Upton: Committee will 'cast its net far and wide' for oversight

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) vowed to take an active role in overseeing federal policies related to communications and consumer issues in a response to ranking member Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) on Friday.

“Oversight is a core congressional responsibility, as our former chairman well knows,” Upton said in a statement vowing his committee will tackle any issue or agency within its jurisdiction.

"From health care reform and energy security to communications freedom and consumer protections, we will root out waste, fraud, and abuse in government, expose abuses under the law, and provide accountability for taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars," he continued.

"Small guppy or big fish, no agency is exempt and no issue area is off limits from our commitment to conduct responsible oversight.”

Upton's response came after Waxman sent him a letter Thursday questioning a "flurry" of four requests for information from the committee to the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the new healthcare law.

"I am a strong supporter of congressional oversight, and I respect and support the Committee's right to seek information about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act," Waxman said.

"But I do not believe your oversight powers justify going on fishing expeditions or making extensive requests for internal e-mails and other communications where there is no evidence of waste, fraud, or abuse of any kind."

“Seeking basic information about how federal agencies are spending billions in taxpayer dollars and reshaping our health care system is hardly a fishing expedition, but if the minority insists on such metaphors, I will be the first to declare that this committee intends to cast its net far and wide," Upton said in his reply.

Waxman, who was known as a fierce critic of then-President George W. Bush's administration during his tenure as chairman of the House Oversight Committee, urged Upton "to take a more measured approach in the future."

In his letter, Upton disagreed with Waxman that his requests for all communications between HHS officials regarding certain programs are disruptive and noted Waxman has sent out similar document requests in the past.

"Last year the Democratic majority opted to place HHS in charge of the health care of every single American," Upton said.

"If the HHS bureaucracy can handle monitoring every doctor and patient relationship in the United States, it can handle a simple request for documents from an American public hungering to finally know the details about the Administration’s health care takeover."

Waxman promptly issued a response to Upton's letter on Friday, again arguing that portions of Upton's requests are irrelevant and risk wasting HHS's time and resources.

"The Department faces a tremendous challenge implementing the new law. Congressional oversight can be an important part of this process," Waxman said.

"But our Committee’s requests should be tailored to our legitimate oversight needs. Otherwise we will waste taxpayer resources and interfere with the ability of the Department to carry out the new law."