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Oversight is an implied rather than an enumerated power under the U.S. Constitution. [2] The government's charter does not explicitly grant Congress the authority to conduct inquiries or investigations of the executive, to have access to records or materials held by the executive, or to issue subpoenas for documents or testimony from the executive.
Congress may itself terminate such appointments, by impeachment, and restrict the president. Bodies such as the War Claims Commission (created by the War Claims Act of 1948), the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission—all quasi-judicial—often have direct Congressional oversight.
A significant part of a committee's hearings workload is dedicated to oversight. For example, on a single day, May 8, 1996, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held an oversight hearing to look into a recent increase in gasoline prices; the Committee on Governmental Affairs held an oversight hearing on the Internal Revenue ...
For decades now, the evolving role of congressional oversight of U.S. intelligence has involved major clashes and scandals, from the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s to the intelligence abuses that ...
As an executive branch department, the newly formed Department of Homeland Security required congressional counterparts to facilitate legislative action and oversight. The committee was made permanent when it was elevated to standing status by a vote of the House of Representatives on January 4, 2005, on the opening day of the 109th Congress ...
In the United States, divided government describes a situation in which one party controls the White House (executive branch), while another party controls one or both houses of the United States Congress (legislative branch). Divided government is seen by different groups as a benefit or as an undesirable product of the model of governance ...
However, Congressional oversight into intelligence issues is a complex task, requiring a sophisticated understanding of the issues. [2] The floor debate for the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 provided a clear example of the difficulties Congress faces when trying to modify intelligence legislation. Members, for reasons of classification or ...
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