On Friday, October 18, 2018, Good Government Now hosted another panel discussion on the topic, “Can a Revised Inherent Contempt Procedure Strengthen Enforcement of House Subpoenas to the Executive Branch?” Our event attracted approximately 100 attendees from across Capitol Hill and beyond.
A distinguished panel of congressional oversight experts considered whether an amendment to the rules of the House establishing a revised inherent contempt enforcement procedure proposed by Good Government Now Senior Fellow Morton Rosenberg can reinvigorate Congressional subpoena enforcement.
Featured panelists included Morton Rosenberg, Senior Fellow at Good Government Now and former Senior Specialist in American Public Law for 35 years at the Congressional Research Service; Stanley M. Brand, Senior Counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and former House General Counsel; and Elizabeth Hempowicz, Director of Public Policy, Project on Government Oversight.
Inherent contempt enforcement is the centuries-old practice of the U.S. Congress and other parliamentary bodies of defending their institutional authority by holding trials to convict and punish individuals who defy subpoenas or otherwise obstruct legislative inquiry. Rosenberg’s proposal would establish a process whereby the U.S. House could unilaterally conduct trials of, convict, and punish executive branch officials for contempt of Congress.
Our event took place in Rayburn Building, Room 2226. Below are some pictures from the event:
If members of the press are interested in reaching our organization, Good Government Now president Dr. Bill Murphy is available for interviews.
Be sure to follow Good Government Now on Facebook and Twitter.
