110th Congress - Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Welcome to the new session! Congressman Henry Waxman (CA-30) has been officially elected Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
One of his first steps was actually changing the committee's name from "Government Reform Committee" to "Oversight and Government Reform Committee" (emphasis on Oversight mine).
Make the jump to see what else happened in the early days of this session.
Waxman's next step was to reorganize the Oversight & Reform Subcommittees* as follows:
- National Security and International Relations
- Domestic Policy
- Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia
- Government Management, Organization, and Procurement
- Information Policy, Census, and National Archives
Announcements of the subcommittee members & chairs should be coming soon.
As stated on the Committee website covering rules and jurisdiction:
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction to investigate any federal program and any matter with federal policy implications.
Legislative responsibilities include:
The legislative jurisdiction of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform includes the following areas, as set forth in House Rule X, clause 1:
- Federal civil service, including intergovernmental personnel; and the status of officers and employees of the United States, including their compensation, classification, and retirement;
- Municipal affairs of the District of Columbia in general (other than appropriations);
- Federal paperwork reduction;
- Government management and accounting measures generally;
- Holidays and celebrations;
- Overall economy, efficiency, and management of government operations and activities, including federal procurement;
- National archives;
- Population and demography generally, including the Census;
- Postal service generally, including transportation of the mails;
- Public information and records;
- Relationship of the federal government to the states and municipalities generally; and
- Reorganizations in the executive branch of the government.
With those areas in mind, I have listed the House Resolutions, Concurrent Resolutions, and Bills which were introduced from and/or referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for the week of 01/01/07 to 01/05/07. All info below is courtesy of The Library of Congress - THOMAS. Text of these Bills & Resolutions is not yet available. They need a few days to get them posted on the site.
My top picks to watch are in bold. To keep tabs on any of these measures refer to the THOMAS search page for the 110th Congress.
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Reorganizations in the executive branch of the government
- H.R.264: To prevent the President from encroaching upon the Congressional prerogative to make laws; and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [TX-18]
(not sure if this falls under this category but it seems real important in any case - looks like something to do with signing statements)
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Government management and accounting measures
- H.R.1: To provide for the implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.
Sponsor: Rep Thompson, Bennie G. [MS-2]
- H.R.180: To require the identification of companies that conduct business operations in Sudan, to prohibit United States Government contracts with such companies, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9]
- H.R.217: To lift the trade embargo on Cuba, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16]
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Municipal affairs of the District of Columbia
- H.R.107: To define marriage for all legal purposes in the District of Columbia to consist of the union of one man and one woman.
Sponsor: Rep Davis, Jo Ann [VA-1]
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Federal civil service
- H.R.14: To amend title 5, United States Code, to deny retirement benefits accrued by an individual as a Member of Congress if such individual is convicted of any of certain offenses
Sponsor: Rep Kirk, Mark Steven [IL-10] .
- H.R.229 : To provide that no automatic pay adjustment for Members of Congress shall be made in the year following a fiscal year in which there is a Federal budget deficit.
Sponsor: Rep Stearns, Cliff [FL-6]
- H.R.232: To amend title 5, United States Code, to deny Federal retirement benefits to individuals convicted of certain offenses, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Terry, Lee [NE-2]
- H.R. 284: To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for the issuance of a prisoner-of-war medal to civilian employees of the Federal Government who, during war or under wartime conditions, are taken captive by armed forces or agents of a foreign government hostile to the United States.
Sponsor: Rep Davis, Geoff [KY-4]
- H.R. 311: To amend title 5, United States Code, to increase the maximum age for the original appointment of a retired member of the Armed Forces to a border patrol agent position, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Pearce, Stevan [NM-2]
- H.R. 312: To authorize the presentation of flags at the funerals of civilian Federal employees engaged in the support of military operations who have died in combat zones in the course of their duties.
Sponsor: Rep Pearce, Stevan [NM-2]
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Holidays and celebrations
- H.RES. 15: Mourning the passing of President Gerald Rudolph Ford and celebrating his leadership and service to the people of the United States.
Sponsor: Rep Ehlers, Vernon J. [MI-3]
- H.RES. 17: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be established a National Inflammary Skin Disease Awareness Month.
Sponsor: Rep Davis, Jo Ann [VA-1]
- H.RES.33: Recognizing the thousands of Freemasons in every State in the Nation and honoring them for their many contributions to the Nation throughout its history.
Sponsor: Rep Gillmor, Paul E. [OH-5]
- H.R. 75: To recognize the birthdays of Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Sponsor: Rep Bartlett, Roscoe G. [MD-6]
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Overall economy, efficiency, and management of government operations and activities
- H.R. 121: To improve efficiency in the Federal Government through the use of high-performance green buildings, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Doyle, Michael F. [PA-14]
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Postal service
- H.CON.RES.3 Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States Postal Service should issue commemorative postage stamps honoring Americans who have distinguished themselves by their service in the armed forces of the United States.
Sponsor: Rep Davis, Jo Ann [VA-1]
- H.CON.RES.8 : Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States Postal Service should issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring victims of HIV/AIDS and recognizing the struggle to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS in the United States and throughout the world.
Sponsor: Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9]
- H.CON.RES.9: Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States Postal Service should issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring former Representative Shirley Chisholm, and that the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued.
Sponsor: Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9]
- H.CON.RES.13 : Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need to prevent the closure or consolidation of post offices.
Sponsor: Rep Emerson, Jo Ann [MO-8]
- H.CON.RES.18: Expressing the sense of Congress that a commemorative postage stamp should be issued in honor of George Thomas "Mickey" Leland.
Sponsor: Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [TX-18]
- H.RES.20: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should issue a postage stamp commemorating Juan Nepomuceno Seguin.
Sponsor: Rep Green, Gene [TX-29]
- H.R. 18: To provide for the issuance of a commemorative postage stamp in honor of Rosa Parks.
Sponsor: Rep Rush, Bobby L. [IL-1]
- H.R.49: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1300 North Frontage Road West in Vail, Colorado, as the "Gerald R. Ford, Jr. Post Office Building".
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Mark [CO-2]
- H.R.181: To provide for the issuance of a semipostal to benefit the Peace Corps.
Sponsor: Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9]
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Public information and records
- H.R.220 : To amend title II of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to protect the integrity and confidentiality of Social Security account numbers issued under such title, to prohibit the establishment in the Federal Government of any uniform national identifying number, and to prohibit Federal agencies from imposing standards for identification of individuals on other agencies or persons.
Sponsor: Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14]
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*(109th congress subcommittees included: Criminal Justice, Drug Policy & Human Resources; Energy & Resources; Federalism & the Census; Federal Workforce & Agency Organization; Government Management, Finance, & Accountability; National Security, Emerging Threats & International Relations; Regulatory Affairs)
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