Floor SpeechCeremonial2025-03-12

SUNSHINE WEEK

ImmigrationTaxesEnvironmentForeign PolicyTrade

Context

On 2025-03-12, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) delivered a floor speech titled "SUNSHINE WEEK" in the Senate. The speech addressed immigration and also covered taxes, the environment. It referenced legislation including S1700, S1701.

Full Text

SUNSHINE WEEK

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 47 (Wednesday, March 12, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 12, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S1700-S1701] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SUNSHINE WEEK Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, every year, Sunshine Week is held around March 16, the birthday of James Madison, who not only is a former President, but the acclaimed ``Father of the Constitution.'' On its 20th anniversary, Sunshine Week continues to be a crucial reminder of the need for transparency and open government. To control a government as big as ours, it takes a lot of very bright light shining on every Agency. As Justice Brandeis wrote in 1913, ``Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.'' Transparency brings accountability and the public's business ought to be public. That attitude and approach is an important check on the Federal Government. It reminds bureaucrats that they ultimately work for and answer to ``We the People.'' One transparency tool I value is the Freedom of Information Act. This law, first enacted in 1966, requires our government to proactively make material public and to respond to requests for documents, reports, and many other types of information. The presumption under this law is that government actions, rules, and work is public property. Putting this information in public hands helps us hold our government accountable. The Freedom of Information Act is one of the strongest tools we have to ensure that our government is doing what it should be doing and in ways that are best for us. And speaking of records, a large part of my oversight work includes publicly releasing documents to hold current and former government officials accountable. To accomplish that, I often work with whistleblowers to get the information the government likes to hide. Whistleblowers are patriots and our most powerful tool in rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct, including the weaponization of our government. They are often targeted for retaliation and harassment. That must stop. [[Page S1701]] Time and again, I have come to the floor of the U.S. Senate to point out specific examples of retaliation. That is why I have called on every President since Ronald Reagan to hold a Rose Garden Ceremony to honor whistleblowers. I hope President Trump will be the first to set this historic precedent. Unfortunately, there has been a growing trend among Federal Agencies to unlawfully silence whistleblowers by failing to include the anti-gag provision in their nondisclosure policies, forms, and similar agreements. The law requires Federal Agencies to include the anti-gag provision to notify employees of their whistleblower rights. That is why last Congress, I called on 76 inspectors general to conduct a review of their parent Agency's nondisclosure agreements and similar documents to ensure the anti-gag provision was included. In response, so far, 36 IGs have completed reviews. Thirty IGs found that their parent Agency's nondisclosure agreements were noncompliant with the law. Twenty-six IGs said their parent Agency updated or was in the process of updating these deficient agreements. The IG community has much work to do, and this Senator won't stop protecting whistleblowers. Whistleblower disclosures proved that anti-Trump FBI agent Tim Thibault was involved in the genesis of Jack Smith's election interference case against President Trump. The FBI codenamed it Arctic Frost. Internal FBI records revealed Thibault acted outside of established FBI protocol and essentially opened and approved his own investigation into President Trump. This is just one of many instances of political infection at the Justice Department and FBI. Whistleblowers also provided me with new information that, during the Biden administration, FBI leadership politicized investigations at the expense of saving victimized children. According to whistleblowers, agents working large caseloads on the Violent Crimes Against Children Unit were reassigned by FBI leadership to work January 6 cases. Political infection isn't just a DOJ and FBI problem. Whistleblower disclosures provided to my office showed that the Obama-Biden administration's then-Secretary of State John Kerry obstructed arrests of indicted Iranian terrorists. Kerry did so to score political points with Iran for the failed nuclear deal. My consistent efforts to let in sunshine continues across our government whether it is exposing flaws in the Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement that caused children to be placed in harm's way, pressing the FBI on issuing a memo about targeting Catholics, or fighting to obtain information from DOJ on the horrific January 1, 2025, attacks in New Orleans. We need more whistleblowers to shine light on political infection because we certainly can't count on the government to turn themselves in. Now, the Federal Government isn't the only bad actor that whistleblowers provided sunlight on. The Simon Wiesenthal Center also disclosed to my office that Credit Suisse engaged in misconduct during in internal investigation. That investigation focused on the bank's Nazi-linked financial accounts. Turns out, Credit Suisse serviced more Nazi wealth than was known during and after World War II and tried to keep it hidden. Thanks to these whistleblowers, I discovered that Credit Suisse lied to Congress about all this, while smearing the reputation of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. My oversight list could go on and on thanks to whistleblowers. In conclusion, we all ought to be thankful for Sunshine Week, which is an opportunity for the country to highlight the righteous fight for transparency. Shining a consistent light on the work of our government is essential to making it accountable to ``We the People.'' ____________________

