Congressional Oversight

Dan Froomkin

Congress Focuses On Little Scandals As Big Ones Get Away

HuffingtonPost.com | Dan Froomkin | Posted 04.24.2012

Read More: Secret Service Hookers, Secret Service Scandal, Gsa Conference, Gsa, Afghanistan Oversight, War in Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Afghan War, Secret Service, Congressional Oversight, Gsa Scandal, Scandal, Secret Service Prostitution, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- This city loves a scandal -- as long as it's just the right size. Not too small. But also not too big. While official Washington rema...

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Few Things Are 100% Predictable, But Here's One..

Ellen Schloemer | Posted 05.26.2012

Read More: Congressional Oversight, Dodd-Frank Ac, Subprime Mortgages, CARD Act, Credit CARD Act, Consumer Spending, Consumer Protection, Consumer Safeguards, Center for Responsible Lending, Money News
Ellen Schloemer

Imagine how many people would have walked away from getting a subprime mortgage if the broker had told them, "The rate on this loan is 2% higher than you qualify for, because I make more money that way."

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'Green News Report' - December 15, 2011

Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen | Posted 02.14.2012

Read More: Fracking, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations, National Journal, Michael Mann, Global Climate Mitigation, Epa, Renewable Energy, Regulation, Wyoming, Green News Report, Pollution, Radiation, Methane, Video, Conservatives, Americans for Prosperity, Big Oil, Corporate Media, Fossil Fuels, Climate Science, Durban, Gop, Climate Change Denial, Climate Change, Global Warming Deniers, Air Pollution, Tea Party, Solar Power, Global Warming, Energy, Wisconsin, Fukushima, Carbon Emissions, Ipcc, Nuclear Power, Environmentalism, State Department, Toxic Chemicals, BRAD BLOG, Water, Keystone XL Pipeline, Green News, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hydraulic Fracturing, Japan, Unfccc, 350.Org, Environmental Integrity Project, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Safe Drinking Water Act, Gregory Jaczko, Coal, Darrell Issa, Ohio, Jason Chaffetz, John Boehner, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gasoline Prices, Congressional Oversight, Coal Ash, Gasoline, Ed Markey, Arsenic, Water Pollution, Toxic Waste, Green News
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen

TWITTER: @GreenNewsReport. The 'GNR' is also now available on your cell phone via Stitcher Radio's mobile app!. IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Arsenic a...

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We Paid Dead People Using Paper, Pencil and a Whole Lot of Spit

Linda E. Brooks Rix | Posted 02.01.2012

Read More: Congressional Oversight, Office of Personnel Management, Federal-Retirement-Funds, Federal Employees Retirement System, John Berry, Politics News
Linda E. Brooks Rix

The technology to fix the Federal Employees Retirement System isn't a pipe dream. It's ready to use, right now. It's time to solve this problem once and for all for federal employees, its retirees and the American taxpayer.

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Michael McAuliff

Coburn: Senate's GAO Cuts Will Cost $3.3 Billion

HuffingtonPost.com | Michael McAuliff | Posted 11.28.2011

Read More: Video, Tom Coburn, Ben Nelson, Tom Coburn GAO, Federal Budget Deficit, Congressional Oversight, 112th Congress, Government Accountability Office Cuts, Gao, Sen. Tom Coburn, Tom Coburn Government Spending, Government Accountability Office, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Tom Coburn and several colleagues are taking their fellow senators to task for slashing the Government Accountability Office's budg...

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Michael McAuliff

Republicans Decrying 'Job Killing' Green Energy Agenda Have Sought Green Jobs, Letters Show

HuffingtonPost.com | Michael McAuliff | Posted 11.21.2011

Read More: Darrell-Issa, Green Jobs, Solyndra Bankruptcy, Darrell Issa, Congressional Oversight, Republican Hypocrisy, Green, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, 112th Congress, Green Energy, Solyndra, Video, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- The GOP-led House Oversight Committee may be accusing the White House of a "job killing" green energy agenda in a hearing Thursday -- bu...

