Earlier this week, the Washington Post declared that Darrell Issa, now chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, “isn’t what either side expected.”
That’s not exactly true.
The Post paints a picture of a committee chairman who has neither uncovered the corruption hoped for by Republicans, nor been a “media-hungry inquisitor.” Given his frequent inflammatory statements, constant presence in the press (including the Post itself), and his theatrical flair for holding outrageous hearings, I would disagree with the Post on the second point. In fact, after six months, the pattern that has emerged from his committee’s activities is exactly what many of us did expect:
- As acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Elizabeth Warren’s charge is to ensure that Americans are protected from the predatory banking practices that have driven so many into mortgage defaults and economic hardship. Throughout her tenure at the new agency, Warren has made a name for herself as a tireless champion of everyday Americans who are too often faced with hidden fees, obscure penalties, and financial contracts that leave them without options when things go wrong. Yet Issa and his committee members have repeatedly called on Warren to testify, not about predatory banking practices, but about scheduling snafus, the committee’s procedures, and rumors that she may run for the U.S. Senate. Until her agency has a permanent director, it cannot write rules governing consumer finance or begin overseeing previously unregulated agencies like payday lenders. Issa's committee seems intent on vilifying Warren and preventing her agency from doing its job.
- Worker protections are vital to the lives and liberty of all Americans, and it’s in everyone’s interest to make sure those laws are followed and enforced. Yet Darrell Issa called a field hearing on a labor complaint against Boeing – a political circus designed to intimidate the National Labor Relations Board’s non-political staff into dropping the complaint. Issa’s hearing presented anti-union politicians with opportunities to bully, harass, and impede, all with the goal of preventing NLRB from bringing workers’ complaints before a judge. Darrell Issa’s political interference in a law-enforcement process sets a dangerous precedent.
- In response to recent studies on the health and environmental impact of mountaintop renewal and subsequent regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency, Issa’s Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs called a hearing to look into the agency’s enforcement of clean-water laws. The hearing’s witness list consisted almost exclusively of coal-industry executives, and the panel’s Republican members largely ignored the growing evidence of a link between surface mining techniques and birth defects, focusing instead on the marginal financial impact EPA regulations may have on the coal industry. The hearing starkly put corporate profits above the health and concerns of the people of Appalachia.
Many Republicans hoped Issa would use his post to embarrass the White House. Beltway pundits thought he might hold the administration’s feet to the fire over genuine government missteps or overspending. Both groups began with faulty assumptions about Darrell Issa’s ideology and his agenda.
He is, was, and always will be an activist for corporate power, seeking ways to diminish the role of government and leaving individuals without the protection of government agencies.
Upon assuming the chairmanship, Issa sent out word to the business community that he would investigate the regulations and agencies they pointed him toward. His committee agenda since then speaks for itself. Where are the investigations into misconduct by government contractors in Iraq? Where are the subpoenas for the banking giants who caused a housing crisis and crashed the economy? In their place are corporate-directed attacks on the government agencies that protect all Americans.