Oversight Hearings: What Should Congress Do?

Chuck Collins

The Nation and the Institute for Policy Studies have joined forces in a Strategic Congressional Hearings project designed to spark a public conversation on exactly what kinds of oversight hearings Congress should conduct to call the Bush administration to account on such issues as its conduct of the Iraq War, abuse of power and ill-advised domestic policies.

IPS Senior Scholar Chuck Collins kicks off the conversation in this introductory essay. Add your ideas on the issue to the discussion board below. And for more information and discussion, visit the IPS Strategic Congressional Hearings website.

On May 9, 1975, a Senate committee chaired by Frank Church subpoenaed acting CIA director William Colby during an investigation of intelligence agencies. Colby (after practice sessions with President Gerald Ford's chief of staff, Donald Rumsfeld) was grilled about US covert operations, illegal assassinations and domestic spying abuses. The stunning revelations of the Church Committee hearings were followed by several years of rigorous Congressional oversight and reform legislation.

How can progressives best grab the momentum from the November elections to promote bold initiatives to end illegal war, fight poverty and inequality, and rein in the corporations that are destroying our democracy? Congressional oversight hearings could be one critical tool. And that's not as boring as it sounds.

Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus are in line to chair ten of the twenty standing House committees and as many as thirty-five subcommittees. If they are media savvy and work creatively with activists and affected communities, they could turn humdrum hearings into blockbuster investigations that wrench the nation's attention away from Britney and Paris (not the city) and onto the pressing matters of our time. And while the Democrats' narrow majority will make it difficult to pass very much progressive legislation in the 110th Congress, well-designed hearings could lay the foundation for significant reforms in the medium and long term.

While impeachment may be "off the table," Congress has a duty to investigate executive-branch misconduct to insure that such abuses of power never occur again. The wider public will be repulsed if Democrats appear to copycat GOP partisanship with vindictive investigations rather than solutions to the nation's urgent problems. Thus, rather than going for Bush's jugular, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees will probably first take up the matter of "signing statements"--the President's practice of indicating the provisions of new laws he doesn't intend to enforce--which effectively undermine Congressional legislative intent and powers. This will wisely begin the process of laying out, case by case, the unconstitutional usurpation of power without deflecting media coverage from other urgent matters.

I have received hundreds of suggestions for hearings (add your own thoughts and suggestions below) and have filtered the ideas through the following strategic prisms: Do they advance a bold progressive vision and connect to organized movements? Do they tell dramatic human-interest stories and lay the groundwork for progressive policy victories? Do they look forward and showcase new ideas but also put irresponsible corporations and the Bush agenda on the defensive? What follows are ten proposed hearings, culled from the suggestions of others and my own investigations, that would underscore the important progressive narrative that "we are all in this together" and expose the greed and selfish corporate interests undermining our common good.

1. The Katrina Divide. When the levees broke, more was revealed than just FEMA incompetence and presidential indifference. We got a horrifying picture of an America deeply fractured along lines of race and class. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita dramatized the results of two decades of "shift, shrink and shaft" antigovernment policies that, through privatization and corporate cronyism, have fueled the greatest polarization of income, wealth and opportunity since the Gilded Age.

Congress should team up with grassroots groups to hold hearings in Biloxi, Mississippi, and the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans to keep the oversight fire lit under FEMA, HUD and other federal agencies. But hearings must also revisit the larger questions of accountability and national direction: How did we allow this to happen? How can we prevent it from happening again? How much economic inequality should our society tolerate?

2. War Profiteering. During World War II Franklin Roosevelt said, "I don't want to see a single war millionaire created in the United States as a result of this world disaster." While FDR set the moral tone, it was Senator Harry Truman who led a bipartisan investigation that saved taxpayers more than $15 billion ($200 billion in 2005 dollars). The current Congress should invoke Give 'em Hell Harry's investigative legacy by kicking off war-profiteering hearings at the Truman Presidential Library in Missouri.

The Government Accountability Office recently identified thirty-six areas needing urgent Congressional oversight. At the top of the list was investigating the billions squandered by the Defense Department in the most privatized war in US history. The number of private contractors in Iraq is now more than 100,000, nearly approaching the size of our military forces stationed there. Incoming Government Reform Committee chair Henry Waxman should subpoena CEOs of military corporations to answer tough questions. He could query Halliburton CEO David Lesar about his company's waste of taxpayer money and equipment, overbilling and poor services. George David, CEO of United Technologies, should be asked why he is suing his Pentagon patrons to block the release of Black Hawk helicopter inspection reports. David Brooks, formerly of DHB In- dustries, can explain how many lives were endangered when the Pentagon was forced to recall 23,000 bulletproof vests of his company's subsidiary--and whether he used ill-gotten profits to throw a $10 million, celebrity-studded party for his daughter. Members of military families who held bake sales to buy body armor for their children fighting in Iraq should also be asked to give testimony, alongside that of the profiteers.

3. Torture. Congress should investigate and expose the Bush Administration's involvement in torture and the abhorrent practice of "extraordinary rendition," the sending of detainees to countries known for practicing torture. A key witness could be Maher Arar, the Canadian citizen of Syrian descent who was detained at Kennedy Airport in New York City in 2002 and accused of having links to Al Qaeda. The United States "rendered" Arar to Syria, where he was held in a dungeon for ten months and tortured. Although the Canadian government completely exonerated Arar and the head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police resigned in disgrace, the Bush Administration has refused to clear Arar's name and to explain why he was "rendered" to Syria. Congressional hearings should lay the foundation for laws banning engagement in torture--either by US personnel directly or through outsourcing via rendition.

4. Unequal Sacrifice and the War. Representative Charles Rangel, the incoming chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, caused a ruckus when he proposed reinstituting the draft. But Rangel makes an important point that hearings could examine further the issue of unequal sacrifice and how our country's privileged and political elites are AWOL from military service.

