By Bruce Mitchell, PWTorch columnist

"Rep. Henry Waxman ... as head of Oversight and Government Reform conducted aggressive headline-hunting probes into alleged malfeasance by the Bush administration.

But with Obama in the White House, Waxman is expected by congressional aides to use his post largely to pursue health-care and environmental legislation. The new Oversight chair is Edolphus Towns, 74, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who is not known for his investigative prowess, or even his attendance. He missed some hearings on the financial bailout and was conspicuously absent for Waxman's grilling of pitching ace Roger Clemens, whom Towns had greeted in a friendly photo op a few days earlier. (An aide said Towns missed the hearings due to shoulder surgery and the flu.)

In comments last week, Towns pledged 'vigorous' oversight of the bailout and said he'd be on the lookout for 'waste, fraud, and abuse.' So far, he's identified one issue he definitely wants to investigate: why there's no playoff system for NCAA football."

Congress: Say Goodbye To Oversight? – Newsweek, January 26, 2009

This may explain why Rep. Waxman sent his letter and the findings of his investigators on professional wrestling to the National Office on Drug Control Policy, instead of leaving the investigation to the new leadership on the Oversight Committee.

Bryan Cohen, lead investigator on the Oversight Committee's professional wrestling inquiry, will not be staying with Oversight, but will be moving over with Rep. Waxman as he chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

In addition to whatever action the Office of National Drug Policy Control may take, Rep. Waxman could possibly re-start and extend his investigation into steroid use to the larger and more powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, which could include professional wrestling.

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