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Michael McAuliff

WATCH: GOP Botches Multiple Facts, Calls Elizabeth Warren A Liar

HuffingtonPost.com | Michael McAuliff | Posted 07.24.2011

Read More: Elizabeth Warren, Patrick McHenry, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Financial Reform, Cfpb, Congressional Oversight, 112th Congress, Oversight Committee, Elizabeth Warren Liar, Elizabeth Warren Cfpb, Financial Regulation, Video, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Republicans attempting to grill Elizabeth Warren on the creation of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had to be schooled repe...

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In The Public Interest: Checking the "Fact Check" From CFPB Opponents

Ed Mierzwinski | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Elizabeth Warren, Regulations, Finance, Federal Reserve, Wall Street Reform, Cfpb, Congressional Oversight, Banking, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Banks, Bank Regulators, Professor Elizabeth Warren, Consumer Protection, Financial Institutions, Politics News
Ed Mierzwinski

What opponents of the CFPB really fear is that we now have a regulator that will put consumer interests first and hold Wall Street accountable.

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How to Take Proper Aim at a Target Rich Environment

David Isenberg | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Congressional Oversight, Pentagon, Military-Reform, National Defense, Pentagon Budget, Business News
David Isenberg

Without question, the U.S. Department of Defense is -- from both an accountability and cost-effectiveness perspective -- the most dysfunctional department in the executive branch.

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Blackwater and the $78.5 Million Olly Olly Oxen Free Contract

David Isenberg | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Congressional Oversight, Appropriations Committee, Blackwater, Foreign Affairs, Training, Business News
David Isenberg

'Olly olly oxen free' is a catchphrase used in such children's games as hide and seek to indicate that players who are hiding can come out into the op...

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Go Home: Incoming Leader of the 112th Congress Issues Odd Marching Order

Scott Lilly | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Congress, Republican House Leadership, John Boehner, Congressional Oversight, Appropriations, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Darryl Issa, U.S. House of Representatives, Whip, Kevin McCarthy, Eric Cantor, House Appropriations Committe, Politics News
Scott Lilly

Eric Cantor recently unveiled his calendar for the first session of the next Congress, one that has the House in session for fewer days than during any first session in the past decade. Something has to give, but it's not clear what that will be.

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Miles to Go Before the PMC Industry Rests

David Isenberg | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Congressional Oversight, Private Military Contractor, Iraq, Senator Byron Dorgan, Senate Democratic Policy Committee, Business News
David Isenberg

When reading about private military contractors there are two pieces of supposed conventional wisdom to keep in mind. The first, which is especially ...

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Don't Be Afraid of the Congressional Oversight Bogeyman

Project On Government Oversight | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Congressional Oversight, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Oversight, Congress, President Obama, John Boehner, Darrell Issa, Eric Cantor, Politics News
Project On Government Oversight

We've been hearing a lot of talk from both Democrats and Republicans characterizing "oversight" as a dangerous weapon in the wake of the election. But from our perspective, both sides need to take a different tack.

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Millennial Civics: Your Revolution Is Tuesday

Lorelei Kelly | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Social Media, Tea Party Movement, Democratic Participation, Congress, Crowdsourcing, Biz Stone, Elections 2010, Congressional Oversight, Communications Revolution, Democracy, Malcom Gladwell, November 2, Politics News
Lorelei Kelly

The problems with Congress are not just ideological, they are institutional. It has failed to adapt to the modern era. Our national challenge is cut out for millennials: On November 2, you must show the rest of us that teams perform better than solo acts.

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COINTELPRO 2.0

Shahid Buttar | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Transparency, Government Surveillance, Senate, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Senate Judiciary Committee, Warrantless Surveillance, Congressional Oversight, Oversight, Surveillance, Fbi, Fourth Amendment, Racial Profiling, FBI Surveillance, Politics News
Shahid Buttar

Revelations of the FBI's "COINTELPRO" prompted a national outrage that forced the Department of Justice to enact limits in 1976 curtailing the Bureau's various abuses. Today, these problems are back.

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MMS' Failure Will Continue Without Real Reform

Rep. Edolphus Towns | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Interior Department, Bp, Congress, Oil Spill, Edolphus Towns, Congressional Oversight, BP Oil Spill, Ken Salazar, Gulf Oil Spill, Mms, Politics News
Rep. Edolphus Towns

The BP oil spill was just the latest chapter in a long history of regulatory and ethical failures at the Interior Department and the Minerals Management Service.

