Congress has a big problem when it comes to oversight. The federal government has grown vastly larger over the past century, but Congress has done little to empower itself to keep track. However, thanks to open data, those outside the government now can lend a helping hand. The U.S. Constitution set up a principle-agent relationship […]
Facing Up to Government Sprawl
Reducing the size of the federal workforce has become a hot political issue this year. When the House and Senate drew up their budget plans this spring, both chambers included a provision to shrink the civil service. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., unveiled a bill in August to reduce the number of civilian defense employees. Shortly after […]
The Estranged Legislative and Executive ...
Hugh Heclo’s A Government of Strangers, published 40 years ago, described the very different worlds of high-level federal appointees and the civil-servant worker bees they purportedly manage. Today that sort of estrangement has spread beyond agencies to the first and second branches of government, with toxic results. Government Disservice: Overcoming Washington Dysfunction to Improve Congressional […]
Republican Presidential Candidates: Show...
In such an overcrowded field, the candidates will be under pressure to make their voice heard. There will be plenty of the usual Pablum: repeal Obamacare, no gun control, cut taxes, protect religious freedom and so forth. With everyone hitting most of the same notes (and trying to out-shout Trump), there is a real opportunity […]
Making Oversight Win-Win
Mere mention of the word “oversight” can make a public administrator queasy. It’s not because bureaucracies inevitably have something tawdry or corrupt to hide. Indeed, government agencies often have much to crow about. Keeping the trains moving every day is an achievement, especially as legislatures layer multiple, often-conflicting duties upon those charged with execution. Administrators […]
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