Chronology of Committee Work

Hearing: Is Treasury Using Bailout Funds to Increase Foreclosure Prevention, as Congress Intended?

Congress established the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program on October 3, 2008 to deal with the financial crisis. One of TARP’s core functions was to prevent future foreclosures through the acquisition of mortgage-related assets, such as whole loans, mortgage-backed securities and other financial products, and the implementation of a plan to stem foreclosures on those loans. In creating TARP, Congress was aware of the efforts of the private mortgage servicing industry to prevent foreclosures, and committed an extraordinary sum of taxpayer funds to expand upon those efforts. On November 12, 2008, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that TARP would not acquire mortgage-related assets. In light of this significant change in TARP’s mission, important oversight questions arise.

Hearing: Is Treasury Using Bailout Funds as Congress Intended?

On Friday, November 14, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2154, the Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled, “Is Treasury Using Bailout Funds to Increase Foreclosure Prevention, as Congress Intended?” This will be the Subcommittee’s sixth hearing in the 110th Congress examining the foreclosure crisis and its solutions.

Gaming the Tax Code: the New York Yankees and the City of New York Respond to Questions About the New Yankee Stadium

This hearing will examine whether New York City officials improperly reported to the Internal Revenue Service and prospective bond purchasers inflated values for land and buildings in order to secure more tax-exempt bonds for the construction of a new Yankee stadium. The City proposed using an innovative financing mechanism for these bonds, known as payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs). The hearing will also examine whether the City’s efforts to stop finalization of proposed U.S. Department of Treasury regulations that would effectively prohibit the use of PILOTs in this context serve the public interest. The Domestic Policy Subcommittee has previously held three hearings examining the use of federal tax-exempt financing for construction of professional sports stadiums and arenas. Chairman Kucinich also issued a letter to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg outlining the Subcommittee’s concerns.

Cell Phone Use and Tumors: What the Science Says

Cell phone use has grown exponentially, as has the science on the connection between usage and human health effects. This hearing will explore the evidence of links between cell phone use and health problems like tumors.

Oversight Hearing on Reforms to Pediatric Dental Care in Medicaid

This hearing will examine the necessary reform in Medicaid pediatric dental care. The hearing will also reveal the findings of a Subcommittee investigation Additionally, Acting Medicaid Director Herb Kuhn will testify on the recent steps taken to reform pediatric dental care under Medicaid.

Gaming the Tax Code: Public Subsidies, Private Profits, and Big League Sports in New York

This hearing will examine whether the use of the federal tax code to subsidize the construction of professional sports stadiums and arenas furthers the public interest. This is the third hearing held by the Subcommittee on this subject and the first hearing to examine alleged improprieties in the financing process of the new Yankee Stadium.

Subcommittee Widens Investigation of New Yankee Stadium Deal

Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich, Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, today requested documents relating to a provision in the new Yankee Stadium deal.

Kucinich Investigates Accuracy of Valuations for the New Yankee Stadium Made to Federal Agencies and Investors

Chairman Dennis J. Kucinich sent letters to the New York Yankees and various federal and city agencies in his investigation into the accuracy of statements made pertaining to the financing of the New Yankee Stadium.

Kucinich Expands Investigation into Delays in Veterans’ Payments

In his ongoing investigation into the concerns surrounding the “VA Retro” program, Chairman Dennis J. Kucinich requested documents from the Department of Defense relating to DoD’s implementation of Combat-Related Special Compensation.

Subcommittee Releases Report on Delays in Retirement Pay for Veterans with Disabilities

The Domestic Policy Subcommittee Majority Staff of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today released the attached report and accompanying documents. The report details the reasons for severe delays in processing the claims of disabled veterans for their military retired pay. The report finds that poor contractor performance, government mismanagement and the erosion of quality controls denied thousands of disabled veterans timely and accurate retroactive retired pay awards.

Assessing State and Local Regulations to Reduce Dental Mercury Emissions

This hearing will examine existing state and local government initiatives and regulations aimed at reducing dental mercury emissions, evaluate their success, and document the lessons learned. This hearing follows up on concerns raised during the Subcommittee’s first hearing on environmental risks of and regulatory responses to mercury dental fillings, in November 2007.

