Issa: Arizona immigration law best for Arizona

Vista Republican focuses on government oversight, curbing spending

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com
May 9, 2010 8:01 pm

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, said he supports lifting the ban on offshore oil drilling despite the huge spill in Louisiana and believes the controversial Arizona immigration law was a good idea for the neighboring state, but not necessarily for California.

In a wide-ranging discussion with members of the North County Times editorial board, Issa spoke about government spending, the massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast, his role as the ranking Republican on the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the hot-button issue of immigration reform.

"What they did in Arizona is exactly right for Arizona," Issa said. "They made a statement in Arizona to continuously do more and more to protect their citizens. But I don't think Arizona's answer is California's answer."

Issa said California should focus on making sure employers check workers' lawful status and stop cities from becoming so-called sanctuary cities, communities that refuse to cooperate with the federal government in enforcing immigration laws.

Issa, who was first elected to Congress in 2000, is running for another term in November. He has no significant opposition in his bid for re-election to the 49th Congressional District, which covers northern San Diego County and Southwest Riverside County.

In his role as the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, he is a frequent critic of the Obama administration. The committee is the House's main investigative panel and oversees how taxpayer money is spent.

For example, Issa recently asked for an investigation of White House officials' use of nongovernment e-mail accounts to communicate with lobbyists.

Issa said it is part of his job to point out problems, regardless of party, and he also criticizes fellow Republicans when necessary.

"I'm not doing it because it happens to be the other party," Issa said. "I'm doing it because we should have done more of it when we (were in the majority) ... In a lot of cases, we actually work pretty well with the administration to fix these things."

The grandson of Lebanese immigrants, Issa is one of the wealthiest members of the House with an estimated net worth of more than $300 million.

A high school dropout, Issa served a stint in the Army and later earned an equivalency diploma and college degree. He made his first millions through Directed Electronics Inc. and its Viper car alarm.

During the 90-minute interview, Issa said he had not changed his mind about supporting offshore oil drilling in light of the huge spill in the Gulf Coast near Louisiana, which has poured millions of gallons of crude over the last two weeks since an oil rig explosion killed 11 workers.

"Apollo 13 didn't change my mind about space exploration, either," Issa said, referring to the failed moon mission in 1970. "However, after Apollo 13, NASA did what it needed to do, which was an extensive research program as to what happened and they took steps to stop it from happening again."

He added: "If we put a man on the moon, we can figure out how to make oil not leak."

In 2006, Issa voted for a bill that would have ended a nearly three-decades-old ban on drilling off the coast of California and other states.

Issa said that if he is re-elected he would like to focus his efforts on bringing down government spending.

"What I can do is make sure that we really are the party of fiscal restraint," Issa said. "Not the party of lower taxes, not the party of better government programs, but of genuine government does best when it does least."

Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.

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