"When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When people fear the government, there is tyranny."

-Thomas Jefferson

Our Founding Fathers recognized the important role that an informed citizenry plays in our government. The American people have a right to get accurate information about what is happening in their government, and I believe that transparency is the best way to govern.

As your representative in Congress, I have fought to ensure that our government truly serves the people, and is held accountable when it fails to do so.

Here are a few pieces of legislation I have introduced, cosponsored or supported that support government transparency and accountability:

• H.R. 24 – Federal Reserve Transparency Act
  • Will require a full audit of Federal Reserve system Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve bank by the Comptroller of the United States
• H.R. 6447 – Department of Homeland Security Chief Data Officer Authorization Act
  • Designates a Chief Data Officer to ensure that DHS conforms with recognized data management best practices, coordinate the release of data to the public, and modernize data systems to promote efficient transparency and record keeping.
• H.R. 2811 - Better Military Housing Act
  • Improves oversight and transparency of privatized military housing provided by the Department of Defense to members of the Armed Forces and their families.
• H.R. 4396- ME TOO Congress Act
  • Requires that any money used from the treasury to settle sexual harassment claims in the U.S. House be repaid by the offending member, and requires that the employing office and amount of any settlement will be made public in an annual report
• H.R. 1994 - VA Accountability Act
  • Gives the VA the ability to fire and demote civil servants and protects whistle blowers
• H.R. 1326 - Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act of 2013
  • Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require state Medicaid plans to provide that the state will establish and maintain laws to require disclosure of information on hospital charges, to make such information available to the public, and to provide individuals with information about estimated out-of-pocket costs for health care services.