Issa sees broad focus for oversight committee
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the new ranking Republican on the
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, expects the committee
will focus on a range of topics, including procurement and contracting
issues, cybersecurity, and financial bailouts.
“We need to
reform the broken parts of government," Issa told Federal Computer Week
recently. "We are not chastising the new administration, and not
chastising the old one. Old problems have not been resolved.”
Issa
hopes to work in a bipartisan fashion with Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y).
the committee's chairman. However, he is also prepared to start
investigations independently.
“The minority has to be prepared
to go it alone if it cannot encourage the majority to go with them,"
Issa said. "So far, I am optimistic about a need for joint action. If
we do our job well, we’ll be so busy that neither one of us will be on
our own."
Cybersecurity, financial services and health care
should take roughly 10 percent each of the committee’s resources, Issa
predicted. Monitoring federal procurements and contracting may require
a larger commitment, he added.
“With contractor-related
oversight, that might be an area for more than 10 percent [of committee
resources] because it breaks down into more than one area,” Issa said.
“There
is no question that America is dependent on outsourcing and
contractors, and time and time again we see that we don’t oversee our
contractors well,” Issa said.
“These are day-to-day issues:
Do we have a sufficiently professional workforce and retention
capability where we really own our federal workers, or do we have a
revolving door?”
About the Author
Alice Lipowicz is a staff writer covering government 2.0, homeland security and other IT policies for Federal Computer Week. Follow her on Twitter: @AliceLipowicz.