the President's Commission
on Social Security to keep their meetings open to the public.
November 15, 2001
The
Biological Weapons Convention: Rethinking Our Priorities After September
11
Rep. Waxman held a
Special Investigations Briefing to discuss the value of mandatory
inspections under the Biological Weapons Convention, particularly in the
context of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the recent anthrax
attacks.
November 8, 2001
Hearing
on 'The Status of Insurance Restitution for Holocaust Victims and Their
Heirs'
At the request of
Rep. Waxman, the Committee on Government Reform held a hearing on
Holocaust-era insurance restitution and the work of the International
Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC).
November 06, 2001
Criticism
of DOJ Gun Records Policy
Rep. Waxman
participated in a press conference in which he criticized Attorney General
John Ashcroft for refusing the FBI's requests to investigate the gun
records of suspected terrorists.
November 06, 2001
Administration
Limits Release of Presidential Records
Reps. Waxman and
Schakowsky send a letter to President Bush calling on him to rescind his
Executive Order that greatly restricts public access to Presidential
records.
October 30, 2001
Committee
Investigates Mail Safety
The Committee held a
hearing regarding the safety of U.S. postal employees and the mail.
October 16, 2001
Ambulance
Diversions Are Warning Sign
Rep. Waxman released
a report detailing the national problem of ambulance diversions and its
implications for how well emergency rooms are prepared for possible
terrorist attacks. By analyzing state and local articles published since
January 2000, the report identified 22 states where hospital officials
have declared they cannot safely accept emergency vehicles causing delays
in patient care. These access problems have occurred under present
conditions, demonstrating that additional attention to the emergency care
system is needed to prepare fully for future challenges.
October 11, 2001
Violence Policy
Center Report on Fifty Caliber Sniper Weapons
The Violence Policy
Center issued a new report, Voting From the Rooftops: How the Gun
Industry Armed Osama bin Laden, Other Foreign and Domestic Terrorists,
and Common Criminals with 50 Caliber Sniper Rifles. The report
demonstrates the extraordinary dangers posed by long-range, fifty caliber
sniper weapons.
October 11, 2001
Markup
of H.R. 2983, the Price-Anderson Reauthorization Act of 2001
The House Energy and
Commerce Committee marked up and reported legislation to reauthorize the
Price Anderson Act. In light of the terrorist attacks of September 11,
Rep. Waxman urges Congress to carefully examine federal policies regarding
nuclear facilities before paving the way for the construction of many new
nuclear reactors.
October 3, 2001
Markup of
Anti-terrorism Legislation
The House Energy and
Commerce Committee marked up legislation to address nuclear
facilities. Rep. Waxman notes that the legislation is two years old
and fails to reflect the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, or
recent press reports on inadequate security at commercial nuclear facilities.
Rep. Waxman states that “these facilities are often unable to defend
against an attack by even the smallest group of attackers. That
means we should be particularly concerned about an attack at the level of
competency and commitment displayed in the September 11 attacks.”
October 2, 2001
Airline
Industry Relief
On September 21,
2001, Rep. Waxman voted against H.R. 2926, legislation providing billions
of dollars of financial relief to the airline industry from the September
11 terrorist attack. Read Rep. Waxman´s statement on the House floor when
H.R. 2926 was considered and additional comments he submitted in the
Congressional Record on October 2, 2001.
October 1, 2001
GAO
Report: 2000 Presidential Election Undercount
At the request of
Rep. Waxman, the General Accounting Office investigated the impact of
voting equipment and the demographic characteristics of voters on the
undercount in the 2000 presidential election. The report found that
voters using punch-card machines had the highest percentage of uncounted
ballots and that switching from punch-card machines to optical scan
machines that allow voters to correct errors could prevent hundreds of
thousands of uncounted ballots.
September 20, 2001
Hearing
on National Electricity Policy
The House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality held a hearing on
national electricity policy and heard from various federal officials
September 12, 2001
Statement
Regarding the Terrorist Attacks
On September 12,
2001, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to condemn the
September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States and to support
punishing the perpetrators and their state sponsors.
Congressional
Resolution
September 6, 2001
Hearing on
Price Anderson
The House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality held a hearing on
reauthorization of the Price-Anderson Act – legislation that provides for
the U.S. taxpayer to pay for the consequences of a catastrophic nuclear
event. Rep. Waxman questions the need for new subsidies for established
energy industries, instead of adequately encouraging the development of
clean, renewable energy sources.
