Press Releases

Following repeated efforts by the Trump administration to block Members of Congress from conducting oversight of federal agencies, U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (D-VA) and Jahana Hayes (D-CT) introduced the Congressional Oversight and Agency Access Act to ensure Members of Congress and accompanying staff can access federal buildings to carry out their constitutional oversight responsibilities without unnecessary obstruction or delay.

The Congressional Oversight and Agency Access Act would establish clear statutory protections for congressional oversight by:

• Guaranteeing Members of Congress and accompanying congressional staff immediate access to federal buildings, including contractor-owned and operated facilities, during normal business hours for official oersight activities.

• Requiring agencies to provide Members and accompanying staff access to facilities outside of regular business hours within 24 hours after such a request is made.

• Preventing agencies from using declared national or public health emergencies as a pretext to deny congressional oversight when buildings remain operational.

• Establishing procedures for access to secure areas while respecting applicable security clearance requirements.

• Prohibiting agencies from altering facilities or conditions to conceal information or otherwise limit meaningful congressional oversight.

“I have personally been denied access to USAID, the U.S. Institute of Peace, a public meeting at the Department of the Interior, and repeatedly delayed in conducting oversight at ICE facilities. All of these were clear examples of the Trump administration’s deliberate and repeated efforts to deny, delay, or obstruct Congressional oversight of the executive branch,” said Rep. Beyer. “That is not how our Constitution works. Congress has an obligation to oversee the agencies it funds and the laws it passes, and no administration should be able to obstruct that oversight because it finds it inconvenient or politically uncomfortable. Our bill makes clear that obstruction is not an option and ensures that no administration can shut Congress out again.”

“The American people are demanding more transparency in government, yet at every turn this Administration has blocked information or provided insufficient details on its actions,” Rep. Hayes said. “Congressional oversight is essential to our democracy. This legislation is a commonsense solution to ensure Congress can uphold our constitutional duty regardless of who is in the White House.”

Congress has a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch, and that responsibility depends on Members of Congress having timely access to the agencies and facilities they are charged with overseeing. Yet the Trump administration has repeatedly denied or delayed that access, undermining Congress’ ability to fulfill one of its most fundamental constitutional duties. Congressman Don Beyer has personally encountered this pattern of obstruction and has been denied access to several federal facilities, including:

• Congressman Beyer and additional Members of Congress were denied access to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) headquarters on Monday, February 3, 2025.

• Congressman Beyer was denied access to the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) headquarters on Monday, March 17, 2025.

• Following the Department of Homeland Security's implementation of policy requiring a seven-day notice for congressional oversight visits to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, Congressman Beyer was forced to wait a week before he could visit the Farmville Detention Center on August 8, 2025. The seven-day notice requirement has since been blocked in federal court.

• After a month of attempting to gain access to the ICE Washington Field Office in Chantilly, VA following serious reports of unsafe conditions and severe overcrowding, Congressman Beyer and additional Members of Congress representing Virginia were finally able to access the facility on Friday, September 26, 2025.

• Congressman Beyer and congressional staff were denied access to the Department of the Interior headquarters during a public meeting of the Endangered Species Act Committee, or the “God Squad,” on Monday, March 31, 2026.

U.S. Representatives Yassmin Ansari (D-AZ), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), John Garamendi (D-CA), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Mark Takano (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) are original co-sponsors of the Congressional Oversight and Agency Access Act.

This legislation is also supported by organizations including the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) and Public Citizen.

“Congress cannot fulfill its constitutional oversight responsibilities if Members of Congress are denied access to the very agencies they are charged with overseeing. The Congressional Oversight and Agency Access Act reaffirms Congress’s authority to conduct meaningful oversight and helps ensure transparency and accountability across the executive branch,” said the Project on Government Oversight (POGO).

Full text of the Congressional Oversight and Agency Access Act is available here.

(Congressman Don Beyer and additional Members of Congress are denied access to the USAID headquarters on Monday, February 3, 2025. Photo by Office of Congressman Don Beyer.)