By: Kristin Van Veen-Hincke/Vikki Cooper & Associates
Nov/Dec 2011

Representative Darrell Issa represents the 49th District of California which includes Camp Pendleton, the largest Marine Corps training facility in the United States, as well as the northern portions of San Diego County and southwest Riverside County. He was elected to this seat in 2001 after a successful business career in which he served as CEO of Directed Electronics, a company that Issa founded in the mid-1990s and built into the nation’s largest manufacturer of vehicle anti-theft devices including the highly-successful Viper system. The Congressman is also a veteran, having served in the United States Army.

As a Congressman and a leader in California grassroots politics, Issa has championed the cause of smart and efficient government. He has pushed legislation to balance the federal budget and promote transparency across the federal bureaucracy. Issa currently serves as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is the main investigative committee of the U.S. House of Representatives charged with protecting the interests of the U.S. taxpayers and eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in the federal bureaucracy. The committee’s work includes investigations into the politicization of science at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Congressman Issa previously served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Earlier this year, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a report titled, “Rising Energy Costs: The Intentional Result of Government Action,” which identified numerous Obama Administration efforts to suppress domestic oil and gas production resulting in higher prices while helping the Administration promote expensive alternative sources of energy.

The report found that while the Obama Administration touts nascent “green” energy technologies, U.S. domestic energy resources are currently the largest on earth—greater than Saudi Arabia, China and Canada combined. It also noted that recent EPA and Department of Interior regulatory actions are having a detrimental impact on independent energy producers.

“The United States has the largest reserves in the world — resources that can provide good paying American jobs and fuel our economic expansion,” Representative Issa said. “But standing between that energy and U.S. consumers is an obstacle course of government red tape, regulation, delays, and obfuscations.” Issa has also referenced recent statements by President Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu about intentionally raising energy costs for Americans and how these goals are being implemented throughout the government.

“Viewed in tandem with Obama Administration efforts to slow production from the Gulf of Mexico, block fracking a technology that would increase domestic oil production by 40 percent in only five years, and stifle production on public lands, this can be seen as nothing less than a concerted campaign to raise the price of energy as a means to force the issue of green alternatives,” Issa said.

Congressman Issa continued to criticize President Obama’s energy policies when it was announced earlier this year that the Administration had authorized a release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to lower prices at the pump.

“The President’s temporary move on energy prices is a small step, but this one temporary measure will do nothing to unwind the long term costs of his policies that are blocking increased domestic energy production and hurting our economy,” the Congressman said. “Ultimately, these policies will only increase our dependence on foreign oil and — as our committee (House Oversight and Government Reform Committee) has repeatedly heard — push good paying energy production jobs overseas. The Obama Administration has thus far shown more interest in rewarding allies and special interests in the environmental lobby who advocate a slew of new rules, regulations and red tape than it has in enacting an agenda to expand domestic energy production to create jobs and grow the economy.”

Congressman Issa recently agreed to answer questions relating to the oil and gas industry for Well Servicing magazine. The following answers were provided to Well Servicing in mid-October.
Q: In May, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released the report, “Rising Energy Costs: An Intentional Result of Government Action.” The report states that the “[Obama] Administration is aggressively suppressing the use of carbon-based energy sources in the United States.” In your opinion, how can industry combat the Administration’s anti-oil and natural gas agenda?
A: The domestic energy production industry has a proven job creation record — that is a good story to tell. With recent news about the true size and scope of our domestic supply reserves this is a story that can be taken to the American people. It is essential that firms and employers speak out about the regulatory burdens facing their businesses and the barriers to growth. I’d encourage individuals to share their stories at a website the Oversight Committee created, AmericanJobCreators.com.
Q: President Obama has labeled carbon-based energy reserves “yesterday’s energy.” However, the report, “Rising Energy Costs: An Intentional Result of Government Action” found that “U.S. domestic energy resources are currently the largest on earth — greater than Saudi Arabia, China and Canada combined — and that’s without including America’s shale oil deposits.” Do you ever see a time when the regulatory climate of the United States would allow those resources to be recovered?
A: There’s nothing “yesterday” about the energy sources we rely upon today and will continue to rely on into the foreseeable future. Like most Americans, I recognize that at some point our economy will start to move from fossil-based sources to other sources. Whether that happens in 10 years, 20 years or 100 years depends — like all important economic paradigm shifts — on market forces. Cheap, reliable energy sources have been the lifeblood of American growth and economic progress for nearly a century. Carbon-based energy will continue to be an essential “tool in the toolbox” because our supplies are so abundant. And over time, we will likely see alternatives become increasingly affordable which creates a competitive marketplace that ultimately benefits consumers.
Q: The House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform recently released a report titled; “How Obama’s Green Energy Agenda is Killing Jobs.” In the report, evidence is presented that “the Obama Administration has put in place numerous regulatory impediments, which have hampered job creation in the traditional energy sector.” Do you believe that a change in leadership in Washington would alter the regulatory environment in such a way that the oil and gas industry would become a positive force in economic recovery instead of the focus of so many regulatory attacks?
A: Look no further than North Dakota and even parts of Texas to see how modern detection, extraction and processing techniques are creating energy production booms in areas otherwise suffering from a sustained recession. Unfortunately, the regulatory climate created by the Obama Administration is acting like a parking brake on a sector of the economy that heretofore has been a proven job creator.
Q: As you know, legislation has been introduced in both houses to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act’s exemption for fracturing. These bills would require the EPA to regulate the process, redirecting this authority away from the states. What is your stance on this issue?
A: States have successfully regulated hydraulic fracturing for decades and have extensive experience with managing the process and staying abreast of the latest science. And, as the technology used by production firms continues to improve, I’m confident we can continue to rely on this production technique while maintaining high standards for air and water quality.
Q: What are your thoughts on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and ANWR?
A: OCS and ANWR are prime examples of the sheer size of our domestic energy resources. Unfortunately, you don’t create jobs by looking at underutilized resources — you create jobs by tapping these resources and using them to fuel economic growth, and entrepreneurism. We can and should tap these resources now, and I’m confident that regulators, stakeholders and energy companies can work together to balance the need to protect the pristine environments where these resources are located with the needs of our energy-intensive economy.
Q: The U.S. has some of the largest and most efficient natural gas reserves in the world, but very little of it is being utilized. How can the government intervene to expedite better use of this resource?
A: The resource that needs to be mobilized is the federal government! If federal regulators issued permits in a timely process, even just within the timeframes established by law, these resources could by more quickly brought to market.
Q: How should America move forward and into future years with domestic energy production?
A: Our country is fortunate to have an incredible and diverse supply of energy resources. We should develop these resources — all of them — which we know from our prior success will create jobs, grow the economy and help us achieve energy security.