We already have a backdoor draft through the military's use of multiple deployments and stop-loss policies, which have involuntarily retained some 85,000 troops beyond their expected or contractually agreed-upon term of service. Backdoor draft hearings should involve listening to families at National Guard and military bases around the country.

Unequal wartime sacrifices have taken their toll on active-duty military and recently returned veterans. There have been horrifying reports of traumatized soldiers being returned to combat zones. "We know so many stories of servicemen and -women with severe post-traumatic stress syndrome who should be getting the care they need, not facing redeployment," said Nancy Lessin, co-founder of Military Families Speak Out. "One mother found her son sitting on his bed with a pistol in his mouth, contemplating suicide after receiving a letter putting him on a short list for recall to Iraq--where he had already served two deployments."

Representative Bob Filner, the incoming chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee, has pledged to convene hearings about the unmet needs of recently returned veterans and their families. Filner should invite all other committee chairs and the media to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington for the first hearing.

5. Runaway CEO Pay. Nothing symbolizes our polarizing "two Americas" more dramatically than the 411-to-1 ratio of average CEO compensation to average worker pay. The system is full of perverse incentives for CEOs to outsource workers, goose stock prices and collect more millions.

Representative Barney Frank, the incoming chair of the House Financial Services Committee, has already pledged to hold CEO pay hearings. But the discussion needs to go beyond disclosure reforms to underscore the profound power imbalance between imperial corporate managers and other stakeholders, including workers, shareholders and communities.

Hearings are an opportunity to expose and change the culture of greed. Witnesses should include the abundant number of Warren Buffett-like business leaders who believe that reining in CEO pay is good for business. April 2007 hearings should feature the freshly disclosed top earners from 2006 along with infamous CEO compensation consultants and Lee Raymond, retired CEO of ExxonMobil, who could be queried about his $400 million retirement package.

6. Wealth Inequality and the Estate Tax. The wealth gap has reached unprecedented levels--and the racial wealth divide persists despite expanding homeownership in communities of color. We should investigate the ways the estate tax, our nation's only tax on inherited wealth, can help close this wealth divide.

After a decade of hysterical "death tax" propaganda, Congress should hold hearings to set the record straight about the benefits of taxing inherited wealth. Hearings could explore how the estate tax could better reduce the democracy-distorting concentrations of power and wealth--and whether revenue should be channeled to programs that broaden economic opportunity.

One witness could be Bill Gates Sr., who refers to the estate tax as an "opportunity recycling program" and urges that revenue from it be dedicated to a "GI Bill for the next generation." After World War II our nation expanded opportunities through homeownership programs, small-business development and grants that enabled millions to get higher education. Many people of color, however, were excluded from those programs because of racial bias. Progressives should champion a bold and inclusive new wealth-broadening program that speaks to the aspirations of people left behind in our apartheid economy.

7. Concentration of Corporate Power. Twenty-five years after the Reagan Administration gutted our nation's antitrust enforcement capacity, we have an unprecedented concentration of corporate power in virtually every sector of the economy, including banking, telecommunications, meatpacking and oil refining. Corporate consolidation corrupts the nation's politics and marketplace, especially in the media industry. Hearings should not only investigate the impact of corporate consolidation on consumers but on all levels of the economy, civic life and culture. Mergers and consolidation in retail, pharmacy and food industries have extinguished local businesses and turned Main Streets into bland homogeneous strips.

The House and Senate Judiciary Committees should launch robust antitrust hearings as a first step in exploring the impact of corporate concentration on our society. How did corporations gain so much power with so little social accountability? How have corporations undermined government oversight, taxation and regulation? Should we rewire the rules governing transnational corporations, including federal chartering and monitoring?

8. Oil Industry Influence. As part of the first 100 legislative hours, incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pledged that the new Congress will vote on legislation to eliminate archaic subsidies for Big Oil and channel funds into alternative energy efforts. Hearings should go further and expose the corrupting influence of Big Oil lobbying on our foreign policy, energy policy and tax code. Why has our country remained addicted to oil? Why do we continue to give privileged status to the retrograde government of Saudi Arabia? Why will China surpass us in the next decade as a leader in green energy technologies? From oil industry involvement in Vice President Cheney's secretive 2001 energy task force to the myriad provisions inserted into the tax code at the behest of the oil barons, the hardwired privileges of Big Oil are pervasive.

Hearings should expose the campaign contributions of Big Oil and their relation to policy outcomes, laying the groundwork for new and aggressive campaign finance and lobbying restrictions. Another worthy topic: the influence of Big Pharma on health policy and the credit-card industry on lending and bankruptcy laws.

9. Censorship of Climate Science. One of the clearest examples of the corrosive power of Big Oil can be seen in the debate over global warming. Here the stakes are no less than the future of the planet. Climate scientists believe we are at a tipping point--that we must take dramatic action in the next five years if we are to reverse unbridled fossil-fuel consumption. But instead of addressing the problem and leading the nation in adopting appropriate measures, the Bush Administration has been censoring and suppressing climate science, setting back our needed responses by a decade.

Hearings can make up for lost time by bringing forward leading climate experts and activists to suggest voluntary and legislative action. But we must also investigate the Administration's unseemly efforts to censor or block sound scientific research. Let's subpoena Philip Cooney, the former oil industry lobbyist who became chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and repeatedly edited and altered scientific climate reports to downplay links between greenhouse gases and global warming.

10. A Real Security Budget. Congress's security budgeting process has little to do with making our country and planet more secure--thanks to military industry lobbyists, a Pentagon fetish for glitzy weapons and a Congress that views military pork as an employment program (which explains why more Homeland Security funds are spent per capita in Wyoming than in New York City). The common-sense wisdom, from the 911 Commission to peace groups, is that we spend way too much on weapons and not enough on nonmilitary security efforts, including diplomacy, effective international aid, peacekeeping and programs to prevent proliferation of nuclear materials. The Iraq War further drains resources from nonmilitary strategies, fostering a vicious cycle of violence.

