Issa puts committee up for bid
It didn't even take a full day before Darrell Issa declared loud and clear who he's working for -- and it isn't you or me. Instead, Issa has sent a letter to 150 corporate entities putting his investigatory responsibilities at their disposal and asking what they would like him to change. The full list isn't yet known, but those that are read like a who's who of special interests, and suggests a shocking conflict for Issa as he takes over as chair of the House Oversight Committee.
The letter reportedly went to health care big pharmaceutical companies as Issa gears up to investigate and attempt to repeal health care reform. It went to the National Association of Manufacturers after more than a year of Issa harassing the EPA over tougher emissions standards for big-polluting manufacturers. The letter went to Toyota, which Issa has investigated over safety issues. It went to Bayer (the maker of Aspirin) while Issa declares open warfare on the FDA. It went to the American Petroleum Institute and the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association as Issa tries to rehabilitate big oil's public image following the Gulf oil spill. It went to telecommunications companies as Issa and the rest of Congress duke it out over new net neutrality protections. In short, Issa has contacted every rich corporate interest he could think of to ask how they'd like him to run his committee -- How best he can use the Oversight Committee as a tool of Corporate America.
And Issa's conflict of interest doesn't stop at the committee. Despite being the richest member of the House, Issa has no qualms about accepting big, influential chunks of money to pay for his campaign. His biggest backer since entering Congress has been the health care and pharmaceutical industry, and they made sure to hold that number one spot in the last campaign- as Issa was kicking and screaming to block health care reform, then immediately pivoting to repeal any part that he could. And for years he's been collecting big checks from the Defense Industry, Big Oil and Wall Street backers, all of whom stand to benefit now that Issa is in a position to turn the Oversight Committee into a corporate mouthpiece with subpoena power.
Even for Issa, sending this letter and revealing his enthusiastic embrace of corporate power over citizen oversight is a craven maneuver. Not only does it publicize his long list of conflicts as the new chair of the Oversight Committee, it demonstrates that he has no concern over being held accountable. The incoming Republican leadership has already moved to eliminate the House Ethics Committee, and Issa isn't about to investigate himself for these conflicts or any of the many other shady dealings in his past. And since he can't investigate any of the scandals that he himself has been involved in, there's really nothing left except to auction off his committee to the highest corporate bidder. So that's exactly what Issa's decided to do.
12 comments
posted by Lucas O’Connor at 11:28 am