We all know about the US Attorney scandal. The funding for the Iraq war. The inquiry into the GSA helping GOP candidates.
But there's more. The Christian Science Monitor helpfully compiles a list of some of the less prominent oversight activities that our new Congress is involved in.
"There's a whole culture of effective oversight, which the Congress carried out in the 1970s up through the early 1990s, that has been very much lost, and there's a lot of effort now going on to rebuild oversight skills," says Charles Tiefer, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a former deputy House counsel.
Early 90s, huh? Gee, I wonder what happened in the early/mid 90s? Could it be that "effective overight" and "Republican control of Congress" are like water and oil? And, no, partisan witchhunts through Bill Clinton's underwear drawer doesn't count as effective oversight.
In addition to all of the big scandals that Congress is looking into (and it's a long list), there are some less-visible, but still important, things going on:
In its first 100 days, the House also approved five bills – with veto-proof majorities – that extend whistle-blower protections to employees of federal contractors and that give the public greater access to government-held information.
One bill, which the Bush administration says it "can't support," requires a response within 20 days to requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Another, the Accountability in Contracting Act, mandates disclosure of no-bid contracts and contractor overcharges. It cleared the House with the support of all Democrats and 119 Republicans but the White House, citing "burdensome statutory requirements," opposes it.
Despite a presidential veto threat, 104 House Republicans joined all Democrats in overturning a 2001 executive order that allows presidents and vice presidents to decide which presidential records will stay sealed. All but 34 Republicans also backed a bill requiring disclosure of all who donate $200 or more to presidential libraries.
Note the key phrase there, "veto-proof majorities". That doesn't happen without a lot of Republican support. That's probably a combination of "rats abandoning a sinking ship" and individual Reps voting for something that the previous GOP leadership would never have let reach the floor.
But looking at what's being passed:
- A mandate to make it easier for citizens to get information from the government
- A law designed to shed light on notoriously overpriced contracts
- A law that prevents Presidents from sealing embarassing documents away from public view
- A law requiring Presidents to disclose who might be buying influence by lavishly contributing to their library.
That last one is pretty clearly aimed squarely at George, who is trying to raise 500 million dollars for his library. I think the people of this country would like to know just who is ponying up that sort of cash.
"Oversight does not have to be sensationalistic. It's a routine function that needs to be performed every day. There is no reason for it to be rude, even if it is aggressive," he adds. "For public-interest groups like mine, there's now someone to talk to in a way there hasn't been in recent years."
Or, to put it another way, the American people are getting what we wanted, as expressed by the last election.
-dms