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 Towns Calls on Vice President Biden to Convene IT Roundtable, Establish Uniform Approach to Track Stimulus Funds

U.S Representative Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY), the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, today announced that he is calling on Vice President Joseph R. Biden to convene a high-tech roundtable of information technology (IT) leaders to develop a uniform approach to track and account for ARRA funding. Chairman Towns is concerned that Recovery.gov, the Administration’s primary transparency tool, is not yet capable of tracking funding from each federal, state, and local agency that receives stimulus funds.

Chariman's Opening Statement and Witness Testimony from Hearing on “Preventing Stimulus Waste and Fraud: Who are the Watchdogs?”

On Thursday, March 19 at 10:00 a.m., in 2154 Rayburn, the Full Committee held a hearing titled, “Preventing Stimulus Waste and Fraud: Who are the Watchdogs?”.

Joint Statement from Chairman Towns and Congressman Clay on the 2010 Census

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY), Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and U.S. Representative William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Chairman of the Information Policy, Census and National Archives Subcommittee today released the following statement regarding oversight of the 2010 Census…

Chairman Towns Urges Treasury Department to Adopt IG Recommendations for TARP Funds

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, today wrote to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; urging the adoption of recommendations made by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), and to provide greater accountability and transparency in TARP agreements…

Chairman Towns Announces Subcommittee Chairs and Selections for the 111th Congress

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Edolphus “Ed” Towns, Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is pleased to announce the Chairs and selections for the Subcommittees of the 111th Congress…

Chairman Towns Requests Bipartisan Meetings With Secretary Robert Gates and Other Cabinet Secretaries

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY), chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform announced that a major portion of the committee’s agenda will be focused on working with the Obama Administration and its cabinet secretaries to form action plans to combat waste, fraud and abuse – detailed today by the Government Accountability Office’s report on high risk federal programs…

Chairman Towns Rolls Out Oversight Committee Priorities

WASHINGTON – One week into his tenure as the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, U.S. Representative Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY), discussed his plans for the Committee at a panel discussion on the future of government oversight and investigations in the 111th Congress….

Rep. Towns Passes Major Transparency Reforms: Presidential Records Act Amendments and Presidential Library Donation Reform

Seeking to create a seamless transition, U.S. Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY) hit the ground running on the first day of the 111th Congress with two major pieces of legislation, which passed the House of Representatives: the Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2009 (H.R. 35) and Presidential Library Donation Act of 2009 (H.R. 36). Rep. Towns’ bills were the first order of business and the first to be considered on the first day Congress met to address legislative business. Both bills include significant transparency reforms that would overhaul the process for accessing presidential records and disclose donations to presidential libraries.

Towns Launches Probes Into Tennessee Coal Ash Spill

U.S. Representative Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY), Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the massive coal ash spill at a facility operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in Kingston, Tennessee, one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.

Unimplemented IG Recommendations Costing Taxpayers Billions of Dollars

Today, Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns, Rep. Henry A. Waxman, and Sen. Claire McCaskill issued a new report that finds that the Bush Administration has failed to implement over 13,000 recommendations made by Inspectors General (IGs) since 2001. Federal agencies could save taxpayers over $25 billion by implementing these open recommendations.

Chairman Towns Names Senior Oversight Staff

Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY), incoming Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, named Ronald Stroman as staff director and Michael McCarthy as deputy staff director of the committee.

Ed Towns Is Elected Chairman of the Government Oversight Committee

This evening, the House Democratic Caucus formally elected Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY) as Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Committee Report Criticizes President’s Assertion of Executive Privilege

The Committee will next Tuesday consider a report supported by Chairman Henry A. Waxman and former Ranking Member Tom Davis finding that President Bush made a “legally unprecedented and an inappropriate use of executive privilege” when he directed Attorney General Mukasey to withhold Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s interview of Vice President Cheney from the Committee.

Chairman Waxman Praises GAO Transition Efforts

Chairman Henry A. Waxman issued a statement regarding the transition efforts of the Government Accountability Office.

Internal FDA Documents Show Career Staff Objected to Agency’s New Stance on Preemption

According to a report released today by Chairman Waxman, key FDA career officials strongly objected to Bush Administration drug labeling regulations that would preempt state liability lawsuits, asserting that the central justifications for the regulations were “false and misleading” and warning that the changes would deprive consumers of timely information about drug hazards.

Proposed Regulation Blocking Access to Healthcare Violates Executive Order

Chairman Waxman requested an explanation from HHS Secretary Leavitt on why a proposed rule that would threaten access to reproductive and other health services was issued in apparent violation of an executive order requiring interagency coordination and review.

Committee Holds Hearing on the the Role of Federal Regulators in the Financial Crisis

The Committee held a hearing titled, “The Financial Crisis and the Role of Federal Regulators” at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 23, 2008, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing examined the roles and responsibilities of federal regulators in the current financial crisis.

White House Orchestrated Taxpayer-Funded Trips to Help Republican Candidates

A draft Committee report circulated by Chairman Waxman finds that in the months before the 2006 elections, the White House Office of Political Affairs “enlisted agency heads across government in a coordinated effort to elect Republican candidates to Congress,” directing them “to make hundreds of trips – most at taxpayer expense – for the purpose of increasing the electability of Republicans.”

Bipartisan Committee Report Criticizes President’s Assertion of Executive Privilege

A bipartisan report circulated today by Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Ranking Member Tom Davis finds that President Bush made a “legally unprecedented and an inappropriate use of executive privilege” when he directed Attorney General Mukasey to withhold Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s interview of Vice President Cheney from the Committee. A separate report circulated by Chairman Waxman criticizes the President’s assertion of executive privilege in the Committee’s investigation into recent climate change and Clean Air Act decisions. Both reports will be considered by the full Committee next week.

Chairman Waxman Expresses Serious Reservations About Bailout Plan

Chairman Waxman released a statement about the Administration’s $700 billion proposal to rescue financial institutions.

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.

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