A number of committee hearings that the Democrats in Congress have conducted remind me of a bad Montel Williams show. From their "virtual" committee hearing to the NFL spy-gate hearing to the MLB steroid hearing, the Democrats have no shame when it comes to using taxpayer dollars to put on a show for the cameras.

Also, if you go back a few years to when the Republicans were in control, the Democrats would scream bloody murder if they felt that they were being given the short end of the stick on procedural matters or Rules Committee changes.

Now that they are in the majority, they completely ignore those procedural complaints and actually go much further in destroying any legislative procedures, resulting in less real debate and more media show trials.

So I was pleased to see SW Riverside Congressman (and Godfather of the Recall) Darrell Issa call out wacko Congressman Henry Waxman on his one-sided dog and pony show on the California Greenhouse Waiver.

Basically, Waxman put on one of these hyped up show trials to illustrate that a Department of Transportation official lobbied against the State of California's request for a federal waiver to allow the state to enforce its own regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.

When Issa and Virgina Rep. Tom Davis pointed out that an EPA official had lobbied for the waiver - no action was taken. Apparently what is good for the goose is not good for the gander.

As the Issa and Davis letter put it, ""A decision not to investigate this matter would seem to indicate that otherwise improper lobbying will not be scrutinized by the Committee if the majority happens to agree with the position being advocated,"

Way to hold their hypocritical feet to the fire Darrell!

* Issa, Davis Call For Investigation of EPA Conduct Supporting Calif. Greenhouse Gas Waiver

April 8, 2008 -

Washington, DC - Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), the Ranking Member of the Full Committee, today, in a letter to Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman called for an investigation into questionable conduct by senior Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") officials in connection with EPA's recent decision on the State of California's request for a federal waiver to allow the state to enforce its own regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles.

The Committee, under Chairman Waxman's direction, is already investigating alleged lobbying by a Department of Transportation ("DOT") official to oppose the California request. "A decision not to investigate this matter would seem to indicate that otherwise improper lobbying will not be scrutinized by the Committee if the majority happens to agree with the position being advocated," wrote Issa and Davis.

Committee Democrats, in a letter to Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters, previously asserted that use of federal resources to lobby EPA on the California request was inappropriate. "[DOT staff's action] raises serious concerns. It is not an appropriate use of federal resources to lobby members of Congress to oppose state efforts to protect the environment," the June 12, 2007, letter stated.

According to press reports and evidence obtained by the Committee in its investigation of the EPA's rejection of California's request, senior EPA officials responsible for the agency's work on the request provided substantial information and advice to a private individual to assist in his lobbying effort to persuade the EPA Administrator to grant the waiver. Such conduct raises serious questions about whether senior EPA officials either violated the lobbying ban or otherwise misused their positions to surreptitiously influence EPA's decision on the waiver request.

Issa, the Ranking Member of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Domestic Policy, said a refusal by Democrats to investigate these new revelations would be yet another example of this Committee neglecting legitimate government oversight in favor of partisan politics and media show trials. "This Committee has used partisan politics and a zeal for media attention in choosing its investigations," said Issa. "Its duty to seek and stop misuse of taxpayer dollars has been compromised by the partisan political lens through which it views its responsibilities."

A copy of the letter sent to Chairman Waxman is attached.

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