As I mentioned in my testimony, I strongly believe that moving to biennial budgeting would give oversight a significant boost by freeing up the committee workload over the two-year cycle. Oversight of how effectively the Executive Branch is carrying out congressional mandates is an enormously important function of Congress. Congress must make sure that the administration is carrying out laws the way Congress intended. Biennial bugeting would also free up time that could be used by Congress and the Executive Branch to focus more on long-term strategic thinking examining the challenges our country will face over the coming decades. In these two ways, biennial budgeting could improve the effectiveness of government by providing a more stable budget environment and allowing for a greater focus on oversight and long-range thinking.
Time is only part of the problem.
The key is leadership and the will of individual Members. Structural reforms can be helpful, but for oversight to really work it takes a clear message from congressional leadership that oversight is a priority and that it will be done in a bipartisan, coordinated, systematic way. The key role of the House Speaker, the Senate Majority Leader and the Minority Leaders cannot be overstated. The will of individual Members to do oversight will ultimately depend on incentives and rewards to do the necessary work. Perhaps a better coordination between party and committee leaders on the existing oversight agenda requirement would produce more meaningful agendas that are more the result of a committee process.