The Independent View: Trump Opposition Stalls Advisory Committee Transparency Bill

A Wave of Opposition from the Trump Administration looks poised to Sink the Chances of a Bill, H.R.70 - Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2017, aimed at bringing Greater Transparency to roughly 1,000 Committees that Advise the Federal Government.

The Legislation aimed at Closing perceived Loopholes in the 46-year-old Federal Advisory Committee Act Appeared to be sailing toward Passage before encountering Resistance earlier this year from the National Institutes of Health.

In recent months, the broader Trump Administration has taken an Active role behind the scenes mounting broad-ranging Opposition to the Bill. Last year, the House Passed the Measure on a Voice Vote along with Bills perceived as Uncontroversial or Passed by Large Margins in prior Congresses. In October, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee cleared the Measure on a Voice Vote, issuing a glowing Bipartisan Endorsement for the Legislation.

However, in April, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a Seven-Page Attack on the Bill, contending it would result in a Costly and Massive Disruption to Government Operations. HHS complained that the Bill would impose Onerous Disclosure Requirements on the Peer-Review Process NIH uses to Prioritize Grants.

The Objections led to Negotiations and some Changes to the Measure but with Trump Administration Opposition escalating, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) effectively Halted the Measure by Preventing it from being acted on by Unanimous Consent in the Senate Session that will follow the Mid-Term Elections.

“Senator Alexander supports transparency, but as written, H.R. 70 would increase costs on taxpayers and impose significant new burdens on agencies charged with keeping Americans safe and conducting life-saving biomedical research — without taking into account the thousands of documents federal agencies already make available to the public,” an Alexander Spokeswoman said. “He and the Trump Administration are working with the HSGAC committee to address the legitimate concerns of several cabinet agencies before the legislation moves forward.”

Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO, 1st District), who has Sponsored the Bill in one Congressional Session after another for more than a Decade, said the Trump Administration appears to be trying to Gut the Legislation, which would Close Longstanding Loopholes that allow Panels to Obscure their Work by forming Subcommittees that Do Not Meet Publicly and through the use of “de facto” Panelists who Deliberate with the Committees but Escape the Disclosure Rules by Not Voting.

“My bill would make the committees of outside advisors that shape government policies transparent and accountable,” Clay said in a Statement. “If the President wants to drain the swamp, he should support this bill. We have engaged in a bipartisan process to address concerns raised by NIH, but I am not willing to gut my bill to allow any agency to operate in secrecy.”

The Year-End Scenario facing H.R. 70, seems similar to that which befell a Freedom of Information Act )FOIA) Reform Measure in 2014. It was the subject of a last-minute Hold by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), who Acted at the urging of the Federal Trade Commission and others with Objections to aspects of the Legislation. With only a few Legislative days between the Election and Christmas, one Senator’s Refusal to move forward can effectively Kill a Bill. Despite an outcry against Rockefeller, the FOIA Measure Died in that Congress. It eventually passed in 2016 with additional Tweaks.

The Measure to Reform the lesser-known Sunshine Law addressing Access to and Ideological Balance for Advisory Committees often seemed star-crossed. In 2009, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA, 49th District) Unleashed Chaos at a House Mark-Up on the Bill by Proposing that it force Transparency on any Committee involving a First Spouse. Democrats took umbrage, viewing the amendment as a Direct Attack on First Lady Michelle Obama. Issa said he was just trying to Reverse a court Ruling from years earlier that effectively Exempted from the Transparency Law a Health Care Policy Task Force First Lady Hillary Clinton Headed. The Court Granted her “de facto” Status as a Federal Employee, even though she had No Salary or formal Position.