Role And Purpose Of Congressional Oversight In The United States

Essay Examination (What is “Congressional oversight”) Robert Johnson

Dr. Joe Trachtenberg
Political Science (3360) Congress
22 June 2013

What is “congressional oversight”? Explain in detail how congressional oversight may be used by House and Senate members for political purposes to score points against the other party, and perhaps the president, if he is of the other party. Explain in detail how congressional oversight may be used by House and Senate members in a non-politicized/non-partisan effort to see to it that “the laws are faithfully executed” by the executive branch and, or independent agencies of the federal government. The primary role and purpose of the Congressional oversight is to oversee the national

Governmental responsibilities and to ensure laws are faithfully executed by the president and

Federal administrators.
Oversight varies from committee to committee. One thing is for sure although is the large role that the press and media serve in investigating and reporting on government affairs. The traditional method of exercising congressional oversight is through committee hearings and investigations into executive branch operations. It is important that legislators know if federal programs are functioning correctly. It is also important that they are aware of the amount, or lack of, public support for governmental programs. Another technique that is used to perform oversight is a legislative veto. In 1932, Congress included in their statutes the right to Congress to approve or disapprove executive actions. A legislative veto allows one or both chambers to veto certain executive activities by majority vote. In additional to legislative veto, Congress chooses to grant committees the authority to approve or disapprove executive actions as well, known as committee