Senate Oversight Committee

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Historical and alternative names: Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Senate Committee on the District of Columbia, Senate Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, Senate Committee on Post Office and Postal Roads, Senate Committee on Post Office and Postal Roads/Post Office and Civil Service, Senate Committee on Retrenchment, Senate Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments, Senate Committee on Government Operations, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Established on October 9, 2004, this committee succeeded the Senate Committees on the District of Columbia (1816); Post Office and Civil Service (1816); Retrenchment (1842); Expenditures in the Executive Departments (1921); Government Operations (1952); and Governmental Affairs (1978). The current Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is the chief oversight committee of the Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to the Department of Homeland Security and other homeland security concerns, as well as the functioning of the government itself, including the National Archives, budget and accounting measures other than appropriations, the Census, the federal civil service, the affairs of the District of Columbia and the United States Postal Service. For a more exact definition of this committee's authority, see Rule XXV, Clause 1(k)(1) of the Senate Manual.

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Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 280
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    CDC Off Center
    (2007-06-21) Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security
    Senator Tom Coburn, member of the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security drafted the following report to hold the CDC accountable after many “questionable” expenditures of public funds and ensure preventable measures are considered for the future. The report does find some funds being used in areas it should not, and calls for the agency to reform.
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    For the Farmers or For Fun: USDA Spends Over $90 Million in Conference Costs
    (2008-05-15) Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
    The Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security investigated travel expenses. Senator Tom Coburn investigated, in particular, the Department of Agriculture expenses for conferences, finding excessive spending on locations that were not necessary for members and did not pertain to their mission, as well as social events that taxpayers paid for. This report asks Congress to do more oversight when it comes to these extraneous department expenditures.
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    The XVII International AIDS Conference
    (2008-08-05) Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
    Senator Tom Coburn investigated the spending of federal agencies in regard to conferences and specifically the HIV/AIDS conference. This report shows that the excessive cost of this conference could have instead been utilized for treatment of HIV/AIDS, stating that acting upon the action is far more important than conversing about the disease.
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    Missing in Action: AWOL in the Federal Government
    (2008-08-21) Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
    Senator Tom Coburn investigated the attendance of federal employees which has starkly decreased. The findings within this report show that nearly 10,000 work years have been lost due to unexcused absences with the AWOL problem staggering, the AWOL problem has increasing been getting worse, and lastly this problem is primarily from the Department of Veteran Affairs (has millions of hours every year) and the Department of Treasury. This in turn is an ineffective use of taxpayers money, as they foot the bill for government employees who do not show up.
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    Justice Denied: Waste and Mismanagement at the Department of Justice
    (2008-10-29) Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
    Senator Tom Coburn investigated numerous instance in which millions of dollars were thrown at duplicative programs that were marred by waste, abuse, and lack of accountability. The report uncovers examples of inefficient spending and waste that further validate its stance such as the DOJ illegally allowing grantees access to more than $500 million, collaborating and funding Muslim Brotherhood U.S affiliates and other entities with ties to terrorism, and finally spending millions on preventative grants whose outcome is unclear due to the lack of data and measurements.