Quotes About Oversight

If more than one person is accountable, then no one is accountable

In general, looking forward is great management; looking backward is micromanagement.

In fact, a mere 535 elected senators and representatives can hardly become acquainted with, much less even read, some 175,496 pages of the Federal Register or monitor 2.7 million employees—without the enlistment of more bureaucrats to monitor bureaucrats.12

We just put General Motors in the hands of people who can't even run our own government.

Democracy requires accountability and consent of the governed, which is only possible if citizens know what is being done in their name.

The ability to eavesdrop on people's communications vests immense power in those who do it. And unless such power is held in check by rigorous oversight and accountability, it is almost certain to be abused. Expecting the US government to operate a massive surveillance machine in complete secrecy without falling prey to its temptations runs counter to every historical example and all available evidence about human nature.

From its inception, FISA has been the ultimate rubber stamp. In its first twenty-four years, from 1978 to 2002, the court rejected a total of zero government applications while approving many thousands. In the subsequent decade, through 2012, the court has rejected just eleven government applications.

The ability to eavesdrop on people's communications vests immense power in those who do it. And unless such power is held in check by rigorous oversight and accountability, it is almost certain to be abused.

As the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza put it in a December 2013 article, instead of providing oversight, the Senate committee more often "treats senior intelligence officials like matinée idols.

The intelligence community, for the most part, has no accountability at all to the Congress, to us the American people, and so they feel that they above the law.

forgetfulness

The future chief justice of the United States told the delegates that an independent federal judiciary was a necessary bulwark against an overreaching Congress. If Congress were to exceed its powers, said Marshall, it would be the duty of the judiciary to declare the action void. Marshall

If you thought car maintenance was covered by Uncle Sam and you never saw a bill, what would keep your from getting new brakes every few months?

We shouldn't have politicians micromanaging this war because it is complex and unconventional.

The DoD has never undergone an audit. In 2004, it actually pledged to undergo a full audit by 2007, but that deadline came and went, and then they moved it to 2016. No one, not even the DoD, thinks they'll actually be able to pass it in 2016.

Ultimately, the issue is not whether you are pro- or anti-sports betting. You begin, from my standpoint, from the premise that it is going to continue to exist, and if it is going to continue to exist, should it be shoved underground, or should it be regulated?

You know, one of the things I think you understand as president is you're held responsible for everything, but you don't always have control of everything, right?

All too often politicians sign treaties in a hurry, without reading them properly, and without understanding where they will lead.

I've never understood the allure of putting your name on a building that was built with taxpayers' money.

When conducted with proper preparation, and in a focused and professional manner, oversight of executive branch actions can reveal serious shortcomings by government officials and help prevent recurrence; the 'Waco hearings,' conducted over a two-week period in 1995, stand as an example of such an undertaking.

History doesn't remember gardens.…You forgot the wise administrators, those who kept the peace, those who brought prosperity. You needn't feel embarrassed, though. So did history.

A sponge sees everything? A sponge sees nothing.

I know I'll be under a spotlight, I know I'll be under the microscope.

Preventing staff from having too much influence and decision-making power is fairly easy. Appropriate procedural safeguards can be installed to prevent staff from, among other things, self-dealing, making decisions in an isolated manner, or committing funds without oversight.