Fact-finding the Constitution envisions and the public deserves 

More than a century ago, following the horrific sinking of the RMS Titanic, Congress embarked on a bipartisan, in-depth investigation of the tragedy. The probe led to the enactment of a host of international and federal maritime safety laws that stand to this day. Fifty years later, Congress looked into traffic safety, established meaningful national standards and saved millions of lives. And after the financial debacle of 2008, Congress investigated the root causes and passed significant reforms to protect Americans from financial fraud and predatory lending.   

These are but a few of the many times Congress has upheld its constitutional responsibility, in the words of the Supreme Court, “to be the eyes and voice… of its constituents,” finding and reporting facts that enable the country to tackle its most vexing challenges.

Today, if you follow the news, you might think those days are past — that Congress is incapable of doing the hard, fact-finding, and yes, bipartisan work that can solve real problems for the American people.  

Well, you may be right in some cases, but not in all. Congress works in mysterious ways, and too often the most productive ways are not treated as the most newsworthy. Conflict and partisanship usually attract more attention. That’s why it’s important to bring to the public’s attention the good work that Congress is doing, whether or not it is viewed as newsworthy.  

One excellent example of meaningful, bipartisan oversight by the current Congress is the recent work of four senators to strengthen the nation’s organ donation system. Despite the availability of healthy organs, around 6,000 Americans die each year while waiting for organ transplants, according to estimates by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. In 2020, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) set out to learn why. They worked together — like a team and on a strictly bipartisan basis — and they were committed to the facts. 

What those four senators learned and then revealed to the public is that the organ donation system was failing, squandering thousands of life-saving transplant opportunities and billions of taxpayer dollars. The investigation was difficult, meaningful, bipartisan work; and it resulted in bipartisan legislation that was signed into law in September. It is estimated that the reforms could result in 28,000 more organs transplanted each year, with a savings to the federal government of up to $40 billion in the next 10 years. It didn’t make the front pages, but it is exactly what the Constitution expects of Congress, what the public should demand and what lawmakers engaged in oversight should be doing. 

It is also the work that the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy recognized by honoring the four senators with the 2023 Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight. As the most recent recipients of the award, they join six past recipients whose bipartisan, fact-based oversight work has built public trust and improved public policy. These award winners come from red and blue states and from Congress and state legislatures. Their achievements are proof that any lawmaker can, as Sen. Levin liked to say, “get to the heart of the matter” and help government keep its promises to the people.

They are also a reminder that addressing America’s challenges starts with asking open-ended questions, following the facts wherever they lead and responding with solutions that move us toward a more perfect union. 

Jim Townsend is director of the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy at Wayne State University Law School, Detroit, Mich.