Ross to testify again before Congress
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has been invited back to testify before Congressional lawmakers.
Ross, who oversees the Census Bureau, will appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on March 14 to discuss his decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.
After weeks of negotiations, he agreed to the testimony without a subpoena.
“Committee members expect Secretary Ross to provide complete and truthful answers to a wide range of questions, including questions regarding the ongoing preparations for the Census, the addition of a citizenship question, and other topics,” committee chair Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), said in a written statement. “The Committee also expects full compliance with all of our outstanding document requests prior to the hearing.”
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The Commerce Secretary can also be expected to answer questions about his investments. A nonprofit, the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), which seeks to reduce the influence of money in politics, says Ross may have violated conflict of interest laws in congressional testimony and financial disclosures he made regarding his holdings.
CLC filed a complaint last year about Ross’s actions involving ownership of stock in companies that could have been affected by the Trump Administration’s actions of which he had direct knowledge. Later Ross issued a statement saying that he had not participated in any action that would result a beneficial financial outcome and that he had divested a large part of his investments and bought Treasury securities instead.