In 2006 a prestigious group of security specialists issued a call for a "unified security budget," proposing multibillion-dollar shifts in budget authority between military, homeland security and nonmilitary measures. But Congress is incapable of moving toward rational budget allocations because of committee budget fiefdoms. Progressive Democrats advocating a rational security and foreign policy will run smack into these structural impediments, including the feeding frenzy over the Pentagon's daily allowance of about $1.1 billion.

Hearings may be helpful, but the entrenched corporate and national security state interests are so powerful that stronger medicine is required. Democrats should create a Select Committee on National Security and International Relations to look at the crosscutting requirements of the post-cold war world. This select committee should be empowered to recommend a reorganization of security-related budget writing that transcends current committee structures. Outside these hearings, peace and genuine security organizations should utilize their most creative educational tools, dramatizing the urgency of reorienting priorities.

Progressive lawmakers should launch several other committees over the next two years. Members of the Progressive Caucus are proposing a Select Committee on Poverty, Inequality and Opportunity in the House. A Select Committee on Federal Elections and Democracy could investigate the myriad problems with voting technology, voter suppression and the archaic Electoral College. A Select Committee on Infrastructure could investigate the condition of our bridges, highways and transportation systems, as well as our technology infrastructure needs.

Don't just ask what your Congress can do for you. Progressive community activists and independent media need to maximize the synergy between hearings and organizing, bloggers and policy-makers. The hearings of the coming year will be what we make of them.

Comments (52)

1. For the American people to understand exactly how and to what extent the neocons have screwed us, Congressional hearings should start with 9/11 and the culpability of Bush/Cheney. The money trail appears to start there. Once our citizenry have seen the crimes against humanity that were committed on our own soil, then they will be able to see the need for Progressive change. The information is there for anyone to see. One example is wtc7.net which gives a scientific analysis from expert scientists that, if presented as needs be by our alleged "Liberal Media", will invite most people to challenge the assumptions that have been purported for the last five and a half years. Next, look who made money as a direct result of 9/11 by starting with insurance policies and the like. Once this administration and its minions are held culpable, all of the changes in this essay will be achievable. Once the rule of law is reestablished and Bush/Cheney are punished for their crimes (as Saddam ostensibly was), only then can our Republic once again hold her head high.

   Posted by douginslc at 01/04/2007 @ 4:06pm

2. Education. It is imperative that children receive a quality education. Without it there is no future for this country. How can we expect to compete in the new globalization without an educated populous? Fear and ignorance are the building blocks of fascism. Only with an educated population will the mistakes of the past be avoided in the future. But the education system doesn't just need more money, though, that certainly would help; educators need to be elevated in societal status above that of movie stars and athletes.

   Basic curriculum should be standardized across the country so a child growing up in West Virginia is getting the same lessons as a child in California or a child in Minnesota. The federal government should work with the state and local communities to ensure equal standards are being maintained.

   Teachers should teach, not baby-sit. Parents should be required to attend monthly meetings with their children and educators to make sure everything is being done to ensure the child understands what is expected of him or her and he or she is meeting those set goals for success. President Bush's No Child Left Behind program is a failure. Teachers should NOT be teaching to the test. Indeed, there should be tests; to measure a child's ability and improvement; not to measure whether a school is meeting certain arbitrary standards in order to receive funding. Instructors should be teaching lessons the old fashion way, by rote and memorization.

   Students need to learn how to think again, not just to depend on the available tools of technology. Using their brains will allow them to use those computers more effectively. In addition to scholastic lessons, children, as early as possible, should also be instructed on common decency, sportsmanship, and manners which will assist them throughout their lives.

   All students should be required to learn one language other than their own. If a child's first language is something other than English, more emphasis should be on learning the English language, but they should also receive instructions in their own language in order to maintain both. There should be more school days and fewer breaks; more teachers and fewer administrators; higher pay and better benefits for qualified instructors at all levels

   Upon graduation from high school, all students should be required to perform 2 years of "service," whether that be in the military or Peace Corps, or some other community-based service. Those 2 years would be counted as one year of college in any major university across the country.

   Posted by Rowdy at 01/04/2007 @ 4:11pm

3. 1.No last minute earmarks. 2.Government subsidized higher education for able and needy students. 3.Enact a 5 year hiatus for retiring Representatives and Generals from becoming lobbyists/defense industry employees. 4.Repeal the Patriot Act. 5.Close Gitmo. 6.Cease extraordinary rendition. 7.Release and compensate all persons illegally held or held by subterfuge. I could go on..... bwlyba

   Posted by bwlyba at 01/04/2007 @ 5:35pm

4. Hearings, hearings, hearings. Appoint a task force. Appoint a committee. Pontificate! Beat our breasts, rend our garments, wail to the heavens. Yea, right. Get real. Nothing in the end will be done. "They" own 20% of the democrats now holding "control". Wait two years and see. Money talks, and in the next two years that will be made painfully clear to even the most obtuse of us. "They" have money to disperse, and "our" government, thanks to the Repugs, has none to disperse without painful loss in 2008. That was a nice plan the Repugs had - spend us into near bankruptcy and then let us have the now-empty bag, though I do think they expected to hand us this bag only 2-6 years from now. Heavy sigh....

   Posted by malrox at 01/04/2007 @ 10:35pm

5. And Rowdy, thank you! I could not agree more regarding your thoughts on education! May God, if He/She exists, bless you. Certainly there is no hope anyone else of power will.

   Posted by malrox at 01/04/2007 @ 10:39pm

6. The most critical issue facing the nation is the Iraq adventure. It's destroying our international credibility and domestic opportunities.

   The first step for Congress will be to rescind their declaration authorizing the use of force in Iraq on grounds they were lied to, and immediately cut off all funds for ground and air combat operations in Iraq, except those necessary for force self defense and extraction.

   The next step is to impeach the President and Vice-President for high crimes and misdemeanors in perpetrating lies that duped the Congress into voting for the "use of force" resolution, charging a new President with the responsibility for termination of the Iraq adventure and earliest troop withdrawal physically possible.

