Signals from the Hill: Congressional Oversight and the Challenge of Social Regulation - Softcover

Foreman Jr., Christopher

9780300049008: Signals from the Hill: Congressional Oversight and the Challenge of Social Regulation

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0300049005 ISBN 13: 9780300049008

Publisher: Yale University Press, 1999

Does Congress do a good job of overseeing the work of the important legislative agencies—the EPA, FDA, OSHA, and others—that it has established to protect the public from some of the risks of modern technology? Combining analysis and anecdote, Christopher H. Foreman, Jr. looks into the oversight tools available to Congress, the variety of interest groups involved, the kinds of issues that arise between agencies and congressional committees, and the personal networks that affect relations between them; and he suggests what Congress can and should do to improve the process of social regulation. "Foreman adds substantially to our understanding of the role played by oversight. . . . A solid contribution toward understanding the nature of day-to-day congressional oversight."—Burdett Loomis, Journal of Politics "[This book] is presented clearly, free from jargon, whether academic or governmental. . . . A solid discussion of oversight."—Jan P. Vermeer, Perspective "This is a thoughtful, effectively organized, and well-written book. Those concerned with legislative oversight will find it highly useful."—Morris S. Ogul, University of Pittsburgh Winner of the 1989 D. B. Hardeman Prize given by the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library for the best book on Congress in the twentieth century

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From Publishers Weekly:

A major function of the U.S. Congress is to oversee the activities of regulatory agencies, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others, established to protect the public from many of society's ills. Using specific instances in which Congress has attempted to rein in overzealous agencies or goad recalcitrant ones into action, Foreman, who teaches government and politics at the University of Maryland, presents a detailed analysis of the complexity of the oversight function. Media attention, special-interest groups and individual congressional constituencies sometimes impedeand in other cases, aideffective regulation of the regulators. Other important factors include the informal lines of communication between agency staff members and those who serve on Congressional oversight subcommittees. Foreman has no ax to grind; he seems to see no need for drastic changes. Instead, he gives the reader a fairly clear description of the process as it exists and suggests that any reform should be undertaken gradually and only after considerable discussion.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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