<P> By comparison to these select panel investigations, other congressional inquiries in recent Congresses--into the Whitewater controversy, access to Federal Bureau of Investigation files, White House Travel Office firings, and campaign financing--have relied upon standing committees . </P> <P> The impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton in 1998 in the House and in 1999 in the Senate also generated considerable oversight . The oversight not only encompassed the President and the White House staff, but also extended to the office of independent counsel, specifically its authority, jurisdiction, and expenditures . Although such highly visible endeavors are significant, they usually reflect only a small portion of Congress's total oversight effort . More routine and regular review, monitoring, and supervision occur in other congressional activities and contexts . Especially important are appropriations hearings on agency budgets as well as authorization hearings for existing programs . Separately, examinations of executive operations and the implementation of programs--by congressional staff, support agencies, and specially created commissions and task forces--provide additional oversight . </P> <P> Another avenue of oversight is a resolution of inquiry, which is a simple resolution making a direct request or demand of the President or the head of an executive department to furnish the House of Representatives with specific factual information in the Administration's possession . </P> <P> The CRS and the Project On Government Oversight, an independent nonprofit watchdog, train Congressional staff how to conduct effective oversight . </P>

Who funds the budget and provides oversight for the us federal bureaucracy