HR1535-119

1. Short Title This Act may be cited as the Bolstering America’s Democracy and Demanding Oversight and Government Ethics Act or the BAD DOGE Act.

2. Findings The Congress finds the following: The United States DOGE Service (in this section referred to as USDS) (formerly known as the United States Digital Service) and the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization (in this section, referred to as USDSTO) created by Executive Order 14158 (90 Fed. Reg. 8441; relating to establishing and implementing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency) (in this section referred to as the DOGE Executive Order) are operating beyond the scope of their authorities and organizational purposes. The DOGE Executive Order specifically creates the USDSTO as a temporary organization in accordance with section 3161 of title 5, United States Code, which limits the purpose of such an organization to performing a specific study or other project. The DOGE Executive Order specifies that the USDSTO shall be headed by the USDS Administrator, who is to be appointed by the Office of Management and Budget, and shall be dedicated to advancing the President’s DOGE agenda. This DOGE agenda is described in the DOGE Executive Order as a Software Modernization Initiative led by the USDS Administrator to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems. The DOGE Executive Order additionally specifies that USDS shall adhere to rigorous data protection standards. In fact, both the USDS and USDSTO are being led by Elon Musk, who was not appointed as USDS Administrator. There are no government records indicating that Mr. Musk has any formal role with the Federal Government, or that he is complying with any disclosure or conflict-of-interest requirements that would apply to Federal employees or officials. The White House subsequently indicated that Mr. Musk is a special government employee but has not produced any evidence that he was retained in this role, or that he is complying with any rules or laws that would be required for a Federal employee or the USDS Administrator. According to numerous media reports and first-hand accounts, including social media posts and press statements from Mr. Musk himself, under the leadership of Mr. Musk, the USDSTO has taken actions that go far beyond what the DOGE Executive Order authorized either USDS or USDSTO to do, including freezing payments to different Federal agencies and programs, acquiring personnel information for all Federal employees from the Office of Personnel Management (in this section referred to as OPM), gaining control over and access to the Department of Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Services (in this section referred to as BFS) Federal payments system and its associated data, locking Federal employees out of their computer systems, offering Federal employees a buyout, and ostensibly terminating Federal agencies, bureaus, and programs created by and funded by Congress. These actions are inconsistent with the provisions of the DOGE Executive Order and also with what a temporary organization is statutorily permitted to do. Mr. Musk’s actions and authorities also grossly exceed what he might be permitted to do as a special government employee. The USDS and the USDSTO, under the direction of Mr. Musk, are repeatedly violating a number of Federal statutes and provisions of the United States Constitution. USDS, USDSTO, and Mr. Musk have reportedly gained access to OPM’s personnel files, gained control and access to BFS’s payments systems and associated data, sent a buyout offer to all Federal employees, attempted to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without congressional approval, and removed public health information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration websites, among other things. These actions violate the Constitution, including Article I, section 1 (Separation of Powers), Article I, section 7 (Presentment and Appropriations Clause), Article I, section 8 (Spending Clause), and Article II, section 3 (Take Care Clause). These actions also violate a broad array of Federal statutes, including— the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); chapter 15 of title 31, United States Code (commonly known as the Anti-Deficiency Act); section 6329a through 6329c of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Administrative Leave Act of 2016); chapter 36 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the E-Government Act of 2002); section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Privacy Act of 1974); subchapter II of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014); the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.); chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Advisory Committee Act); chapter 41 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995); numerous Federal ethics regulations; and various provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the Administrative Procedure Act).

3. Repeal of Executive Order 14158 Executive Order 14158 (90 Fed. Reg. 8441; relating to establishing and implementing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency) shall have no force or effect.