Washington, D.C.– Today,Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) and Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) introduced the Response from Executive Agencies to Congress on Time (REACT) Act to require executive agencies to respond to inquiries from lawmakers in a timely manner.
“One of my most important responsibilities is to serve the constituents of the 26th District of Texas. This often involves reaching out to federal agencies. It is unacceptable to receive an ‘out of office’ message or no response at all from these agencies, inhibiting members of Congress from serving the American people,” said Rep. Burgess. “This legislation will help members receive more timely responses to aid in their ability to serve their constituents more effectively. Unelected agency personnel must be held accountable to the people’s elected representatives. By expanding the ‘rule of seven’ in the House or ‘the rule of five’ in the Senate, every member will have the ability to receive swift answers for their constituents.”
“Conducting oversight is a core function of the legislative branch,” said Rep. Davis. “This bill strengthens the Congressional oversight function by allowing Members who serve on Committees with expertise in certain policy areas to obtain information from the executive branch that they cannot easily acquire currently. I am proud to join Dr. Burgess on this good-government bill.”
The REACT Act will:
Expand to all congressional authorizing committees the authority of “the rule of seven” in the House or “the rule of five” in the Senate that currently allows any seven or five members of the House or Senate Oversight Committees, respectively, to request a timely response from executive agencies.
Give executive agencies 45 days to respond to a request for information from any 7 or 5 members of the House or Senate authorizing committees, respectively.
Clarify that any seven or five members of the House and Senate, respectively, have a cause of action in the appropriate district court.
