Issa vows to find $200 billion in waste
Incoming House oversight chairman eases rhetoric
WASHINGTON – The California Republican who is poised to become chief congressional watchdog over the Obama administration struck a note of restraint Sunday, promising to wring waste out of government even as he steered away from accusing the administration of misconduct.
In a round of appearances on Sunday talk shows, Rep. Darrell Issa, who this week takes the helm of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, did not lay out a list of alleged scandals he plans to investigate. Under Republican control, the committee will be in a position to subpoena reams of documents from the administration.
Issa did criticize Attorney General Eric Holder, saying Holder was being insufficiently aggressive in pursuing WikiLeaks and its participants over the disclosure of classified documents, among other issues.
“He isn’t doing enough,” Issa said on “Fox News Sunday.” “He’s hurting this administration. If you’re hurting the administration, either stop hurting the administration or leave.”
Yet Issa, who became a multimillionaire after his company developed the Viper car alarm system, said his priority was targeting government inefficiency, saying on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he believes he can identify $200 billion in waste on things such as Medicare misspending.
During the fall campaign, Issa told conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh that President Barack Obama was “one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times.” He later backed away, saying Obama was not personally corrupt.
He retreated further Sunday, saying that the misspending he has identified so far amounts to “business as usual,” the sort engaged in by both parties.
On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Issa said he was referring to the way the administration distributed money from the stimulus, bank bailout and other legislation.