Government Oversight & Ethics
WASHINGTON - Yesterday, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles), joined by 90 Members of Congress, sent a bicameral letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting a DOJ investigation into the repeated, wrongful targeting of individuals of Asian descent for alleged espionage. Over the years, multiple people who happened to be of Asian descent have been falsely accused by the Department of Justice of espionage. The common thread in every one of these cases was a defendant with an Asian surname.
Nearly 100 members of Congress are urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate the Justice Department's alleged racial profiling of Asians, according to a letter shared with Axios.
Why it matters: The case of Anming Hu, a scientist who was baselessly targeted in an espionage probe, has renewed scrutiny of the DOJ after an FBI agent admitted to falsely implicating the Chinese Canadian.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after reintroducing the Stop Waste And Misuse by the President Act of 2021, otherwise known as the SWAMP Act. This legislation compels individuals who are authorized for protection by the United States Secret Service under 18 USC 3056, including former presidents, to reimburse the American taxpayer for federal funds spent during the course of their protection at commercial properties that the individual owns or has a financial interest in.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after he voted for H.Res. 503, which empowers Congress to find the truth of the January 6th insurrection at the United States Capitol and ensure that this assault on democracy does not happen again. This legislation will create a Select Committee charged with investigating and reporting upon the facts and causes, as well as making recommendations to prevent similar domestic terrorist attacks
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) released the following statement after the House passed the IG Independence and Empowerment Act, which includes his bill, the Inspector General Protection Act, to enhance the independence and integrity of the federal government's inspectors general. The IG Protection Act will require federal agencies and departments to notify Congress before enacting a personnel change, and require the President to report to Congress if an IG has not been nominated for 210 days after a position becomes vacant.
WASHINGTON - Yesterday, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles), Congressman Mondaire Jones (D-NY), and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) – all members of the House Judiciary Committee – urged Department of Justice Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz to investigate reports of alleged misconduct by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in their unsuccessful prosecution of University of Tennessee (UT) Engineering Professor Anming Hu.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after the House voted to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force. The war powers measure provided the president broad authority following the 9/11 terror attacks.
WASHINGTON - Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles) and Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-Orange County) led a letter signed by 12 Members of Congress to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging the Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration to take action on the presence of phthalates in food and cosmetics. Phthalates are a class of toxic endocrine-disrupting chemicals that cause developmental and reproductive harm.
WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles) introduced the Improving Contractor Cybersecurity Act, legislation that would amend the federal contracts title to require vendors that wish to do business with the United States Government to maintain vulnerability disclosure policies and programs. In 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued Binding Operational Directive 20-01, which directed agencies to develop and publish vulnerability disclosure policies (VDPs).
WASHINGTON - Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today praised the Biden administration's creation of a new pilot program to "educate the public on the security capabilities of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices" through a consumer product labeling system.