Scott to Labor Department: Finish Investigation into Chavez-DeRemer and ‘Preserve All Documents’

Scott to Labor Department: Finish Investigation into Chavez-DeRemer and 'Preserve All Documents'

"Any agency employee who 'willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys' a federal record is subject to fines and/or imprisonment."

WASHINGTON - Following the resignation of former Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, pressed the Department of Labor's (DOL) Inspector General to complete the investigation into the former DOL Secretary and keep Congress fully informed about any problems and abuses at DOL that have policy implications. Additionally, he reminded the DOL Acting Secretary to ensure that all records are preserved and not tampered with in accordance with federal law.

In a letter to Inspector General Anthony P. D'Esposito, Scott stressed that the investigation must move forward regardless of the former Secretary's resignation.

"Regardless of Secretary Chavez-DeRemer's resignation, I am writing to confirm that your office will promptly and thoroughly complete both investigations and keep Congress fully informed about any serious problems, abuses, and deficiencies at the Department of Labor that have policy implications, as Inspectors General are statutorily mandated to do," wrote Ranking Member Scott.

In a separate letter to DOL Acting Secretary Keith E. Sonderling, Scott highlighted the serious legal consequences for failing to comply with federal records laws.

"The preservation of records in accordance with the [Federal Records Act] is critical to ensuring that the IG can complete its investigations into the former Secretary and Congress can fulfill its essential oversight responsibilities," wrote Ranking Member Scott. "Any agency employee who 'willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys' a federal record is subject to fines and/or imprisonment."

Ranking Member Scott's letters underscore the importance of transparency, accountability, and strict adherence to federal law, as well as Congress's obligation to conduct oversight as the investigation proceeds.

According to public reporting, the former DOL Secretary was under investigation by the Office of Inspector General for potentially violating federal rules regarding taxpayer-funded travel, inappropriately influencing grant-making, and other issues. The former Secretary resigned this week before the IG's work was completed and Congress was fully informed about it, prompting questions about the continuation of the investigation and the preservation of records.

To read the full letter to the Department of Labor's Inspector General, click here.

To read the full letter to the Department of Labor's Acting Secretary, click here.

###

Press Contact

Democratic Press Office, 202-226-0853