Darrell Issa will pursue 'the failures of government' in order to reform them, a spokesman says. Issa reveals list of investigations

Rep. Darrell Issa is aiming to launch investigations on everything from WikiLeaks to Fannie Mae to corruption in Afghanistan in the first few months of what promises to be a high-profile chairmanship of the top oversight committee in Congress.

According to an outline of hearing topics obtained by POLITICO, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is also planning to investigate how regulation affects job creation, the roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the foreclosure crisis, recalls at the Food and Drug Administration and the failure of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to agree on the causes of the market meltdown.


The sweeping and specific hearing agenda shows that Issa plans to cut a wide swath as chairman, latching onto hot-button issues that could make his committee the center of attention in the opening months of the 112th Congress. By grabbing such a wide portfolio — especially in national security matters — Issa is also laying down a marker of sorts, which could cement his panel as the go-to place for investigations.

An order for hearings has not been set and witnesses have not yet been notified. The committee staff is still moving offices, and subcommittees are currently being organized. Hearings aren’t likely to begin until late January or early February.

Issa’s broad portfolio of investigations — some of which could target the Obama administration — harks back to the days of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who squared off against the Bush administration, and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), who picked fights with former President Bill Clinton’s White House.

"If we can take any lessons away from the results of the midterm elections, it's that the American people will no longer tolerate a government that has institutionalized a culture of waste and abuse that acts carelessly with their tax dollars,” Issa spokesman Kurt Bardella said in a statement to POLITICO. “As chairman of this committee, [Rep.] Issa will pursue an agenda that aims to shed light on the failures of government for the purpose of reforming them so that the government is more transparent and accountable to the American people.”

Issa’s counterpart will be the panel’s top Democrat, Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, who was given the top minority party position in order to be an effective foil to the aggressive chairman. Cummings, who represents Baltimore, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that Congress must “be careful with this power” — referring to oversight — and use caution and austerity in hearings.

“You know, I think we — I sat on this committee for 14 years and I watched what happened with the Clinton administration and how witnesses were dragged into depositions, people making $50,000 a year had to pay $25,000, $30,000 to hire a lawyer,” Cummings said.

In a statement to POLITICO Sunday, Cummings said he would “draw a line at which any witch hunts or hearings that are conducted purely for partisan gains.”

“Like Mr. Issa, I want to ask tough questions and ensure the highest standard from our public employees,” Cummings said. “However, I will ask him not to prejudge any of these issues, nor [to] seek answers only to confirm political leanings.”

Despite his bombastic reputation, Issa has tried to project a more subtle image in the days leading up to his takeover of the committee. He’s trying to project an image of being a stickler for government waste and not a partisan bomb thrower with an eye fixed on ruining the Obama administration. A look at the preliminary hearing schedule illustrates that Issa plans to stay away from hurling subpoenas at the White House.

Stimulus oversight isn’t among the early hearings, which may come as a surprise, since Issa recently met with Vice President Joe Biden to discuss stimulus spending. In one of his three Sunday show appearances this week, Issa even said Congress should share the blame for what he considers the mismanagement of the stimulus.

Still, Issa's agenda will take aim at what he believes are missteps by the administration.

In investigating the impact of regulation on job creation, the committee plans to ask why the economy hasn’t “created the private-sector jobs the president has promised,” and Issa will call on business leaders to explain “about the government regulations that are doing the most harm to job creation efforts.”

“The committee will examine how overregulation has hurt job creation and whether the administration intends to try and abuse the regulatory process to implement regulations that Congress would reject,” according to an outline of committee hearing topics.

The committee will also delve into international affairs in new depth, examining corruption in Afghanistan and the WikiLeaks disclosures. Issa plans to request testimony from National Security Adviser Tom Donilon to discuss whether the Obama administration has a strategy for combating leaks of such sensitive information, and he also will call on constitutional experts to discuss how the government can stop organizations from leaking documents of a sensitive nature.

Issa is also pushing a broad investigation of the foreclosure crisis, but he wants to dig deeper into the roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — conservatives have long complained that the government-backed housing giants have escaped scrutiny. The committee will also dig into the administration’s foreclosure-mitigation program, calling on the Federal Housing Administration’s chief and nongovernment experts. Issa and Cummings have agreed that foreclosures should be the topic of one of the committee’s first hearings.

Issa also wants to study why the financial crisis commission couldn’t reach consensus last year. He’d like to call commission Chairman Phil Angelides and former Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), vice chairman of the panel, to determine whether there was any agreement in relation to the cause of the meltdown.

The FDA is also going to get a good look, especially in the wake of Issa’s outspokenness about a recall of Motrin.