	Purposes, Authority, and Participants

Throughout its history, Congress has engaged in oversight—broadly defined as the review, monitoring, and supervision of the implementation of public policy—of the executive branch. 837 (1946) (emphasis added); and d. Established the Legislative Reference Service, renamed the Congressional Research Service by the 1970 Legislative Reorganization Act (see below), as a separate department in the Library of Congress and called upon the Service "to advise and assist any committee of either House or joint committee in the analysis, appraisal, and evaluation of any legislative proposal ... and otherwise to assist in furnishing a basis for the proper determination of measures before the committee." Expanded House and Senate committee authority for oversight . The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has additional oversight duties to a. review and study on a continuing basis, the operation of government activities at all levels to determine their economy and efficiency (Rule X, clause 3); b. receive and examine reports of the Comptroller General and submit recommendations thereon to the House (Rule X, clause 4); c. evaluate the effects of laws enacted to reorganize the legislative and executive branches of the government (Rule X, clause 4); d. study intergovernmental relationships between the United States and states, municipalities, and international organizations of which the United States is a member (Rule X, clause 4); and e. report an oversight agenda , not later than March 31 of the first session of a Congress, based upon oversight plans submitted by each standing committee and after consultation with the Speaker of the House, the majority leader, and the minority leader. i. The casework performed by a Member's staff for constituents can be an effective oversight tool. Oversight Coordination and Processes

A persistent problem for Congress in conducting oversight is coordination among committees, both within each chamber as well as between the two houses. The appropriations process is one of Congress's most important forms of oversight. It is frequently, as here, employed to make sure that the action under the delegation squares with the Congressional purpose." In anticipation of congressional interest or at the request of a member or committee, CRS organizes and conducts seminars and workshops on issues of current interest to members and staff of Congress. CRS Divisional Responsibilities

CRS has adopted an interdisciplinary and integrative approach as it responds to requests from Congress. Through those papers, CBO aims to enhance the transparency of its work and to encourage external review of that work. Produced: Throughout the year. Vols. No. Congressional Oversight of the Clinton Administration and Congressional Procedure. Senate. S.Rept. Congressional Investigations. Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress. : MM70003, 1999 Congressional Oversight Seminars. : MM70003, 1999 Congressional Oversight Seminars.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) developed the Congressional Oversight Manual over 30 years ago, following a three-day December 1978 Workshop on Congressional Oversight and Investigations. The workshop was organized by a group of House and Senate committee aides from both parties and CRS at the request of the bipartisan House leadership. The Manual was produced by CRS with the assistance of a number of House committee staffers. In subsequent years, CRS has sponsored and conducted various oversight seminars for House and Senate staff and updated the Manual as circumstances warranted. Worth noting is the bipartisan recommendation of the House members of the 1993 Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress (Rept. No. 103-413, Vol. I):
[A]s a way to further enhance the oversight work of Congress, the Joint Committee would encourage the Congressional Research Service to conduct on a regular basis, as it has done in the past, oversight seminars for Members and congressional staff and to update on a regular basis its Congressional Oversight Manual.
Over the years, CRS has assisted many Members, committees, party leaders, and staff aides in the performance of the oversight function: the review, monitoring, and supervision of the implementation of public policy. Understandably, given the size, reach, cost, and continuing growth of the modern executive establishment, Congress's oversight role is even more significant—and more demanding—than when Woodrow Wilson wrote in his classic Congressional Government (1885): "Quite as important as lawmaking is vigilant oversight of administration." Today's lawmakers and congressional aides, as well as commentators and scholars, recognize that Congress's work, ideally, should not end when it passes legislation. Oversight is an integral way to make sure that the laws work and are being administered in an effective, efficient, and economical manner. In light of this destination, oversight can be viewed as one of Congress's principal responsibilities as it grapples with the complexities of the 21st century.