Good Government

Today, Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and John Sarbanes (D-MD) introduced the Telework Metrics and Cost Savings Act. The bill would prohibit the kind of indiscriminate anti-telework policies the Trump Administration has announced for the Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture. “Instead of instituting mindless, sweeping bans on telework participation, agencies should be expanding teleworking options. Telework is supposed to be a tool for promoting government efficiency,... Read more

Republican House members today unanimously voted against new sanctions to punish Russia for its attack on American democracy. The GOP blocked action on the SECURE Our Democracy Act, legislation introduced by Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot L. Engel and Representative Gerald E. Connolly, which would impose sanctions on anyone found to have interfered with an American election from overseas going back to 2015. Shortly before the vote, Rep. Engel said on the House floor, “When the ne... Read more

Adam Longo and Eliana Block A proposal to increase teleworking opportunities for federal government employees is being introduced in the House of Representatives on Thursday. Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) are co-sponsors of the "Telework Metrics and Cost Savings Act." A news release sent out by Rep. Connolly's office said the bill would "prohibit the kind of indiscriminate anti-telework policies the Trump Administration has announced for the Department of Educat... Read more

Jory Heckman Following the recent rollback of telework agreements at the Education and Agriculture departments, two D.C.-area lawmakers have introduced legislation aimed at protecting and expanding existing agency telework agreements. The Telework Metrics and Cost Savings Act, introduced by Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and John Sarbanes (D-Md.) Thursday, would prohibit agencywide policies that restrict telework. “Telework increasingly becomes critical to continuity of operations, without which ... Read more

Today, during a hearing on election security before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Chairman Trey Gowdy, Subcommittee Chairman Will Hurd, and all other Republicans present voted against a motion offered by Vice Ranking Member Gerry Connolly to subpoena the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to testify before the Committee. Hurd recently wrote an op-ed in the New York Times asserting that the Committee should engage in vigorous public oversight of Russia’s influence in ... Read more

Morgan Chalfant Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday tried to subpoena the top U.S. intelligence official to testify publicly on the threat posed by Russia to elections, but they were blocked by their Republican colleagues. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) motioned to subpoena Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to testify publicly on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election during a hearing on election security Tuesday morning, after Democrats criticized Chair... Read more

WaPo Editorial Board If you were embroiled in a dispute over claims for benefits or federal enforcement actions, your case would probably end up before an administration law judge (ALJ). These judges — of whom there are more than 1,900 across the federal government, 1,600 in the Social Security Administration alone — oversee trial-like hearings and adjudicate a range of administrative and regulatory questions. They have traditionally been subject to a merit-based hiring system led by the Office... Read more

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) With a stroke of a pen, acting Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler helped cement the toxic legacy of Scott Pruitt’s reign over the EPA by rolling back federal coal ash standards. For many Northern Virginia residents, Pruitt’s ethical scandals were proximate sources of outrage. But his coal ash rule will hit even closer to home: their backyards. We are not yet 10 years removed from the catastrophic coal ash spill near Kingston, Tenn., an... Read more

Today, Representatives Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), the Ranking Member of the Government Operations Subcommittee, sent a letter to Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) and Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Mark Meadows (R-NC) requesting a hearing on President Trump’s recent Executive Order to except administrative law judges from the competitive service. The Executive Order was signed by th... Read more

Today, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Vice Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) voted against H.R. 50, legislation that would impose numerous new requirements that will slow down the regulatory process and give regulated industry an unfair advantage over public health organizations, doctors, scientists, and ordinary Americans when new rules are made. “We have seen this bill before. It was a bad idea then and it is a ... Read more