Is Congress effective in Is Congress effective in exercising legislative exercising legislative

oversight of the federal oversight of the federal bureaucracy?bureaucracy?

By: Tanner Roach, Logan By: Tanner Roach, Logan Seagraves, Alexis Rampy, and Seagraves, Alexis Rampy, and

Brooke WorshamBrooke Worsham

Is Congress effective in Is Congress effective in exercising legislative oversight?exercising legislative oversight?► Yes, Congress is effective most of the time but Yes, Congress is effective most of the time but

they fail at times. They are effective mainly they fail at times. They are effective mainly through its congressional committee system.through its congressional committee system.

► Standing Committees makes Congress Standing Committees makes Congress effective because they have oversight effective because they have oversight responsibility of agencies and programs.responsibility of agencies and programs.

► Congress is also effective through budgetary Congress is also effective through budgetary review, committee clearance, controls on review, committee clearance, controls on personnel, investigations, and public hearings.personnel, investigations, and public hearings.

Exercising OversightExercising Oversight

►Can decide how funds are distributed Can decide how funds are distributed and where they should go.and where they should go.

►Can change jurisdiction of agencies.Can change jurisdiction of agencies.►Laws are set up to monitor bureaucracy Laws are set up to monitor bureaucracy

behavior and an example of this is the behavior and an example of this is the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 which governs the way agencies may which governs the way agencies may propose and establish laws.propose and establish laws.

Exercising OversightExercising Oversight

►Authorization, appropriations, Authorization, appropriations, investigative, and legislative investigative, and legislative hearings by standing committees; hearings by standing committees; specialized investigations by select specialized investigations by select committees; and reviews and studies committees; and reviews and studies by congressional support agencies and by congressional support agencies and staff are more ways that Congress staff are more ways that Congress exercises oversight of the federal exercises oversight of the federal bureaucracy. bureaucracy.

FailureFailure

► An example of a failure to exercise An example of a failure to exercise legislative oversight is The Watergate legislative oversight is The Watergate Scandal. This was a political scandal during Scandal. This was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C .office complex in Washington, D.C .

► If Congress would have done their job, this If Congress would have done their job, this wouldn’t have happened.wouldn’t have happened.

FailureFailure

►Congress has also recently failed to Congress has also recently failed to exercise oversight due to partisan exercise oversight due to partisan politics. Another example of a failure politics. Another example of a failure to exercise legislative oversight is the to exercise legislative oversight is the government’s response to hurricane government’s response to hurricane Katrina. The government is supposed Katrina. The government is supposed to act quickly and efficiently in times to act quickly and efficiently in times of need and they didn’t in this of need and they didn’t in this situation. situation.

VideoVideo

►http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Foxh3jq_UyU

HyperlinkHyperlink

►http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1791.html