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Mine Safety
February 27, 2007
Whereas many derided the previous Congress as the "Do-nothing Congress," every day now one can see the wheels turning in innumerable committees and subcommittees to protect and expand opportunity for working Americans. An example of that can be found in a new report out on mine safety from the Education and Labor Committee -- but first some background.

Though the mine tragedies of recent years received a great deal of appropriate media attention, the root causes and attempts to address them received far less attention. In April of 2006, now-Chairman George Miller wrote the following:

Mine Disasters Demand Action From Congress

Re. George Miller, Huffington Post - April 4, 2004

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"A Culture of Disregard"
February 27, 2007
Lawmakers to scrutinize Walter Reed

Jonathan E. Kaplan, The Hill - February 27, 2007

Several House and Senate committees will begin oversight hearings into how Walter Reed Army Medical Center subjected wounded soldiers and Marines to bureaucratic indifference and allowed them to live in squalor.

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee and a leading critic of the Iraq war, has scheduled a closed hearing on Friday and Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.), an Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee chairman, announced yesterday that he intended to conduct a field hearing to Walter Reed next Monday.

Blog Post
Mounting Readiness Problems
February 26, 2007
Last June, Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton asked Army chief of staff, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, "Are you comfortable with the readiness level for the non-deployed units that are in the continental United States?" Gen. Schoomaker answered, "No." Yesterday, the New York Times reported that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen.
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"Going Without"
February 26, 2007
Troops' needs not met, psychological group says

Gregg Zoroya, USA Today - February 25, 2007

A task force of the nation's largest group of mental health professionals warns that the U.S. military is not fully addressing the needs of troops and family members traumatized by war.

In a report issued Sunday, the American Psychological Association task force said families are particularly at risk. It noted that 700,000 children have had a parent sent overseas since Sept. 11, 2001, and estimated that 2,733 children have lost a parent killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

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The Budget
February 26, 2007
Throughout the next week, Appropriations subcommittees will begin hearings on the fiscal year 2008 budget. The process begins with evaluating the president's budget request, and moving on from there. Chairman David Obey released a document comparing the President's budget request to the FY 2007 enacted Defense or Homeland Security bills and the Joint Funding Resolution recently passed by the House. The introduction:

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Privacy Protection
February 23, 2007
The Oversight committee has requested documents from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) amid recent reports that the TSA web site collected personal information without basic security measures to ensure privacy protection. Chairman Waxman writes:

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Ethics & the Executive Branch: Case In Point
February 23, 2007
Pelosi Seeks Tougher Oversight on Ethics

John Heilprin, Associated Press - February 22, 2007

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for tighter ethics rules in federal agencies Wednesday after government officials approved the purchase of a $980,000 vacation home by a top Justice Department lawyer with an oil company lobbyist.

Pelosi's criticism followed an Associated Press report last week that department ethics officials did not object when Sue Ellen Wooldridge, then head of the environment division, was buying a South Carolina beach house with Donald R. Duncan, the top Washington lobbyist for ConocoPhillips.

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In Case You Missed It: "Attitude & Effort" Bonuses
February 23, 2007
One of the most interesting and disturbing exchanges from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Hearing on Homeland Security Contracting was this one between Rep. Elijah Cummings and Comptroller General David Walker discussing contractor bonuses for "attitude and effort" as opposed to performance:

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The Strain of Escalation on Our Troops
February 22, 2007
A New York Times story today details Pentagon plans to send National Guard troops back to Iraq next year without standard time between deployments in order to sustain President Bush's plans for escalation in Iraq. The latter part of the article gives specifics on shortcomings regarding training, equipment, and time at home:

National Guard May Undertake Iraq Duty Early

David S. Cloud, New York Times - February 22, 2007

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Oversight Committee Schedule
February 22, 2007
Next week in Chairman Waxman's Committee:

Oversight and Government Reform Committee

Schedule for the Week of February 26, 2007

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

10:00 a.m. Full Committee Business Meeting, immediately followed by a Full Committee Hearing on Reforming the Presidential Library Funding Disclosure Process

12:00 p.m. Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement Hearing on 9/11 Health Effects: Federal Monitoring and Treatment of Residents and Responders

Thursday, March 1, 2007

10:00 a.m. Full Committee Hearing on Allegations of Political Interference with the Work of Government Climate Change Scientists