For Immediate Release:
Friday, May 19, 2006

WASHINGTON D.C. - No government is perfect.  But to most people around the world “American democracy” is the gold standard.  What makes our system so great is the separation of powers that keeps each branch of government in check.  Unfortunately, the current Congress has deferred to the executive branch for too long and it’s time to get serious about oversight.

While oversight of government programs will not always receive big headlines in the newspaper or a mention on the evening news, it’s important to highlight the flaws and the success stories of federal government programs. 

As news breaks of the government gathering phone records of millions of Americans and perhaps breaking the law in the process, Congress holds not one hearing.  As the war in Iraq lingers on and the cost soars to more than $1 billion a day, Congress demands no answers.  As millions of seniors across the country become confused and frustrated with the implementation of the Medicare prescription drug program, Congress does not provide oversight hearings.

Last week, USA Today reported that the National Security Agency (NSA) has collected millions of phone records of ordinary Americans.  This allegation is very serious and raises significant privacy concerns.  It also raises another important question:  would vigorous congressional oversight early on in the administration’s domestic spying program have prevented a potential gross violation of civil liberties?

The government’s top priority is protecting Americans; however, federal agencies are not above the law.  Congress should provide vigorous oversight by investigating this claim to determine whether the law has been upheld and hold our senior government officials accountable.  Congress would be wise to take the advice of former President Ronald Reagan:  “trust, but verify.”

Congress is also providing little oversight in how money for military and rebuilding operations is being spent; leaving it to the vast Department of Defense to decide what is best.  Most funding for the war is done through backdoor supplemental spending measures, hiding from even the members of Congress what it is being spent on.  This in turn hides the real cost from the American public.  While it’s imperative that we support our troops and commit necessary resources to their mission, we need to be honest with ourselves about how much the effort is costing us now and how much it will cost us down the road.

On the domestic front, seniors have struggled with confusion and frustration over enrolling in the Medicare prescription drug program.  Despite complaints from seniors across the country, there has been no congressional intervention to make sure this program is working for our seniors. Some seniors were incorrectly added to plan databases and others were dropped from the system all together.

When the Bush administration wanted to hand over control of six strategic U.S. sea ports to Dubai Ports World, Congress acted quickly with oversight hearings and bipartisan legislation to put a halt to the controversial deal.  This situation was a perfect example of what can be accomplished when Congress works in a bipartisan way to assert its oversight role.

Responsible government must maintain checks and balances.  Cooperation, not only among political parties, but also between branches of government is essential if our government is to be accountable and responsive to the people it serves.

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