   The final step should be to repeal any law that impinges on the exclusive authority of Congress in matters pertaining to declarations of war, never again allowing US military forces to be sent into major combat without the Congressional debate and Declaration of War required by the Constitution. Resolutions don't cut it.

   Posted by Sam Thornton at 01/05/2007 @ 12:10am

7. Let's investigate the plans to bomb Iran. All of the talk about an Iranian bomb tells me that the Pentagon is thinking of a tactical nuclear attack. They'll pretend it was one of Irans bombs which just happened to go off when the secret bomb factory was hit. Then they'll say "told you so!"

   Posted by Douglas Dar at 01/05/2007 @ 01:50am

8. If I were in charge I would: Undo all laws affecting our freedom as citizens. Erase all banked information on our citizens. Do not award ANY contracts to companies that have ripped off our government tax dollars. Make them pay US back! Pull out our troops from Iraq immediately and use them to secure our borders. Immediate deportation of any/all criminals! Green card status to those who are working/school and taking care of their families. Mandatory national "critical thinking" training for citizens of Iraq so they can put their country back together while allowing appropriate organizations full access to assist them.

   This would be my first 100 hour plan.

   Posted by TCamp1313 at 01/05/2007 @ 09:04am

9. PS

   Immediate diplomatic talks with ALL countries!

   Posted by TCamp1313 at 01/05/2007 @ 09:05am

10. The Media

    I am suprised that no one has mentioned the role that media consolidation has played in creating the current state of affairs. The powers that be, in collusion with the main stream media, have stifled real debate by framing the issues such that rational discussion cannot occur.

    It is well known that opposition to the Iraq war was suppressed, especially before the invasion.

    The unconscionable failure to repair the levies in New Orleans, which exacerbated the devastation, and the failure to deal with the aftermath has been underreported.

    Attacks on civil liberties, and other executive malfeasance seldom make the front page.

    The White House Press Corps remains unable or unwilling to ask the tough questions.

    Our nation's founding fathers wisely stated that democracy cannot exist without an independent press. How can we expect any real change without trully independent media?

    Posted by bdr at 01/05/2007 @ 12:08pm

11. Even with the long list of problems and disasters that bush has created for this country, THE most important thing this Congress MUST do is to hold bush, cheney, etc accountable for their crimes against The Constitution, this country and the world! Nothing else can be fixed until this country knows that this president, or any other president, will not be able to get away with what these criminals have gotten away with. There MUST be a new, REAL investigation into 9/11 because this gave bush Carte Blanche to do anything he wanted to do, especially Iraq, using the facade of "security". I absoultely believe that, at the very least, bush allowed 9/11 to happen, if not being directly involved in it. Please visit 911pressfortruth.com and 911truth,org. The 9/11 fairy tale they've fed us for the last 5 years must be uncovered before this country can move ahead. I urge you to investigate 9/11 for yourselves - it did not happen the way they say it did. Only the truth will set this country free!!

    Posted by nickaz at 01/05/2007 @ 2:42pm

12. I agree with douginslc and nickaz. INDEPENDENT investigation of the events of 9/11 by a panel of top WORLD (not U.S.) physicists, forensic scientists, and investigators should be the top priority of the new Congress though it is not mentioned, even as a footnote, in any of their plans. The cringing, simpering spineless cowards in this country can continue to attempt to sweep this under the rug, but the courageous truth-seekers will not let it die. Call your Congresspersons EVERY SINGLE DAY to get an audience with them or, at the minimum, get their commitment to a position on new 9/11 investigations.

    Posted by jlsolley at 01/05/2007 @ 3:22pm

13. I have been an educator and have covered education for many years.

    Because of this, I've seen just how much we don't practice what we preach in terms of educating out kids, and yet we wonder why so many of them are illiterate or don't even graduate high school.

    The new Congress needs to hit this issue and hit it hard. If we're going to have No Child Left Behind, it should be fully funded and place more emphasis on learning than on standardized testing. If we can spend hundreds of billions of dollars on a war that made no sense from the minute we entered it, we can spend at least as much making sure that our kids can freakin' read.

    We should also focus on health care for everyone, especially kids and the elderly.

    And, while I know the answer to this question already, maybe someone can explain to me why we can impeach a guy for a hummer but not for starting a war under false pretenses?

    Posted by edwriter at 01/05/2007 @ 4:52pm

14. The new Congress should call the writers of the best books written over the last three years that document chapter and verse Bush/Cheney's lies and crimes in the Iraq debacle. See, particularly, James Risen's State of War, Thomas Ricks' Fiasco, Michael Isikoff and David Corn's Hubris, Ron Suskind's The One Percent Doctrine, Lou Dubose and Jake Bernstein's Vice, George Packer's The Assassin's Gate, Frank Rich's The Greatest Story Ever Sold, Bob Woodward's State of Denial, and Seymour Hersh's Chain of Command. All of the authors of these books are respected investigative reporters and/or political commentators, who write for outstanding American newspapers and magazines, including the NY Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek and The New Yorker. They are among the titans of American journalism. Testifying before Congress will allow the message in their books to get front page coverage. The cumulative impact of all of those books taken together are a massive indictment.

    Posted by Bob Carmody at 01/05/2007 @ 6:54pm

15. The statement in your article "While impeachment may be 'off the table'", leads me to believe that you want those of us who respond to leave impeachment off the table as well.

    The Nation's Washington correspondent, John Nichols, has convinced me that citizens should utilize impeachment, which is mentioned six times in our Constitution, as the best tool to hold our elected officials to account. The most compelling reason for doing this, as so clearly articulated by Nichols, is to set a precedent that brings home the message to future elected officials that they, too, are bound by our Constitution and laws. If we allow Bush and Cheney to disobey laws with impunity, what kind of message are we giving to future Presidents, Vice Presidents and all "Civil officers of the United States"?

