Administration Oversight

Congress has a responsibility under the Constitution to conduct oversight of the executive branch. The Committee on Government Reform has the specific responsibility to oversee whether laws and programs are being implemented and carried out in accordance with the intent of Congress and whether they should be continued, curtailed, or eliminated; the application, administration, execution, and effectiveness of laws and programs; and the organization and operation of federal agencies and entities having responsibilities for the administration and execution of laws and programs. As set forth in House Rule X, clause 4, the Committee also may, at any time, conduct investigations of any matter regardless of whether another standing committee has jurisdiction over the matter.

Latest News

Chairman Waxman Responds to Rep. Davis and Issa

Chairman Waxman wrote to Ranking Members Davis and Issa responding to their letters about oversight of the Mineral Management Service.

Committee Seeks Information About Documents Withheld Under Executive Privilege

Chairman Waxman sent letters seeking additional information about documents withheld from the Committee under claims of executive privilege by President Bush, including documents relating to whether the White House complied with the Clean Air Act on important environmental decisions and documents relating to the outing of covert CIA official Valerie Plame Wilson.

House Passes Bill to Strengthen GAO

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 6388, the Government Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2008. Chairman Henry A. Waxman and 18 other committee chairs introduced this legislation to strengthen the Government Accountability Office and restore GAO’s authority to pursue litigation if documents are improperly withheld from the agency.

Chairman Waxman Urges Special Counsel to Step Down

Chairman Waxman wrote to Scott Bloch to express his concerns about the effectiveness of the Office of Special Counsel and to urge Bloch to step down to protect the interests of the agency and those it is charged to protect.

Questions Raised about Solicitation of Funds for Bush Library

The Committee has opened an investigation into allegations that an individual solicited funds for the George W. Bush Presidential Library in return for access to senior U.S. foreign policy officials.

House Passes Bill to Preserve Electronic Records

By a vote of 286-137, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5811, the Electronic Communications Preservation Act, which would modernize the requirements of the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act to ensure that vital electronic records are preserved.

New GAO Report Reveals Agencies are Not Complying with Requirements to Preserve E-mails

Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, and Rep. Paul W. Hodes released a new GAO report that finds that senior federal officials are failing to comply with requirements to preserve e-mail records. On Wednesday, the House is expected to consider legislation (H.R. 5811) to modernize the Federal Records Act and the Presidential Records Act to ensure the preservation of these important federal records.

Chairman Waxman Warns Attorney General of Scheduled Contempt Vote

Chairman Waxman writes Attorney General Mukasey that the Oversight Committee will vote to hold him in contempt unless the Attorney General produces a copy of the report of the FBI interview of Vice President Cheney in the investigation of the leak of the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson, a covert CIA agent.

Committee Chairs Introduce Bill to Strengthen GAO

Chairman Henry A. Waxman and 18 other committee chairs introduced legislation to strengthen the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and restore GAO’s authority to pursue litigation if documents are improperly withheld from the agency.

Questions Raised about Embassy Involvement with Indicted Arms Dealer

The Oversight Committee has received evidence that the U.S. Embassy in Albania approved an effort to conceal the illegal Chinese origins of ammunition shipped to Afghanistan by AEY, a Florida arms dealer whose 22-year-old president was indicted last week.

Chairman Waxman Speaks to National Press Club

Chairman Waxman spoke to the National Press Club on the importance of congressional oversight in ensuring accountability and exposing waste, fraud, and abuse.

Committee Calls for Declassification of Information About U.S. Bases in Iraq

Chairman Waxman sent a letter today requesting that President Bush declassify provisions in the “Joint MNF-I/U.S. Embassy-Baghdad Campaign Plan” that refer to U.S. military bases in Iraq and the timeline for their existence, as well as a GAO report issued today regarding this Joint Campaign Plan.

Oversight Committee Subpoenas Justice Department for Plame Documents

Today, the Oversight Committee issued a subpoena to Attorney General Mukasey compelling the production of FBI interview reports of Vice President Cheney and President Bush and other documents regarding the outing of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson.

Chairman Waxman Requests Information on Universal Service Fund High Cost Support Program Disbursements

In a letter to FCC Chairman Martin, Chairman Waxman requested information about the top recipients of high-cost subsidy dollars from the federal Universal Service Fund. The High Cost Program of the Universal Service Fund subsidizes eligible telecommunications carriers for the purpose of ensuring that consumers in all regions of the nation have access to and pay rates for telecommunications services that are reasonably comparable to services provided and rates paid in urban areas.

Committee Releases Proposed Abramoff Report

Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis issued a proposed Committee report on White House contacts with Jack Abramoff that concludes that Mr. Abramoff had personal contact with President Bush, that high-level White House officials held Mr. Abramoff and his associates in high regard and solicited recommendations from them on policy matters, that Mr. Abramoff and his associates influenced some White House actions, and that Mr. Abramoff and his associates offered White House officials expensive tickets and meals.

New Questions about Vice President Cheney’s Role in CIA Leak

Chairman Waxman urges Attorney General Mukasey to turn over the FBI interviews of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, citing new information from the FBI interview of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and the recent disclosures by Scott McClellan.

Legislation Introduced to Improve Federal Electronic Recordkeeping

Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, and Rep. Paul W. Hodes introduced legislation to modernize the requirements of the Presidential Records Act and the Federal Records Act and ensure that crucial records are preserved for historians.

State Department Should Release Identity of Companies that Accessed Obama Passport File

Chairman Waxman writes the State Department to request the name of the companies that hired the contractors who gained unauthorized access to Senator Obama’s passport files and to urge the State Department to release this information to the public.

Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis Respond to CIA Inspector General on Committee Jurisdiction

In a letter to CIA Inspector General Helgerson, Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis respond to the CIA’s IG’s refusal to provide information concerning unimplemented recommendations, and reiterate the Committee request for the information.

Committee Submits Views and Estimates for FY 2009 Budget

Chairman Waxman wrote to the House Budget Committee to submit the views and estimates of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for the fiscal year 2009 budget. The submittal highlighted many of the Committee’s concerns about President Bush’s proposed budget, especially attempts to overturn good government legislation supported by the Committee and a failure to sufficiently address waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending.

Chairman Waxman Responds to Kansas Legislators' Invitation

In a letter to Kansas State Senate President Morris and Speaker Neufeld, Chairman Waxman thanked them for their invitation to visit and hear about a new coal-fired power plant proposed by Sunflower Electric, and reiterated his commitment to safeguarding taxpayer dollars from waste through oversight of the Rural Utility Service.

Committee Holds Hearing on Electronic Records Preservation at the White House

At 10:00 a.m., on February 26, 2008, the Committee held a hearing entitled “Electronic Records Preservation at the White House.”

Chairman Waxman Schedules Hearing to Examine Preservation of White House E-mails

On February 26, the Committee will hold a hearing to investigate White House compliance with the Presidential Records Act. Statements made at the January 17 White House press briefing contradict information provided to the Committee, which revealed that a 2005 White House analysis found no archived mail for hundreds of days between 2003 and 2005.

New Questions Raised About White House Records Preservation

In letters to the White House and the National Archives, Chairman Waxman asks whether the White House has preserved its records according to the obligations of the Presidential Records Act, and what the White House has done to prepare for the transition of presidential records to the Archives in January 2009.

Chairman Waxman Urges Attorney General to Provide Plame Documents

In a letter to the Attorney General, Chairman Waxman reiterated his request for documents from Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald’s investigation into the leak of the covert identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson, noting the absence of any pending Justice Department investigation or litigation.

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