Getting Results for the People of California

As your Representative in Congress, Congressman Darrell Issa has been hard at work, getting results on the issues that matter most to you. A national leader with extensive bipartisan accomplishments, Congressman Issa has worked with members of Congress from both parties to pass legislation that is making government more accountable, reducing taxes, creating jobs, protecting our veterans, and ensuring America remains safe and secure.

Below is a list of some of the results Congressman Issa has delivered in Washington, D.C.

Leading Effectively

Congressman Issa has been recognized as “one of the most effective members of Congress” for being particularly “skilled at overcoming gridlock” in order to get things done.

Serving Our Veterans

• Secured Funding For Marine Family Housing at Pendleton – Congressman Issa fought for and secured funding for over 900 new family housing units on Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. [i]
• Helped Equip Service Members For Jobs in High-Demand Fields – Working with Mira Costa College, Congressman Issa delivered funding to support Mira Costa College’s program to transition veteran corpsmen and medics into the California nursing sector, a measure that would create opportunities for post-military service employment. [ii]
• Supported Military Family Caregivers – Congressman Issa introduced bipartisan legislation to expand annual leave for family members caring for wounded service members from 12 to 26 weeks under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Language providing this expansion was approved in 2007 and signed into law in 2008. [iii]

Creating Jobs

• Made it Easier for Companies to Grow And Hire New Workers – Having spent his career creating jobs in the private sector, Congressman Issa was proud have been one of the thought-leaders shaping the JOBS Act, which was signed into law with bipartisan support. The bill makes it easier for companies, especially start-ups, to raise capital they need to expand, grow and hire new employees. [iv]
• Introduced Legislation to Keep Jobs In America – Together with Congressman Scott Peters and all 5 San Diego-area members of Congress, Darrell Issa introduced the Protect and Grow American Jobs Act which will close loopholes used to outsource good-paying jobs to companies overseas.
• Supported the Sharing Economy — Pairing with Democratic colleague Rep. Eric Swalwell, Congressman Issa created the Congressional Sharing Economy Caucus to educate and promote the sharing economy on Capitol Hill, which holds incredible potential to create jobs and opportunity for millions of Americans. [v]
• Reformed Lawsuits – Lengthy and complicated patent lawsuits slow the legal justice system and burden job creators. Congressman Issa’s Patent Pilot legislation established a test system to speed up review in U.S. district courts. Reviews of the reforms show the law has been successful in helping these cases move more expeditiously through the court system. [vi]

Opening Government

• Updated the Freedom of Information Act — Congressman Issa worked for more than three years with Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and his Senate colleagues to pass the most comprehensive reform to the Freedom of Information Act in more than 50 years. The bill, which has now become law, will help ensure citizens know what their government is doing behind closed doors. The new law increases the amount of information made available to the public and makes all disclosed government information available in a single, searchable online portal.  [vii]
• Increased Accountability in the Federal Government– While chairing the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Congressman Issa conducted rigorous oversight of waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government, which exposed numerous scandals and led to reforms of how tax dollars are spent.

Reducing Spending

• Made Government Spending Transparent — With bipartisan support, Congressman Issa passed the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA). The DATA Act transforms the way the public can access government spending information, making it easier, simpler, and more transparent. It requires the government to publish all information about its spending in an open, searchable format. [viii]
• Cut Waste in Government –  To cut back on waste in government IT contracts, Congressman Issa introduced the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act. Many of these provisions became law under the NDAA that year. The reforms he championed streamlined government technology purchases to help cut back on waste, increase efficiency, and reduce the $40 billion the government spends every year maintaining outdated or duplicative technology. [ix]
• Eliminated Unnecessary Government Reports – Congressman Issa passed the Government Reports Elimination Act which eliminates a list of certain outdated or unnecessary reports federal bureaucrats are required to produce, often at great taxpayer expense. The bill saves taxpayer dollars and streamlines government by getting rid of this requirement. [x]
• Initiated Phased Federal Employee Retirement – Congressman Issa introduced bipartisan legislation to save hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds through phased-in federal employee retirement. Phased retirement language became law in July 2012. [xi]
• Using Uber and Airbnb To Save Taxpayer Dollars — Congressman Issa’s Sharing Economy Caucus has been able to save taxpayer dollars through common-sense reforms like authorizing government workers to using sharing economy services like Uber and Lyft instead of more expensive traditional taxi cabs. [v]