    And the statement that the "wider public will be repulsed if Democrats appear to copycat GOP partisanship with vindictive investigations" flies in the face of what I am personally experiencing as I organize a forum on impeachment in a small town in northern California. There is such widespread interest in impeachment that we are busily providing for an overflow room and trying to figure out what to do with those who are likely to be turned away because we've run out of space.

    Posted by gjonas at 01/05/2007 @ 9:25pm

16. I whole heartedly support:

    1. Katrina Divide along with 6. Wealth Inequality. There has been a class war going on in this country by some of the Ultra Rich Elite against the middle and lower working class folks of this country and the Ultra Rich Elite are winning big time with the help of this bought and paid for administration. Bring prosperity back to the good people of America that work for a living.

    2. War Profiteering. First step is for congress to cut off funds for the huge projects being built by the most blatant profiteers in Iraq. Stop funding private security companies. Audit, audit, audit and audit. See what the billions of dollars are buying us. If there is fraud, throw the bastards in jail and seize all their assets.

    3. Concentration of Corporate Power. Restore the Fairness Doctrine. Prevent any one company from owning more then 3 newspapers or 3 TV/radio stations or any combination thereof.

    4. Prohibit the continuing consolidation of the oil industry. Eliminate the oil industry subsidies (White mans welfare). Take back the 1,500 million dollars given to the National Petroleum Institute by Tom DeLay in a last minute ear mark in the 2005 Energy bill. Let them pay for their own propaganda on television.

    5. Health Care. Make medical health insurance compete with the efficiencies of government plans like Medicare and Medicaid. Force drug companies to give government their best pricing.

    6. Education. Every child is entitled to K-12 plus 4 years college cost free.

    7. No last minute earmarks.

    8. No last minute language changes in 1000 page bills that hold industries fault free from litigation.

    And last, but not least by any means, revoke the War Powers Act and let bush know that he is no longer a "Wartime" president with extreme powers.

    "The necessity of the times, more than ever, calls for our utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude, and perseverance. Let us remember that `if we suffer tamely a lawless attack upon our liberty, we encourage it, and involve others in our doom.' it is a very serious consideration...that millions yet unborn may be the miserable sharers of the event."

    – Samuel Adams Boston, 1771

    Posted by COProgressive at 01/05/2007 @ 10:27pm

17. The first and foremost step to re-establishing credibility and ethics in the United States is to impeach Bush and Cheney. Holding them accountable is the ONLY way to prevent corrupt government policies from proliferating. While all the other oversight and investigations committees are necessary, they are not the first step. It is far too easy to say that Democrats would be mimicking the Republicans if they were to pursue impeachment. It is sheer cowardice and will free the Democrats to continue the farcical lip service paid to ethics. An open and honest government requires the courage to pursue appropriate, albeit difficult, action. Impeachment holds the guilty accountable, sends a message of good faith to the rest of the world, and acts as a deterrent against further corruption.

    Posted by ACarranza at 01/06/2007 @ 12:26am

18. I don't understand the argument that impeachment would deflect attention away from the progressive agenda and therefore be perceived as a continuation of the vindictiveness that characterized the last Congress. What is at stake is the preservation of our Constitutional foundation. How can the Bush and Cheney's multiple violations go unpunished without further eroding the Consitution? Doesn't such negligence set a precedent for future presidencies? I understand that the magnitude of our problems requires vigilent and speedy action, however, if the mechanism of government has been compromised by abuses, high crimes, and misdemeanors, it is time to get the governmental houses in order through the the use of our consitutionally guaranteed means of oversight--impeachment--so that the progressive agenda can flourish in the environment of a rejuvenated governmental system. Shellyj

    Posted by R. Armstrong at 01/06/2007 @ 08:07am

19. Well iam no policy scholar,but some things are just black and white,right and wrong.It appears that most americans are bankrupt of true morality,oh they preach it, but find it damn near impossible to personaly practice it.I believe it will be extreamly difficult to change our policies do to this glaring fact.Look at past and recent history,our political leaders ,business leaders,church leaders etc.are so crooked and corrupt, its amazeing that they can even show their faces,We Americans have little dignity.consolidated power always begets Greed which is poisonous and contagious to many in our nation ,its who we are ,we allow it, we accept it.and its our curse. Total reform of american attitudes is whats really needed. but whos kidding who? This story will repeat itself..The powerful will relinquish nothing,it will take govenment policy to force justice for all..but guess whos in charge.

    Posted by patrick 1959 at 01/06/2007 @ 08:23am

20. Symptoms all. As long as there's profit to be made in war and the ones making the profit run Washington, there will always be unneccessary wars. All the ideas listed above and all the legislation/investigations executed by the new Congress will do nothing to prevent another Iraq.

    We need to nationalize the oil and weapons industries - make it impossible to profit off war. Congress needs to take these industries out of the hands of private citizens, investigate, and, as punishment for lobbying for war, not compensate the industry owners and shareholders for the loss of their assets.

    The next most important step will be to investigate, prosecute, and incarcerate the executives and shareholders of all domestic media empires for neglecting to question the Bush admin's foreign policy from the get go. The first amendment clearly implies that it is the responsibility of the press to treat as suspect any and all government activity. Our mainstream press/media has become a complete failure; they are no more than a propaganda arm of a corrupt government; they need an overhaul; they need to be pummeled with anti-trust suits and broken up into small companies.

    The lobbying reforms of the "first 100 hours" agenda is a joke - eliminate free meals and gifts? What kind of reform is that? Do they think we're that stupid? They need to eliminate lobbies period. They should bulldoze K-Street to the ground and make it illegal for any organized group to make any type of financial contribution to any government entity or employee. The only enities that should be allowed to make financial contributions to any govenrment entity or employee are private individual U.S. citizens, and even in this case the contributions should go into a general fund that is shared evenly between all political parties.

    Of course, this is merely a fantasy, it will never happen so expect nothing to change.

    Posted by hiccup at 01/06/2007 @ 08:27am

21. The democrats need to use hearings/the media to expose ALL the corruption and cronyism of this administration. If the public knew half of it, his approval ratings would be below 20%.