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Contracting Abuses Could be Solved With New Bill

Lloyd Chapman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Small Business, Abuse, Charles Tiefer, Obama Administration, Loopholes, Corporate Giants, Barack Obama, Fraud, Corporate Crime, Small Business Administration, White Collar Crime, Nydia Velazquez, Congressional Oversight, Contracting, American Small Business League, Corporate Greed, Small-Business-Committee, Politics News
Lloyd Chapman

The diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants has gone on for over a decade. H.R. 2568 is a deficit neutral and much needed solution to these long standing abuses.

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For-Profit Colleges And The Threat Of A New Bubble

Sen. Tom Harkin | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: College Students, Senate, Student Debt, Subprime Mortgage Crisis, Congressional Oversight, Higher Education, Taxpayers, Student Loans, Students, For-Profit Colleges, College News
Sen. Tom Harkin

Haven't we heard this story before? It features a high-pressure sales force persuading consumers in search of the American dream to go deep into debt to purchase a product of often dubious value. Default rates are sky high. Taxpayer money is squandered. Top executives walk away with fortunes.

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Dan Froomkin

Congressional Oversight Crippled By Institutional Anemia, Reformer Says

HuffingtonPost.com | Dan Froomkin | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Congressional Oversight, Congress, Danielle Brian, Project on Government Oversight, Pogo, Politics News

Danielle Brian is celebrating her 20th year at the Project on Government Oversight this week. POGO is one of Washington's most productive and respect...

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Foreclosure Prevention: More Than a Government Solution

Rep. Edolphus Towns | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: JP Morgan Chase, Housing Prices, Housing Market, Economy, Mortgage Crisis, Bank of America, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Housing Crisis, Hamp, Subprime Mortgages, Bailout, Congressional Oversight, Banks, Foreclosure, Citigroup, Politics News
Rep. Edolphus Towns

If we are going to address the avalanche of nationwide foreclosures, the private sector must do their part help struggling homeowners.

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General Petraeus and His Senate Vassals

Winslow T. Wheeler | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iraq War, Congress, General Mcchrystal, Afghanistan, David Petraeus, Stanley McChrystal, Congressional Oversight, Senate Armed Services Committee, General Petraeus, Afghanistan War, Politics News
Winslow T. Wheeler

We will see no frowns when the SASC considers the Petraeus nomination. The committee's most recent hearing with the general was attended by politicians supplicating him to offer any response he might care to. It wasn't oversight; it was bad theater.

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What's Past Is Prologue

Rep. Darrell Issa | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Bp, Lack of Oversight, Darrell Issa, Congressional Oversight, Regulation, Oversight, Mms, Politics News
Rep. Darrell Issa

No president, political party or private enterprise should dictate the level of our commitment to oversight. The human cost of allowing such interference is too great.

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The Postal Service's Fiscal Crisis and Future Viability

Rep. Edolphus Towns | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Congress, U.S. Postal Service, Postmaster General John Potter, Postal Service, Economy, Congressional Oversight, Usps, Gao, Recession, Politics News
Rep. Edolphus Towns

As a result of postal workers' high level of service, the Postal Service has become one of the most trusted organizations in America. But it's tradition of service is under more pressure than ever before due to a financial crisis.

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Should Lawmakers Be Allowed To Invest In The Industries They Regulate?

washingtonpost.com | Robert O'Harrow Jr. And Dan Keating | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Investments, Conflict of Interest, Lack of Oversight, Ron Paul, Congressional Oversight, Oversight, Lawmakers, Financial Investments, Legislation, Committee Assignments, Business News

Rep. Ron Paul is captivated by gold. Over the past two decades, he has written books about the virtues of gold-backed currency. He has made uncounted ...

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To Protect Taxpayer Dollars, Agencies Must Suspend and Debar Bad Government Contractors

Rep. Edolphus Towns | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Department of Homeland Security, Congressional Oversight, Usaid, Congress, Government Contracting, Procurement, Private Contractors, Department of Transportation, Politics News
Rep. Edolphus Towns

With billions of tax dollars on the line, it is far past time for agencies to suspend and debar bad actors and for agency managers to aggressively enforce this process.

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