The top Republican and Democrat on the House oversight panel, who have sparred publicly in the opening days of the 112th Congress over the committee’s investigative agenda and approach, are meeting Monday morning to discuss their differences.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) were expected to meet at 10:30 a.m. to hash out Issa’s plans for the panel — a day before the panel’s first organizational meeting and after Issa and Cummings have traded early criticisms.
It remains to be seen if the private powwow will produce a détente or any kind of easing of tensions between the two.
In the first weeks of the new Congress, the pair have clashed over a letter Issa sent to businesses requesting they outline what they consider burdensome regulations, and, to a lesser extent, over plans to investigate Obama administration policies and programs.
Last week, Cummings warned Issa not to conduct any “silly” or “absurd” investigations and took issue with the committee’s taxpayer dollars being devoted to what he charged were projects aimed at boosting his media profile.
Cummings also spoke out against Issa’s decision to send a letter to 150 companies, trade associations, think tanks and scholars asking them to come up with a list of the most onerous existing and proposed regulations they think are hurting job creation and economic growth.
The list included broad trade groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and Financial Services Roundtable, as well as Fortune 500 companies such as Exxon Mobile, Bayer and the Ford Motor Co.
Issa also wrote to groups with more specialized interests, such as the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals, the Fertilizer and Salt Institutes, the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association and the Color Pigments Manufacturers Association.
Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member on the panel, has criticized Issa for the letter — arguing that it looks as if Republicans are abandoning middle-class families in favor of moneyed special interests.
“Inviting businesses to tell us what they want us to do as opposed to protecting the American people certainly gives me great concern,” Cummings said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Hardball.”
Issa punched back, accusing Cummings and other critics of a double standard because President Obama didn’t receive the same criticism after he held a CEO summit in mid-December that included executives of Motorola, Cisco, American Express, Dow Chemical, Boeing, Duke Energy and Google.
In a letter to Cummings sent Monday, Issa pointed to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial President Obama penned in which he called on agencies to eliminate unnecessary burdens imposed by regulations that “have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs.”
“I applaud the President’s recognition of this important issue and stand ready to work with him to identify those regulations that are stifling job creation.”
He also told Cummings he would make the business responses to his letter public no later than Feb. 11 after his staff has a chance to receive, organize and analyze them.
“I feel it is important to hear directly from the regulated community about impediments to job creation,” he said. “Despite your public and inaccurate accusation that this effort is ‘tantamount to inviting businesses to tell us what they want us to do as opposed to protecting the American people,’ I very much want to ensure that the voice of the American people is head in the halls of Congress.”
To further this goal, Issa’s office has launched a website, www.americanjobcreators.com, which seeks input from businesses across the country about which regulations are hurting job creation and what Congress can do to help business and stimulate economic growth.
“It is my sincere hope that this effort will allow us to listen to the ideas and concerns and report this information to our colleagues and the president,” Issa said. “I also expect there will be an opportunity for a robust discussion with voice who disagree with the information we receive.”
“I sincerely hope that you will join with me in encouraging job creators in your
district and across America to visit this website, so that their ideas and suggestions can be heard,” he said.
