[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 8419]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRESS FAILS TO AGGRESSIVELY TAKE SERIOUS OVERSIGHT RESPONSIBILITIES

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, recent revelations about the abuses in 
Iraq illustrate problems not just with United States policy but with 
how Congress deals with its responsibilities.
  Yes, there are problems with the Department of Defense, starting with 
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld who is either out of the loop, who either 
does not know or places a low priority on these problems, things known 
for months and issues lingering for over a year.
  Yes, there are problems with contracting out to private companies 
functions, fundamental core government activities, at great cost 
without accountability. But we should be concerned that Congress fails 
to aggressively take seriously our oversight responsibilities instead 
waiting for a pending article in The New Yorker to cut loose an 
avalanche of other news accounts.
  There are at least a half dozen committees in this House that could 
be taking action. The American public, the Iraqi people, and our men 
and women in uniform deserve better.

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