Lloyd Doggett Slams GOP For Opposing Transparency Requirements For DOGE: ‘The Reality Is A Rampage’

20 hours ago

During Wednesday’s House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) discussed proposed legislation regarding oversight and transparency surrounding DOGE.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you. The committee will now proceed to consideration of H.R.E.S. 127.

00:04Without objection, the measure will be considered as read and open for

00:07amendment at any point. Does anyone wish to strike the last word? Mr. Doggett.

00:14Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Though I must say your rash and misleading statement

00:18indicates your desperation in protecting those from the least bit of

00:22accountability. You don't realize that there is a big difference between truth

00:27and truth social. It's called reality and the reality is a rampage has been

00:33going on through our government. All we are asking for in this resolution is

00:37truth, facts. There is nothing in this resolution that should slow the effort

00:43if it is legitimate by Doge for a moment. Doge has confused billions and

00:50millions. It double counts its body count and it expects us to accept on face

00:56value, as you and your Republican colleagues have, every word of propaganda

01:01that they spout. Today we are concerned that Americans' right to privacy is

01:07under attack on multiple fronts. The only privacy in which this administration and

01:13you have shown the slightest interest is the privacy of Elon Musk and his

01:17Department of Government evisceration. Doge, or more accurately, Dodge, since it

01:22dodges all forms of accountability. So thick has been the veil of secrecy

01:28surrounding Doge that Trump's attorneys actually represented in federal court

01:33that Elon Musk was not directing it. Elon's multiple tweets and President

01:39Trump's recent recognition of him during his congressional address make clear

01:44that it is indeed the unelected billionaire who's calling all the shots.

01:49Today's resolution of inquiry is unusual because these are unusual times

01:55and unusual events. This resolution represents a very modest effort to

02:01penetrate the secrecy and determine the extent of the administration's invasion

02:06of the privacy of just about every person in America. Musk has accessed and

02:12is attempting to access the personal and confidential information of our fellow

02:16citizens without our knowing the full extent of what data he's gotten to, what

02:22he's copied, how the data is or will be used by him, and the names, clearance

02:28levels, and the training of the individuals who access the data. That's

02:32the kind of facts that we seek today, not to slow any legitimate effort to reduce

02:37whatever waste, fraud, and abuse they can find, though we have yet to see a single

02:43case of fraud referred for prosecution anywhere because fraud is a new term

02:48used by this administration to simply mean anything they don't like, like the

02:53reasonable administration of the Social Security and Internal Revenue System,

02:59like corrupt, which is applied to anyone who has the courage to stand up to this

03:05administration. What we have is an extreme breach of privacy. The resolution

03:10which I am offering on behalf of every Democratic member of this committee

03:14simply asks for documents relating to DOJ's access to and usage of, first, the

03:21Treasury payment systems, second, the confidential taxpayer information

03:25protected by federal law, and third, the screenshots taken of Treasury payment

03:30systems data by a member of DOJ. Tell me how any of that slows a legitimate

03:35investigation. No, it does allow a little accountability. It allows the public to

03:40know how much damage they've already incurred. This resolution, of course, would

03:45be unnecessary had this committee shown the slightest interest, the very slightest

03:50interest, in protecting privacy and demanding even a smidgen of accountability

03:55for DOJ. Six weeks ago, Speaker Johnson committed to a hearing before our

04:00committee on DOJ, but he obviously had not received permission from his boss,

04:04Donald Trump, to do that. At the oversight hearing, neither Musk nor anyone from

04:09DOJ or the administration showed up to answer a single question. And you're

04:12right, a witness testified she had no evidence of any wrongdoing here because

04:18she had no evidence of anything about this and was not associated with DOJ or

04:22the administration. And, of course, other than a few words of praise for Musk and

04:26Republican plans to declare his birthday a national holiday and carve his face on

04:31to Mount Rushmore, the majority has offered nothing but silence as Mr. Trump

04:36followed Mr. Musk's directive to fire more veterans than any president in

04:40American history and continue to seek highly sensitive private information. One

04:45would expect that Republicans who want a legitimate investigation of waste, fraud,

04:52and abuse would not leave that witness chair empty this morning. It is empty. It

04:57has remained empty, as has their commitment to any responsible oversight

05:03over this administration. This committee is supposed to be a guardian of sensitive

05:08taxpayer information. Instead, it has appeased Mr. Musk and given him access

05:15to anything he desires. I yield back. Additional members wish to strike the

05:20last word? Mr. Thompson.

Lloyd Doggett Slams GOP For Opposing Transparency Requirements For DOGE: ‘The Reality Is A Rampage’

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