Sessions Votes to Rein in Executive Overreach

WASHINGTON D.C.  U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX) chairman of the House Rules Committee today issued the following statement after voting in favor of a bill to limit donations made pursuant to settlement agreements to which the United States is a party:

In the last two years the Department of Justice (DOJ) has funneled as much as $880 million to third-party groups through lawsuit settlements. It was found that some of the groups benefitting from such donations lobbied the DOJ or had their funding cut by Congress. In one example a company was required to give $150 million to housing non-profits bypassing the Congressional appropriations and grant-oversight processes. Congress controls the power of the purse not unelected bureaucrats. The DOJ is circumventing this important power of the legislative branch and I proudly supported this bill to rein in executive branch overreach.

For more information on H.R. 5063 Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016 click here.