Issa Keeping Business Wish List A Secret. He No Longer Favors Transparency?

by Stuart Shapiro

I’ve posted several times on Rep. Darrell Issa’s request to businesses for regulations they don’t like.  Now, Issa is keeping the responses from business secret from the Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.  As Steve Benen points out, this is an odd position for someone who has advocated government transparency.

The committee chairman who obsesses over government “transparency” is the same GOP leader receiving instructions from business groups about the elimination of public safeguards, but refusing to even share them with the other members on his committee. Issa’s Democratic counterpart has decided to start contacting the business groups himself, asking for copies.

Without disclosure, we have to assume the worst.  My guess is that businesses are asking for rollbacks of regulations on worker safety, family and medical leave, and clean air requirements.  Of course that isn’t just assuming the worst, it is also probably quite realistic.

By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.