Keeping America Safe

• Passed Legislation Fighting Terrorism and Securing the Homeland – In the 114^th Congress, Congressman Issa has voted for 11 bills that were signed into law to improve homeland security and counterterrorism efforts. Highlights include the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, signed into law on May 22, 2015, which provided for congressional review and oversight of agreements relating to Iran’s nuclear program, as well as the USA Freedom Act, signed into law on June 2, 2015, which reformed current law to require the production of information gathering forms for foreign intelligence, counterterrorism, and criminal purposes.
• Authorizing Use of Force and Requiring a Plan to Beat ISIS – On September 8, 2014, Congressman Issa introduced H.J. Res. 123, to authorize the use of military force against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). This resolution authorized the President to use military force within a set period of time (until January 31, 2015) and required the President to conduct a safe withdrawal and end to any operations cited under the resolution. It further required the President to submit a plan to Congress, including a strategic plan for U.S. military action against ISIL, an engagement plan for how U.S. forces will work with an international coalition to address ISIL threats, and an assessment of ISIL’s continued threat to U.S. security and threat to U.S. citizens in the region. 
• Stopping Hackers — Recognizing the growing threat of cyberattacks from hackers and our enemies abroad, Congressman Issa passed the “Federal Information Security Amendments (FISA) Act of 2014 which updates the Federal Government’s cybersecurity practices to better protect the United States against digital attacks. [xiv]

Helping Retirees 

• Maintained Senior’s Access to Medicare – Congressman Issa and Democratic Congressman Sam Farr of Northern California worked together to reform an outdated Medicare formula that unfairly penalized doctors serving certain California communities, including San Diego County. Issa’s reforms will allow San Diego health care providers to continue treating our seniors. [xii]
• Helped Americans Better Save For Retirement — With bipartisan support, Congressman Issa passed into law the “Smart Savings Act” to better prepare many federal government employees for retirement without additional taxpayer funds. It increases the returns on federal employees retirement savings by changing the default enrollment option to an age-appropriate target-date fund. [xiii] 

Encouraging Technology and Innovation

• Formed the Sharing Economy Caucus — Pairing with Democratic colleague Rep. Eric Swalwell, Congressman Issa created the Congressional Sharing Economy Caucus to educate and promote the sharing economy on Capitol Hill. In a short time, the Caucus has seen results in the updating of government policies that will save taxpayer dollars through sharing economy use. [xv]
• Defended an Open Internet – Congressman Issa led the opposition to a harmful proposal to give the government sweeping new powers to control the Internet. Working in collaboration with various stakeholders, a bill to restrict internet freedom was defeated in favor of internet openness. [xvi] In response, Issa introduced the OPEN Act as an important alternative to keep the Internet free from government overreach. ^[xvii]

Supporting Women

• Helped Pass Violence Against Women Protections – Congressman Issa was crucial to the passage of the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) Reauthorization of 2013. With the Congressman’s help, the bill included provisions to address the unique criminal justice needs for acts perpetrated on Native American women. VAWA provides tools and resources not only for law enforcement and reforming the judicial system, but also the victims of sexual and violent crimes. [xviii]
• Improved Gynecologic Cancer Awareness – Congressman Issa worked with Democratic and Republican members of the House and Senate to pass “Johanna’s Law” which created a program to educate patients and healthcare providers to increase detection of deadly gynecologic cancer earlier in order to save lives. [xix]
• Justice for Sexual Assault Survivors – Working with our neighboring Congresswoman Rep. Mimi Walters, Congressman Issa sponsored the Survivor’s Bill of Rights Act which will ensure survivors of sexual assault are granted access necessary medical forensic exams while strengthening federal evidence standards so that crucial evidence can’t be destroyed before the statute of limitations for a case has run out.
• Fighting Human Trafficking – Congressman Darrell Issa is an original co-sponsor of the Human Trafficking Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery Act. Over 17,000 people are trafficked each year just in the United States alone. The Human Trafficking Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery Act helps helps law enforcement agencies adopt the best practices possible to fight and prevent this crime.

Providing Drought Relief

• Delivered Recycled Water Solutions to Southern California – Working with local community leaders, Congressman Issa delivered federal support for a recycled water distribution and wastewater treatment and reclamation facility. [xx]

Preserving Native American Lands

• Preserving Cultural Land in Southern California –Congressman Issa’s legislation, the “Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians Land Transfer Act” was signed into law, returning culturally and historically significant land to the Pechanga Band. [xxi]

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My bipartisan record

Getting results in Congress means putting aside differences, finding middle-ground and getting things done. That’s why in Congress, I’ve consistently worked across the aisle with members from both parties to produce results.

Here’s a quick look at some of the bipartisan successes we’ve had:

For more information on my bipartisan record in Congress, check out my voting record and the list of legislation I’ve supported here.

Observing Holocaust Remembrance Day

On January 27, 1945, the Soviet Army entered the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland to liberate 7,000 of prisoners, mostly sick, that were left behind by their fleeing Nazi captors.  Beginning in 1940, over 1.1 million individuals were murdered at Auschwitz – the largest of the World War II death camps.

Every year on this day, the world comes together to commemorate and remember the six million Jews and millions of other innocent individuals who were victims of the Holocaust.  On this 65^th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation, I had the honor of joining a Congressional delegation – led by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) – to participate in ceremonies at the concentration camp.

This year’s remembrance ceremony also included the largest delegation ever from the Israeli Knesset – 64 Israeli lawmakers were in attendance.  It was a humbling experience to stand at such an infamous site, which serves as an important reminder to the world that we must never forget the atrocities that took place or the capabilities of evil by the hands of a few with unchecked power.

Pictured is the Death Wall at Auschwitz.  For more information, please click here.