Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy

09/03/2026

📄 New work by Grace, David Rapallo, and Sean Theriault examines congressional reports as legislative branch work products and an important resource for understanding how conducts oversight.

The Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at Wayne State University Law School is in the process of creating the first-ever comprehensive database of congressional oversight reports for all House ...

09/03/2026

Behind every great dataset lies a phenomenal amount of hard work. Huge thanks to Grace Moore, Research & Data Specialist at the Levin Center, whose incredible work helps expand, maintain, and improve CORD every day!

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09/03/2026

🎬 Back to School Resource Spotlight: Videos

Did you know we have a growing video library — all free, all classroom ready? Our Portraits in Oversight series, made in collaboration with Detroit PBS and Michigan Learning Channel, bring congressional investigations to life through expert analysis, firsthand accounts, and key historical moments. Topics span decades of American history, giving you flexible options for introducing a new unit, sparking discussion, or filling a class period with something your students will actually remember. Explore the full library on our homepage.

09/02/2026

This special issue of Legislative Studies Quarterly is dedicated to Elise Bean, whose vision was instrumental in creating CORD. Her commitment to strengthening congressional oversight continues to shape new research and public understanding of Congress.

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09/02/2026

Congressional reports are among 's most important tools for gathering information, conducting , documenting findings, and influencing policy. This special issue explores their impact on American governance.

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09/01/2026

📢 New special issue of Legislative Studies Quarterly using CORD data: The Politics of Congressional Reports. Featuring new research on , congressional capacity, and accountability.

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09/01/2026

Wayne State University Law School students -- Tuesday coffee hours at the Levin Center have started again! Come grab some free coffee or tea and say hi (or don't; the coffee is free either way!)

08/28/2026

In 1922, the Senate investigated the Teapot Dome scandal -- “a vigorous, bipartisan investigation” exposing corruption and misconduct at the highest levels of the US government and establishing “the right of Congress to investigate executive branch wrongdoing.”

Read more in our Portrait in Oversight: https://levin-center.org/senator-walsh-and-the-teapot-dome-investigation/

08/26/2026

Today, the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy announced that the winner of its 2026 Award for Excellence in Oversight Research is “Cooperative Oversight and the Separation of Powers,” by Sara Zdeb, Visiting Assistant Professor of Practice at Emory University School of Law. Chosen by a selection committee composed of law and political science scholars and oversight experts, the award-winning paper emerged from a competitive field of excellent candidate papers. The award includes a $2,500 cash prize.

"The Levin Center is honored to bestow its 2026 award on an innovative and thought-provoking paper that offers a fresh perspective on how Congress can strengthen its oversight capacity," said Jim Townsend, director of the Levin Center. "Professor Zdeb challenges the conventional assumption that Congress can improve its position in oversight disputes only through confrontation with the executive branch. Instead, her research demonstrates how oversight conducted during periods of cooperation can help shape future information-sharing practices, strengthen Congress's institutional position, and reinforce the constitutional system of checks and balances."

The selection committee found that Professor Zdeb's paper makes an important contribution to oversight scholarship by advancing a creative and constructive framework for strengthening congressional oversight of the executive branch. The Committee highlighted the paper's central insight that instances of cooperation between Congress and the executive branch during periods of unified government can create precedents that enhance Congress's ability to obtain information and conduct oversight in the future. Reviewers were particularly impressed by the paper's originality, its grounding in legal doctrine and historical practice, and its practical relevance to ongoing debates over congressional access to information and executive accountability.

Read the paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6351578

Mark your calendar for October 15, when Professor Zdeb will present her winning paper in a Zoom Webinar. More details to follow!

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HbyfukBxTYu8seA2ATPziw #/registration

08/24/2026

Pushing the Purse: Congressional Budgeting as a Tool of Oversight

Join us Sept. 10 at 12:15pm ET for a seminar featuring the Levin Center’s 2025/26 Elise J. Bean Oversight Fellow, Kevin Angell, as he presents his research on the relationship between congressional budget processes and legislative oversight. Kevin’s project, “Pushing the Purse,” examines how Congress uses its budgetary authorities to shape executive branch behavior and respond to presidential noncompliance. Drawing on interviews with congressional and executive branch staff, as well as original quantitative data on committee reports, hearings, and budget activity, his research explores how oversight functions in practice within the appropriations process. This seminar offers an opportunity to engage with original research on the intersection of congressional budgeting, oversight, and executive accountability.

RSVP: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JlbA2FMOTW2LK64V5i_6-Q #/registration