Strengthening Congressional Oversight Through Crowd-Sourcing

Congress has a big problem when it comes to oversight. The federal government has grown vastly larger over the past century, but Congress has done little to empower itself to keep track.

However, thanks to open data, those outside the government now can lend a helping hand.

The U.S. Constitution set up a principle-agent relationship between Congress and the executive branch. Congress writes the laws, the agencies implement them and the legislature (the principle) is supposed to keep watch. This is representative democracy—the people’s chosen representatives are duty-bound to protect the public’s liberties and tax dollars…. (Read more at Public Administration Times)