Is Congress Effective in Exercising
Legislative Oversight of the Federal
Bureaucracy?
Nick Gainey
Josh Michael
Nick Fazio
Two Specific Methods Congress uses
to Exercise Effective Oversight of the
Federal Bureaucracy
• Oversight through
Committees
• Oversight through
Congressional Offices
Oversight through Committees
Authorization
Committee
Appropriations
Committee
Government
Operations
Committee
Authorization Committee
Originally establishes
and authorizes
government programs
and agencies.
Example : The House
Armed Services
Committee is in
charge of all military
programs in the House
of Representatives.
• http://video.foxnews.com/
v/4401027/how-will-newcongress-tackle-war-onterror/
Appropriations Committee
Check and
Approve
Agencies’
Budgets for the
Federal
Government
Budget Each
Year
Government Operations
Committees
Coordinate
Congressional Concern
over Governmental
Operations
Examples : Senate
Committee on
Governmental Affairs,
House Committee on
Governmental Reform.
Oversight through Congressional
Offices
General
Accounting
Office
Congressional
Research
Service
Congressional
Budget Office
General Accounting Office
Performs the Task
of Program
Evaluation by
Auditing and
Judging
Administration of a
Program
Congressional Research Service
Gathers
information on
activities and
performance of
various agencies
to assist members
in Congress
Congressional Budget Office
Gathers
information on
budgets of various
agencies for their
report to the
(OMB) Office of
Management and
Budget
Two Specific Examples of Congress
Failing to Exercise Effective Oversight
of the Federal Bureaucracy
• Partisan Politics
• Overload of
Congressional Work
Partisan Politics
The political party
affiliation gets in the
way of congressional
oversight in the United
States government
Example : A Democratic
Congressman will be
hesitant to bring fault to
the president, if the
president is also a
Democrat
• MSNBC video Obama GOP
needs to put partisan
politics aside.mht
Overload of Congressional Work
Members of Congress
are overloaded with
work and do not have
time and resources to
effective oversee the
federal bureaucracy
Example : Congressman
is too concentrated
about needs of
constituents instead of
congressional oversight
The End
Approved by the “Iced Tea Party”