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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. He describes himself as having been "a rotten young kid." Issa dropped out of high school and at 17 enlisted for a three-year tour in the Army, serving as a bomb disposal technician. Issa further recounted being part of the security entourage for President Nixon during the 1971 World Series, despite Nixon never having attended the event. Issa left the Army nearly two years early after being stripped of his duties as a bomb specialist.

A retired Army sergeant claimed that Issa stole a Dodge sedan from an Army post near Pittsburgh in 1971. The sergeant said he recovered the car after confronting and threatening him. Issa denied the allegation and no charges were filed. In 1972, Issa and his brother allegedly stole a red Maserati sports car from a car dealership in Cleveland. He and his brother were indicted for car theft, but the case was dropped. That same year, Issa was convicted in Michigan for possession of an unregistered gun. He received three months probation and paid a $204 fine.

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.

On December 28, 1979, Issa and his brother allegedly faked the theft of Issa's Mercedes Benz sedan. Issa and his brother were charged for grand theft auto, but the case was dropped by prosecutors for lack of evidence. Later, Issa and his brother were charged for misdemeanors, but that case was not pursued by prosecutors. Issa accused his brother of stealing the car, and said that the experience with his brother was the reason he went into the car alarm business.

A day after a court order was issued, giving Issa control of automotive alarm company A.C. Custom over an unpaid $60,000 debt, Issa allegedly carried a cardboard box containing a handgun into the office of A.C. Custom executive, Jack Frantz, and told Frantz he was fired. In a 1998 newspaper article, Frantz said Issa had invited him to hold the gun and claimed extensive knowledge of guns and explosives from his Army service. In response, Issa said, "Shots were never fired. ... I don't recall having a gun. I really don't. I don't think I ever pulled a gun on anyone in my life."

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, but he is the richest member of the House and the second richest in all of the 111th Congress. He is worth an estimated $251 million.

Political career

First 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.

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, and won the Republican primary against State Senator Bill Morrow. This win was tantamount to election in the heavily Republican district. 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. However, at one point in the campaign he actually suggested that people should vote against recalling Davis, concerned that Schwarzenegger and fellow Republican Tom McClintock would split votes and install Democratic lieutenant governor Cruz Bustamante 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 voted "yes" for the use of military force in Iraq (2002) and Afghanistan.

On June 16, 2006 he voted to reject setting timetables for withdrawal from Iraq and on December 14, 2005 he voted for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act.

On April 5, 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 a year that, on the whole, favored Democrats. He was widely expected to win the election, considering that the 49th district has a fairly high PVI rating of R+10.

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 would have prohibited 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 (Ranking Member)
  • As Ranking Member 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

Blackwater controversy

On February 7, 2007, four mothers, wives, and daughters of four Blackwater security guards killed in Fallujah, Iraq testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearings on Iraq contractors. Issa made several statements construed as disparaging to the women and their motives for appearing: "I don't think your testimony today is particularly germane to the oversight of this committee" and "...the opening statement. Who wrote it?". The families had sued North Carolina-based Blackwater USA, the company that employed their relatives as security guards, to gain information about the circumstances surrounding the men’s deaths. Congresswoman Janice Schakowsky of Illinois lambasted Issa saying, "I also wanted to take exception to questions about who wrote this, first of all, because I think clearly the implication was that somehow these wonderful women could not possibly have written that wonderful, heartfelt testimony and that it took a lawyer in order to put it together and I resent that very much."

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."

Personal life

Issa is married to Kathy and has a son, William who is in his late 20s. They have three cats and a dog.

