Paul C. Light - Government by Investigation: Congress, Presidents, and the Search for Answers, 1945-2012

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THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION

The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to research, education, and publication on important issues of domestic and foreign policy. Its principal purpose is to bring the highest quality independent research and analysis to bear on current and emerging policy problems. Interpretations or conclusions in Brookings publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors.

THE GOVERNANCE INSTITUTE

The Governance Institute (http://thegovernanceinstitute.org/) is a small nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that since 1986 has, on its own or in cooperation with other entities, explored the functioning and interaction of governmental institutions to help them address specific problems, such as encouraging law firm pro bono programs; evaluating mechanisms to ease contentiousness in federal judicial selection; developing and monitoring the operation of a protocol by which federal appellate judges alert Congress to technical drafting problems in enacted legislation; and enhancing the fairness and effectiveness of the Justice Department's immigration courts. The Institute has enjoyed a long and mutually productive relationship with the Brookings Institutionparticularly its Governance Studies programbut it is not a part of Brookings.

GOVERNMENT BY INVESTIGATION

CONGRESS, PRESIDENTS, AND THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS 19452012

PAUL C. LIGHT

THE GOVERNANCE INSTITUTE

BROOKINGS INSTITUTION PRESS

Washington, D.C.

Copyright 2014

THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION

1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20036.

www.brookings.edu

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Brookings Institution Press.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data

Light, Paul Charles.

Government by investigation : Congress, presidents, and the search for answers, 19452012 / Paul C. Light, Governance Institute.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8157-2268-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Governmental investigationsUnited States. I. Title.

JF1525.C58L54 2013

353.4630973dc23 2013016767

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed on acid-free paper

Typeset in Minion and Univers Condensed

Composition by R. Lynn Rivenbark

Macon, Georgia

Printed by R. R. Donnelley

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Acknowledgments

I have always viewed acknowledgments as the beginning of a denouement. This book is now done, but there are still questions to be answered, and answers to be questioned. If I have done my work well, the book will provoke healthy debate about when and how to use investigations to address breakdowns in government performance.

This denouement has been six years in coming. I started designing my research plan in September 2006 after conversations with my friends and colleagues at the Governance Institute in Washington, D.C., and originally expected to finish three years later. The research took three years longer, because the investigatory histories were so dense, the questions increasingly complicated, the coding more difficult, and the data analysis more intricate. By the time I completed the initial draft of the book and began revisions in late 2011, it only seemed logical to expand the time frame to cover the first term of the Obama administration, which added more investigatory histories to my reading list.

Now that the book is finished, I have the honor of thanking the many people who helped along the way. This book could not have been completed without my research assistant, Todd L. Ely, who worked on the project for two years as a doctoral student at the Wagner School of Public Service and is now an assistant professor at the University of Colorado, Denver. Todd was tireless in compiling the early lists of investigations that competed for space in my final list of the 100 most significant investigations between 1945 and 2012. He was also central to initial coding decisions on many of the footprint and impact measures presented later in the book. He was indispensable to the work.

Once Todd left for Denver, I relied on a small corps of research assistants to track down information, check my coding, transcribe interviews, and build files, and will be forever grateful. I also relied on steady support from my dean, Ellen Schall, and the associate deans, Rogan Kersh and Tyra Liebmann, as they built Wagner's reputation for excellence, and from my always-available executive assistant, Iveliz Vazquez. I fully expect Dean Shall's successor, Sherry Glied, and her team to continue the school's remarkable rise.

I also relied on generous financial support from the Smith Richardson Foundation to keep the project moving through the five years of data collection and initial analysis and consider the foundation's senior program officer for domestic public policy, Mark Steinmeyer, both a friend and leader. He was always gracious as the grant was extended year after year, and he never wavered in his encouragement.

Alongside this dedicated help and encouragement, I owe my greatest thanks to my friends and colleagues associated with the Governance Institute. The Institute's founder, Robert A. Katzmann, convinced me to take on the project, gave me constant feedback and support, and provided essential reassurance on early drafts. In turn, the Governance Institute's president, Russell Wheeler, was a tireless ally, confidant, and adviser throughout the entire project. I can guarantee that there is not a single sentence in this book that he did not read at least twice, and many that he read thrice and more. He checked every draft, coached me on revision plans, counseled patience when I needed it, and questioned analytic conclusions when they warranted it. He made this book better at every turn.

The book was also supported by a long list of friends, colleagues, anonymous peer reviewers, respondents, and the four readers who wrote endorsements on the back cover. I also benefited greatly from my small team of personal supporters, including Cesar Alfonso, Clara Janis, Katherine Rappaport, Bryna Sanger, and Robyn Stein. My children remain at the center of the listever patient, loving, and a source of constant joy. My students also made a difference, too, by asking questions, catching typos and grammatical errors along the way, and providing so much curiosity in my classes.

Finally, the Brookings Institution put enormous energy and patience into bringing this book to publication, including financial support for publication, a welcoming embrace, ample editing energy, and a dedication to quality. Darrell West provided both financial and intellectual resources to the effort, while Christopher Kelaher pushed the manuscript through the arduous review process. Janet Walkerand Elizabeth Forsyth, who worked with herwas absolutely essential in bringing this book to fruition, and I thank her for the work and dedication in taking the book across the finish line.

I am responsible for the errors in this book, however. Having worked on it from 2006 to 2013, there are no doubt many. I trust readers will take them in stride and add new ideas to the search for answers about improving government performance.

PAUL C. LIGHT

New York City

September 2013

ONE

Introducing the Search for Answers

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