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Darrell Issa
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 49th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Ron Packard
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Kathy Issa
Children	William Issa
Residence	Vista, California
Alma mater	Kent State University Stark, Siena Heights College
Occupation	Electronics executive
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1970-1980

Darrell Edward Issa (born November 1, 1953) is the U.S. Representative for California's 49th congressional district, and previously the 48th, serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was formerly a CEO of Directed Electronics, the Vista, California based manufacturer of automobile security and convenience products. His district consists of portions of southern Riverside County and northern San Diego County. The district was numbered as the 48th District during his first term and was renumbered the 49th after the 2000 Census.

Aside from his service in Congress, Issa is also known for being a major contributor to the 2003 recall election of Governor Gray Davis, and a guest speaker at Republican events. His net worth has been estimated at more than $250 million, making him the "richest member of Congress".

Early life

Issa was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the grandson of Lebanese immigrants. Issa enlisted for a three-year tour in the Army at age 17, serving as a bomb disposal technician, after which he left active duty to participate in an ROTC program.

He attended Kent State University at Stark in North Canton, Ohio, and Siena Heights College in Adrian, Michigan, on an ROTC scholarship, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1976. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army, serving as a tank platoon leader and a computer research and development specialist, among other command roles. He left the Army in 1980 with the rank of captain. He later moved to Vista, California, a suburb of San Diego, where he now lives.

Issa made his fortune through his company, Directed Electronics Incorporated, that is most famous for its flagship product, the "Viper" car alarm. It bears a siren that is a recording of Issa's voice saying, "please step away from the car." As of 2004, Directed Electronics was North America's largest aftermarket automotive electronics manufacturer. Issa divested personal interest in Directed Electronics after being elected to public office.

Political career

1998 U.S. Senate campaign

Issa's first campaign for elected office came in 1998, when he sought the Republican nomination for United States Senate to run against incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer. He backed the campaign with $10 million of his personal wealth, but lost the primary election to California State Treasurer Matt Fong. Fong's campaign raised $3 million from contributions and complained that Issa's wealth made for an uneven playing field (Issa had only $400,000 in contributions). An Issa spokesman countered that the money was needed to compensate for Fong's statewide name recognition. Fong prevailed in the open primary by a margin of 22 percent to 20 percent for Issa. A San Francisco exit poll suggested that large numbers of Asian-Americans had crossed party lines to vote for Fong.

U.S. House of Representatives

Two years after Issa's failed Senate bid, Congressman Ron Packard, a nine-term incumbent, announced his retirement. Issa capitalized on his name recognition from the 1998 Senate race, winning the 2000 Republican primary against State Senator Bill Morrow and the general election.

During his 2002 run for re-election, the Democrats failed to field a candidate, and his closest competition was from Libertarian Karl Dietrich. A write-in candidate from that election, Mike Byron, went on to become the Democratic challenger in 2004.

Issa currently serves on the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the House Judiciary Committee, and the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, of which he is the Ranking Member.

Issa mounted an unsuccessful campaign to join the ranks of the House GOP leadership hierarchy. He finished third of the four candidates vying for the chairmanship of the House Republican Policy Committee, and was ultimately passed over in favor of Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan.

Gubernatorial recall

Issa came to national prominence when he contributed over $1.6 million to help fund a signature-gathering drive for the petition to recall Gray Davis. At the time he made the contribution, it was widely believed that Issa intended to place himself on the ballot to replace Davis. However, following the entrance of fellow Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger into the race, two days before the filing deadline, Issa announced that he would not run. Issa later said that his mission had been accomplished since Davis was recalled and he wanted to continue representing his district in Congress and work towards Middle East peace.

For the recall election, Issa endorsed Schwarzenegger. At one point in the campaign he suggested that people should vote against recalling Davis unless one of the two leading Republican contenders dropped out, concerned that Schwarzenegger and fellow Republican Tom McClintock would split votes, resulting in Democratic lieutenant governor Cruz Bustamante taking over as Davis' successor.

Middle East involvement

As one of the few Lebanese-Americans in Congress, Issa has had a significant but sometimes controversial role in U.S. peace initiatives in the Middle East. He traveled to Lebanon and Syria in an effort to negotiate the end of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. In 2003, he appeared at a Washington rally by Iranian groups protesting against the Islamic government in Iran.