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. Leibovich, Mark. (July 6, 2010). "G.O.P. Congressman Emerges as Obama’s Annoyer-in-Chief". The New York Times.
4. Broder, David S. (December 21, 1997). "California's Battle of the Bankbooks". The Washington Post.
5. Williams, Lance. (May 29, 1998). Issa's Army record in doubt: Candidate's account can't be verified. San Francisco Chronicle.
6. ^ Marinucci, Carla., Williams, Lance (June 25, 2003). Issa was charged in San Jose car theft. San Francisco Chronicle.'.' Retrieved 2010-07-02.
7. ^ Staff, AP (June 25, 2003). "Issa Dogged By New Reports Of Past Legal Troubles". NBC San Diego. Archived from the original 2004-12-14. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
8. ^ Salladay, Robert, Williams, Lance (July 2, 2003). Recall chief held twice on illegal weapons charges: Issa convicted in '70s on misdemeanor count. San Francisco Chronicle.
9. Leduff, Charlie (July 23, 2003). "California Recall Backer Feels Heat". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
10. Bogardus, Kevin., Fabian, Jordan., Wilson, Reid. (September 2, 2009). "Rich List: Kerry, Issa, Harman most wealthy; new kids of ’09 are rich kids, too". The Hill.
11. 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.
12. Williams, Lance; Coile, Zachary (June 3, 1998). "Asian Demos help set up showdown with Barbara Boxer". SF Chronicle.
13. Burge, Michael (September 29, 2004). "Democrat is looking for a big upset over incumbent Issa in 49th District". SignOnSanDiego.com; Union-Tribune.
14. "Darrell Issa pulls out of Calif. recall election". USA Today. Associated Press. August 7, 2003. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
15. 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.
16. (unfiled) (July 9, 2003). "Congress joins rally against Tehran regime". Washington Times
17. Schlussel, Debbie (November 30, 2001). "Darrell Issa: Traitor, or useful idiot?". Political USA blog. Archived from the original 2002-08-21.
18. "Transcript: Issa on Bomb Plot". The Washington Post. September 21, 2000. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
19. Cantlupe, Joe (December 24, 2001). "Rep. Issa's fight with columnist has dark side". SignOnSanDiego.com; Union Tribune. Copley News Service.
20. "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.
21. "Representative Darrell Issa (CA) Voting Record". votesmart.org; Project Vote Smart.
22. AP (April 6, 2007). "Issa meets with Syrian president Assad". nctimes.com; North County Times. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
23. "ATFL Administration". atfl.org; American Task Force for Lebanon. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
24. "Good Government Award Home Page". Project On Government Oversight Website. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
25. 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.
26. "Darrell Issa profile". Washington Post. 2010. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
27. "Issues & Legislation - Stem Cell Research". issa.house.gov; Congressman Issa Official Website. November 11, 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
28. "Representative Darrell Issa (CA) Voting Record". votesmart.org; Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
29. "Key Vote Detail" votesmart.org; Project Vote Smart. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
30. "Issues & Legislation - "Blue Card" System". issa.house.gov; Congressman Issa Official Website. November 9, 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
31. "Issues & Legislation - Global Climate Change". issa.house.gov; Congressman Issa Official Website. November 11, 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
32. "Issues & Legislation - Education - No Child Left Behind" issa.house.gov; Congressman Issa Official Website. November 11, 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
33. "Current Taxpayer Protection Pledge Signers in the 111th Congress". atr.org; Americans for Tax Reform. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
34. AP (April 01, 2004). "Three of Four Civilians Killed in Fallujah ID'd". foxnews.com; Fox News.
35. Tiron, Roxana (February 08, 2007). "Issa, Dems spar on Iraq testimony". The Hill.
36. Naylor, Brian (February 7, 2007). "Congress Hears from Killed Contractors' Families" npr.org; National Public Radio. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
37. ^ "Iraqi Reconstruction: Reliance on Private Military Contractors". Committee on Oversight and Government Reform - 110th Congress. February 7, 2007. Retrieved 2010-07-05. (Transcript)(PDF) See page 91/291.
38. Margasak, Larry (AP) (February 7, 2007). "Families: Contractors in Iraq lacked protection" The Navy Times. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
39. Sterling, Joe (April 21, 2005). "Family's lawsuit over slain contractors stalls". CNN. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
40. Sisk, Richard and McCauliff, Michael (April 3, 2008). "GOP Rep. Darrell Issa under fire from everywhere after 9/11 comments", New York Daily News.

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.

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• Kent State University alumni
• Living people
• Members of the United States House of Representatives from California
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