WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, released an interim staff report on the Committee’s 14-month investigation into the Global Engagement Center (GEC). The Committee has been investigating the Federal funding and promotion of entities who interfere with the ability of small domestic businesses to compete online because of their lawful speech. Throughout the investigation, the U.S. Department of State (State) has repeatedly slow rolled Congressional document requests, disregarded prioritized information, and provided incomplete and inadequate document productions. Chairman Williams issued the following statement.

“For over a year, the Committee has been investigating how online censorship has been affecting American small businesses,” said Chairman Williams. “This interim report outlines how government agencies are working with the private sector to ensure that certain businesses do not have a fair chance to compete online. Even worse, this report uncovers how taxpayer dollars contributed to the censorship that picks winners and losers in the online marketplace. This Committee will continue investigating the Biden-Harris Administration to uncover the full extent of how taxpayer resources were used to suppress free enterprise.”

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Read the full CIC Report here.

Background:

The House Committee on Small Business has been investigating the Federal funding and promotion of small entities who interfere with the ability of small domestic businesses to compete online because of their lawful speech, as well as tech start-ups and other small businesses with products used to surveil and ultimately suppress lawful speech. Throughout the 14-month investigation into the Global Engagement Center (GEC), the U.S. Department of State (State) has repeatedly slow rolled Congressional document requests, disregarded prioritized information, and provided incomplete and inadequate document productions.

The Committee first wrote to State about this investigation well over a year ago on June 7, 2023, but State failed to respond. The Committee wrote again July 24, 2023 to reiterate its requests, yet received only a partial production of documents six months later. While the Committee repeatedly made accommodations to the GEC, including extra time and scoped down requests, responses to subsequent requests remained inadequate. To date, only a fraction of requested documents have been provided.

Unfortunately, the Committee was left with no choice but to issue a subpoena to State and the GEC on June 13, 2024. Despite the fact the Committee has been requesting these documents for over 14 months, State said it would take approximately 21 months from the date of the subpoena to produce the documents in full. In light of the continued slow rolling by State, the Committee has released an interim staff report based on its findings from the relatively limited productions and other available information.

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