AICommittee advances six bills on GAO scoring, DC tolls, CBP retirement, civil rights records

House Rules and Floor ProcedureHouse Oversight and Government Reform · 2026-05-20 · 119th Congress
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a markup to consider and vote on six measures: the Duplication Scoring Act of 2026 (H.R. Begins at 0:21:35
Transcript
Highlights

Title

Committee advances six bills on GAO scoring, DC tolls, CBP retirement, civil rights records

Purpose

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a markup to consider and vote on six measures: the Duplication Scoring Act of 2026 (H.R. 8096), the D.C. ROADS Act barring a congestion toll in Washington (H.R. 8801), a technical correction to CBP officer retirement benefits (H.R. 8844), reauthorization of the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act (H.R. 3087), and several postal facility naming bills. Each bill was debated, amended in the nature of a substitute, and reported out by voice or recorded vote, with the committee recessing for floor votes before reconvening to finalize the roll-call tallies. Begins at0:21:35

Who spoke

Chairman James Comer (R-KY)0:21:35: Opened the markup, announced quorum and voting procedures0:21:35, and offered the substitute amendments to each bill as its own sponsor's designee, including H.R. 80960:22:31, H.R. 88010:26:43, H.R. 88440:46:30, and H.R. 30870:50:06; argued the Duplication Scoring Act would make GAO's role in flagging overlapping programs proactive0:22:56 and supported the D.C. congestion-toll ban, citing Mayor Bowser's opposition to the policy0:31:48.

Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-CA)0:23:47: Supported H.R. 8096 as a "common sense" step to reduce duplicative programs0:23:47; also backed H.R. 8844, noting it corrects benefit calculations for about 1,200 CBP officers and is supported by the National Treasury Employees Union0:48:09; praised H.R. 3087 sponsor Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, noting her upcoming retirement0:51:52.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN)0:24:17: As sponsor of H.R. 8096, entered a National Taxpayers Union support letter into the record0:24:17 and cited the federal debt reaching $39 trillion and more than 2,000 GAO recommendations since 2010 as justification for the bill0:24:45.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA)0:27:12: As sponsor of H.R. 8801, said the bill would bar D.C. from enacting a congestion toll0:27:42, and cited a D.C.-commissioned study recommending a $10 fee to enter downtown D.C. as the policy he intends to preempt0:28:09.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)0:32:19: Opposed H.R. 8801 as "undemocratic and paternalistic," noting no congestion charge currently exists or is pending in D.C.0:32:47; said this was the fifth D.C. traffic-related bill this Congress0:33:15 and entered a letter opposing the bill from D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson0:34:10; argued D.C. statehood, not congressional intervention, is the real solution0:36:39.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM)0:37:32: Opposed H.R. 8801 while praising the committee's bipartisan work, including her co-sponsorship of the Duplication Scoring Act with Rep. Burchett0:38:02; warned of upcoming fights over funding for a White House ballroom0:41:12.

Rep. [Silberman] (Northern Virginia)0:41:12: Said he opposed the $10 D.C. toll as a daily commuter but supported the underlying bill, while also backing D.C. autonomy and statehood0:41:40; suggested restoring federal telework as a better congestion fix0:41:40.

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX)0:26:16: Repeatedly requested recorded votes on reported bills0:26:160:46:000:49:410:52:21; on H.R. 8801 argued the committee's D.C. oversight has improved safety, citing a roughly 90% drop in murders since the National Guard's deployment0:44:15.

Key moments

H.R. 8096, the Duplication Scoring Act requiring GAO to review committee-reported bills for duplication before enactment, passed the committee 39-14:00:05.

H.R. 8801, the D.C. ROADS Act banning a congestion toll, was the most contested item, passing on a 22-18 recorded vote4:01:16 after Norton and Stansbury argued it improperly overrides local D.C. governance0:32:470:38:02.

Perry cited a 2019 D.C.-funded study recommending a $10 entry fee for downtown D.C. as the specific policy his bill would preempt0:31:21, while Norton and Garcia pointed to New York City's congestion pricing, which New York's governor said cut gridlock and raised $15 billion for transit upgrades0:34:590:35:45.

H.R. 8844, correcting a CBP retirement benefits error affecting about 1,200 officers hired around the July 2008 effective date, passed 40-04:01:37; Comer said the error was undiscovered by CBP until 20210:48:09.

H.R. 3087, reauthorizing the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act, passed 36-44:02:46; Garcia noted the bill honors retiring sponsor Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, whose New Jersey students inspired the original 2018 law0:51:52.

Two postal-naming bills drew recorded votes: H.R. 8669 (Eliot Engel Post Office) passed 37-44:03:43, while H.R. 4662 (Paul Ignatius Post Office) passed 41-04:04:12; H.R. 3350 (Ursula Ellen Kennedy Post Office Building) passed by voice vote without objection0:53:44.

Sessions credited the National Guard presence in D.C. with reducing murders by roughly 90%, calling it justification for continued congressional oversight of the city0:44:15.

Committee recessed after the sixth bill was reported0:55:38 and did not reconvene to complete recorded votes until3:57:58, roughly three hours later.

Metadata

Official titlethe full Committee to consider the following: 1) H.R. 8096, Duplication Scoring Act of 2026; 2) H.R. 8801, DC Rejecting Oppressive Automotive Driving Surcharges Act; 3) H.R. 8844, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Retirement Technical Corrections Act; 4) H.R. 3087, Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Reauthorization Act; 5) Several postal naming measures.
CommitteeHouse Oversight and Government Reform
Chamber / CongressHouse · 119th Congress
Date2026-05-20
TypeMarkup
Witnesses
(none listed in event metadata)
Videoyoutube
Transcript92 caption blocks · 6,352 words · 4:05:10 runtime
EventCongress.gov 119316