What Is Congressional Oversight?

Congress is a major component in deciding how well an agency will do and how well it will carry out its obligations. Despite the fact that bureaucracies in American can control, manipulate and have a profound impact on the lives of citizens and the nation as a whole, according to Herbert Kaufman “congress possesses an “awesome arsenal” of weapons that it can use against agencies: legislations appropriations, hearings investigations, and personal interventions in order to limit their effect. Now besides congress having the duty and responsibility of creating laws for the United States of America, congress can also check and balance bureaucratic agencies. They do so by using a

Congressional oversight is an implied power that oversights the United States Congress over the Executive Branch

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

The Oversight Powers of Congress prevents corruption, misuse of power,decit and flasification.They oversee Cabinet departments, executive agencies , regulatory commissions ,presidency and others.The Oversight Powers of Congress have halped to force out officials and change -adjust policies.They have also exposed corruption from time to time;

The GAO researches, investigates, and checks how each division of the federal government spends taxpayer dollars by conducting audits and other types of investigations (GAO 2014). The purpose of GAO is to advise Congress, along with executive agency heads, about ways to make government more efficient, effective, ethical, equitable and

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

Hello, Kevin. I am agree with your point that intelligence oversight is working but not at optimal. For example the 9/11 Commission concluded that many aspects of congressional oversight of the IC were “dysfunctional.” And it suggested several reforms they assessed would increase Congress’s capabilities: abolishing term limits for members of the intelligence committees so that they build their expertise to enhance their oversight abilities, combining the authorization and appropriation functions thus limiting the number of lawmakers involved and further increasing the efficacy of congressional oversight. Congress has tremendous power since it approves the fund; However, this also created opportunity for congress to abuse it if willing. Congress

In his opening remarks Chairman Roskam establishes that the investigation is a way for the Congress to protect the power of purse:

I disagree with Former Congressman Lee Hamilton when he said Congress is the most important link between the people and the national government because I believe the most important link between the American people and their national government is the media and not Congress. While Congress is essential, the congressman would not be able to completely do their jobs without the forms of communication which link them to the people. With advances in modern technology, it is easier than ever for the government to relay information to the people. Media has played a role in influencing the government starting at its formation. James Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison wrote a series of letters in hopes to sway the people in support of the ratification of the new constitution. This process continues to be practiced today as people are still able to write in letters to the editor and publish their opinions on other more modern forms of media. In this way, they are not only able to communicate with other people but also with members of their national government.

The primary oversight responsibility for Constitutional violations lies with the public, but much of what DHS does is cloaked in secrecy.

("John Marshall," 2014) In most of the federal regulations we have today, congressional authority is justified under the necessary and proper clause within the congressional interstate commerce power. This is different from the commerce clause, this power grants congress authority to make laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution, the power to regulate

The founding founders saw congress as the crucial institution from the law making process (Lesson 5, Roles of Congress). Bills come from citizens or members of the house or representatives and is then introduced to the committee in which the bill relates. A vote is then taken if more support it than opposed then it is passed to the senate. Oversight is an important part in this process. It is when the members continuously check on the laws that were voted and passed to see if they were used effectively and in the way intended.

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.

Intelligence is a dependable instrument of its own to generate information that establishes the base of National Security in the United States. Intelligence has been used since the beginning of history to provide information on enemy threats and how to prevent a mass disasters. It has been used for wars, national security, military tactics, etc. Intelligence has been available since the revolutionary war and our first president George Washington and other leaders of the world have used intelligence to protect their countries. Intelligence is the dominant and the backbone of homeland Security and it is ceaseless learning about it. National Intelligence agents train tirelessly to fight and create

Congress has delegated a significant amount of authority to the federal bureaucracy by granting the agencies the power to draft federal regulations (rule making) and to adjudicate conflicts over these regulations.