August 13, 2001
Medicaid
Managed Care Protections
Rep. Waxman, along
with Reps. John Dingell and Sherrod Brown, sent a letter to President
Bush regarding the Administration´s attempts to undermine key measures to
protect against managed care abuses. On August 2, President Bush publicly
endorsed H.R. 2563, a patient rights bill that calls for the same patient
protections for patients covered by Medicaid as for those with privately
insurance. However, just two weeks later, on August 16, the
Administration moved to delay and weaken patient rights in the Medicaid
program. Rep. Waxman, along with Reps. John Dingell and Sherrod Brown,
exposed this glaring contradiction in a letter to President Bush. Reps.
Waxman, Dingell, and Brown prepared a comparison between H.R. 2563 and
pending Medicaid patient protections.
August 06, 2001
Inclusion
of Women in New Drug Testing
At the request of
Rep. Waxman and Senators Tom Harkin, Jim Jeffords, Barbara Mikulski, and
Olympia Snowe, the General Accounting Office (GAO) investigated FDA’s
progress in addressing the inclusion of women in clinical drug trials.
July 30, 2001
Report
on Abuse of Nursing Home Residents
A nationwide report
by the Special Investigations Division for Rep. Waxman has found that
nearly one-third of nursing homes were cited for a violation involving
abuse between January 1999 and January 2001, that many of these abuse
violations caused actual harm to residents, and that the number of abuse
violations is increasing.
July 27, 2001
Children's
Access to Pornography Through Internet File-Sharing Programs
At the request of
Rep. Waxman and Rep. Steve Largent, the Special Investigations Division
examined a new and growing problem for parents throughout the United
States: Internet file-sharing programs that provide children easy and
free access to thousands of explicit pornographic videos and other
pornographic materials.
July 17, 2001
Markup
of the "Energy Advancement and Conservation Act of 2001"
The House Energy and
Commerce Committee convened a markup on comprehensive energy legislation.
Rep. Waxman explained why the legislation failed to meaningfully address
the nation's pressing energy needs.
May 5, 2001
Hearing on H.R. 1647, “The Electricity
Emergency Act of 2001”
The House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality held a hearing on
legislation to assist California with the exorbitant prices and blackouts
that it has experienced. Rep. Waxman states that despite the intent
to help California, the legislation is fundamentally flawed, and will do
far more harm than good.
May 1, 2001
Flaws
of the “Electricity Emergency Relief Act”
The
"Electricity Emergency Relief Act" being drafted by Rep. Joe
Barton is intended to help California address the current electricity
crisis. Unfortunately, the legislation, if enacted, would exacerbate California's
problems by increasing energy costs, undermining state efforts to respond
to the electricity crisis, and weakening important environmental
protections.
April 5, 2001
Investigation
Finds Detroit Election Reforms Worked
At the request of
Rep. Waxman, the Special Investigations Division conducted a case study
of efforts to reduce uncounted ballots in Detroit, the nation's poorest
city. The investigation found that Detroit's reforms worked. By replacing
punch-card machines and conducting voter education, Detroit reduced the
percent of uncounted votes for president by two-thirds between 1996 and
2000. The report was released during a “Special Investigations Briefing”
on April 5, 2001.
March 21, 2001
Investigation
Finds Loopholes in Gun Background Checks
At the request of
Rep. Waxman, the Special Investigations Division and GAO examined the effectiveness
of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). As part
of this investigation, GAO agents used off-the-shelf software to make
counterfeit drivers licenses and then used these false IDs to buy guns in
five states: Virginia, West Virginia, Montana, New Mexico, and Arizona.
The agents were successful in all five states. As part of the
investigation, GAO issued its own report concluding that the instant
background check system cannot ensure that prospective purchasers are not
felons or others ineligible to buy guns.
March 20, 2001
Hearing
on Electricity Markets: California
The House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality held a hearing on the
nation's electricity markets. Rep. Waxman called for decisive action from
the President to help California and the other western states from
skyrocketing electricity prices.
February 28, 2001
Hearing on
Natural Gas Energy Policy
The House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality held a hearing on the
nation's natural gas energy policy. Rep. Waxman focused on the issue from
a California perspective.