Conservative political commentator Debbie Schlussel wrote a column calling him "Jihad Darrell", charging that he sympathized with Hezbollah despite its being listed by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization. Issa denied this; he later speculated that Schlussel's column might have inspired an aborted Jewish Defense League plot in 2001 to bomb his district office in San Clemente. JDL leader Irving Rubin was arrested along with Earl Krugel in connection with the plot, which reportedly had focused on other targets before shifting to Issa's office.

Issa supported the use of military force in Iraq (2002) and Afghanistan. On 16 June 2006 he voted to reject setting timetables for withdrawal from Iraq and on 14 December 2005, he voted for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act.

On 5 April 2007, Issa met with Syrian president Bashar Assad to discuss Middle East issues, one day after Assad met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

As of 2010, Issa serves as a director of the American Task Force for Lebanon, a nonprofit organization working to advance Lebanon and its ties with the US.

2008 House election

In 2008, Issa defeated Democratic candidate Robert Hamilton, prevailing by a 20 point margin.

In 2010, Project on Government Oversight, a government watchdog group, awarded Issa with its Good Government Award for his contributions to government oversight and transparency. These included publicizing documents produced by the New York Fed in response to a congressional subpoena, publicly exposing the New York Fed's secret "back-door bailout" of AIG's counterparties, and cofounding a Transparency Caucus dedicated to "promoting a more open and accountable government through education, legislation, and oversight."

Political views

Issa has voted with the majority of House Republicans 94.7 percent of the time during the 111th Congress. He has generally conservative political views.

He is generally opposed to abortion, but has supported stem cell research, saying that "The promise of stem cells to provide innovative treatments and cures warrants investment in more advanced research". He voted for the authorization (and later reauthorization) of the PATRIOT Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

He voted against the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), which claims to prohibit employers from discriminating on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation.

He has opposed attempts to ease restrictions on illegal immigration such as the "Blue Card" system, saying that it provides amnesty for illegal immigrants.

He supports efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission, but also believes that "the science community does not agree to the extent of the problem or the critical threshold of when this problem is truly catastrophic."

He has been critical of No Child Left Behind, supporting a modification that would, in his words, "give states the freedom to adopt best practices for their students by returning flexibility and control to the educators and parents who are the real experts on education".

He has signed the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" of the Americans for Tax Reform, an organization that opposes all tax increases.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Chairman)
  • As Chairman of the full committee, Rep. Issa may serve as an ex officio member of all subcommittees
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law
  • Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy

Criticism and controversy

Weapons Conviction

In 1972, Issa was convicted in Michigan of a misdemeanor charge of possessing an unregistered handgun, for which he was fined $100 and put on three months' probation. When reporters raised the issue in 2003, Issa responded by saying, "I don't think 30-year-old misdemeanors are fair play here."

9/11 victims

In April 2008, Issa said that the federal government "just threw" buckets of cash at New York for the September 11, 2001 attacks "that had no dirty bomb in it, it had no chemical munitions in it." He went on: "I have to ask ... why the firefighters who went there and everybody in the city of New York needs to come to the federal government for the dollars versus this being primarily a state consideration."

Letter to businesses

Following the 2010 elections, Issa sent a letter to "more than 150 trade associations, companies and think tanks," including "the oil industry, drug manufacturers and other trade groups and companies" asking them "to tell him which Obama administration regulations to target" in the upcoming Congress. Critics have charged that Issa was "embracing regulatory capture." Elijah Cummings, the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said Issa's letters were tantamount to “inviting businesses to tell us what they want us to do as opposed to protecting the American people.”

