Congressional oversight is a mechanism that delegates Congress the power to investigate the activities of executive agencies, in order to ensure there is no violation of legislative goals (Lowi (et al), 2014). This summary concluded some discussion of the oversight mechanism from three articles by Lowi (et al) (2014), McCubbins and Schwartz (1984) and Kingdon (1984), particular on the effectiveness and its influences on agenda-setting process.
In agency representation the constituents give the politicians the ability to make decisions on their behalf when they don’t know the issue, the constituents expect them to work in their best interest. An issue that has recently been in the news is President Obama’s efforts to close Guantanamo Bay. Since the issue has not attracted the attention of a lot of people it is up to congress to vote in the public’s best interest. Yet, according to New York Times, congress has been blocking the president’s efforts to shut the prison down. The United States spends $2.5 million per detainee in Guantanamo and it currently holds 532 detainees. Acting as agencies on the behalf of the American people, Congress should work with President Obama because the money that the United States could save will be spent on issues that directly affect the public. This raises the question of how well does congress represent its
Congressional oversight: oversight by congress of the executive branch. This relates to this unit because in this unit we learn about the many things congress is in charge of, and its many functions in government. In this unit we discuss the different powers congress has and what powers it doesn’t have. With congressional oversight, congress has many powers such as protecting civil liberties, preventing fraud and waste, making sure the executive branch complies with the law, etc. The power of congressional oversight is important to American government and politics because it is an implied power of congress, and the idea of checks and balances is important in this country. Congress has committees and has the right to check the executive branch to make sure everything is in
Kerwin also discusses strategies chosen by various Presidents, and Congressional members to control the rulemaking/policy making powers of various agencies. He discusses everything from writing extremely specific laws that limit the powers of the agencies so that they cannot stray from the path that Congress intends for them, to threatening to reduce agency budgets if they do not comply.
1. Analyzing the new intuitionalists’ claim that Congress uses procedural innovation to influence policy, it may give Congress great influence over foreign policy, in other situations moderate influence, sometimes, no influence at all.
Members of Congress are charged with three primary duties—writing laws, overseeing the implementation of laws, and serving the needs of their constituents. Senate Filibuster, House Rules Committee and the Conference Committee all have had a profound effect in the lawmaking process. Additionally, general accounting office and hearings are both methods that Congress employs in order to maintain oversight over the federal bureaucracy. Lastly, Casework drastically affects members’ attention to legislation because it diverts their time, and resources away from focusing on legislation.
The process of passing laws through Congress is long and arduous. Many assume that easing the process would allow the less powerful and striving interests to press for sweeping policy changes. From a personal perspective,
Stemming from a loose interpretation of the Constitution – and specifically the necessary and proper clause -- congressional oversight is one of many enumerated powers bestowed upon Congress per Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. As the legislative body, Congress is charged with overseeing the inner workings of the Executive Branch and its federal agencies as a part of a system of checks and balances. However, as previously mentioned, this power is one of the implied powers of Congress, thus making it very difficult for many to delineate rightful oversight from reckless meandering. In the Constitution, for example, there is no singular mention of a definitive power such as “congressional oversight.” Consequently, there is no
Throughout the book Congress: The Electoral Connection there is a common theme that the author, David Mayhew, brings to our attention. He argues that the members of Congress have one exclusive goal, to get reelected; because of this goal, it effects their behavior and actions during their time in office. There are four reasons that Mayhew puts an emphasis on the goal of reelection, those being political reality, the lack of focus on parties but rather on individuals, the constant struggle for power and, in his opinion, most importantly it establishes an accountability relationship with an electorate. As the book progresses Mayhew provides an abundance of evidence as to why he believes this is the primary goal of the members of Congress.
As the text points out, “if the president possesses the will to control agencies but lacks the power and authority to do so., Congress does possess the power but generally lacks the will to exercise it.” Congress controls administrative agencies in five ways. First they have the ability to enacting and change enabling legislation. Congress can use the original legislation authorizing a program to specify quite precisely how an agency is to administer the program under specific conditions. Congress can also, control administrative agencies to determining funding for the agencies by reducing or threatening to reduce their budgets. As stated in the text, the constitution gives congress the power to tax and spend and the power to control agency
According to Rosenbach (2009), “Congressional oversight refers to the responsibility of the legislative branch to monitor and indirectly supervise federal programs, agencies, and policies. This authority is rooted in the Constitution’s “necessary and proper” clause and the
This is very important to Congress. Another function is oversight. It is a process in which Congress follows up the laws they enact to make sure that they are being properly enforced. They research this by holding hearings, doing investigations, changing the agency’s budget, and cross-examining presidential nominees to lead major agencies. It helps to sniff out problems. Then there is public-education. They do this when they have hearings, debates, or exercise oversight. It gives a variety of viewpoints and opens up important national questions for discussion. Lastly, there is conflict-resolution. Many people look to Congress for guidance and this helps solve the problem.
The Government Accountability Office has pointed out that the important practice of effective risk management is a challenge for the Congress and the administration. Risk management is a strategic process of helping policymakers to make decisions about assessing risk, and having limited allocating resources in taking actions under conditions of uncertainty (GAO, 2008). However, with the policymakers recognizing the risk management, it helps them to make informed decisions, while Congress and the administration have charged federal agencies to use a risk-based move to prioritize resource investments. In addition, the federal agencies often do not have enough comprehensive risk management strategies that merge well with the program, budget, and investment decisions (GAO, 2008). Between combing the approach of risk management, the process of decision-making is very difficult for any organization. In addition, it has been reported that the GAO says it is particularly difficult for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to be given its diverse set of responsibilities. Homeland Security is responsible though for all hazards in the homeland security risk from natural disasters, industrial, and terrorist attacks. Experts have provided the history of natural disasters with the extensive historical data used to assess risks (GAO, 2008).
Throughout history, there have been many factors that seem to have influenced the operations of Congress. Some of these factors have been the committee system, seniority, and political parties. These are only a few of the factors that actually have an influence on Congress’s decisions of certain operations.
This written report is appertaining to the book How Congress Works and Why You Should Care, written by Lee H. Hamilton. This book is published by Indiana University Press in Bloomington, IL, it was copyrighted in 2004 by the publisher.
Recently, many political scientists have argued over whether today’s Congress is centralizing or decentralizing. Centralization allows Congress to act quickly and decisively, but at the expense of the members of Congress and their constituents, while decentralization protects and enhances the interests of individual members and their constituents, but at the expense of its ability to act quickly and decisively. At its birth, Congress was created as a decentralized body, and although it has fluctuated over the years, the Constitution, congressional incentive for reelection, the committee system, and weak central leadership has certainly maintained such a decentralized institution.