This approach, similar to that for certain H5N1 influenza virus experiments (2, 3), allows the HHS to focus special oversight efforts on experiments of concern while allowing routine characterization and other fundamental research to proceed rapidly, thereby enabling a robust public-health response.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the committee's five-year study of the CIA's controversial interrogation program is "one of the most significant oversight efforts in the history of the United States Senate, and by far the most important oversight activity ever conducted by this committee".
He said the situation reminded him of the oversight efforts in 1999 and 2000, when a spike in consumer complaints prompted members of Congress to push for a passengers' bill of rights.
Amid criticism of past oversight efforts, Los Angeles County supervisors approved a new contract Tuesday that redefines state and local responsibilities for inspecting nursing homes and other health facilities and investigating complaints of abuse, neglect or inadequate care of patients.
Another important dimension of quality assurance that existing oversight efforts do not incorporate is the basic question of whether RECs' guidance to researchers is actually being followed.
The oversight efforts have largely purged the union of criminal elements, but the consent decree's rules still apply, including the provision that says Teamsters cannot associate with any expelled member, except for family-related contacts.
In a statement to the Guardian, Carper said his committee "will continue to closely examine the Department of Homeland Security's grant programs and its implementation in communities across the nation as part of our ongoing oversight efforts".
Though the report focuses on conduct during the George W. Bush administration, it faults the Obama administration for refusing to say whether anyone is currently serving on the intelligence board, a failure that "continues to call into question the legitimacy of current intelligence oversight efforts". The White House did not respond to questions about the intelligence board.
Not all of the Democratic Congress's oversight efforts have been as successful, though.
To date, most of this has come from innovative oversight efforts and anticipating where issues are likely to occur.
