Coming to the Hill: lots of hearing-room drama (CS Monitor)

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Coming to the Hill: lots of hearing-room drama
Probes of war policies will begin amid ethical scrutiny of members.

By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON - It's going to be a banner year for C-SPAN. That's because Congress is gearing up for the most dramatic slate of hearings since the Clinton impeachment fracas.

The high-profile probes underscore efforts by Congress to reclaim power from a war-time White House. And they could reshape this fall's midterm elections.

In the closing weeks of the old year, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle set in motion an aggressive oversight agenda, ranging from secret prisons and the treatment of detainees under US control, to the president's authorization of domestic eavesdropping without a warrant.

At the same time, more members of Congress find themselves under scrutiny, as ex-super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his former associates work out plea agreements promising cooperation in a widening bribery investigation on Capitol Hill. Former House majority leader Tom DeLay, meanwhile, will face charges of money laundering in court later this month.

In all, the scrutiny on - and from - Congress is a sharp turnaround for a Republican-controlled body that came to power extolling ethics, and one that has been deferential to the Bush presidency about its conduct in the war on terrorism.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0103/p01s03-uspo.htm

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