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Explaining Participation in Congressional Oversight Hearings

University of Nebraska at Kearney

Scholarship on congressional oversight has documented an increase in the amount of time committees have devoted to oversight hearings since the post-1970s reform period that decentralized power in the House. Unknown thus far, though, is the extent to which members avail themselves of their opportunities to use hearings to monitor executive branch activities or what concerns might motivate such participation. Building on prior research on participation in other congressional activities, this study measures participation by House members in reauthorization and appropriations hearings for programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1978 to 1986. On the whole, participation in the hearings by rank-and-file committee members was low, but factors such as district and party interests, the timing of the hearings on the electoral cycle, and the presence of the department secretary at the witness table all served to increase participation.

Key Words: oversight • congressional participation • community development • housing and urban development • urban development action grant

American Politics Research, Vol. 31, No. 5, 455-484 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1532673X03252533


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