oversight

Waxman’s Watchdog Legacy

As chairman of the House oversight committee, Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) uncovered critical information about the worst reported abuses of power in the Bush administration.

Lieberman’s Era of Blinkered Oversight Likely to End

When Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.)  meets on Capitol Hill today with Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, the big question will be whether Lieberman, an ardent John McCain backer, will be cut off entirely from the Democratic caucus. What’s almost certain, though, is that Lieberman will lose his chairmanship of the Senate oversight [...]

Who Will Watch Over Obama’s Shoulder?

Not Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) if he can help it.
As Mike flagged yesterday, Waxman, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will challenge Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) for the post of House Energy and Commerce Committee chair. Waxman called Dingell this morning. A Dingell spokesman has called the challenge “unhealthy.”
Dingell [...]

Conservation Groups Not Letting Bush’s Endangered Species Act Go Unnoticed

This is at least the fourth time I’ve heard someone refer to the Bush administration’s proposed regulation on the Endangered Species Act as the “fox guarding the henhouse.”
It’s not just because endangered-species workers love animal analogies. It’s because the new rule gives government agencies the power, sans oversight, to decide for themselves whether their own [...]

What Were Lehman Officials Really Thinking?

Lehman Bros. CEO Richard Fuld, in a written statement for the House oversight committee, portrays himself as a victim of mortgage-market forces beyond his control. Fuld writes, “What happened to Lehman Bros. [which could have been one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history] could have happened to any firm on Wall Street and almost [...]

GOP Line on Financial Crisis: Blame the GSE’s

The House oversight committee is holding a hearing now on the collapse of Lehman Bros. and the financial crisis generally. This hearing– and four others– will likely provide hints of how Congress, post-bailout bill, will try to revamp how the government polices Wall Street.
The committee has produced internal Lehman Bros. documents that show Lehman CEO [...]

Report: Oil Industry Held to ‘Honor System’

Oil companies self-report how much they drill, for a royalty program that is the government’s largest source of revenue after income taxes.

Cronyism, Cocaine, Oil…and now Congressional Oversight

That was quick.
Yesterday the Interior Dept. inspector general unveiled three lurid reports of sexual misconduct, drug dealing and partying with oil executives at Interior’s Mineral Management Services.
Today the House oversight committee said there will be a hearing next Wednesday to scrutinize MMS and their oil and natural gas drilling program.
The investigation seems to merit congressional [...]