Oversight Committee

August 12, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today that an independent advisory panel, the Defense Business Board, will review the overall performance of the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA).

The review follows a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released July 23 that concluded DCAA auditors were improperly hindered in some of their investigations of defense contractors.

The Defense Business Board, an independent federal advisory committee comprised of senior business executives, has agreed to form an independent review panel supported by subject matter experts to review DCAA procedures and make recommendations for improvement as appropriate.    » read more »

May 20, 2008 -- The Committee held holding a hearing titled, “EPA’s New Ozone Standards” at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, 2008, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.

The hearing examined the new ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and the process the Environmental Protection Agency used in setting them.    » read more »

May 20, 2008 -- A House Judiciary Committee investigation has uncovered details of White House involvement in EPA’s regulation of ozone on the eve of a court imposed deadline, forcing EPA staff to scrap a standard supported by its independent panel and to perform “emergency rewrites” to the regulation.

Documents obtained by the Committee show that EPA staff raised serious concerns about the merits and legality of the decision.

Click here for more information and supporting documents.

Source: Oversight Committee

April 16, 2008 -- Oversight Committee Chairman Waxman issued a subpoena to compel the White House Office of Management and Budget to provide documents relating to EPA’s recent decision to establish ozone air quality standards that disregarded the recommendations of EPA staff and EPA’s independent scientific review committee.

Chairman Waxman made the following statement,

“Deadline after deadline has slipped and the White House has not provided the documents the Committee needs to understand what happened with this EPA rulemaking. We need these documents so that we can evaluate the President’s decision to overrule EPA and its panel of independent experts.”

Source: Oversight Committee

April 09, 2008 -- Oversight Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman today issued a subpoena to compel EPA to provide unredacted copies of documents involving the White House that have been improperly withheld from the Committee regarding EPA’s decision to reject California’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles.

Tailpipe emissions: Photo by Simone Ramella (CC)

The subpoena compels production of approximately 100 EPA documents involving the White House. Chairman Waxman released the following statement:    » read more »

March 31, 2008 -- House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman released the following statement in response to EPA’s issuance of a final rule on lead renovation, repair, and painting:

“The new lead rule cuts too many corners. It won’t provide the comprehensive protection for children that the law requires.    » read more »

March 27, 2008 -- House Oversight Committee Chairman Chairman Henry A. Waxman released the following statement in response to a letter from EPA Administrator Johnson:

“This is a transparent delaying tactic and a major reversal of EPA’s position. In December, Administrator Johnson found that CO2 emissions endanger the environment and proposed new standards for motor vehicles. Today’s action repudiates those efforts.    » read more »