The heads of Obama administration Congressional committees and subcommittees will likely be in the spotlight in the coming months. This overview will help you get a feel for who these people are, or who will soon be chosen.

A US House Oversight Committee report released in January 2009 found that federal agencies frequently ignore the findings and recommendations of their inspectors general.

In one of many last-minute actions, the Bush administration delayed a decision on a drinking water standard for the contaminant perchlorate (used in rocket fuel, explosives, fireworks, and many other industrial products, and also occurs naturally), but issued a temporary advisory recommendation. This has immediate implications for at least 31 large US utilities, and perhaps hundreds more.