    For instance. Has anyone been to the Born-Again Grand Canyon lately? I just found out today the the park rangers at the Grand Canyon are FORBIDDEN to discuss the geological age of the canyon or how geologists believe it was formed. There is a book that is being sold at the Grand Canyon books stores claiming the canyon was formed by Noah's flood! This has been going on arbitrarily since 2002, when a born-again Christian was appointed by Bush to the National Park Service. Nothing's been done about it since.

    Who's profiting from this? Who's making money off of the book? What role or connections does the fundamentalist NPS appointee have to Bush/the GOP? It's a symptom of a much larger problem.

    And while we're at it let's find out exactly how Neil Bush is making money off NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND with his "test-taking software."

    Posted by kimbo1 at 01/06/2007 @ 09:38am

22. Two committees, each split two ways.

    An Appointments committee which reviews appointments of staff already made and/or still in place, and determines and transparently states criteria for such minor things as competency and conflict of interest for future appointments. You know, those little jobs like director of FEMA, attorney-general or vice-president.

    An International Law committe. You don't like the U.N.'s ineffectiveness? Do something about it, like not deliberately undermining it. 1. Considering why the US has abandoned any obligations to the norms of international law and also ratifying a few treaties - you know, the little ones - like Biodiversity, Kyoto, War Crimes, etc., thinking about how to obey them in future (like Nuclear Non-Proliferation) 2. Creating and stating a policy on how the US will interact with perceived (Iran) and actual (Israel) breakers of international law in future.

    Posted by Buck_Fush at 01/06/2007 @ 11:48am

23. Ooh, I know, how about a "let's stop creating, funding, arming, and training psychopathic guerillas in countries whose elected governments and visions for the future we don't like" committee, and a "no more U.S. funded coups and invasions" committee. The US could do with a coup on its own soil and it would certainly be constitutional, but maybe stop your government and incumbents from exporting the (coups, not incumbents). Or how about a "shut Pat Robertson and his unholy god squad the f*&k up" committee?

    Posted by Buck_Fush at 01/06/2007 @ 11:55am

24. Or a "let's compensate Iraq for every life, house, and camel destroyed by our illegal invasion" committee, like the one the UN made Iraq submit to after their army's unsanctioned visit to Kuwait.

    Posted by Buck_Fush at 01/06/2007 @ 12:00pm

25. All are excellent places to start. None go far enough considering the magnitude of these things that progressives and all true patriots are up against.

    That said, I haven't formulated anything as thorough as the suggestions you have provided. In my mind taking back the mainstream media as a source of true "fair and balanced" information is the single most important thing to affect positive change in America. Fix this and the rest will follow as people become more informed about how our government is selling us out and turning us into a militant police state. This administration has repeatedly told the most blatant lies and no one has called them on it (at least in the mainstream media). No one in the Bush administration has been held accountable for anything by the press.

    Bush has managed to pack each and every Federal agency with a proverbial fox to guard the chicken coop, such as the EPA, FDA, USDA, and the FCC. Unless media consolidation is broken up (whatever happened to antitrust laws?) the Rupert Murdochs of the world will dictate American culture and views regarding politics, race, and religion, with disasterous consequences for the nation and world. Figure out how to do this and you will have saved the nation - at least for now.

    Posted by jimmykel at 01/06/2007 @ 12:15pm

26. I support the imminent impeachment of both Shrub and Chainye and wish to cede my remaining time/space to Rese for his concluding remarks today.

    Posted by lewwelge at 01/06/2007 @ 12:34pm

27. Dear Nation and readers, I don't understand why impeachment should be 'off the table'. If it was on the table to impeach Clinton for having an affair in the Oval office it should be on the table to impeach a president who started a war on false grounds. Although writting a message to the Nation is a form of preaching to the choir, as a Swede I have just two words to say my brothers in the US. Hans Blix

    Matthias Corbascio

    Posted by matthias at 01/06/2007 @ 1:09pm

28. This current administration has ignored the wishes of congress with an un-precedented number of signing statements; it has ignored the Geneva Conventions dealing with torture; and it is continuing to nullify the Constitution. The President and vice-President must be impeached, as they and most of the key members and former members of their administration cannot be brought before a Grand Jury to answer for their fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud.

    Posted by Ralph Daniels at 01/06/2007 @ 1:25pm

29. I get the impression that the think tank doesn't want to start impeachment proceedings because it would take time away from all the fires they need to put out that were caused by this president They don't feel we have the time nor person-power to do it all and it also might reflect an attitude shown by the Republican's impeachment of Clinton?

    Bush has caused so much damage in this country that now some of our greatest minds think he can't be held accountable through the time and effort of an impeachment process because the country is too busy correcting for his insane decisions and policies?

    We need to find both the people and the time to do both - impeach an obviously incompetent president and clean up after him.

    Posted by marianmurphy at 01/06/2007 @ 1:30pm

30. I'm a little late to the party, so perhaps the following has already been suggested.

    The Congress should review the "Commander-in-Chief" Constitutional authority and determine if action (i.e., a Constitutional amendment) is necessary. The "Commander-in-Chief" powers were written in the 18th Century and very few changes have been made.

    Perhaps an independent, intelligence review board (reporting to the Congress) is needed. Should Congress have a greater role, other than declaration of war and funding in the conduct of international policy and war? This question should be answered.

    Posted by oraibi1952 at 01/06/2007 @ 4:08pm

31. Public financing of elections. Severe punishment for violations. Create a foolproof elections process. Removing sunamis of money evens out the campaigning process for all. The foregoing places responsibilities squarely on the shoulders of the elected officials who are directly accountable to the electorate. Remove secrecy from government activities except in bona fide cases of national security. Transparency is a hallmark of a true democracy. Transfer all congress members from present retirement system to Social Security and Medicare. Limit the number of terms for all members of Congress. The spillover of a nonfuctioning, corrupt congressional body is a national infection. These are just for starters.....

