Will Issa lead on nuclear safety?
In just over a year, the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' has been rocked by devastating earthquakes in Chile, New Zealand, and now Japan. Every corner save one -- the North American Pacific coast.
Darrell Issa's district contains the San Onofre nuclear power plant, and in the wake of the disaster in Japan, questions have been raised about nuclear safety here in the U.S. Issa this week called for questions to be asked about the safety of domestic nuclear plants. KPCC reports "San Onofre and other domestic plants will have to 'live with what we learn' from Fukushima" according to Issa.
Very few have such a direct stake in ensuring these questions are asked and answered quickly as Darrell Issa. He doesn't just have the reactor in his district, he has its employees and many of the people who would be hardest hit if something were to go wrong. Issa's position also carries more than enough power and influence to ensure that meaningful, speedy action be taken to review the safety standards at this and every American nuclear plant before the odds catch up and California
Instead, Issa is occupied with a redundant investigation of potential corruption in local DC politics, presidential libraries, and providing his campaign contributors a stage to criticize the government.
If Darrell Issa is serious about addressing potential safety risks in his own district at San Onofre and in communities throughout the country near nuclear plants, he would press strongly to begin investigation immediately. But Edison International, which owns a 78.2% stake in the plant, is also Issa's third-largest career source of campaign funds and matched the Koch Brothers' $5000 donation to Issa's leadership PAC and supporting Issa's PACs in the past.
The mix of Issa's campaign funds, friends, and investigations hasn't produced much to be encouraged by so far in his tenure at the helm of the Oversight Committee. With lives on the line, it's time for Darrell Issa to finally step up and get the job done.
6 comments
posted by Lucas O’Connor at 11:23 am