[House Report 105-44]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                  Union Calendar No. 31

105th Congress, 1st Session -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  House Report 105-44

 
               OVERSIGHT PLANS FOR ALL HOUSE COMMITTEES

                   with accompanying recommendations

                               __________

                                 by the

                        COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT

                          REFORM AND OVERSIGHT

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                (Required by House Rule X, Clause 2(d))


                                     


                                     

 March 31, 1997.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed


              COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT

                     DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman

BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York         HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois          TOM LANTOS, California
CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland       ROBERT E. WISE, Jr., West Virginia
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut       MAJOR R. OWENS, New York
STEVEN H. SCHIFF, New Mexico         EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York
CHRISTOPHER COX, California          PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida         GARY A. CONDIT, California
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York             CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York
STEPHEN HORN, California             THOMAS M. BARRETT, Wisconsin
JOHN L. MICA, Florida                ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, Washington, 
THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia            DC
DAVID M. McINTOSH, Indiana           CHAKA FATTAH, Pennsylvania
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana              TIM HOLDEN, Pennsylvania
JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida             ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland
JOHN SHADEGG, Arizona                DENNIS KUCINICH, Ohio
STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE, Ohio           ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois
MARSHALL ``MARK'' SANFORD, South     DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois
Carolina                             JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts
JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire        JIM TURNER, Texas
PETE SESSIONS, Texas                 THOMAS H. ALLEN, Maine
MIKE PAPPAS, New Jersey                          ------
VINCE SNOWBARGER, Kansas             BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont 
BOB BARR, Georgia                    (Independent)
------ ------

                      Kevin Binger, Staff Director
                 Daniel R. Moll, Deputy Staff Director
                       Judith McCoy, Chief Clerk
                 Phil Schiliro, Minority Staff Director


                            C O N T E N T S

                               __________
                                                                   Page
Recommendations..................................................     1
Agriculture......................................................     4
Appropriations...................................................    10
Banking and Financial Services...................................    18
Budget...........................................................    29
Commerce.........................................................    34
Education and the Workforce......................................    55
Government Reform and Oversight..................................    63
House Oversight..................................................    85
Intelligence.....................................................    92
International Relations..........................................    95
Judiciary........................................................   107
National Security................................................   125
Resources........................................................   133
Rules............................................................   167
Science..........................................................   179
Small Business...................................................   195
Standards of Official Conduct....................................   200
Transportation and Infrastructure................................   202
Veteran's Affairs................................................   216
Ways and Means...................................................   229


                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                  House of Representatives,
                                    Washington, DC, March 31, 1997.
Hon. Newt Gingrich,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker:
    In accordance with Rule X(2)(d) of the Rules of the House 
of Representatives, I respectfully submit the oversight plans 
of each committee together with recommendations to ensure the 
most effective coordination of such plans and otherwise achieve 
the objectives of the House Rules.
                                              Dan Burton, Chairman.

                                     


                    OVERSIGHT IN THE 105TH CONGRESS

                            RECOMMENDATIONS

                                 OF THE

              COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT

    (Pursuant to Rule X, clause (3), the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight presents to the House the 
oversight plans submitted by each standing committee, along 
with the committee's recommendations for ensuring the most 
effective coordination of such plans.)

    Congressional oversight, as envisioned by the Majority 
Leadership of the House, is ultimately about the public 
interest, the liberty of citizens, and the taxpayers' dollars. 
The ability, and duty, of popularly-elected Representatives to 
oversee the executive branch is a fundamental component of the 
system of checks and balances established by the Founding 
Fathers. The Rules of the House of Representatives ensure 
Congress' responsibility to the public in this regard. Pursuant 
to House Rule X, clause 2(b)(1), each standing committee of the 
House ``shall review and study, on a continuing basis, the 
application, administration, execution, and effectiveness of 
those laws, or parts of laws, the subject matter of which is 
within the jurisdiction of the committee and the organization 
and operation of the Federal agencies and entities having 
responsibilities in or for the administration and execution 
thereof, in order to determine whether such laws and the 
programs thereunder are being implemented and carried out in 
accordance with the intent of the Congress and whether such 
programs should be continued, curtailed, or eliminated.''

