My Committee Assignments (Part 1 of 3)

This is the first posting in a three-part series aimed at providing a look at the work of the three Committee’s that I serve on: the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Agriculture and Education and the Workforce.

I’d like to first focus on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee chaired by Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA).

I am honored to have the opportunity to pursue issues of waste, fraud, and abuse in all aspects of the federal government. The Oversight Committee's jurisdiction gives us an opportunity to be the common sense voice of reason countering bureaucratic Washington decision making.

We have already held several hearings in which we have outlined continued failures and potential vulnerabilities in federal government bailout programs, and begun the process of pointing out a number of fraudulent and wasteful items funded by hard-earned tax payer dollars.

One of the most important roles of the Oversight Committee is identifying federal government regulations that impede the growth and success of business. To help us complete this task, we are asking for small business owners to provide their feedback on what works in Washington and what doesn’t in regards to helping businesses expand and create jobs. If you wish to provide input, please visit “Listening to America’s Job Creators” to submit your response.  I will include your submission as part of a report that I plan to provide my colleagues in Congress on how we can foster a climate that encourages job creation.

The Oversight Committee has an extensive plan for the 112th Congress. This includes reviewing matters such as economic stimulus spending, financial sector bailouts and regulations, consumer protection enforcement, the need for independent Inspector Generals, flawed government contracting practices, support for open government initiatives, burdensome regulatory orders and the inherent problems with the current federal role in health care. These issues, combined with many others that we plan to pursue over the next two years, will keep us busy. I ask for your input on areas of federal control that you think we should investigate as we strive to hold the federal government accountable for being a good steward of taxpayer money.