October 11, 2000
Loopholes
in the Drug Reimportation Bill
Congress enacted
legislation as part of the Agriculture Appropriations bill (Pub. L. No.
106-387) that purports to address prescription drug price discrimination
by allowing the importation of lower priced foreign drugs. In reality,
however, the drug reimportation provisions contain numerous loopholes
that will prevent the law from reducing drug prices for seniors and other
U.S. customers. One of the loopholes in the reimportation provisions
creates a labeling “Catch 22” under which drugs cannot be imported into
the United States unless the drug manufacturer consents to the
importation by authorizing the importer to use the FDA-approved label.
Because of the loopholes in the legislation, former HHS Secretary Donna
Shalala determined that the law could not be successfully implemented.
September 26, 2000
Committee
Hearings on White House E-Mails
The Committee held
five days of hearings in 2000 on the topic of White House e-mails. Rep.
Waxman’s opening statements have attempted to put some of the issues
explored at these hearings into their proper context, while rebutting
many of the unsubstantiated allegations that have been made by the
majority and others during the investigation.
July 20, 2000
Statements
on the Campaign Finance Investigation
Rep. Waxman’s
opening statements provide a window into many mistakes and
unsubstantiated allegations that characterize the majority’s campaign
finance investigation.
June 19, 2000
Appropriations
Riders Would Block DOJ´s Suit Against Tobacco Industry
Hidden riders in
VA-HUD and Commerce-State-Justice Appropriations bills would effectively
give the tobacco industry immunity from federal liability -- despite the
tobacco companies´ decades of deceit about the dangers of smoking.
April 17, 2000
Committee
Hearings Highlight Allegations on Vaccine Safety
The Committee held
four hearings on childhood immunizations in the 106th Congress. These
hearings highlighted allegations regarding the safety of some vaccines
and conflicts of interest in the vaccine approval process. In one hearing
in April 2000, witnesses alleged that autism may be caused by the Measles
Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, a theory that has been contradicted by several
epidemiological studies. At the request of Mr. Waxman and Chairman
Burton, HHS contracted with the National Academy of Sciences' Institute
of Medicine to analyze all the available science on this theory. The IOM
issued its report which found no evidence of a link between the MMR
vaccine and autism. Concerned that parents may be needlessly frightened
about vaccine safety and as a result may stop vaccinating their children,
Rep. Waxman wrote an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times explaining that this
remains an unproven hypothesis. Other allegations about vaccines made
during the course of these hearings have never been proved as well. Rep.
Waxman’s hearing statements explain the need for sound research into
these questions while emphasizing that parents should not be
unnecessarily scared from giving their children safe and effective
vaccines against known, debilitating, and deadly diseases.
November 9, 1999
Nationwide
Drug Pricing Report Released
For too long our
nation´s seniors have faced discrimination in drug pricing. The sad
reality is that those in greatest need of lifesaving medicines often have
the least ability to pay for them—yet drug companies are charging those
seniors the highest prices possible. This nationwide report shows that
seniors from California to Maine are paying over 130% more for essential
prescriptions than the drug companies´ most favored customers—such as the
HMO´s and the federal government.
October 19, 1999
Committee
Hearings on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Chairman Burton has
held a number of hearings on complementary and alternative medicines. He
has used these hearings as an opportunity to criticize the Food and Drug
Administration and the National Institutes of Health for what he says is
a lack of commitment to making complementary and alternative medicines
widely available. Rep. Waxman’s hearing statements explain that while
these treatments should be available, all medicine, including
complementary and alternative medicine, needs to be safe and effective.
According to Rep. Waxman, the standards for judging safety and efficacy
need to be the same, whatever the treatment.
May 27, 1999
Committee
Hearings on Dietary Supplements
Chairman Burton held
several hearings on FDA’s regulation of dietary supplements. He used the
hearings in part as an opportunity to criticize FDA for what he claimed
was over-regulation of dietary supplement products. Rep. Waxman’s opening
statements explained that while there are supplements such as certain
minerals and vitamins that play an important role in promoting health,
there are legitimate concerns about the efficacy as well as the safety of
some of these products that need to be addressed.
May 25, 1999
Protecting
Medical Privacy
Under current
federal law, we have little control over our medical records. To protect
the privacy of our medical records, Rep. Waxman co-introduced the Health
Information Privacy Act of 1999. Please review his Dear Colleague letter
and statement on the issue as well as a summary of the bill and the bill
itself.
