Press Releases

U.S. Representative Don Beyer (D-VA) today announced his introduction of the Restoring Accountability in Appropriations Act, which would empower private parties and the U.S. House of Representatives to prevent illegal delays and cancellations of federal grants.  

The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA) put in place clear guardrails to safeguard the Congressional "power of the purse," enshrined in Article I of the Constitution. Under the ICA, the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) is granted authorities to investigate illegal withholdings and impoundments of federal funds and sue to end those illegal delays.

Unfortunately, President Trump, Administration officials, and Congressional Republicans have repeatedly attacked GAO. Threats to defund the watchdog agency, refuse to lawfully cooperate with investigations, and direct federal agencies to "pay no heed whatsoever to [its] conclusions" are a serious threat to its ability to fully enforce the ICA.

That situation is untenable for the countless federal grantees and partners who have lost hundreds of billions of dollars due to illegal impoundments of taxpayer dollars, and the millions of Americans who benefit from services those organizations provide. Over the past few months alone, the Trump Administration has withheld funding for community programs to reduce poverty, public health services, and more than 20 education programs. 

“Donald Trump's repeated refusal to follow the law and fully fund medical research, education programs, immigration services, foreign assistance, anti-poverty programs, and much more is a disaster for the American people and the American economy," said Congressman Beyer. “The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse. Faced with repeated attacks on that power and on the watchdogs already empowered to enforce it, every impacted party should have the express opportunity to seek legal remedies and prevent disastrous consequences for our constituents and for the countless Americans helped every day by federally-funded programs.”

GAO has found that the current Trump Administration has already violated the ICA at least seven times, while opening at least 39 further investigations. One of those investigations was opened pursuant to a request from Congressman Beyer to investigate the illegal impoundment of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grants to improve the quality and delivery of critical health services.

Others include investigations into the impoundment of more than 1,800 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, delays affecting more than 2,500 projects funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and President Trump’s rescission of billions of dollars in foreign assistance appropriated for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

 “When Congress passes an appropriations law and the president signs it, it is no longer a suggestion, it's a requirement,” said AcademyHealth’s President and CEO Aaron Carroll, M.D., M.S. “For over a year, thousands of taxpayer-invested research grants that were tackling the biggest problems in our country have been thrown in disarray due to illegally withheld funds. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has been functionally wiped out entirely by unlawful impoundments. Unfortunately, the pathway for grantees to seek redress has been incredibly steep. This legislation is a key step in ensuring stability and accountability in taxpayer investments by those that are harmed by violations of budget laws.”

Specifically, the Restoring Accountability in Appropriations Act would:

• Add to the Impoundment Control Act an express right of action for any private parties impacted by illegal impoundments of federal funds to seek legal redress, with federal courts empowered to make funds available as required by law.
• Create a pathway for Members of the House of Representatives to, in the absence of an existing lawsuit by the Comptroller General, compel the House to bring its own suit to make funds available as required by law.

This legislation continues Congressman Beyer's legislative work to reassert Constitutional powers vested in Congress. Last year, Congressman Beyer introduced the Congressional Trade Authority Act to take back powers, given expressly to Congress under the Constitution, that the Trump Administration has used to raise costs and unleash economic chaos worldwide. 

Full text of the Restoring Accountability in Appropriations Act is available here.