    Posted by Cookie at 01/06/2007 @ 7:15pm

32. Good ideas, Cookie, especially transparency which is being spoken of in these first 100 hours of the 110 Congress. I don't see the value in term limits though, since we've both tried it as a fadish reaction to the general "culture of corruption" which still exists, and I'd hate to see genuine "public servants" forced to depart.

    Posted by lewwelge at 01/06/2007 @ 7:40pm

33. "The wider public will be repulsed if Democrats appear to copycat GOP partisanship with vindictive investigations rather than solutions to the nation's urgent problems." ... or will the wider public be repulsed by all those who ignore the polls, the only voice of the people, and take impeachment off the table. The process brings information and some due process to what is now merely a propaganda battle among those who clearly don't want transparency and justice.

    Just my $0.02 ... but the cases for impeachment are too compelling to too many different constituencies for the ruling class to totally ignore except at their collective peril.

    Posted by Marty Heyman at 01/06/2007 @ 10:37pm

34. Too far-fetched on that last post for me, Rese. Hussein's escape/rescue seems entirely implausible from any angle I can imagine, including the first and premier test of any nefarious scheme: "who (what group) benefits?"

    Posted by lewwelge at 01/06/2007 @ 10:42pm

35. Quite frankly it matters a damn where the hearings are held, just have them and to hell with the niceties. I for one am sick of the repetitive discussions of the abuse of this administration. Talk, talk, talk....enough said already! Investigate, summom, subpoena and impeachment will avail itself.

    George Bush is certifiably insane and it's high time we come to realize this as fact and act on it accordingly. The man has a severe character disorder and is a cancerous boil on this country and a precise lancing is required to rid the country of this madness. Burst that delusional bubble from where he resides with a host of pointed questions and I guarantee he will show his true psychotic colors and the entire world would bear witness to his mental derangement. He's a typical "Biff" frat boy asshole(we all know one)incapable of containing himself under intense scrutiny.

    Posted by footwhere at 01/06/2007 @ 10:45pm

36. An investigation into President Bush's use of "Executive Orders" as a way of signing Agreements with Mexico & Canada concerning Commerce, Trade, Social Security, & National Borders.

    President Bush has abused this power to "fast track" his agenda of a borderless North America by 2010. This would be a disaster for national security and would spell the end of U.S. independence.

    On the request of the President "Security & Prosperity" through the Commerce Department, CFR member Robert Pastor has constructed a (secret) administrative plans called the "North American Alliance Agreement" signed 2004 by President Bush, Vincinte Fox of Mexico, & Prime Minister of Canada.

    Extensively this alliance mirror's EU, constructing a common currency, borderless boundaries, & blending of national identities therefore invalidating independence & sovernity.

    Through the use of Freedom of Information Act, documentation was obtained, however prior too, there was LITTLE or NO discourse nor public debate. The President usurped the Legislature because of the use of "Executive Order's" to sign all agreements pertaining to this Alliance.

    President Bush has betrayed the American people, I believe accountability is imperative. A Congressional intervention is necessary with an investigation into all Security & Prosperity Agreements.

    Posted by christine99 at 01/07/2007 @ 05:07am

37. Wow Rese. Even if only "cutting and pasting" from your obviously voluminous store of references and links, you've still been working diligently this Christian Sabath morn.

    Having read Pynchon "Mason & Dixon" a couple summers ago, I recall Jesuits being "secret agents." But, regarding your specific claim that a Sadam Hussein double was executed and that the real Sadam had been whisked out of Mess-O-Potamia (Jon Stewart) by FreeMasons(!?) some months/years previously, still conquers my credulity.

    Posted by lewwelge at 01/07/2007 @ 11:52am

38. I am attending a 'forum' organized here in No. CA by Gail Jonas---I wrote her a message and she asked me to post it on your blog, but I have a technical problem, and don't know how to copy it from the email to your blog. Is there someome who could tell me how? I have Windows XP. Thanks. My email is grmaud@yahoo.com

    Posted by celiacummings at 01/07/2007 @ 4:29pm

39. Congress should, among other things, extract an exacting quid pro quo for anything smacking of a troop surge/escalation/whatever you want to call it: make Bush pay for it by repealing his cherished tax cuts.

    The rallying cry is simple:

    Handouts for millionaires or body armor for soldiers.

    Posted by skeletonman at 01/07/2007 @ 5:05pm

40. This comment is limited to the pending troop surge proposal from the Bush Administration. It does not have a prayer of success. We cannot isolate the enemy. We know that there is an insurgency but cannot ascertain the components of the insurgency with any kind of precision. The insurgents will not directly engage the U.S. military. They would be slaughtered and they know it. Guerrilla warfare can and will continue in Iraq despite the troop surge because in the eyes of many Iraqis, the presence of the U.S. military is the problem. This fuels the strength of the insurgency and whatever limited Al Qaeda presence there is in Iraq. It seems that many factions in Iraq have, as a precondition for further discussion our withdrawal from Iraq. Thus, our military becomes the obstacle to even the possibility of political progress in Iraq. I do not think that conditions in Iraq can improve as long as we are there. It will in fact get worse in the short term once we leave but there is no prospect for improvement until we leave. We came to Iraq and made a mess that we do not have the ability to clean up.

    Posted by gxseal62 at 01/07/2007 @ 9:52pm

41. Congress must start immediately investigations into Bush's domestic spying crimes. Not since Nixon has the nation faced as serious threat to our freedom. Bush thinks he is above the law and acts like it with nobody doing a thing to stop him.

    Posted by Decaon at 01/08/2007 @ 04:53am

42. Democrats have to stop Bush and his corporate friends from passing amnesty and a guest worker program. This is nothing but welfare for the corporations. Maxine Waters was right when she said, "There's no job we won't do. Pay us enough and we'll do the work."

    African-Americans and poor whites are hurt worst by illegal aliens driving down wages. The Swift raids showed that. There were lines of African-Americans and poor whites to get those jobs even though the wages in the meat-packing industry have dropped in the last decade as corporations replaced American workers with illegal aliens.

