Freshman Congressman Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, will be overseeing federal activities and monitoring their efficiency as a newly appointed member of the House Government Operations Committee.

Bob Welling, Hastert’s press secretary, said the committee deals mostly with monetary matters and government operating efficiency. The committee reports to the House of Representatives, which then determines if legislation is necessary to correct a problem or prevent one, he said.

Congressman Frank Horton, R-New York, said the responsibility of the committee is to “review and study, on a continuing basis, the operations of government activities at all levels with a view to determining their economy and efficiency.”orton, the senior republican on the committee, said he is “excited about serving with Hastert during the 100th congress.”

“With Congressman Hastert’s able assistance, this committee can significantly contribute to making the federal government work more efficiently and more effectively in the years ahead,” Horton said.

“It (the committee) is an ideal forum to root out waste and fraud in federal programs and to enact legislation improving the management of all federal activities,” Hastert said. Watching federal activities closely “is especially important as Congress strives to cut the budget deficit by reducing expenditures,” he said.

“This is clearly an active and important committee,” Hastert said. During the last congressional session, the committee held 201 days of investigative hearings leading to 65 committee reports, he said.

The committee is divided into seven subcommittees which split the broad range of duties of the committee. Those subcommittees include the areas of national security, energy and the environment, intergovernmental relations and human resources; commerce and monetary affairs; transportation; manpower and housing; and government information, justice and agriculture.

Earlier, Hastert was named to the House Public Works and Transportation Committee which has legislative jurisdiction concerning matters of transportation, economic development and efforts to clean up the nation’s water supplies.