Comer calls to cut funding to federal agencies that obstruct congressional investigations

House Oversight Chairman James Comer on Friday called for cuts in federal funding for agencies that obstruct congressional investigations for fiscal year 2025, after the Biden administration allegedly failed to respond to oversight requests.

The House Oversight Committee cited the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Defense (DoD), as among those who failed to comply with the requests.

“Throughout the 118th Congress, the Biden Administration has been reluctant to fully respond to legitimate oversight requests," Comer wrote in a letter to the House Appropriations committee. "Agency heads appointed by President Biden, and at times, the White House itself, have repeatedly defied congressional authority to conduct oversight over the operations of the executive branch and how the Administration is carrying out its duties under the law.

"The Constitution provides that the government may only draw funds from the treasury ‘in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law...’ It is well past time for Congress to leverage its authority by using the power of the purse to compel compliance with oversight requests," he concluded.

Comer has notably helped lead the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, an investigation that Republicans say has been hampered by White House stonewalling.