Mark DeSaulnier: Big Beautiful Bill And DOGE Made 'Core Government Functions' Less Efficient

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At a House Education Committee hearing before the Congressional recess, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) spoke about TOPIC.

Transcript

00:00With that, I yield to the ranking member for an opening statement.

00:04Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to all the witnesses for being here.

00:08I also want to welcome one of the witnesses, Mr. Banducci, for coming back to the committee.

00:14I know he served for many years on the Republican committee staff,

00:17so I'll be interested to see what it's like on the other side.

00:22The Department of Labor's Employee Benefit Security Administration, or EBSA for short,

00:26is a vital agency charged with protecting workers' hard-earned health and retirement benefits.

00:35EBSA oversees approximately 800,000 private retirement plans,

00:39covering over 153 million people, 2.6 million health plans, and 514,000 other benefit plans.

00:48Many significant laws are within EBSA's jurisdiction, and several more have been added in recent years.

00:54Yet, despite EBSA's critical mission and growing responsibilities,

00:59its funding and staffing have not kept pace.

01:03EBSA has been essentially flat-funded for years,

01:07and the Trump administration's fiscal year 2026 budget only makes things worse

01:12by requesting 10 million less than last year's level.

01:16The administration is effectively proposing a further cut of 20 million

01:19by failing to extend bipartisan, no-surprises funding.

01:24Inadequate funding has resulted in steep declines in full-time employees at EBSA.

01:29We are incredibly fortunate to have Mr. Ali Kawar as one of our witnesses.

01:35Welcome, Mr. Kawar.

01:37This morning, he's worked at EBSA in various capacities for nearly 20 years.

01:42His testimony details how EBSA's budget once supported over 960 employees

01:49and how the Trump administration's recent budget would support just over 600.

01:55Clearly, EBSA is being asked to do far more with much less.

01:59But it is still delivering for workers and their families,

02:02protecting their benefits and putting money back in their pockets

02:06and is a good return on investment to high-road employers and the taxpayers.

02:11In fact, in fiscal year 2024, EBSA recovered almost $1.5 billion in payments.

02:18In a time when federal workers are being unfairly targeted and fired by the Trump administration,

02:23it is even more important to recognize the value they provide

02:27to American taxpayers and our constituents.

02:30Every day, Americans get assistance from EBSA's benefit advisors,

02:35who help workers navigate the complex issues with their plans.

02:40They and all of EBSA's staff in D.C. and its regional and field offices

02:43deserve our respect and appreciation during what I'm sure has been an incredibly challenging year

02:50for them and their families.

02:52I understand that today's hearing will focus on two bills that harm EBSA's ability to do its job.

02:58Last year, committee Republicans opposed the Department of Labor's legally permissible,

03:03yet rarely used common interest agreements in litigation.

03:07I say rarer because, as Mr. Kawar notes in his testimony,

03:11over the past 15 years, there were only 12 such agreements.

03:16Let me repeat that.

03:17Over 15 years, 12 such agreements.

03:20Out of over 31,000 investigations.

03:24Nevertheless, committee Republicans demanded that the Department's Inspector General

03:28look into these rare agreements, and the IG agreed.

03:30Rather than waiting for the results of the IG investigation,

03:34they requested committee Republicans,

03:36the request today in this hearing is rushing to judgment,

03:40seemingly intent on advancing a one-sided bill

03:42that goes way beyond common interest agreements

03:45and severely limits EBSA's ability to communicate

03:48with attorneys representing participants.

03:51We all believe in efficiency,

03:53and would be happy to work with the majority

03:55to look at objective analysis

03:58of how we make the program more efficient

04:00for everyone, particularly employees.

04:04The other bill relates to EBSA's enforcement activities.

04:07We all share an interest in seeing that enforcement by federal agencies

04:10is completed in a timely and, as I said, efficient manner.

04:14That's in the best interest of all parties involved.

04:17It should be nonpartisan, bipartisan.

04:19If that's our shared goal,

04:21then the best way to achieve it

04:22is to ensure EBSA has the funding, resources,

04:25and personnel necessary to do its job

04:28and to wait for the IG's investigation.

04:30What doesn't accomplish that goal

04:32is a bill to add to EBSA's administrative burden

04:34and require them to produce a biased report

04:39that doesn't provide a complete picture of the agency's work.

04:43These bills don't solve problems.

04:45They create new ones

04:46and strike at the heart of EBSA's mission.

04:49As we've seen from the devastation

04:51wrought in recent months

04:52by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency,

04:55DOGE,

04:55and the catastrophic One Big Ugly Law,

04:58our language,

04:59which will leave at least 10 million Americans

05:02without health insurance

05:03and cut over a trillion for Medicaid,

05:05undermining core government functions

05:07does a disservice for the American people.

05:09We can and should do better

05:11and are willing to work in a bipartisan way

05:14if we really want to improve oversight.

05:16Thank you, and I yield back.

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