Oversight & Accountability (LAW-795OA-001)
Jeffrey Elkin
Meets: 08:00 PM - 09:50 PM (Th)
Enrolled: 9 / Limit: 22
Notices
U* Notice - This course as offered *may* be eligible to satisfy Upper Level Writing Requirement. Students must have an explicit conversation with the professor no later than the end of the add/drop period, confirming that they intend to use the course assignment to fulfill the ULWR. Students must inquire and professors must agree to supervise the ULWR in writing. Students must present a written product for grading that meets both ULWR standards and the requirements of the course assignment.
Description
This graded, two-credit seminar will explore and analyze the Executive, Legislative, and nongovernmental entities that oversee the operations of the United States federal government and hold it accountable for waste, fraud, abuse of authority, and other misconduct. Specifically, this survey course covers the law, policy, and activities of the Offices of Inspector General, Office of Government Ethics, Office of Special Counsel, Government Accountability Office, and Office of Management and Budget, as well as congressional oversight committees, nongovernmental watchdog organizations, whistleblowers, and other elements of the federal "oversight and accountability community." Students of this course will also have the opportunity to submit content for The Oversight Project, AUWCL’s widely acclaimed online publication on the oversight and accountability community. The Oversight Project publishes updates on newsworthy developments, scholarly analyses, and other writing on the oversight and accountability community from students and practitioners working in and studying that field. Two weeks of this course will consist of a Congressional Investigations Bootcamp. All congressional investigators have completed the Bootcamp. As do congressional investigators, students of this course will receive a certificate of completion upon satisfaction of all Bootcamp requirements.
Textbooks and Other Materials
The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.
There is no textbook for this course.
First Class Readings
* Please read before the first class: (1) The Oversight Project, http://www.oversightproject.org (look around, skim some interesting posts); (2) Congressional Oversight Manual, Congressional Research Service (“CRS”), RL30240, pp. 1 – 13, 17 – 20, 30 – 39, 73 – 93 (Mar. 31, 2021), https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL30240/37; (3) Mort Rosenberg, When Congress Comes Calling: A Primer (2017), pp. 6 – 11 (start at B. on p.6), 39 – 47, https://docs.pogo.org/report/2017/POGO_TCP_When_Congress_Comes_Calling.pdf. ** Also: Please bring in an interesting post from The Oversight Project to discuss with the class. *** Optional: Mort Rosenberg, When Congress Comes Calling: A Primer (2017) at 313 – 317 (“Henry Waxman and the Tobacco Industry” case study), https://docs.pogo.org/report/2017/POGO_TCP_When_Congress_Comes_Calling.pdf. [Deepest apologies for the formatting. I can't change it... - JE]
Syllabus
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Adobe Acrobat (PDF)