Elijah Cummings: I'm ready for Darrell Issa

[one_voice]

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) has a message for House Republicans ready to launch a slew of new investigations next year: Bring it on.

“I live in the neighborhood where The Wire was filmed,” Cummings says, trying to project some of his Baltimore toughness as he takes over the top Democratic slot on the Oversight panel.

Cummings has already set the wheels in motion, saying he’s building a “staff of superstars.” He is sifting through resumes from applicants from the Senate, the House and the private sector to work on the top investigatory committee. He said he has discovered that there are lots of Democrats who recognize that his committee is “where the action’s going to be.”

*snip*

Good staff is only the first step for Democrats on the oversight committee. Democrats will have to play a lot of defense against the GOP, which has put oversight at the top of their agenda in the new Congress. Issa has shown interest in investigating everything from bailouts, to stimulus, to the Countrywide loan scandal and the Food and Drug Administration. Showing that he’s taking square aim at some of the government’s emergency actions, Issa has announced subcommittees that deal specifically with “stimulus oversight and government spending” and another that will look at “TARP, financial services and bailouts.”

At the moment, Cummings and Issa are vowing they’ll work together. The Marylander, who is also an attorney, is vowing that merely defending the administration will not be sufficient.

“We would do this administration no favor by not demanding that they meet the highest standards. Period,” Cummings said in an interview. “I think it’s good for everybody. And I mean that.”


Cummings and Issa have also agreed to investigate the foreclosure crisis as one of their first inquests — a particular interest of Cummings’s.


http://dyn.politico.com/members/forums/thread.cfm?catid=1&subcatid=1&threadid=4902733


Edited to add....The Wire was one of the best shows on TV. :7

[hedgehog]

1. I think the upcoming Congress may set the stage for real

Democrats to take an overwhelming majority of both houses for the next decade or so.

[aquart]

2. If Issa doesn't investigate foreclosures....

Even his district will eat him for lunch. California is not happy with what is happening to communities.

[Cleita]

3. They are working together?

Issa is a real slimy crook. I hope Cummings isn't too and that's the part of "The Wire" he's comparing himself to.