Press Inquiries
For media inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
Sign up to our newsletters
Recent News

Jim Townsend Discusses Importance of Oversight on WPHM – Listen Now!
Levin Center director, Jim Townsend, joined Paul Miller on 1380 WPHM at Mackinac Policy Conference to discuss the importance of

We are at Mackinac Policy Conference!
Levin Center director, Jim Townsend, and Civic Education Specialist, Lauren Jasinski, joined the Mackinac Policy Conference from May 28 to

Elise Bean Featured on C-SPAN Series “Congress Investigates”
Elise Bean, director of our Washington, D.C., office, was featured on the most recent episode of C-SPAN’s “Congress Investigates” series.

New Oversight Overview Video on Water Infrastructure
Our State Oversight Academy released a new “Oversight Overview” video focused on Water Infrastructure. The video focuses on Montana, Washington

Jim Townsend Featured on C-SPAN’s “Congress Investigates” Series
Levin Center director Jim Townsend joined C-SPAN’s “Congress Investigates” series to shed light on the Iran-Contra Hearings. Never heard of

How Can Oversight Make Government More User-Friendly?
New webinar series now online! Panel 1: Using Oversight to Encourage, Not Hinder, User-Friendly Government Efforts in the Digital Age

Our Civic Ed Team Joined Social Studies Conference
Our Learning by Hearings civic education team joined the Michigan Conference of Social Studies teachers in Macomb, MI! We presented

Op-ed on the Importance of State Audits and Oversight
Read Jim Townsend and Dave Trott’s op-ed in Bridge Michigan on the importance of state audits and oversight without partisanship.
News Archive
2020
- Jan 14: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy gives congressional testimony on strengthening bipartisan oversight
- Jan 20: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy launches new website on congressional oversight case law
- Jan 23: Pending Cases will have major impact on future congressional oversight
- Jan 28: Levin Center Presents Report on Legislature’s Oversight Capacity & Performance to Michigan Senate Oversight Committee
- Jan 29: Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner receive 2019 Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight
- Feb 26: Levin Center Releases Report on Oversight of Michigan Charter Schools and Their Authorizers
- March 4: Levin Center and Lugar Center submit joint Amicus Brief Urging Supreme Court to Support Congressional Subpoenas
- March 30: Senator Carl Levin’s Statement on the Passing of Former Senator Tom Coburn
- April 8: Senator Carl Levin’s op-ed in Bridge Magazine, “Will our Constitution’s system of checks and balances hold?“
- Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy’s Response to Oral Arguments before the D.C. Circuit in the McGahn Case
- Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy Cautions Michigan Legislature to Ensure that COVID-19 Oversight Committee Be Fully Bipartisan and Fact-Based
- April 16: McGahn Amicus Brief filed by Levin Center and Lugar Center
- April 16: Levin Center and Lugar Center submit joint Amicus Brief Urging D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to support Congressional Oversight
- May 1: Five Wayne Law Students Placed as Levin Center Legal Interns this summer to work on Congressional Oversight Committees
- May 8: Oversight Delayed is Accountability Denied: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy Urges SCOTUS to Reject Effort to Stay Release to Congress of Mueller Inquiry Grand Jury Materials
- May 28: Levin Center’s Director, Jim Townsend’s, op-ed in The Detroit News, “Improved legislative oversight needed to prevent future dam failure“
- June 30: Eleven Congressional Centers Urge Senate Intelligence Committee to Make Public Reports of Foreign Interference in 2020 Election – Read the Levin Center press release
- June 30: Levin Center Director Jim Townsend and Wayne State University Department of Political Science Professor Kristin Taylor’s op-ed in The Detroit Free Press, “Stopping another Edenville requires more than a panel of experts“
- July 19: Levin Center Director Jim Townsend and Washington Office Director Elise Bean’s submission in a Federalist Society Article I series on modernizing Congress, “Improving Congressional Oversight“
- Aug 5: Levin Center Washington Office Director Elise Bean and Lincoln Network Director of Cyber and National Security Dan Lip’s op-ed in The Hill, “Inspector General independence must be a bipartisan priority in 2020“
- Sept 23: Senator Carl Levin’s op-ed in the Washington Post, “Don’t fall for filibuster abolition. It’s a trap.“
- Oct 23: Levin Center Director, Jim Townsend, and Levin Center Washington Office Director, Elise Bean, published an essay as part of Just Security’s Good Governance Papers entitled “How to Strengthen Oversight by Congress“.
- Nov 18: The Levin Center issued its report entitled “State Legislative Oversight of Emergency Contracts Related to COVID-19: Three Case Studies” underlining the need for strong state oversight in COVID-19 contracting. Read the press release here.
- Dec 7: The Levin Center is delighted to announce that the winning paper for the 2020 Levin Center Award for Excellence in Oversight Research is Weaponizing the Office of Legal Counsel by Professor Emily Berman. For more details, please read our full announcement.
- Dec 8: Read the Detroit Legal News article on the 2020 Levin Center Award for Excellence in Oversight Research
2019
- March 1: Levin Center Provides Accountability Training to Foreign Governments
- March 8: Brookings Institute Recognizes Levin Center as Widely Respected Proponent of Fact-Based, Bipartisan Oversight
- May 7: Senator Carl Levin Checks Trump’s Defiance of Congress in New York Times Op-Ed
- Sept 12: Careers in Corporate Government Relations Panel
- Nov 4: Jim Townsend Appointed First Full-Time Levin Center Director
2018
- Mar 15: Wayne Law Review, Levin Center join forces for oversight symposium
- May 31: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy to honor Inspector General Act with June 13 symposium
- June 13: C-SPAN features Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy June 13 symposium on Inspectors General
- Aug 19: CNBC: “This exclusive ‘boot camp’ for congressional staffers is trying to make America bipartisan again”
- Aug 28: New book offers exclusive account of ground-breaking Levin investigations
- Nov 9: South Carolina Republican to Receive Inaugural Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight
- Nov 12: Democrats Can’t Check the White House Alone. Neither Can Republicans
2017
- Feb 8: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy hosts tax conference in DC
- Mar 16: The Right Way to Investigate Russia’s Election Meddling
- Mar 24: Devin Nunes has jeopardized the oversight role of Congress
- April 18: For the sake of American taxpayers, companies must pay their fair share
- May 31: Congress must press forward with its Russia investigation
- June 12: Levin Center hosts Scholars Roundtable on Congressional Oversight
- June 25: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy to present conference Tuesday in D.C. on offshore multinational corporate tax
- July 13: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy debuts online congressional oversight tutorials
- Aug 9: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy sends legal interns to U.S. Senate
- Oct 26: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy to host immigration symposium Nov. 10
- Nov 13: Bipartisan panel to analyze GOP tax plans Wednesday at Wayne Law
For news and announcement reaching back to the Center’s early years, please contact [email protected]