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SUNSHINE WEEK Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 47 (Wednesday, March 12, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 12, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S1700-S1701] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SUNSHINE WEEK Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, every year, Sunshine Week is held around March 16, the birthday of James Madison, who not only is a former President, but the acclaimed ``Father of the Constitution.'' On its 20th anniversary, Sunshine Week continues to be a crucial reminder of the need for transparency and open government. To control a government as big as ours, it takes a lot of very bright light shining on every Agency. As Justice Brandeis wrote in 1913, ``Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.'' Transparency brings accountability and the public's business ought to be public. That attitude and approach is an important check on the Federal Government. It reminds bureaucrats that they ultimately work for and answer to ``We the People.'' One transparency tool I value is the Freedom of Information Act. This law, first enacted in 1966, requires our government to proactively make material public and to respond to requests for documents, reports, and many other types of information. The presumption under this law is that government actions, rules, and work is public property. Putting this information in public hands helps us hold our government accountable. The Freedom of Information Act is one of the strongest tools we have to ensure that our government is doing what it should be doing and in ways that are best for us. And speaking of records, a large part of my oversight work includes publicly releasing documents to hold current and former government officials accountable. To accomplish that, I often work with whistleblowers to get the information the government likes to hide. Whistleblowers are patriots and our most powerful tool in rooting out waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct, including the weaponization of our government. They are often targeted for retaliation and harassment. That must stop. [[Page S1701]] Time and again, I have come to the floor of the U.S. Senate to point out specific examples of retaliation. That is why I have called on every President since Ronald Reagan to hold a Rose Garden Ceremony to honor whistleblowers. I hope President Trump will be the first to set this historic precedent. Unfortunately, there has been a growing trend among Federal Agencies to unlawfully silence whistleblowers by failing to include the anti-gag provision in their nondisclosure policies, forms, and similar agreements. The law requires Federal Agencies to include the anti-gag provision to notify employees of their whistleblower rights. That is why last Congress, I called on 76 inspectors general to conduct a review of their parent Agency's nondisclosure agreements and similar documents to ensure the anti-gag provision was included. In response, so far, 36 IGs have completed reviews. Thirty IGs found that their parent Agency's nondisclosure agreements were noncompliant with the law. Twenty-six IGs said their parent Agency updated or was in the process of updating these deficient agreements. The IG community has much work to do, and this Senator won't stop protecting whistleblowers. Whistleblower disclosures proved that anti-Trump FBI agent Tim Thibault was involved in the genesis of Jack Smith's election interference case against President Trump. The FBI codenamed it Arctic Frost. Internal FBI records revealed Thibault acted outside of established FBI protocol and essentially opened and approved his own investigation into President Trump. This is just one of many instances of political infection at the Justice Department and FBI. Whistleblowers also provided me with new information that, during the Biden administration, FBI leadership politicized investigations at the expense of saving victimized children. According to whistleblowers, agents working large caseloads on the Violent Crimes Against Children Unit were reassigned by FBI leadership to work January 6 cases. Political infection isn't just a DOJ and FBI problem. Whistleblower disclosures provided to my office showed that the Obama-Biden administration's then-Secretary of State John Kerry obstructed arrests of indicted Iranian terrorists. Kerry did so to score political points with Iran for the failed nuclear deal. My consistent efforts to let in sunshine continues across our government whether it is exposing flaws in the Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement that caused children to be placed in harm's way, pressing the FBI on issuing a memo about targeting Catholics, or fighting to obtain information from DOJ on the horrific January 1, 2025, attacks in New Orleans. We need more whistleblowers to shine light on political infection because we certainly can't count on the government to turn themselves in. Now, the Federal Government isn't the only bad actor that whistleblowers provided sunlight on. The Simon Wiesenthal Center also disclosed to my office that Credit Suisse engaged in misconduct during in internal investigation. That investigation focused on the bank's Nazi-linked financial accounts. Turns out, Credit Suisse serviced more Nazi wealth than was known during and after World War II and tried to keep it hidden. Thanks to these whistleblowers, I discovered that Credit Suisse lied to Congress about all this, while smearing the reputation of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. My oversight list could go on and on thanks to whistleblowers. In conclusion, we all ought to be thankful for Sunshine Week, which is an opportunity for the country to highlight the righteous fight for transparency. Shining a consistent light on the work of our government is essential to making it accountable to ``We the People.'' ____________________