House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced on Wednesday that the House of Representatives will vote on legislation that would prohibit government agencies from using so-called slush fund settlements.
U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act, H.R. 5063, to prevent the Department of Justice (DOJ) and other agencies from requiring defendants to make donations to outside groups as part of settlement agreements.
“There is currently a highly questionable practice where money the Department of Justice collects from lawbreakers is sent to special interest groups instead of being given as restitution to victims of the crime or deposited into the Treasury,” McCarthy said. “This means money that should be used for the public good or to right a wrong instead is channeled without transparency to third parties with special connections within the government. Chairman Goodlatte’s bill — part of our A Better Way agenda — will stop this abusive special-interest slush fund, which is why I’ve scheduled it to be considered on the House floor next week.”
Goodlatte’s bill resulted from a 20-month committee investigation that found that the DOJ had engaged in a “pattern or practice” of subverting Congress’s spending power through settlements from financial institutions that funnel money to left-wing activist groups.
“Congress is working to help hardworking Americans recover from the 2008 financial crisis, only to learn that the DOJ has been taking the sought after funds from major financial institutions, and quietly putting them in the hands of left-wing special interest groups,” Goodlatte said. “It is time for this practice within the DOJ, as well as all government agencies to be stopped. I am proud to be working with my colleagues in order to ensure the recovered funds are used to benefit direct victims and not special interests, and I look forward to leading the debate on this bill next week.”