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House Oversight Won’t Stay In Its Lane For The Sake Of Headlines – Comer Is Duplicating Committee Work And Wasting Taxpayer Dollars

By April 19, 2023No Comments
WASHINGTON, DC – Statement Today from Facts First USA President David Brock on Comer’s Empty Promises:
“Comer keeps promising major bombshells on FOX News and then delivering major duds in the hearing room — it’s been months of terrible headlines and unforced errors. He didn’t have to admit to reporters last month that he’d stolen emails to discredit a woman he abused in Kentucky. He didn’t have to compare that theft to his acquisition of Hunter Biden’s laptop. He did that all on his own.
“So it’s no wonder that today Comer decided to throw out his own losing playbook and steal the smart kids’ work, holding a thoroughly duplicative hearing on issues already covered by Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul. McCaul might want to make sure his own devices are secure, because Comer is clearly on the hunt for a new path to credibility.”

House Oversight Won’t Stay In Its Lane For The Sake Of Headlines – Comer Is Duplicating Committee Work And Wasting Taxpayer Dollars

HEADLINE: “Punchbowl News AM: Tensions Rise Over Comer’s Oversight” [Punchbowl News, 3/10/23]

Several GOP Members And Aides Expressed Concerns That House Oversight Chair James Comer May Be Spreading Himself Too Thin And Inserting His Committee Into Other Panel’s Business. “In a little more than two months as chair, Comer has launched a barrage of probes into everything from the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan to Ukraine aid to the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio […] But some GOP members and aides have expressed concerns that the Kentucky Republican may be spreading himself too thin and inserting his committee into other panels’ business.” [Punchbowl News, 3/10/23]

MARCH 2023: HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS CHAIRMAN MCCAUL SAID HE WAS “SURPRISED” AFTER COMER SENT OUT LETTERS INVESTIGATING THE AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL

HEADLINE: “Oversight Overstep: House GOP Split On Comer’s New Approach” [Washington Examiner, 3/10/23]

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair, Rep. McCaul, Was “Surprised” By The Oversight Committee’s Decision To Fire Off Letters To Biden Administration Officials Requesting Documents And Information On The US Withdrawal of Afghanistan. “For instance, the Oversight Committee fired off letters to Biden administration officials last month requesting documents and information on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. That chaotic military operation – already the subject of numerous hearings and reports – is seen as squarely within the portfolio of the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services’ committees. ‘I was a little surprised by the letter,’ Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told us, referring to Comer’s Afghanistan inquiries. ‘But we’ve talked since then. We’re working it out.’”” [Punchbowl News, 3/10/23]

  • McCaul Claimed Oversight Can Center Its Efforts On Inspector General Reports, But Said They Would Need To Continue “Working In Concert.” “McCaul noted that Oversight will center many of its efforts on inspector general reports and will likely have a narrower focus than other committees of jurisdiction. The Texas Republican says it will be okay ‘as long as we’re working in concert, which we are. The Oversight Committee has jurisdiction over the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, panel aides noted to us. ’” [Punchbowl News, 3/10/23]

MCCAUL ALREADY LAUNCHED AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL IN JANUARY 2023, AND HIS COMMITTEE HAS JURISDICTION

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul Officially Launched The Investigation Into The Afghanistan Withdrawal In January 2023. “The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday requested from the State Department a vast number of documents related to the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, marking the official launch of the newly Republican-led panel’s investigation into the chaotic exit.” [CNN, 1/12/23]

  • McCaul’s Committee Has Jurisdiction Over The Afghanistan Withdrawal Investigation – Which Also Plans To Investigate The After-Effects Of Withdrawal. “McCaul’s letter outlined a request for all communications around the lead-up to pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. He also made it clear that his committee, which has jurisdiction over the matter, also plans to investigate the after-effects of the withdrawal, including on the hundreds of thousands of Afghan allies left behind.” [Associated Press, 2/17/23]

A House GOP Aide Said There Was A “Big Difference Between Committee Oversight With Expertise Compared To Oversight Meant To “Churn Out Press Releases”

A House GOP Aide Said There Was A “Big Difference” Between Oversight With Expertise Compared To Oversight To “Churn Out Press Releases.” “‘There’s a big difference between oversight where you have expertise and oversight to churn out press releases,’ a House GOP aide said, according to Punchbowl News. ‘Everyone thought he’d learn from prior chairmen and work in a more coordinated way. It’s been quite the opposite.’” [Washington Examiner, 3/10/23]

COMER DEFENDED HIS ACTIONS BY SAYING HIS REQUEST DIDN’T MEAN “WE’RE GOING TO BE THE COMMITTEE” DOING A HEARING ON IT

Comer Defended His Actions To Investigate The Afghanistan Withdrawal, And Claimed Time Wouldn’t Be Wasted On Duplicate Efforts, “Just Because We Request Information Doesn’t Mean We’re Going To Be The Committee That Has A Full Hearing On It.” “Comer has defended his actions on the committee thus far, arguing that the panel won’t waste time duplicating efforts. ‘Sometimes we get criticized for not doing enough. But then we get criticized for doing too much,’ Comer said. ‘Just because we request information doesn’t mean we’re going to be the committee that has a full hearing on it.’” [Washington Examiner, 3/10/23]

BUT IN APRIL 2023, HOUSE OVERSIGHT ANNOUNCED A FULL COMMITTEE HEARING ON THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION “BOTCHED AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL”

4/19/23: House Oversight Committee Planned To Hold A Hearing On The U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan. “House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) will hold a hearing titled ‘The Biden Administration’s Disastrous Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Part I: Review by the Inspectors General.’ This full committee hearing will examine the work completed by the IG community regarding the Biden Administration’s failed Afghanistan withdrawal, and the factors that led to the collapse of the Afghan government. Since the botched withdrawal, the Biden Administration has been slow to provide information to Congress and has even obstructed the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s (SIGAR) congressionally mandated investigations. […] WHAT: Hearing titled ‘The Biden Administration’s Disastrous Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Part I: Review by the Inspectors General.’  DATE: Wednesday, April 19, 2023” [Press Release, House GOP Oversight Committee, 4/12/23]

EVEN THOUGH THE HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE DID A HEARING THE PREVIOUS MONTH ON THE SAME ISSUES

3/8/23: House Foreign Affairs Committee Held A Hearing On The U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Afghanistan. “TO: MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS You are respectfully requested to attend an OPEN hearing of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to be held in 210 of the House Visitor’s Center at 10:00 a.m. on March 8, 2023. The hearing is available by live webcast on the Committee website at https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/. DATE: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 TIME: 10:00 a.m. LOCATION: HVC-210 SUBJECT: During and After the Fall of Kabul: Examining the Administration’s Emergency Evacuation from Afghanistan.” [House Foreign Affairs Committee, Hearing on Afghanistan, 3/8/23]