by Robert Kelner, Brian Smith, Angelle Baugh, Brendan Parets, Perrin Cooke, Bill Sokolove, and Darcy Slayton
On May 21, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform’s “Oversight Plan” was published, after being submitted for publication by Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) over a month ago. The Oversight Plan outlines the “topics designated for investigation, evaluation, and review” by the Committee over the next two years. The Oversight Plan provides a very useful roadmap of the Committee’s investigative priorities and should be seen as a fair warning to the industries and companies identified in the plan.
The Committee’s Oversight Plan is required by the House Rules. Under House Rule X, Clause 2, each standing committee of the House is required to submit an oversight plan to the Oversight Committee. The Oversight Committee then reviews the plans and reports to the full House on each committee’s plan and the Oversight Committee’s recommendations for coordinating oversight activities. The 2021 Oversight Plan included the Oversight Committee’s compilation that, along with its own plan, included the oversight plans of all other House committees. The nearly 300-page compilation generally indicated an interest in oversight of the coronavirus crisis, health care, economic prosperity and infrastructure investments, and climate change and the environment.