ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the oversight power. Oversight is a constant feature of congressional activity because it meets two important needs for legislators: it helps them get reelected, and it improves policymaking. The commission was an extension of congressional oversight of the executive branch; when Congress cannot pursue good oversight because of time, resource, or political constraints, it can use other methods, like independent commissions, to seek the truth and develop good policy alternatives. Federal courts have recognized Congress's right to oversee the executive branch in a series of decisions that made it clear that oversight is fundamental to good public policy and to Congress's ability to execute its lawmaking responsibility. With the Legislative Reorganization Act (LRA) as guidance, the House and Senate Rules Committees mention oversight in the specific rules that grant the committees their jurisdiction. Congress also standardized the rule-making responsibilities of the various agencies in 1946.
