By Adam SCHIFF

In two weeks, we will vote in the most consequential midterm election in memory, and the American people have an opportunity to decide who will represent them in Washington – each and every seat in the House of Representatives and one third of the seats in the Senate are on the ballot.

If Republicans lose the majority in the House and the American voters give Democrats a chance to govern, we must work to restore Congress’ independence and ensure that Washington is working for the people. We must put forward a positive vision for the country – one that will lower healthcare costs, increase incomes for families, and restore Americans’ trust in our broken political system.

But restoring trust in our system of checks and balances will be an extraordinary challenge for any party because congressional oversight has been dormant for too long. Congress was not envisioned to be a subordinate branch of government, and we must reassert our prerogative as a co-equal.

Our country’s founders were under no illusions that only angels would be drawn to public service, and they intentionally designed a government that would be able to restrain itself, even though it was administered by imperfect beings. As James Madison wrote in Federalist 51, “you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”

Indeed, rigorous oversight of the executive branch by Congress is critical to fulfilling Madison’s famous admonition that “ambition must be made to counteract ambition.” That’s part of the reason why Article I of the Constitution, which lays out the powers and structures of the Congress, is the very first, broadest, and longest section of the Constitution.

At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, George Mason wrote that legislators “must meet frequently to inspect the conduct of the public offices.” In affirming this function, the Supreme Court has said that Congress’s “power of inquiry ¬– with process to enforce it – is an essential and appropriate auxiliary of the legislative function.” For more than two centuries, Congress and the courts have appropriately constrained the executive branch, recognizing that without oversight, the risk of abuse of power, as well as waste, fraud and corruption, grows.

Unfortunately, the current majority has abandoned this critical oversight responsibility. Amid the President’s unending attacks on our democratic institutions and his many unexplored conflicts of interest, the GOP in Congress – with its silence and inaction – has been deeply complicit in the undermining of our system of checks and balances. In the face of a flood of allegations of the misuse of taxpayer resources, poorly thought-out or executed policies, or downright corruption, it has been utterly unwilling to pursue the truth.

More than a year after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the House Oversight Committee still hasn’t held a full hearing to probe the government’s inadequate response – a sharp contrast to the robust oversight conducted by Republicans after Hurricane Katrina, which likewise took place under a Republican Administration.

The majority also turned a blind eye as the Trump administration enacted misguided and cruel policies – from separating children from their parents at the border to banning Muslims from entering the country. Cabinet officials used tax dollars to buy first class airfare, charter flights on private jets, and order a $30,000 dining set, but the current Congress showed little interest in investigating the misuse of taxpayer dollars if it would reflect badly on the President or his appointees.

If Democrats regain control of the House in November, we will energetically pursue an agenda that puts people first, and we will not hesitate to use our oversight authority to rein in abuse and misconduct. The American people deserve to know that Congress is holding the President and the Administration accountable, regardless of party.

That’s what the framers intended and that’s exactly what we plan to do.

  ADAM SCHIFF