The most recent session of Congress has been busy for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), as he managed to get two significant technology bills moved forward and conducted numerous investigations.
“From creating real transparency in government through the DATA Act to increasing accountability for expensive IT investments and holding officials’ feet to the fire when they mislead Congress, for the last four years as Oversight Committee Chairman, I have focused on what’s wrong with government and what we can do to fix it,” Issa said.
Issa and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) sponsored the DATA act, which was passed earlier this year. The act promises to help the public track government spending better by requiring agencies to provide data in a structured format, so agencies can be more easily compared and spending analyzed.
A second technology bill, the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act, or FITARA, is awaiting action in the Senate. FITARA gives chief information officers more power and authority over projects. Issa says it would have made a big difference had it been law during the Heathcare.gov problems during the website’s rollout.
Lastly, Issa has been conducting investigations into IRS targeting, the Benghazi terrorist attack, Secret Service security failures and an arms transfer called Fast and Furious. In the latter, part of Issa’s investigation led to a federal judge ordering the Justice Department to hand over a set of documents before Nov. 3 that it has withheld from the Oversight Committee. Several officials also have resigned in the wake of the scandal.
“We’ve had many battles, and there have been some legislative success stories already. The American people deserve a more competent federal government, and I have worked to use my private sector experience to lay a foundation for government in the 21st century,” Issa said.