New Chairman of House Oversight Committee Lacks Moral Gravitas (To Put It Mildly)

New House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Now that the Republicans control the House of Representatives, the new Chairman of the House Committee for Oversight and Reform will be five-term California Representative Darrell Issa.

According to Wikipedia, Issa is the wealthiest member of Congress with a net worth of $250 million. Before running for office Issa was CEO of Directed Electronics, which makes car alarms and other security devices for autos.

In a recent appearance on the In an October 2010 appearance on the Rush Limbaugh radio show, Issa told the right wing host that Obama is “one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times.”

Issa later tried to backtrack on this statement, saying he was referring to the Obama administration, not the President personally. On Wednesday, he defended his remarks by telling John King that he and CNN did not understand the meaning of the word “corrupt.”

Speaking to CNN’s Chief National Correspondent John King Wednesday, Issa offered his definition of the word “corrupt”:

“I think people misunderstand the meaning of the word corrupt, and obviously, CNN does. ‘Corrupt’, or ‘corrupted’ or ‘failure’, it’s no different than a disc drive that’s given you some bits that are wrong,” Issa said on CNN.

Issa continued, “I have never said it’s illegal.

Issa then explained that the “corruption” he is most concerned about is government regulation of corporations. In fact, Issa recently sent letters to business leaders, asking them to say which regulations they would like to get rid of.

Recipients of the letters include the American Petroleum Institute, The Association of American Railroads, and Toyota. Politico reports that the invitation has garnered complaints against a wide-range of regulations. Environmental protections have drawn lots of criticism. Everything from limiting waste-water flows from construction sites, to greenhouse gas and hazardous air pollutant controls, have been attacked. in the name of economic growth industries are also requesting repeals or blocks on everything from labor safety regulations, financial reforms, and consumer safety.

At Huffington Post, Ryan Grim reported yesterday that Issa plans to investigate the foreclosure crisis by focusing primarily on Fannie and Freddie instead of corporate giants like Bank of America.

This is the man who will be “investigating” the Obama administration and “the operations of Government activities at all levels with a view to determining their economy and efficiency.” Incidentally, one of Issa’s sidekicks on the committee is Dan Burton of Indiana, the guy who “investigated” death of Vince Foster by shooting a watermelon in his backyard in front of reporters.

According to Donald Cohen and Peter Dreier at Alternet,

Issa plans to hold hearings of his Oversight and Government Reform Committee to explore how he can help corporate America rid itself of “burdensome government regulations.” According to Politico, Issa asked businesses, including Duke Energy, FMC Corp., Toyota and Bayer, to supply him with their wish lists. He also sent letters to industry lobby groups including the American Petroleum Institute, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the Association of American Railroads, the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) and entities representing health care and telecommunication providers.

It isn’t hard to imagine what that their wish list will look like. Indeed, it hasn’t changed much in the past century. The specific bills and issues ebb and flow, but the business mantra is always the same. Get government off our backs. Let the “free” market determine what we make and how we make it. We can police ourselves. Too many government rules kills jobs.

This would almost be fun to watch if there weren’t so much at stake.

So Who is Darrell Issa? Read the rest of this entry »