Bill aims to end blocked congressional access at federal buildings

House Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would require agencies to provide members of Congress with greater access to government facilities for oversight purposes. 

“I have personally been denied access to [U.S. Agency for International Development], the U.S. Institute of Peace, a public meeting at the Department of the Interior and repeatedly delayed in conducting oversight at [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] facilities,” said Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., the bill’s sponsor, in a statement. “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.” 

Specifically, the Congressional Oversight and Agency Access Act (H.R. 9835) would grant members of Congress and accompanying staffers access to any “public building” during regular business hours. Agencies would be mandated to provide access outside of those hours and, if certain conditions are met, to areas that require a security clearance within 24 hours after a lawmaker’s request. 

The bill’s requirements would apply even during a presidentially declared emergency or Health and Human Services Department-designed public health emergency. And the definition of “public building” in the bill includes contractor-owned and -operated facilities. 

The measure’s introduction comes during a legal battle over a requirement from the Homeland Security Department, which is spearheading increased deportations, for a seven-day notice before congressional oversight visits at immigration detention facilities. In March, a district judge issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the policy. The Trump administration then sought an emergency stay, which was rejected by an appeals court. 

Earlier this year, in defense of the seven-day notice requirement, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem wrote that “unannounced visits require pulling ICE officers away from their normal duties” and that “there is an increasing trend of replacing legitimate oversight activities with circus-like publicity stunts.” 

Beyer’s bill is cosponsored by eight other House Democrats and the Project on Government Oversight. 

“Congress cannot fulfill its constitutional oversight responsibilities if members of Congress are denied access to the very agencies they are charged with overseeing,” the nonprofit said in a statement. “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.”