Two Democratic Representatives have introduced legislation to the House, designed to block tech billionaire Elon Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing the Treasury Department's payments system.
The bill, tabled on Thursday by Sean Casten and Haley Stevens, would prohibit access to the system to non-Treasury Department employees unless they have specific security clearances and other qualifications.
Newsweek contacted Representatives Casten and Stevens, and Musk via his Tesla and SpaceX press offices, for comment on Friday by email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
On January 31, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approved a request from DOGE employees for access to the Treasury Department's payment system which covers trillions of dollars' worth of transactions, including Social Security checks and tax refunds.
Following a legal challenge on February 5, lawyers for the Department of Justice agreed access would be restricted to two Treasury Department employees affiliated with DOGE, Tom Krause and Marko Elez, and that this would be "read-only." It followed a lawsuit brought against the Treasury by two unions and an advocacy group.
Musk has previously said he wants to reduce federal government spending, which was $6.75 trillion in 2022, according to the Treasury, by up to $2 trillion. Such a move would entail massive cuts, whilst there remain data security concerns over the degree of access initially handed to Musk's team.
What To Know
Under the terms of Casten and Stevens's bill, called the Taxpayer Data Protection Act, access to "any Department of the Treasury public money receipt or payment system" would be restricted to non-department employees unless they meet specific criteria in terms of expertise, length of government service and security clearance.
The legislation requires the Inspector General of the Treasury to investigate "each instance of unauthorized use or other access of any payment system" that has already taken place.
Whilst the bill doesn't mention either Musk or DOGE by name, Casten said his proposal targets the businessman and his department.
Due to Republican control over the House, the chances of Casten and Stevens's bill being voted on is low, and even if it is, it would require GOP rebels to pass.
Speaking to reporters, as cited by The Hill, House Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar said he knew "colleagues on the other side of the aisle are just as outraged as we are." He added: "We only need three Republicans with the courage of their convictions to join our efforts to protect the American people from this extreme and illegal overreach."
What People Are Saying
Speaking to The Hill, Representative Casten said: "The actions that Musk and his IT goons have taken...very clearly illegal but so far unprosecuted actions — have already compromised millions of Americans' privacy and data security.
"And if you want to understand how nervous we should all be, think about how hard Donald Trump worked to protect his tax returns from becoming public — even under a legitimate subpoena from the House of Representatives."
Speaking to reporters in the Capitol, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries commented: "Why do Elon Musk and his minions need access to the names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birthdates and bank account information of millions of Americans?
"Why does he need that information? What are they doing with it? And why aren't House Republicans stopping them?"
What Happens Next
Casten and Steven's bill is extremely unlikely to become law due to Republican control over both the House and Senate.
However, DOGE's access to the Treasury Department's payments system is set to be somewhat restricted thanks to a legal challenge and resulting decision by lawyers for the Department of Justice on Wednesday.
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