In control, Democrats unleash top watchdog

WASHINGTON — Rep. Henry Waxman wants to get to the bottom of a few things.

Is the Iraqi government hopelessly corrupt? Does that corruption mean taxpayer dollars end up with killer militias? What became of the $1 billion the State Department was supposed to spend on Iraqi police? That's for starters.

Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has become the Bush administration's worst nightmare: a Democrat in the majority with subpoena power, the inclination to overturn rocks and a staff renowned for its depth and experience.

The California congressman seems to be involved in everything on Capitol Hill. He is always ready with a hearing, a fresh crop of internal administration e-mails or a new explosive report. And he has more than two dozen investigations under way, from the politicization of the entire federal government to formaldehyde in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers, from global warming to safety concerns about the diabetes drug Avandia.

"When Bush became president, the Republicans in charge of oversight decided there was no scandal too big for them to ignore," said Waxman, 68. "They didn't want to hold hearings. They didn't want to look at anything that might embarrass the president, which is contrary to the constitutional separation of powers that provides checks and balances."

Iraq is a priority. Waxman, who has represented the California district that includes Beverly Hills for 32 years, says it galls him that "we were talked into a war based on false information." He means to "hold people accountable for getting us into this war and the way this war is conducted."

Waxman grew up talking politics at home in Los Angeles. His father and mother were "fervent New Dealers" and the children of Russian immigrants. His father had a grocery and later worked for other grocers. Waxman was the first in the family to graduate from college. Now 68, he's been an elected official since he won a seat in the California Legislature at 28.

In his 16th term in the House, he became chairman of the oversight panel when Democrats took control of the House in January.

"Waxman has been a spectacular success in his first year as chairman of the full committee," said Thomas Mann, a congressional expert at the Brookings Institution, a center-left policy research group. "On all important counts — the range, volume and quality of his oversight initiatives — he almost single-handedly revived the critical role of Congress in overseeing the executive."

Republicans have their share of complaints. They say Waxman's staff cuts corners, plays "gotcha" with witnesses and committee Republicans, goes around GOP staff with interviews rather than depositions, and would rather investigate than legislate. Yet, some of them speak with grudging admiration.

When one party controls the presidency and Congress, Virginia Rep. Tom Davis said, "oversight tends to disappear."

"You tend to under-investigate," said Davis, ranking Republican on Waxman's committee. "When you have two-party rule, you tend to over-investigate. Henry's overstepped it a couple of times, but he's doing some needed things as well. ... Some of the things he's doing are useful."

But for committee member Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., there's been too much negativity.

"I have served on this committee for 20 years, and everything this committee has done since we've gone into Iraq — in this last year, in particular — has been to try to point out everything bad that is going on," Shays said Thursday, as Waxman and others listened during a hearing held to question Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Iraq.

Republicans and Democrats say Waxman has marshaled three ingredients from his staff — tenacity, experience and loyalty — to make it one of the brightest spots on the new Congress' otherwise mixed record. The number of Democratic staff members has doubled, to about 75, since the party took control. About 25 investigators make up the core of Waxman's team.

When Blackwater employees opened fire on civilians in Baghdad last month, Waxman's panel seemed to produce an extensive report on the company in an instant. When pro wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife and son, then himself, committee staff leaned on years of work on steroids in sports to immediately dive into the murky world of World Wrestling Entertainment.

Waxman's style is to question persistently, repeating his question several times in slightly different ways if he's not satisfied with the answers. He often smiles as he ends a question. He's direct, but polite, and appears to be tireless.

In a single day last month, Waxman angrily questioned the slow pace of change at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, led Jewish House colleagues to denounce Rep. James Moran, D-Va., for suggesting that Jewish Americans helped start the Iraq war and weighed in on another aspect of his committee's ongoing investigation of State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard.

David Marin, the committee's Republican staff director, said Waxman has been dealt a strong hand: an unpopular administration, an unpopular war and carte blanche from the Democratic leadership to go wherever he wants. Waxman's staff has a knack for atmospherics, holding information in its back pocket until news events pique interest.

"They understand there's nothing more exciting than seeing an e-mail or a secret document that you weren't ever supposed to see," Marin said.