Maloney: Weekly Oversight Hearings on Stimulus Likely

Congressional Joint Economic Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said Monday that oversight committees in the House and Senate could hold hearings on the stimulus as often as weekly, while defending the plan expected to pass this week.

“There will be a higher standard of transparency and accountability,” Maloney said in an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday. “I can assure you that the oversight committees will be looking at this probably weekly.”

Maloney defended the package from criticism that it would be prone to waste, adding that the Congress would build in even more oversight to the spending provisions in the final package.

Maloney acknowledged there was “disagreement around the edges” about the stimulus legislation, but argued that the best legislation would be bipartisan legislation.

“I hope there will be bipartisan support but if not, we will pass it, because it’s needed,” she cautioned.

Also while appearing on the show, Maloney refused to address whether or not she would challenge Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in the 2010 Democratic Senate primary.

Watch the video of the Maloney interview here: