The Importance Of Congressional Oversight

One of the most important powers of congress is that of Congressional Oversight. While the public may only notice their congress when they are in session debating on important laws that is not the end of their duty as representatives of their constituencies. The members of congress have the responsibility to uphold and regulate different federal agencies (Halchin 2012). This is an important role when it comes to the checks and balance system. Basically, through congressional oversight, Congress can make sure that the laws that are passed are enacted and regulated. Also, so that they know that the federal agencies that are receiving funding from the appropriations committees are acting accordingly to what their mission statement is. Many times …show more content…
During one of the sessions, Elizabeth Warren- a chair on the panel- introduced the act in response to the financial crisis of 2008(Congressional Oversight Panel 2010). She explains that after the investigation, the panel decided to give money to certain corporations in response to the crisis. This Act was made into law on October 3rd, 2008 (Warren, 2009). As Congress, when there is a crisis occurring in the country they take certain actions to ensure the safety of the citizens (Halchin 2012). This is whether it is financial, economic, or social. In this case, Congress have taken congressional oversight of TARP at a time when the country was having a bit of a mortgage crisis (Warren, 2009). This is when Congress comes in to help regulate certain agencies that will help with the crisis. Through agencies, the government will give federal capital to the bank, to assist the banks with subsidies and prevent them from going bankrupt (Warren, 2009). This is the process congress often goes through that leads up to an …show more content…
They connect with one another and make deals and that in return leads to everyone getting a little of what they want on a bill or resolution. It is to say that during the TARP congressional overview of how the federal dollars are being used, were many times given to smaller banks (Warren, 2009). This is because these small banks were more likely to have political ties and have contributed to one campaign or another. Therefore, not only are the voting, but they are sort of fundraising in a way through their constituencies and through these banks that they help by giving capital revenue. Due to the amount of connections, it can cause both positive and negative effects on the agency (Duchin 20019). The politicians may just pay more attention to the agency and be more watchful of their spending because of the ties they have made to the people who run this