Kendra S. Horn: “Mr. Chairman, during a speech in Ashland, Kentucky in March of 1829, the distinguished former Speaker of this House…”

“Mr. Chairman, during a speech in Ashland, Kentucky in March of 1829, the distinguished former Speaker of this House, Henry Clay said, ``Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees, and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.'' If the government is created for the benefit of the people, as Clay so eloquently argued, the government must be accountable to the people. The Constitution of the United States recognizes the need for accountability in its Federal Government. It is in the spirit of this concept that the framers of the Constitution formulated a three-branch, separation of powers form of government, instilled with a system of checks and balances. The nature of oversight, which is to monitor, review, supervise, or investigate executive activities, was implied in the Constitution rather than explicitly enumerated.”