[House Report 113-547]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 113-547
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DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE TO TRANSMIT TO THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES COPIES OF ANY EMAILS IN THE POSSESSION OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OR THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY THAT WERE
TRANSMITTED TO OR FROM THE EMAIL ACCOUNT(S) OF FORMER INTERNAL REVENUE
SERVICE EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS DIVISION DIRECTOR LOIS LERNER BETWEEN
JANUARY 2009 AND APRIL 2011
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July 22, 2014.--Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed
_______
Mr. McKeon, from the Committee on Armed Services, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H. Res. 649]
The Committee on Armed Services, to whom was referred the
resolution (H. Res. 649) directing the Secretary of Defense to
transmit to the House of Representatives copies of any emails
in the possession of the Department of Defense or the National
Security Agency that were transmitted to or from the email
account(s) of former Internal Revenue Service Exempt
Organizations Division Director Lois Lerner between January
2009 and April 2011, having considered the same, report thereon
without amendment and without recommendation.
PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND
On June 25, 2014, Representative Steve Stockman introduced
H. Res. 649, a resolution of inquiry directing the Secretary of
Defense to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of
any emails in the possession of the Department of Defense or
the National Security Agency that were transmitted to or from
the email account(s) of former Internal Revenue Service Exempt
Organizations Division Director Lois Lerner between January
2009 and April 2011.
Clause 7 of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives provides for a committee to report on a
qualifying resolution of inquiry, such as H. Res. 649, within
14 legislative days or a privileged motion to discharge the
committee is in order. H. Res. 649 was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services on June 25, 2014.
Under the rules and precedents of the House, a resolution
of inquiry is one of the methods that the House can use to
obtain information from the executive branch. As stated in
volume 7, chapter 24, section 8 of ``Deschler's Precedents,'' a
resolution of inquiry is a ``simple resolution making a direct
request or demand of the President or head of an executive
department to furnish the House of Representatives with
specific information in the possession of the executive
branch.'' In addition, the resolution must seek facts rather
than opinions and may not require an investigation.
On July 16, 2014, the Committee on Armed Services met in
open session to consider H. Res. 649 and report the measure to
the House. No amendments to the resolution were offered. The
committee ordered H. Res. 649 reported to the House by voice
vote without recommendation and without amendment, a quorum
being present.
HEARINGS
No hearings were held by the committee on H. Res. 649.
COMMITTEE POSITION
On July 16, 2014, the Committee on Armed Services held a
markup session to consider H. Res. 649. No amendments were
offered to the resolution. The committee ordered H. Res. 649
reported to the House without recommendation by voice vote, a
quorum being present.
The committee notes that oversight of this matter and
related document requests are being conducted by the committees
with jurisdiction over the Internal Revenue Service.
COMMITTEE VOTES
In accordance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee advises that there
were no record votes taken during the committee's consideration
of H. Res. 649.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE
Clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives
is not applicable because the Congressional Budget Office did
not provide a cost estimate for the resolution.
COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the committee estimates the costs of
implementing the resolution would be negligible.
STATEMENT REQUIRED BY THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT
In accordance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, and section 308(a) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344), this
resolution does not provide new budget authority, new spending
authority, new credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
ADVISORY OF EARMARKS
The committee finds that H. Res. 649 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives.
OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
With respect to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee reports that the
findings and recommendations of the committee are incorporated
in the descriptive portions of this report.
GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
In compliance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, there are no general
performance goals and objectives associated with this
legislation, as it authorizes no funding.
FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
STATEMENT OF FEDERAL MANDATES
Pursuant to section 423 of Public Law 104-4, this
resolution contains no Federal mandates with respect to state,
local, and tribal governments, nor with respect to the private
sector. Similarly, the resolution provides no Federal
intergovernmental mandates.
APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The committee finds that this legislation does not relate
to the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law
104-1).
DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
No provision of the resolution establishes or reauthorizes
a program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS
The committee estimates that H. Res. 649 requires no
directed rule makings.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, H. Res. 649 would not make any
changes to existing law.