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CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Executive Power and Political Accountability

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Chapter Summary

Chapter 14 focuses on Congress's responsibility for overseeing or monitoring administration and on the importance of accountability. Although much of what Congress does is oversight in one form or another, the activity tends to rank low among congressional priorities. Some of the goals of oversight are to assure that government employees follow the intent of Congress; to investigate instances of fraud, waste, and abuse; to collect information; to evaluate program effectiveness; and to reverse unpopular actions.

Congressional oversight occurs through the work of congressional committees and their staffs, program reviews conducted by the Government Accountability Office, and information that tracks progress. Congress depends heavily on access to useful information to conduct oversight.

Further, Chapter 14 provides a summary of bureaucratic responsibility and its relationship to accountability. One element of bureaucratic responsibility is accountability: faithful obedience to the law, to higher officials' directions, and to standards of efficiency and economy. This accountability depends on systems of control, which include the following elements: voluntary compliance, standard setting, monitoring, and sanctions.