{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-ernst-leverage-newly-obtained-records-on-atfs-unlawful-misclassification-scandal-to-seek-answers-accountability", "Grassley, Ernst Leverage Newly Obtained Records on ATF\u2019s Unlawful Misclassification Scandal to Seek Answers & Accountability", "2024-09-25", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "Senate", "IA", "Chuck Grassley", "G000386", "www.grassley.senate.gov", "grassley", "https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Upon obtaining an unreleased report via protected whistleblower disclosures, Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst are raising additional questions about the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)\u2019s decision to reinstate the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (ATF)\u2019s position classification authority. The Office of Special Counsel previously substantiated whistleblower claims ATF repeatedly and illegally labeled administrative positions as \u201claw enforcement,\u201d costing the taxpayer at least $20 million.\n\nThe new records show the Justice Department (DOJ) Justice Management Division (JMD), which is supposed to determine whether DOJ is properly classifying law enforcement positions, requested the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) assess the agency\u2019s practices. The resulting report reveals far-reaching failures across DOJ and raises flags about findings in an ATF Human Capital Management Evaluation (HCME) audit OPM conducted but has yet to publish.\n\n\u201c[OPM] must fully explain, in detail, the actions taken by ATF, the Justice Department, and JMD to come into full compliance with the law, as well as the oversight mechanisms put in place to prevent millions of taxpayer dollars from being subjected to further \u2018substantial waste\u2019 due to the ATF\u2019s illegal misconduct,\u201d Grassley and Ernst wrote. \u201cFurther, the Justice Department must provide answers to the taxpayers about how those who were involved in or allowed ATF\u2019s illegal misclassification scheme to continue have been held accountable. The American public deserves transparency from the OPM.\u201d\n\nNotable excerpts from the NAPA report:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:43:57Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-ernst-leverage-newly-obtained-records-on-atfs-unlawful-misclassification-scandal-to-seek-answers-accountability"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8828169666230679, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}