Congress' Oversight and Reform Committee demands GSA Administrator Emily Murphy brief Congress on refusal to grant Biden-Harris access to transitional information

UNITED STATES CONGRESS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 19, 2020 Contact: Aryele Bradford (Oversight and Reform):  (202) 226-5181 Evan Hollander (Appropriations):  (202) 740-6844 Committee Chairs Summon GSA Head On Refusal to Grant Biden-Harris Team Access to Transition Resources  Chairs Also Planning Potential Public Hearing with Administrator, Deputy, Chief of Staff, and General Counsel

Washington, D.C. (Nov. 19, 2020)—This evening, Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rep. Nita M. Lowey, Oversight and Reform Committee’s Government Operations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, and Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Mike Quigley sent a letter demanding that General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily Murphy personally brief the Chairs and their Ranking Members by November 23, 2020, regarding her ongoing refusal to grant the Biden-Harris Transition Team access to critical services and facilities specified in the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 and millions of dollars in funding that Congress appropriated on October 1, 2020, for transition activities under the Act.   “Your actions in blocking transition activities required under the law are having grave effects, including undermining the orderly transfer of power, impairing the incoming Administration’s ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, hampering its ability to address our nation’s dire economic crisis, and endangering our national security,” the Chairs wrote. “We have been extremely patient, but we can wait no longer,” the Chairs added.  “As GSA Administrator, it is your responsibility to follow the law and assure the safety and well-being of the United States and its people—not to submit to political pressure to violate the law and risk the consequences.” Click here to read the full letter.   ###