Tag: oversight

Lawmakers ramp up scrutiny of ICE oversight staff furloughs

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Democrats in Congress are pressing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to restore oversight staff who were furloughed at the start of the government shutdown. In a Nov. 6 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the lawmakers said that staff at the Office of Detention Oversight are crucial to ensuring safety at ICE detention centers. Staff at ODO were furloughed at the outset of the shutdown. “Without ODO staff actively performing these duties, there is a heightened risk that detention facilities fail to meet required standards, compromising detainee safety, access to…

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An objective look at Congress’ ability to conduct effective oversight

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Interview transcript: Terry Gerton: Well, you make a case in a recent paper that Congress has been neglecting its oversight role over the last two decades. What’s your evidence? J.D. Rackey: Yeah. So the claim is pretty well substantiated in political science literature, and I’m trying to raise that here in the D.C. world, that there’s been a long, steady, bipartisan decline in how Congress approaches its oversight. And there’s been a decline, in particular, in the number of hearings that Congress has been holding — and oversight hearings —…

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House Oversight panel subpoenas Secret Service director to testify on Trump assassination attempt

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee issued a subpoena Wednesday to the Secret Service director compelling her to appear before the committee on Monday for what is scheduled to be the first congressional hearing into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. And even before the first hearing Republican calls for Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign intensified Wednesday with top Republican leaders from both the House and the Senate saying she should step down. The director has said she has no intention…

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Meet the new chief scientist at the government’s premier oversight agency

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The Government Accountability Office, the chief oversight arm of Congress , has a new chief scientist. He joins the agency after having been chief scientist at Noblis, a nonprofit research and consulting institute with many federal clients. For more, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin  spoke with Dr. Sterling Thomas. Interview Transcript: Tom Temin Well, first of all, why the jump from the private, nonprofit sector into government in the congressional branch? Sterling Thomas Yeah, it was a tough decision, actually. I’ve had a nice, long and very wonderful career at…

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EXCLUSIVE: Biden Nominee to Protect Son Hunter From Whistleblowers, Oversight Chair Says

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FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—President Joe Biden has nominated a former colleague of his son Hunter Biden—they worked together at a law firm representing Ukrainian energy company Burisma—to run an internal watchdog agency in his administration.  Biden tapped lawyer Hampton Dellinger on Tuesday to lead the Office of the Special Counsel, an agency that primarily investigates whistleblower complaints and misuse of federal office for partisan political ends. This move should raise concerns since it comes at a time when whistleblowers from the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department have…

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Ahuja plans to fix OPM programs under the microscope of the House Oversight Committee

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The House Oversight and Accountability Committee zeroed in on examining several federal programs with long-standing challenges, housed under the Office of Personnel Management. Among heated questions about federal telework, committee members pressed OPM Director Kiran Ahuja on how she plans to improve challenges in other departments at the agency, including in retirement services and the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, as well as the federal hiring process. Retirement services backlog Challenges in retirement services at OPM were a common concern among both Democrats and Republicans on the committee —…

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