Decentralized legislative oversight of bureaucratic policy making

Congressional oversight is a potentially potent tool to affect policy making and implementation by executive agencies. However, of any agency dispersed among several committees across the House Senate. How does this decentralization strategic incentives for each committee? And how do align with collective interest Congress as whole? We develop formal, spatial model decentralized investigate these questions. The shows that when have similar interests in affecting policy, attempt free ride on other, levels are inefficiently low. But if competing they engage “dueling oversight” little overall effect, high. Overall, we contend committee not generally Congress, problem cannot be easily solved structural changes within single chamber.