Politico: Joe Biden agrees to Issa sit-down

[dennis4868]

Vice President Joe Biden has agreed to a sit-down to discuss the 2009 economic stimulus with incoming Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, the subpoena-wielding foil for Democrats who worry the new House GOP leadership will be all too eager to conduct political investigations.

After speaking by phone last week, Biden and Issa were scheduled to meet Monday, sources tell POLITICO. But the vice president, who has stimulus chief Earl Devaney and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer on his schedule today, postponed the planned talk.

Issa, who has accused the White House of engaging in an over-the-top propaganda campaign to promote the $800 billion stimulus law, wants to create penalties for those that don't comply with the law's reporting requirements. More important — and more broadly — he wants inspectors general at federal agencies to have subpoena power so that they have more leverage in investigating allegations of abuse in the expenditure of government money.

Issa spokesman Kurt Bardella framed last week's discussion as cordial and the upcoming meeting as an opportunity for the California Republican and the vice president, who oversees the administration's stimulus effort, to cooperate with each other.

"There's a mutual goal of wanting transparency in stimulus dollars," Bardella told POLITICO. He said Issa initiated the conversation with Biden because he didn't want to wait until January, when Republicans take control of the House, to address potential problems in the implementation of the stimulus law.

More....http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=2B880FDE-0FCA-65BA-EDB0EF2080259550

HEY AMERICAN PEOPLE YOU JUST VOTED THE REPUBLICANS INTO POWER.....WHERE ARE YOU GOING? TO IMPEACHMENT LAND AND TAX CUTS FOR BILLIONAIRES. GREAT JOB!

[Tippy]

1. K&R....for your statement...So true...

[jillan]

2. Oh to be a fly on the wall in that meeting! Go JOE!

[kentuck]

3. And so it begins...

deja vu all over again...

[yellowcanine]

4. Biden needs to extract an agreement from Issa that there will be no "fishing expeditions" on the

part of Issa and his committee. Compromise works both ways.

[dennis4868]

6. Ummmmm....

Isaa = fishing expeditions.

Issa's job is to find something, even based on a lie, to bring down Obama before the 2012 elections....remember what repub leadership said....their job was to make sure Obama is not re-elected. One way of doing that is to impeach the guy.

[yellowcanine]

11. Yes and that is why Biden needs to make it clear that if Issa intends to go ahead with that agenda

he can forget about the administration "playing nice" in other areas as well. Congress has a legitimate oversight role of the Executive Branch. But if they are reckless in how they use the oversight power Obama should not make their task easy.

[dennis4868]

5. By the way...

did I miss or did Issa not call for an investigation for the billions that are missing from the Iraq war fund? Wonder why that is....

[Frustratedlady]

7. Good comment. I'd also like to know how much money has been hidden

in foreign banks and how many companies have hidden income by having their company "based" in some post office box number on the Marianna Islands or wherever. I thought the Obama administration already had a list. We don't hear anything about it anymore.

Why aren't WE demanding information on those lost billions, the fraud and graft in the Pentagon/military complex, Halliburton and their ilk?

We criticize Obama for being too nice/shy...what are we? Look what we did for Olbermann. Can't we do it for other issues, as well? We can't expect Obama and Biden to do it all without vocal support. This isn't a TV program, you know.

[LynneSin]

8. Biden vs. Issa - my money goes for the easy win - Biden

Seriously, Joe doesn't take shit from anyone.

[emulatorloo]

9. Go Joe!

EOM

[AspenRose]

10. Issa's about to get his ass handed to him... Biden Style

Don't f*ck with Joe!