On many committees I served on, I would have liked to do much more oversight, but we simply did not have time for it because of the various other demands of the job. As the pressures of fund-raising, media attention, and working out the budget and appropriations have increased over the years, programmatic oversight has declined. Biennial budgeting would not take away all of these competing pressures, but it would give committees more time overall to pursue rigorous oversight of programs and agencies. Congress would be able to focus greater attention on how federal funds are being spent. But when done properly, oversight is one of the most important and effective tools of Congress.
Oversight can protect the country from the imperial presidency and from bureaucratic arrogance.
It can expose and prevent misconduct, and maintain a degree of constituency influence in an administration. The responsibility of oversight is to look into every nook and cranny of government affairs, uncover wrongdoing and put the light of publicity to it. Congress needs a large number of oversight methods to hold agencies accountable because different methods have their own strengths and weaknesses. Periodic reauthorization, personal visits by Members or staff, review by the General Accounting Office or inspectors general, subpoenas, and reports from the executive branch can all be useful. The authorization, appropriations, and governmental affairs committees, as well as special ad hoc committees, can all play important roles in oversight.