WASHINGTON – Rep. Ike Skelton knows what he will do in one of his first acts as chairman of the Armed Services Committee in the Democratic-led House: resurrect the subcommittee on oversight and investigations.
The panel was disbanded by the Republicans after they won control of Congress in 1994. Now, Skelton, D-Mo., intends to use it as a forum to probe Pentagon spending and the Bush administration’s conduct of the Iraq war.
With control of each committee in Congress starting in January, the new majority will inherit broad powers to subpoena and investigate. And that is expected to translate into wide-ranging and contentious hearings.
The agenda is likely to be dominated by the Iraq war but could include probes into the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance, environmental policies and new prescription drug program for seniors. Industries, such as oil companies, also could come under closer scrutiny.
“The American people sent a clear message that they do not want a rubber-stamp Congress that simply signs off the President’s agenda,” said Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., who is in line to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “Instead, they have voted for a new direction for America and a real check and balance against government overreaching.”
Conyers and other Democrats say that sort of scrutiny has been noticeably absent over the past six years. Democrats accuse Republicans of being complicit and complacent as President Bush has led the nation into an un-winnable war and adopted economic polices that favor the affluent and big business.
Democrats face a delicate balancing test, mindful of a public backlash if they focus more on investigating than legislating.
Their leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., already has ruled some investigations out of bounds. Conyers has wanted Congress to determine if there are grounds to impeach Bush, but Pelosi has said that will not happen.
The most senior member of the House, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., is also scheduled to play a crucial role in the new Congress, again becoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
He already has a number of subjects he wants to look into, including the Medicare prescription-drug benefit and an overhaul of energy policy, two of the GOP’s proudest achievements.
“We’re not after anybody,” Dingell said, but he said if anyone from the administration has “useful things to tell us,” they will be “invited to come forward.”
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