Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Vista) became the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee in 2010, following the massive national rebuke to Congressional Democratic overreach and encroachment into the sovereignty of the states and the integrity of the American people.
During his tenure, Congressman Issa has investigated the following issues:
1. The breakdown in security at the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya. On Sept. 11, 2012, terrorists attacked an understaffed and under-protected consulate. The diplomat's frequent requests for more staffing were ignored. Four state department officials died during those unprecedented attacks. President Obama faced a firestorm of allegations for incompetence or insolence in refusing their pleas for more help. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton will testify before the US Senate about her knowledge and responses relating to this attack.
2. The reckless program entitled "Operation Fast and Furious ". President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder instituted a gun-walking policy with drug dealers in order to lead United States Justice Department Officials to arrest major drug cartels. This unintelligent program led to the deaths of Department of Justice personnel, along with American and Mexican civilians. Attorney General Holder was later cited by the House for contempt because he refused to testify on this abortive program.
3. Congressman Issa has proposed comprehensive reforms to salvage the bankrupted United States Postal Service. In the last six years, the USPS mail volume has declined by 46 billion parcels, yet outstanding financial obligations remain. Since federal workers must receive their pensions, someone has to pay. Currently, the taxpayers are getting "stamped" for bailing out the USPS.The Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act will prevent taxpayers from picking up the tab on postal workers' pensions and benefits and ensure that the USPS stays solvent.
4. Congressman Issa is leading on Intelligence Technology reforms of federal government information. The current structure and retrieval of government data remains cumbersome, outdated, and extravagantly wasteful. The taxpayers deserve their money's worth in Washington, and Congressman Issa is taking steps to streamline and implement innovations for greater efficiency where possible (i.e. everywhere in the federal government).
5. In line with (or perhaps in response to) labor reforms in Wisconsin and Michigan, the House Oversight Committee is investing and encouraging workplace fairness and equity in labor unions. Workers have a right to choose whether they pay dues or join a union. Union power had its place years ago, but now the status quo of collective bargaining rights has crippled cities and state capitals across the country. Even private corporations like Hostess Foods have declared bankruptcy and closed their doors because they could not compete nor negotiate with unyielding collective bargaining units.
In October 2012, Issa issued a subpoena for information relating to cuts in Medicare Advantage. The Oversight Chairman suggested that the Obama Administration incorporated perks and kick-backs in ObamaCare in order to buy senior votes before the November 6th election. More recently, just after the last-minute fiscal cliff deal passed, The Oversight Chairman resisted the Hurricane Sandy stimulus bill, which was laden with pork barrel spending, nothing but wasteful earmarks and handouts to constituencies as unrelated as Michigan and Alaska, neither of which were devastated by Superstorm Sandy the previous winter.
Congressman Issa and his Committee should spare neither time nor energy from the penetrating glare and stare from his chairmanship. Issa must dredge through every penny of waste and fraud and frivolous spending which pours out of Washington. In addition to investigating payouts in the midst of massive Medicare cuts, Congressman Issa must drag the Obama Administration over the carpet over ObamaCare, which is already taxing the middle class and medical facilities in this country.
The Oversight Chairman must subpoena Congressman Henry Waxman, the former "Eliot Ness" of the House Oversight Committee from 2007-2009. Waxman threatened to remove Congressman Issa from the committee if he refused to stop demanding regular order during a 2007 hearing. The same Congressman attempted to harass corporations who could not afford ObamaCare mandates. One report suggests that Congressman Waxman even hid the underlying and punishing costs of the new entitlement. Today, ObamaCare, or rather Obama-WaxmanCare, is threatening hospitals and diminishing access while increasing health care costs.
Now, governors are refusing to establish Medicare exchanges. The taxes that were hidden in the bill, which we were supposed to learn about when the Democratic majorities passed the bill, are creeping up on the American people and crippling small businesses. Congressman Waxman claims to care about the middle class taxpayer. Congressman Issa should hold Waxman in contempt for not telling the truth, since he has voted against tax cuts for working and middle income Americans.
Congressman Issa, do not let the chief architects of Obama-WaxmanCare -- President Barack Obama and Congressman Henry Waxman—get away with engineering a massive trillion-dollar entitlement which no one person, business, or state can afford. Show them that everyone in the federal government, including long-standing, self-serving progressives, must be held to answer for their reckless legislation which is wrecking the economy and the health care industry.
