The Levin Center champions bipartisan, fact-based oversight and is affiliated with @_WayneLaw, but our posts do not present the views of WSU or the Law School.
Detroit, MI
Joined June 2017
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Our Levin Center Legal Summer Interns are the best! Hear about their experiences working in congressional oversight (sub)committees in D.C. and apply for next year's internship program!
youtube.com/watch?v=57122Vqm…
Watch the presentation by Professor Sara Zdeb, recipient of the 2026 Levin Center Award for Excellence in Oversight Research, of her award-winning paper, Cooperative Oversight and the Separation of Powers. In this timely and innovative work, Professor Zdeb challenges the conventional assumption that Congress can strengthen its oversight authority only through conflict with the executive branch. Instead, she explores how cooperation between Congress and the executive branch during periods of unified government can create precedents that enhance Congress’s ability to obtain information and conduct effective oversight in the future. Following the presentation, participants engage in a discussion of the paper’s implications for congressional oversight, separation of powers, and executive accountability.
youtu.be/hdKIBzyR10A
2008 saw the worst financial crisis since 1929. Many congressional committees conducted investigations. Senate’s PSI conducted the most bipartisan and comprehensive work. Led by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich) and Tom Coburn (R-OK), the staff was directed to work together. Hearings and the report delved deeply into details and provided momentum and a roadmap to reform. Financial firms subject to PSI review faced significant civil enforcement proceedings.
For full account, see: levin-center.org/what-is-ove…
Thanks to @PhilipWallach from @AEI for joining us on Constitution Day!
understandingcongress.org/se…
Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy retweeted
Join us on 10/15 @ 12:15pm ET as Prof. Sara Zdeb from @EmoryLaw, winner of the 2026 Levin Center oversight research award, to discuss how cooperation between Congress and the executive branch can strengthen future oversight.
Register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi…
Enron’s 2001 collapse cost thousands of jobs and billions in retirement savings. Congressional oversight exposed wrongdoing and helped close the “Enron loophole.” Good to remember the important fixes Congress established and why.
Read more: levin-center.org/what-is-ove…
A worthwhile read on restoring Congress's Article I powers.
nytimes.com/2026/10/05/magaz…
With @POGOwatchdog and @TheLugarCenter, we hosted the 23rd Oversight Boot Camp Oct. 1–2, bringing together congressional staff from both chambers and parties for hands-on oversight training. Thanks to instructors Dave Rapallo, Zack Schram, Lauren Holmes, and Tim Stretton!
We are delighted to announce that the Levin Center’s Congressional Oversight Records Database (CORD) is expanding by adding the House Ethics Committee, Senate Ethics Committee, and House Armed Services Committee to its collection:
- U.S. House Ethics Committee: 99 reports from 1995 - 2025
- U.S. Senate Ethics Committee: 20 reports from 2008 - 2026
-U.S. House Armed Services Committee: 66 reports from 1992-2024
In total, this release adds 185 oversight reports, bringing the total number of congressional oversight reports housed in CORD to 2,504 from 36 congressional committees (and individual members’ offices). Click below to explore the database and our new additions!
cord-levin-center.org/
From 1982 to 2009, Rep. Henry Waxman
used oversight to educate the public about tobacco's
health dangers. He held the first hearings on the
dangers of smoking in 1982, which led to legislation
requiring HHS to inform the public of health hazards
and for cigarettes to carry warnings. In 1985, he held a
hearing on smokeless tobacco. Concern about
secondary smoke led to legislation banning smoking on certain flights. This bipartisan concern led to a 2009 law allowing the FDA to regulate smoking.
levin-center.org/what-is-ove…
Join us on 10/15 @ 12:15pm ET as Prof. Sara Zdeb from @EmoryLaw, winner of the 2026 Levin Center oversight research award, to discuss how cooperation between Congress and the executive branch can strengthen future oversight.
Register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi…
Missed the Levin Center’s Constitution Day panel? The recording is now available. Watch the discussion at @_WayneLaw featuring former Representative @BarbaraComstock, Professor Steven Winter, and @PhilipWallach of @AEI!
youtube.com/watch?v=3GxfNFqQ…
A joint, bipartisan congressional inquiry into 9/11 with a team of 24 independent investigators found failures to adapt to new threats, recognize key intelligence, and share information. The report was unanimously approved in December 2002.
levin-center.org/what-is-ove…
🗓️ Join @gwtrachtenberg on Oct. 7 at noon ET for a discussion of Congress, GAO, and legislative oversight. Dave Rapallo, Levin Center senior advisor, will explore oversight tools and appropriations with fellow panelists.
Register: gwu-edu.zoom.us/webinar/regi…
Congress’s ability to oversee the executive branch and make sound legislative decisions rests on its ability to obtain accurate information from the news media. Barring from the WH CNN, MS NOW, and Politico is an attack on the 1st Amendment and Article I. It must not stand.
nytimes.com/live/2026/09/21/…
Two dozen organizations across the political spectrum are urging Congress to take sole control of appointing the Comptroller General, head of GAO, its independent watchdog—and to change the process before filling the post.
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The State Oversight Academy took our research on the road last week! We visited the @HouseArchives to dive into its records from the Three Mile Island committee. Thanks to the wonderful archivists for hosting us!
🤖 Made with AI
During 1978-79, the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held 13 hearings on toxic industrial waste sites, focusing mainly on Love Canal. The bipartisan report found major health hazards at industrial sites, leading to the enactment of the Superfund Law to clean up and prevent toxic sites.
Read more in our Portrait in Oversight: levin-center.org/love-canal/
Could Rebooting Congress Save American Democracy?
Join the Levin Center for Constitution Day @_WayneLaw as experts, educators, and civic leaders explore the Constitution's enduring impact and the importance of informed citizenship.
Learn more, register: levin-center.org/constitutio…