References

1. Montopoli, Brian. (November 6, 2009). 237 Millionaires in Congress. CBS News.
2. "Personal Finances — Net Worth, 2008". opensecrets.org; Center for Responsive Politics.
3. Broder, David S. (December 21, 1997). "California's Battle of the Bankbooks". The Washington Post.
4. Williams, Lance. (May 29, 1998). Issa's Army record in doubt: Candidate's account can't be verified. San Francisco Chronicle.
5. Leduff, Charlie (July 23, 2003). "California Recall Backer Feels Heat". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
6. Wildermuth, John (May 20, 1998). "Issa Raising More Money by Using His Own / Millionaire's funds create coffer bigger than Matt Fong's". SF Chronicle.
7. Williams, Lance; Coile, Zachary (June 3, 1998). "Asian Demos help set up showdown with Barbara Boxer". SF Chronicle.
8. Burge, Michael (September 29, 2004). "Democrat is looking for a big upset over incumbent Issa in 49th District". SignOnSanDiego.com; Union-Tribune.
9. "Darrell Issa pulls out of Calif. recall election". USA Today. Associated Press. August 7, 2003. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
10. Wildermuth, John (September 23, 2003). "Issa, who started recall, now tells voters to reject it / Risk of GOP vote being split prompts call to retain Davis". sfgate.com; San Francisco Chronicle.
11. (unfiled) (July 9, 2003). "Congress joins rally against Tehran regime". Washington Times
12. Schlussel, Debbie (30 November 2001). "Darrell Issa: Traitor, or useful idiot?". Political USA blog. Archived from the original 2002-08-21.
13. "Transcript: Issa on Bomb Plot". The Washington Post. September 21, 2000. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
14. Cantlupe, Joe (24 December 2001). "Rep. Issa's fight with columnist has dark side". SignOnSanDiego.com; Union Tribune. Copley News Service.
15. "Chair of Jewish Defense League Arrested in Failed Bomb Plot". Tolerance.org; Southern Poverty Law Center. December 12, 2001. Archived from the original 2001-12-13. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
16. "Representative Darrell Issa (CA) Voting Record". votesmart.org; Project Vote Smart.
17. AP (6 April 2007). "Issa meets with Syrian president Assad". nctimes.com; North County Times. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
18. "ATFL Administration". atfl.org; American Task Force for Lebanon. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
19. "Good Government Award Home Page". Project On Government Oversight Website. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
20. Staff (June 29, 2010). "Press Room - Issa Recognized for Rigorous Government Oversight"(Press Release). issa.house.gov; Congressman Issa Official Website. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
21. "Darrell Issa profile". Washington Post. 2010. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
22. "Issues & Legislation - Stem Cell Research". issa.house.gov; Congressman Issa Official Website. November 11, 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
23. "Representative Darrell Issa (CA) Voting Record". votesmart.org; Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
24. "Key Vote Detail" votesmart.org; Project Vote Smart. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
25. "Issues & Legislation - "Blue Card" System". issa.house.gov; Congressman Issa Official Website. November 9, 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
26. "Issues & Legislation - Global Climate Change". issa.house.gov; Congressman Issa Official Website. November 11, 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
27. "Issues & Legislation - Education - No Child Left Behind" issa.house.gov; Congressman Issa Official Website. November 11, 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
28. "Current Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers in the 111th Congress". atr.org; Americans for Tax Reform. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
29. Williams, Lance, San Francisco Examiner, July 2, 2003 "Darrell Issa held twice on illegal weapons charges and convicted in '70s on misdemeanor count"
30. Sisk, Richard and McCauliff, Michael (April 3, 2008). "GOP Rep. Darrell Issa under fire from everywhere after 9/11 comments", New York Daily News.
31. Goode, Darren (2011-01-03) Issa to business: Tell me what to fix, Politico.com
32. Yglesias, Matthew (2011-01-04) Embracing Regulatory Capture, Think Progress
33. Strong, Jonathan (2011-01-05) Issa hits back at Cummings over letters to industry groups, The Daily Caller

External links

• U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa official U.S. House site
• Darrell Issa for U.S. Congressman official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Directed Electronics
• Darrell Issa: Enter Stage Right, profile in Mother Jones magazine
• Williams, Lance. Issa's Army record in doubt: Candidate's account can't be verified. San Francisco Chronicle. 29 May 1998.
• Marinucci, Carla and Williams, Lance Issa was charged in San Jose car theft. "SF Gate - Home of the San Francisco Chronicle" 25 Jun 2003.

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• Members of the United States House of Representatives from California
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