Project Overview
Congressional Oversight of the Bureaucracy
Department(s)
Political Science
Abstract
As much as 90% of federal policymaking today is based on decisions made by unelected bureaucrats. However, Congress and the President both have tools to influence the ways that bureaucrats make those decisions, by exercising oversight. One common way of studying oversight is Congressional hearings: a Congressional committee calls witnesses from the agency to testify, and they ask them questions about how they are implementing certain policies. But because hearings are public-facing, they are more likely to be venues for grandstanding and showmanship rather than sincere oversight.
This project addresses this problem by looking at “informal oversight” — memos, phone calls, or informal meetings between Members of Congress and agency personnel. We will be trying to understand when Congress uses this type of oversight, and whether it is effective. Using materials collected at the National Archives in Washington, DC, students will review original government documents, and develop narrative case studies of what happens when Congress uses this type of informal oversight. The final product from the work conducted during the summer will be a collection of carefully analyzed and well-written case studies of how Members of Congress work with bureaucrats to develop policy.
Students will have the opportunity to learn more deeply about how policy is developed in the US government, including roles of both elected and unelected policymakers. Students will develop skills in working with primary source material, interpreting archival records, and drafting compelling analytical narratives. The work will contribute to an eventual book about Congressional oversight.
Student Qualifications
- Ability to read complex and unfamiliar documents carefully and analytically
- Excellent reasoning skills
- Strong writing ability
- Effective time management skills
- Familiarity with the US government system
- Ability to communicate effectively, work collaboratively, and learn from peers
Number of Student Researchers
2 students
Project Length
8 weeks
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