    Congressional oversight in the 105th Congress should focus 
on three fundamental efforts: (1) Review the implementation by 
the Executive Branch of recent policy changes enacted by 
Congress to assess their effectiveness. Congress enacted 
significant reform legislation in the 104th Congress. These 
reforms include the termination of 270 useless Federal 
programs, offices, agencies and projects, and the privatization 
of four major government programs. Other reform efforts, such 
as the Unfunded Federal Mandates Reform Act, the Federal 
Acquisition Reform Act, the Line-Item Veto Act, the Paperwork 
Reduction Act, the Debt Collection Improvement Act, and the 
Information Technology Management Reform Act, will enhance 
management practices government wide, and help reduce 
unnecessary burdens placed upon State and local governments. 
Still other legislative reforms make improvements in specific 
programs areas. These include the enactment of comprehensive 
Welfare reform, telecommunications reform, and lawsuit abuse 
reform. Many of these reforms have already resulted in major 
cost savings and improvements in the efficiency of the Federal 
Government. But they will need continued monitoring and 
oversight by the Congress to ensure their success as effective 
legislative changes. In their oversight plans for the 105th 
Congress, House committees recognize the importance of their 
responsibility to oversee the implementation of recent 
legislative reforms. The Government Reform and Oversight 
Committee recommends that committees fully utilize the auditing 
and oversight services of the General Accounting Office, the 
Congressional Research Service, and agency Inspectors General 
to augment their efforts to oversee implementation of these 
critical legislative reforms.

    (2) Review existing government programs in order to inform 
the public and build a compelling case for further change and 
reform. While the legislative successes of the 104th Congress 
are laudable, many other opportunities for streamlining, 
improving efficiency, and reducing costs to the American 
taxpayer exist. The following committee oversight plans reveal 
priority areas for programmatic and agency reform efforts in 
the 105th Congress, including: fundamental reform of the tax 
code; structural reform of the Internal Revenue Service; 
Medicare reform; reform of the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service; reform of the General Services Administration; reform/
restructuring of the Commerce Department, State Department, 
Labor Department, and Department of Housing and Urban 
Development; reform of the National Park Service; deregulation 
of electric utilities; and, reform of the U.S. intelligence 
community. All but a small handful of House committees have 
incorporated into their oversight plans their intentions with 
regard to the GPRA, or Results Act. This important act codifies 
the fundamental way Congress and the executive branches should 
be assessing Federal Government missions and activities. The 
Government Reform and Oversight Committee recommends that each 
committee take full advantage of the House Leadership's current 
efforts to coordinate agency and program review as legislated 
by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993. This 
includes reaching out to our minority counterparts as well as 
the Senate.

    (3) Review government programs to root out waste, fraud and 
abuse, thereby maximizing accountability in the Federal 
Government to the public. The merits of Federal programs and 
activities are, of course, subject to intense debate--
particularly in times of budget deficits and keen competition 
for limited Federal resources. However, the importance of 
efficient, effective, and honest management is not a debatable 
issue. Fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement serve no 
legitimate constituency or political interest. They cheat both 
the taxpayers and the intended beneficiaries of the programs 
and activities they affect. They also undermine the confidence 
of the American people in the capacity and will of the Federal 
Government to perform its functions effectively. The Government 
Reform and Oversight Committee recommends that committees 
carefully review the findings in (1) the General Accounting 
Office's ``High Risk List'' of 25 Federal programs at risk for 
serious fraud, waste, and abuse; (2) agency Inspector General 
semi-annual and annual reports to Congress; and (3) the 
Government Reform and Oversight Committee September 1996 Report 
entitled ``Federal Government Management: Examining Government 
Performance As We Near the Next Century.'' These documents are 
an important source of serious problems currently existing in 
the Federal Government that need immediate attention by 
Congress.




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