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Press Release Published: Oct 22, 2015

Committee Passes Legislation Reauthorizing DC School Choice Program

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WASHINGTON— Today, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a markup to consider seven pieces of legislation along with seven postal naming bills. The following actions were taken by the Committee:

H.R. 10, the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Reauthorization Act (Rep. Boehner, R-OH);

  • A Manager’s amendment was offered by Chairman Chaffetz (R-UT) and approved by voice vote.
  • The Manager’s amendment strengthens the accreditation standards for schools with DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP) students, clarifies how rollover funds are to be used for the DC OSP, and ensures the Department of Education study evaluates student satisfaction and that the evaluators have access to necessary data to conduct the study.
  • Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC) offered an amendment to ensure the required evaluation includes performance data of current OSP students in order to guarantee a more comprehensive review of the program. The amendment was approved by voice vote.
  • The bill, as reported, is a five year reauthorization of the three sector approach to education within the District, by providing equal funding for DC public schools, DC public charter schools, and the DC OSP.  The DC OSP provides low-income parents of students in the District of Columbia with scholarships for tuition, fees, and transportation expenses to attend a private school of their choice.


The Committee also passed the following bills by unanimous consent:

H.R. 3231, the Federal Intern Protection Act of 2015 (Rep. Cummings, D-MD);

  • Ranking Member Cummings offered an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS) which was agreed to by unanimous consent.
  • The bill, as reported, protects unpaid interns in the federal government against workplace harassment and discrimination, extending the same protections to unpaid interns that are provided to federal employees.


S. 1172, the Edward “Ted” Kaufman and Michael Leavitt Presidential Transitions Improvements Act of 2015 (Sen. Carper, D-DE);

  • Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings offered an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (ANS) which was agreed to by unanimous consent.
  • The bill, as reported, enhances the executive branch’s preparation for a Presidential transition.


H.R. 2347, the Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2015 (Rep. Clay, D-MO);

  • Ensures federal advisory committees are transparent and accessible.


S. 1576, the Representative Payee Fraud Prevention Act of 2015 (Sen. Lankford, R-OK);

  • Protects against embezzlement or conversion of federal retirement benefits by individuals authorized to receive such benefits (representative payees).

1580, the Competitive Service Act of 2015 (Sen. Tester, D-MT);

  • Expedites the federal hiring process by allowing agencies to share their assessments of job applicants.


S. 1629, the District of Columbia Courts, Public Defender Service, and Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency Act of 2015 (Sen. Johnson, R-WI);

  • Grants the District of Columbia judicial agencies authority to take certain administrative actions, such as collecting overpayments.

H.R. 136, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1103 USPS Building 1103 in Camp Pendleton, California, as the “Camp Pendleton Medal of Honor Post Office” (Rep. Issa, R-CA);

H.R. 2928, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 201 B Street in Perryville, Arkansas, as the “Harold George Bennett Post Office” (Rep. Hill, R-AR);

H.R. 3082, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5919 Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the “Daryle Holloway Post Office Building” (Rep. Richmond, D-LA);

H.R. 3274, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4567 Rockbridge Road in Pine Lake, Georgia, as the “Francis Manuel Ortega Post Office” (Rep. Johnson, D-GA);

H.R. 3601, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 7715 Post Road, North Kingstown, Rhode Island, as the “Melvoid J. Benson Post Office Building” (Rep. Langevin, D-RI);

S. 1596, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2082 Stringtown Road in Grove City, Ohio, as the “Specialist Joseph W. Riley Post Office Building” (Sen. Portman, R-OH); and

S. 1826, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 99 West 2nd Street in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, as the Lieutenant Colonel James “Maggie” Megellas Post Office (Sen. Johnson, R-WI).