Targeting Federal aid to neighborhoods distressed by the subprime mortgage crisis

Joint Hearing

Chairman Dennis Kucinich
Domestic Policy Subcommittee
Oversight and Government Reform Committee

And

Chairwoman Maxine Waters
Housing & Community Opportunity Subcommittee
Financial Services Committee

Neighborhoods: the blameless victims of the subprime mortgage crisis

These hearings will serve to focus attention on the consequences to neighborhoods when foreclosed properties fail to sell, and when owners abandon them.

Is USDA Accounting for Costs to Farmers Caused by Contamination from Genetically Engineered Plants?

This hearing will examine the impact on farmers caused by contamination of conventional and organic crops by genetically engineered plants. The hearing will also examine the responsiveness of the U. S. Department of Agriculture to the concerns of farmers.

The National Drug Control Strategy, Budget, and Compliance: Priorities and Accountability at ONDCP

The hearing will examine: (1) the priorities of the 2008 National Drug Control Strategy; (2) the priorities of the Fiscal Year 2009 National Drug Control Budget; and (3) ONDCP’s compliance with the ONDCP Reauthorization Act of 2006.

Assessing The Environmental Risks of the Water Bottling Industry’s Extraction of Groundwater

This hearing will examine the environmental issues presented when water bottling plants extract groundwater and spring water from water sources in rural communities.

What the October Wildfires Reveal About Preparedness In Southern California

On October 21, a wildfire began in Witch Creek, a rural area in the foothills of San Diego. At the height of the disaster, 23 fires were burning. By the time all the fires were contained, 368,000 acres of land had been burned; 1,700 homes were destroyed; and 10 people died.

Chairman Kucinich Initiates Congressional Oversight Of The Perry Nuclear Power Plant Shutdown And NRC Response

In response to the emergency closure of FirstEnergy’s Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee, sent a letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) today requesting a briefing on the findings of its special inspection of the facility.

Environmental Risks Of And Regulatory Response To Mercury Dental Fillings

This hearing will examine the environmental risks of mercury in dental fillings (known as dental mercury amalgam) and the government’s regulatory response to it.

Evaluating The Labor Department In New Orleans: DOL’s Performance In Investigating and Prosecuting Wage and Hour Violations And Protecting Guest Workers

This hearing continues an investigation that began earlier this year into the adequacy of labor law enforcement in New Orleans during the period following Hurricane Katrina. The field hearing will take a closer look at the performance of the New Orleans District Office of the US Department of Labor since the hurricane.

Upholding the Spirit of the CRA: Do CRA Ratings Accurately Reflect Bank Practices?

This hearing will expose and explain how Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exams may not reflect discriminatory practices by regulated banks, including the problems associated with regulatory discretion and new bank structures that were prohibited when Congress enacted the CRA. It will also analyze the detrimental affect of non-disclosure of fair lending exams on community participation and CRA enforcement.

UnitedHealth Group Concedes Nearly 11,000 Medicaid Children Enrolled With The Company In Maryland Have Not Seen A Dentist In 4+ Years; Few Dentists in Company’s Network Actually Serve Children

After publicly disputing a Congressional Committee’s finding of thousands of Medicaid enrolled children in Maryland who were not getting dental care to which they were entitled, UnitedHealth Group conceded the accuracy of that and other findings made by the Domestic Policy Subcommittee, Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in a letter the company sent to Chairman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH).

Professional Sport Stadiums: Do They Divert Public Funds From Critical Public Infrastructure?

This hearing will examine whether or not public subsidies for professional sports stadiums divert funds and attention away from America’s public infrastructure. This is the subcommittee’s second hearing on the topic. On March 29, 2007, the Domestic Policy Subcommittee held a hearing that looked at the promises of economic prosperity that are made to cities which finance professional sports stadiums. The first hearing revealed that no evidence has been found to suggest that professional sports stadiums create jobs, raise incomes, or raise local tax revenues.

Combating Drug Abuse and Drug-related Crime: What Is Working in Baltimore

After a period of improvement, lethal and non-lethal violent crime in Baltimore is on the rise. The Domestic Policy Subcommittee hearing will examine innovative approaches to combating drug abuse, drug-related violence, and gang activity in Baltimore. The focus of the hearing will be on evaluating practical alternatives to incarceration to prevent drug use and drug-related violence. 

Will NIEHS’ New Priorities Protect Public Health?

The Domestic Policy Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine the impact on public health of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ (NIEHS) new research direction and priorities. A new emphasis on treating disease has come at the expense of preventive research, education and outreach.

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