    Democrats shouldn't side with Bush and the corporations against the American worker.

    Posted by Decaon at 01/08/2007 @ 05:08am

43. Impeach Bush and Cheney. No environment, no economy. Where's the snow?

    Posted by painter67 at 01/08/2007 @ 09:13am

44. Really thoughtful suggestions, Chuck. Hope a few folks on the Hill take time to hear and implement them. Thanks for the good work that went into pulling this excellent list together.

    Posted by srbeckman at 01/08/2007 @ 6:19pm

45. wow the Nation and the Policy institute have gotten together..Sounds like tweetle-dumb and tweedle-dumbest...there's no "uneven sacrifice" with the military morons....Study the demographic composition of the armed services...richer, better eduated then the masses...deal with it..

    Posted by iknowitall at 01/09/2007 @ 08:21am

46. oh, yes let's start an investigation into "Bush Cheney and 911"-and of course ignore the golden decade of the 90's when Islamic scumbags could murder with impunity while Billy Boy did his fat intern and set up a muslim stronghold in serbia!

    Posted by iknowitall at 01/09/2007 @ 08:23am

47. scary how stupid the Nation and its readers are..

    "it's all about the children"

    "without an education blah, blah , blah"=only an idiot continues to spend more money on something that isn't working. ONly idiots believe that monopolies should be protected.

    "let's investigate the plan to bomb iran"-yes, let's investigate our military strategy prior to actually implementing it. Then let's send our enemies a copy of our investigation...This is really smart to help national security.

    God I hope that the U.S is not planning on harming any of the Mullahfuckers with their genocidal ambitions in Iran..That would suck..

    This is really like a club for lunatics. Let's see not one person has actually mentioned having any animosity whatsoever against Islamic terrorists? WHy is that? Why don't liberals condemn these intolerant, imperialistic savages? Why do they obsess about "investigations" and hating the Bush administration?

    What geopolitical issue have liberals actually ever been right about? Seems like the John Kerry/Kennedy Dem party has been wrong without exception on matters of geopolitical matters for 40 years...You'd think that would humble these imbeciles....

    Posted by iknowitall at 01/09/2007 @ 08:30am

48. The most important thing that the American people can do at this point is pay attention and speak up. Read a variety of news sources in order to get a picture of what is really happening.We can no longer vote and then sit back and expect our elected "leaders" to fix everything that has gone wrong under the Bush administration. The system is too corrupt, and almost completely driven by corporate interests. Even the best intentions are deflected by the amount of power at the top. If we want peace from these billionare war mongers we need to stand up and demand it. Congress can't do it alone. Our children need to refuse to kill or be killed in the interest of imperialism and global domination. This philosophy is killing our democracy and ultimatly will be our downfall. Pre-emptive, revenge driven, oil wars must be a thing of the past. I propose that we cut off all funding to private companies in Iraq. Let them do what they do (very little so far) for the good of all, since they have profited from the misery of the Iraqi people and the deaths of 3,000 soldiers. Every cent of profit should be re-invested in rebuilding Iraq when the dust settles. We should continue to fund the soldiers that are in Iraq with whatever they need. Pull our troops back to the borders, to prevent the incursion of neighboring countries, and attempt to halt the influx of arms and amunition. In order for peace and democratic reform to take place, both Sunni and Shiites must first allow each other the right to exist. The wholesale slaughter and torture taking place in the name of religious differences cannot possibly be condoned by anyone whether devout or atheist. God is synomymous with love and compassion in all religions. No amount of bombing or occupation will accomplish reconciliation. Bush is preparing to escalate this war and we cannot let it happen. Make no mistake, his agenda has not changed. Blogging isn't enough people. Insist that our newly elected congress stop this war.

    Posted by jmb20 at 01/09/2007 @ 09:36am

49. WOW...an entire section of loons and kooks all in one blog....I wish the entire country could read this, papr anti American rant with its "working class" verses "ruling class" verses "corporate class"....my god...hillarious.

    ..enough here to keep shrinks examining this group for years, starting with the self loathing crowd, to the paranoias down to the "losers and no chance, how do they feed themselves crowd"..

    a complete case study of the kooks of our time right here..

    Posted by john maasch at 01/09/2007 @ 11:28am

50. 1)Reform the election process by taking out all private,PAC and corporate monies. Elections should be funded with our tax dollars. He who pays the piper calls the tune.

    2)Abolish the Federal Reserve and return the control of the currency to the federal government. Don't even THINK about compensating the private members of the FED, they have already ripped off tax payers enough.

    Posted by wolfie at 01/09/2007 @ 11:28am

51. WOW...an entire section of loons and kooks all in one blog Posted by JOHN MAASCH

    Yes, and your buddies have put things to rights, huh? I think it's been established that the real kooks are the ones in control right now.

    Posted by jlsolley at 01/09/2007 @ 12:42pm

52. All comments have credibility as to direction, But the only way to make this administration accountable is to bring everything as investigations to public view, and as the nixon administration for the administration's hand. make them accountable. the investigations need to go public,not behind committee doors as Cspan.

    When Nixon was investigated to the direction of impeachment, they exposed all those involved. in this case it involves Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld, and all the neocons in the government as well as the Military industrial complex as well as the profiteering as many corporations that prosper of war,

    the investigations should cover all activities, including the most serious that many are not aware of, that is the SPP-security and prosperity partnership of the north american community-to the NAU north american union--

    this is also a driver of the neo cons to create a european type union with currency--this also needs to be brought up as with 911 as driver for this administrations goals as trying to build an american empire, that is what all of this in the last years since 2000 all point from.

    this as well as the corporate news networks not reporting all the facts. Basically make congress press the very goal behind all this, what as people comment the points of the unaccountable actions, abuse, pushing bad laws and profiteering in iraq, using war on terror as a propaganda tool....to make an administration accountable, make it's actions public, force resignations, so checks and balances and respect for the constitution are seen as law.

    Posted by trampmax at 01/09/2007 @ 1:29pm