OP-EDs

Issa and Cummings: Our bipartisan legislation will address the shortcomings of FISMA by incorporating recent technological innovations. It will also enhance and strengthen the current framework that protects federal information technology systems.

Issa: Raising Taxes Won’t Avoid Fiscal Cliff. This isn’t about fairness and unfairness. It’s about taxing and spending, and the federal government has spent enough.

Americans deserve the full truth, writes Issa: “When the sworn testimony of State Department officials is undercut by an independent review like the ARB’s, it damages the reputation and credibility of the State Department as a whole. Until the full truth about the security failures in Benghazi finally sees the light of day, questions will continue to be raised and the process of learning from this tragedy will be hindered by the petty secrets the State Department has deemed too sensitive to disclose.”

Issa: “When you break it down, it’s pretty simple. Next month, everyone’s taxes will go up. Republicans in Congress are fighting for tax cuts that will benefit 100 percent of taxpayers and for a meaningful reduction in government spending that will address the true root causes of our fiscal instability. The only real question is whether or not Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi will allow us to go over the fiscal cliff because they didn’t get 100 percent of what they wanted.”

For years, foreign students have come to the United States seeking the benefits of the first-class, world-class higher-education systems we offer. They receive the STEM skills they need to revolutionize industries, transform economies and create an untold number of jobs.
Yet our broken visa system has exported those skills and jobs out of the United States allowing other nations to benefit from the education these students received here.

My job as Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is to innovate government and hold it accountable to taxpayers. Reform is inherently disruptive, and often demands speaking unpleasant truths to the powerful in Washington. That’s why, just before taking the stage at the PDF, I announced contempt charges against Attorney General Eric Holder for stonewalling the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious. A shocking contrast? To some in the crowd, probably. But since joining the fight to stop SOPA in Congress, I’ve had many head-spinning days like this.

The federal government currently spends $81 billion each year on information technology, yet its use and deployment of IT is full of duplication and failure. At a time when we are facing record deficits and our national debt has exceeded GDP, it has never been more important for government IT acquisition to maximize the American taxpayer’s return on investment, reduce operational risk and provide value to citizens. Yet, because of the antiquated way the government defines its requirements and acquires IT, we are wasting billions of taxpayer dollars each year on failed programs.

The Internet is essential to life in the 21st century. The way we do business, communicate and live our lives now largely depends on being able to get online. Ensuring the freedom to access and use the Internet has become a bipartisan priority.

Last week marked the end of Gregory Jaczko’s controversial reign as Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This departure is woefully overdue. For far too long, his misconduct undermined the credibility of the NRC and distracted from the agency’s important work.

It has been said before and it remains true: Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Yet the Obama administration continues to bury American job creators with more and more red tape, and businesses are struggling to keep up.