Press Releases

“Today’s report clearly outlines the causal relationship between Democrats’ rhetoric calling for action against Citizens United and the actions taken by the IRS and the Justice Department to target conservatives for their political beliefs,” said Chairman Issa. “Certainly, the President and congressional Democrats have an absolute right to express policy concerns and advocate for policy changes. But the causal relationship between this rhetoric and the IRS targeting is clear. The ...

Chairman Issa said: “Isn’t it convenient for the Obama Administration that the IRS now says it has suddenly realized it lost Lois Lerner’s emails requested by Congress and promised by Commissioner John Koskinen? Do they really expect the American people to believe that, after having withheld these emails for a year, they're just now realizing the most critical time period is missing? Congressional oversight has revealed that the IRS has –potentially illegally– shared confidential ...

“We are aghast to learn that the Justice Department worked with the IRS to assemble a massive database of nonprofit groups, and that this database included confidential taxpayer information that the Department is not authorized to possess,” write Issa and Jordan. “The creation of such an illicit and comprehensive registry by federal law-enforcement officials is concerning in and of itself. Yet, the creation of a registry at the same time that the Department considered possible ...

WASHINGTON – Today, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., released a staff report titled, “Systemic Waste and Abuse at the Social Security Administration: How Rubber-Stamping Disability Judges Cost Hundreds of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars.” The report examines the prevalence and impact of administrative law judges (ALJs) with so-called “red-flag” allowance rates that exceed 75 percent of ...

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) today sent a letter to Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) regarding FDIC’s pressure on banks to terminate relationships with legal businesses, in conjunction with the Department of Justice’s Operation Choke Point, which targets businesses the Obama Administration deems objectionable.  In April, the FDIC’s Acting General Counsel, Richard J. Osterman, testified at ...

“We were extremely troubled by this new information, and by the fact that the IRS has withheld it from the Committee for over a year,” write Issa and Jordan to IRS Commissioner Koskinen. “We were astonished to learn days ago from the Justice Department that these 21 disks contained confidential taxpayer information protected by federal law. We ask that you immediately produce all material explaining how these disks were prepared and transmitted to the FBI.”

WASHINGTON – Today, House Oversight and Government Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., issued the following statement in response to the news that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Justice will not be pursuing charges against Ernesto Pulido, a California tree-trimmer who unintentionally injured five baby birds while performing a job for which the U.S. Postal Service had hired him. “I’m glad to hear that in the case of Mr. Pulido, the bureaucratic bullies ...

“Seeing Secretary Kerry and others, who have worked to obstruct critical oversight of Congress’ investigations into Benghazi, attempt to use the upcoming June 12 hearing as a shield against the Select Committee tells me it’s time to reassess. It’s been disappointing to watch a long serving former Senator, like Secretary Kerry, squirm his way to what I’m doing today – releasing him from the upcoming hearing commitment he made only after we issued him a subpoena.

WASHINGTON – Today, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., released the following statement on the resignation of Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki: “Our veterans, who sacrificed their safety and risked their lives for their country, deserve the best care our nation can provide. It is our duty to ensure that no veteran is ever subjected to excessive wait times or substandard care. With Secretary Shinseki’s resignation today, ...

WASHINGTON – House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) today released a staff report, The Department of Justice’s “Operation Choke Point”:  Illegally Choking Off Legitimate Businesses?, on the DOJ’s wide-ranging investigation of banks and payment processors. The ostensible goal of the investigation is to combat mass-market consumer fraud by foreclosing fraudsters’ access to payment systems.  However, today’s report finds the true ...