Washington, D.C. — Today, Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey, Oversight and Reform Committee’s Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Gerald E. Connolly, and Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Chairman Mike Quigley sent a letter insisting that General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily Murphy brief them tomorrow on her ongoing refusal to grant the Biden-Harris Transition Team access to critical services and facilities specified in the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 and millions of dollars in funding that Congress appropriated on October 1, 2020, for transition activities under the Act.
“We cannot wait yet another week to obtain basic information about your refusal to make the ascertainment determination,” the Chairs wrote. “Every additional day that is wasted is a day that the safety, health, and well-being of the American people is imperiled as the incoming Biden-Harris Administration is blocked from fully preparing for the coronavirus pandemic, our nation’s dire economic crisis, and our national security.”
Last Thursday, the Chairs sent a letter asking Murphy for a briefing by today. Earlier today, Murphy’s staff sent an email indicating that her Deputy would provide the briefing instead of her, and that her Deputy would not provide the briefing until next week. The email also indicated that GSA may have a problem with its ability to set up video-conferencing.
In response, the Chairs offered to accommodate GSA by pushing the briefing to tomorrow and proposing a host of times to conduct the briefing via a virtual platform or conference call. The Chairs asked GSA to respond by 5 p.m. today.
Click here to read the letter.
