Rep. Darrell Issa, a senior member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has picked up key endorsements in his efforts to serve as the Ranking Republican Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.  The Ranking Member of a Committee is the minority party counterpart of the Committee's Chairman and has a leading role in determining whether Committee efforts will be bipartisan and cooperative or driven by the majority over the minority's objections. 

Senior Committee Members Reps. John Mica and Dan Burton (a former Chairman of the Committee) and Rep, Tom Davis (a former Chairman and the current Ranking Member) have all endorsed Rep. Issa's bid to serve as Ranking Member beginning in January.

You can read the Rep. Burton and Rep. Mica endorsement letter here.

You can read Rep. Davis's letter here.

The Committee's primary responsibility is to find waste, fraud, and abuse in the Federal Government to save taxpayers' money but in the last two years it has also been a forum for controversial political hearings such as the Roger Clemens steroids hearing that go beyond this primary mission of safeguarding taxpayer dollars. 

Rep. Issa has applauded President Elect Obama's pledge to look for and eliminate poorly performing government programs and express a desire to work with him (and remind him of his promise) on this initiative, but has also said that Republicans will have to push back on efforts to enlarge the Federal Government.

Rep. Issa is making great progress toward becoming the next Ranking Republican Member.  Capitol Hill publication National Journal wrote Wednesday:

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., appears close to sewing up the role as ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, with two senior Republicans on the panel backing his bid. In letter to House Republicans, Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., and committee's former chairman, Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., said Issa would help fight the "Democratic agenda" they believe the committee has pursued under Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman. "Often, ranking member Tom Davis took a conciliatory approach with Waxman, deferring to Darrell to be a more forceful voice for committee Republicans," Burton and Issa wrote. "This committee can be an effective tool for helping Republicans retake the majority, and Darrell Issa is the most able to represent our conference," they said. A spokesman said Issa has received "universally positive feedback" from committee members and the Republican Steering Committee. Although seven Oversight and Government Reform Committee Republicans are more senior than Issa, most are focused on other panels and none are challenging Issa, who became frontrunner for the role due to Davis' retirement and the defeat of Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., last week.

The final decision for naming the Ranking Republican Member rests with the Republican Steering Committee, a panel consisting of Republican leadership members as well as other Members designated by regional Congressional delegations (California Republicans have one representative).  While there is no specific date set for a decision, it will almost certainly be made prior to January.

Locally, if Rep. Issa becomes the Ranking Member it could bring more attention to problems with and involving Federal programs in Riverside and San Diego counties.  In the past few years, Rep. Issa's efforts resulted in a hearing in Washington that focused on the Carlsbad Fish & Wildlife office and a hearing in Fallbrook that looked at Federal efforts to combat wildfires.

You can click here to learn more about the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  

Posted by:  Frederick Hill, Press Secretary