Virginia Foxx Blasts Biden Administration Over 'Aimless' Employee Benefits Security Investigations

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At a House Education Committee hearing in July, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) spoke about the Biden administration's Employee Benefits Security Administration, which she has claimed "shared confidential information involving at least six employee benefit pension plans with a plaintiffs’ attorney."

Transcript

00:00I call on our Chairman Emeritus, Mrs. Fox, North Carolina, for her five minutes of questioning.

00:06Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that.

00:09Mr. Kawar, EBSA, under the Biden-Harris administration, engaged in burdensome and inefficient investigations

00:18that lasted for years and included repetitive document requests, staff turnover, and delayed findings.

00:27Endless and aimless investigations conducted by EBSA wasted precious time and resources,

00:36and they ultimately hurt American savers.

00:40The committee took note, Mr. Kawar.

00:45In September and November 2023, the committee requested a list of all open investigations,

00:53the duration of the investigation, the specific purpose of the investigation,

00:59and an explanation of all steps taken to close out persisting investigations.

01:06In response to these inquiries, DOL provided only general explanations, but not underlying data.

01:14In response to the November 2023 request, you provided a briefing to committee staff,

01:21but you did not provide any specific information on how long EBSA's state stale investigations

01:30have been allowed to remain open.

01:33Your written testimony states there's a lack of significant evidence of problems that need to be addressed,

01:40which would justify the two EBSA reform bills that the committee is considering.

01:48Yet EBSA has withheld the information that would allow us to gain a full picture of the problems that need to be addressed.

01:57In addition, we have proof that EBSA secretly shared information from an investigation

02:04under what you are calling a, quote, common interest agreement,

02:10but which a court has condemned.

02:13Can you assure us that no one in the Biden-Harris DOL,

02:19whether career or political appointee,

02:22passed confidential information or provided assistance to outside attorneys

02:28when there was not a common interest agreement in place?

02:34Thank you for your question, Representative.

02:37I mean, I believe this is exactly the subject of an OIG inquiry right now.

02:41And I think, importantly, what the IG is looking at is also going to involve,

02:47hopefully, the context of any information sharing.

02:51There are times when the department has had conversations with plaintiffs' attorneys, for example,

02:58in the context of a common interest agreement.

03:00It is typically where the department believes that it may be bringing a lawsuit itself

03:05and wants to protect any evidentiary privileges.

03:09Unlike in FOIA, where disclosure to one is disclosure to all,

03:13the benefit of the common interest agreement is that it allows the government

03:16to kind of maintain the privilege over its materials.

03:23Throughout my questioning, you've appeared to be very uninterested in the questioning.

03:29So I hope that what you're saying to us is something you've carefully thought out.

03:36We received information from EBSA over a year after our initial inquiry

03:41that a total of 54 cases were still open almost eight years after they were open.

03:49Worse, only three of these cases were being actively investigated,

03:54meaning the rest were still being held open without resolution.

03:58You are not in a position to tell this committee that there is no evidence

04:05to support additional transparency and oversight at EBSA.

04:12Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

04:15I yield back, Mr. Chairman.

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