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Statement of Paul F. Figley Before the Committee on the Judiciary 
Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, United States House of Representatives
(2016)
  • Paul F. Figley
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Abstract
Statement of Paul F. Figley Before the Committee onthe Judiciary 
Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, United States House of Representatives at a hearing on H.R. 5063 , the “Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016”.

Full hearing details are available here; https://judiciary.house.gov/hearing/h-r-___-stop-settlement-slush-funds-act-2016/.
Keywords
  • Regulatory Reform,
  • Antitrust
Disciplines
Publication Date
April 28, 2016
Comments
Background:
  • The Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2016 prohibits settlement terms that require donations to third-parties.  It states explicitly that payments to provide restitution for actual harm directly caused, including harm to the environment, are not donations.
  • An investigation by the House Judiciary and Financial Services Committees reveals that, in just the last two years, DOJ has used mandatory donations to direct as much as $880 million dollars to activist groups.
  • These payments occur entirely outside of the Congressional appropriations and oversight process.
  • The House Judiciary Committee held two hearings in February 2015 and May 2015 to question DOJ officials regarding these troubling settlement practices.
  • The Committees also sent multiple oversight letters (November 2014 and May 2015) to the Attorney General seeking documents and answers.
  • DOJ continues to resist the information requests, but what information has been provided confirms that activist groups which stood to gain from mandatory donation provisions were involved in placing those provisions in the settlements.
  • This bill is modeled after Chairman Goodlatte’s 2015 amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 (H.R. 2578), which passed the House by a voice vote.
  • The investigation is ongoing.
Citation Information
Paul F. Figley. "Statement of Paul F. Figley Before the Committee on the Judiciary 
Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law, United States House of Representatives" (2016)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/paul_figley/15/