POGO
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The Art of Congressional Oversight:
A User's Guide to Doing it Right


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POGO has developed The Art of Congressional Oversight: A User's Guide to Doing It Right as a solution to widespread concerns about the quality and quantity of oversight activities on the Hill. 

While this handbook is designed to empower congressional staff to tap into the U.S. Congress’s numerous oversight powers, it is also a treasure-trove of valuable information for students, political scientists, and the public about how Congress actually operates. The book is highly readable, fresh, and a bit humorous.  

Close-up of cover 

Table of Contents, p.3-4 

Chapter 1, p. 7-13 

Tapping into our staff's professional background on the Hill and in media, as well as our day-to-day contact with current and retired committee and personal staffers, the handbook provides step-by-step instruction on some of the most-needed oversight topics: 

  • gaining support from across the aisle;
  • how to effectively work with whistleblowers and insiders; and
  • preparing for a hearing.

The handbook is a practical, rather than theoretical, look at Congress and is informed by practitioners. It includes oral histories from more than a dozen current and former Hill staffers who are regarded by their peers to be among the most effective Democrat and Republican oversight practitioners. There is a Questions & Answers session with a longtime staffer who provides insight into a successful sweepstakes solicitation investigation; current staffers share copies of their offices' responses to agency information denials; and journalists share tips on how staffers can get more media attention for their oversight efforts.

Read these articles on the handbook

New book seeks to train Hill oversight watchdogs, Federal News Radio, By Max Cacas, August 12, 2009.
POGO Provides Oversight Handbook To Congress And Hill Staff To Encourage Increased Oversight, July 31, 2009.

If you are a Hill staffer (including GAO and CRS), and want to learn more about the handbook or our Congressional Oversight Training Series (COTS), contact Ingrid Drake at idrake@pogo.org

Order Your Copy Today!

DC Orders:
The Art of Congressional Oversight: A User's Guide to Doing It Right $19.95
Shipping and Handling $4.95
DC Sales Tax for orders to be shipped in DC $1.49
TOTAL $26.39
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Outside of DC Orders:
The Art of Congressional Oversight: A User's Guide to Doing It Right $19.95
Shipping and Handling $4.95
TOTAL $24.90
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