May 3, 1999
Long-Range 50
Caliber Weapons
These weapons,
powerful enough to penetrate an armored limousine or helicopter, are
readily available at gun stores and on the Internet.
April 20, 1999
Medicare
Prescription Drug Coverage
Rep. Waxman has
joined a number of colleagues in introducing the Access to Rx Medications
in Medicare (ARMM) Act of 1999 to provide comprehensive Medicare drug
coverage to older Americans.
April 14, 1999
Government
Reform Committee Hearing on Taxes
Under the Clinton
Administration, America´s economy performed so well that governors could
afford to lower state tax rates. Rep. Waxman discusses who deserves the
credit for these tax cuts.
April 12, 1999
Restoring
Dignity to the Olympics
Rep. Waxman and Rep.
Lazio have introduced "The International Olympic Committee Reform
Act of 1999."
March 18, 1999
Work Incentives
Improvement Act
When disabled
beneficiaries of Medicare and Medicaid begin to work, they lose their
medical benefits. As a result, many disabled people who would like to
work do not seek jobs because they can not function without these
benefits. Rep. Waxman´s statement explains how to solve this problem by
allowing disabled people to retain Medicare or Medicaid while employed.
March 17, 1999
Fighting
For An Accurate Census
The Government
Reform Committee met to mark-up several bills designed to prevent the
Census Bureau from conducting an accurate census in 2000.
February 10, 1999
Defense
of the Environment Amendment to H.R. 350
A statement Rep.
Waxman made on this amendment, which contained the same key provisions of
the Defense of the Environment Act he proposed. Although the amendment
failed, its vote showed that over 200 members of the House want to have
an open debate on anti-environmental riders.
October 23, 1998
Campaign
Finance Investigation Abuses
The House Government
Reform and Oversight Committee´s campaign investigation has been the most
partisan, inept, and abusive, since the McCarthy hearings in 1954. It has
also been the costliest congressional investigation in our history.
October 14, 1998
White
House Christmas Caper
Are President Clinton
and the First Lady guilty of theft of government property? Some
Republicans have made that ludicrous allegation about the First Family´s
Christmas list.
October 13, 1998
Blocking
Special Interest Pork: Drug Patent Extensions
A group of
pharmaceutical companies lobbied Congress to adopt a proposal in the 1998
omnibus appropriations bill that would permit patent extensions for
several blockbuster drugs, including Claritin. If implemented, the
proposal would have cost American consumers over $6 billion. Along with
several other members of Congress, Rep. Waxman helped block this giveaway
to pharmaceutical manufacturers.
October 7, 1998
The
Price Tag of the Campaign Finance Investigation
A General Accounting
Office (GAO) study showed that the House Government Reform and Oversight
Committee´s campaign investigation has cost more than any congressional
investigation in history.
April 29, 1998
Proposed Bill Would
Prohibit Federal Spending on Needle Exchange Programs
Opposing the bill
because these programs reduce HIV transmission and without leading to
increased drug addiction.
November 10, 1997
Speech to the
International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care
Conference on
Healthcare Resource Allocation
Containing a synopsis of national priorities in
preventing and treating HIV/AIDS.
September 11, 1997
An amendment to the
proposed Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act of 1998
Opposing an
amendment that would have prohibited the use of federal funds for
implementing or studying needle exchange programs.
June 12, 1997
Tobacco Accountability Act
 Summary of the
Tobacco Accountability Act
Secret
Attorney-Client Documents Are Evidence of Potential Crimes or Fraud by
the Tobacco Industry Including many excerpts from these documents
May 22, 1995
The
History and Future of Federal Action on the AIDS Epidemic
September 30, 1994
The
Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act
Highlighting the
successes of the bill and urging Congress to reauthorize it for six more
years.
August 3, 1990
The
Conference Report on S. 2240, Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources
Emergency Act of 1990
Explaining what the
act will accomplish
June 13, 1990
Explaining
why Congress should pass the proposed Ryan White CARE Act
February 22, 1990
Statement
Regarding the costs
of the AIDS epidemic, and a proposal to have the Medicaid program
shoulder some of its financial cost. The Ryan White CARE Act supplanted
this attempt.
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