Henry A Waxman

Opening a split among congressional Democrats that could affect President-elect Barack Obama's efforts to curb global warming, a California environmentalist is trying to wrest control of a crucial House committee from its chairman, who is the automobile industry's strongest ally in fighting stricter antipollution standards. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) has announced that he wants to replace Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.

Following through on the Democratic Party's pledge to conduct aggressive oversight, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) headed toward a possible confrontation Tuesday with the White House over his demands for documents that could show whether the Bush administration interfered with the work of government climate scientists to downplay the dangers of global warming.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) opened an investigation of research and marketing related to medical devices and drugs made by Boston Scientific Corp., Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly & Co., AstraZeneca and Cephalon Inc. The companies received letters from Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asking for documents including correspondence with the Food and Drug Administration.

A voicemail that criticizes California's attempt to impose new limits on vehicle emissions touched off a congressional investigation Tuesday into whether a federal official improperly worked to thwart the state's efforts. The message, left by an aide to the secretary of Transportation on a congressional staffer's phone message system, found its way to Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), an investigatory pit bull who has championed clean-air legislation.

washington -- A top Democratic lawmaker has accused the State Department's chief auditor of threatening to fire senior officials in his office if they cooperated with a congressional investigation into alleged corruption by private contractors in Iraq. The allegations are the latest in an increasingly contentious standoff between Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), head of a key congressional oversight committee, and the State Department auditor, Inspector General Howard J. Krongard.

It was the ancient Greek historian Herodotus who, writing about the Persian Wars, lauded the Persian messengers with a compliment that many modern-day Postal Service employees have adopted as their mantra: "Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." It's the "gloom of night" part that's bugging residents across Los Angeles County.

With Southern California residents continuing to complain about mail that is delivered late at night or not at all, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) wants the nation's postmaster general to provide extensive data about staffing levels, plant closures and delivery schedules. The veteran legislator said that he wants to delve more deeply into delivery problems to prepare for a hearing about the U.S. Postal Service, to be held Feb.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) asked the Pentagon on Wednesday to release details of a $47-million Air Force contract that an inspector general's report has found was awarded improperly. In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Waxman cited the March 3 report, which says the no-bid contract to a subsidiary of Engineered Support Systems Inc., or ESSI, came as a result of intervention by Darlene A. Druyun.

The secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs has been asked to produce records of communications between VA officials and a California company with a long-term, multimillion-dollar contract to perform medical exams for veterans seeking disability assistance. In a letter sent Tuesday to Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) asked for copies of all communications between top agency officials and QTC Management Inc. of Diamond Bar.

Just another Tuesday afternoon and the far-flung offices of the WBI -- the Waxman Bureau of Investigation, a.k.a. the self-appointed Inspector General of the World -- are buzzing. Hunched over a table in the Rayburn House Office Building, close enough to the kitchen to smell the reheated spaghetti, an investigator hunts for signs of corporate misconduct.