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CREW Releases Searchable Version of Issa Documents

Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) praised Congressman Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) release of almost 2,000 pages of information related to his letters to corporations, trade groups and research organizations regarding government regulations. Rep. Issa posted the information as one large PDF on the website of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which he chairs.  The massive document is not searchable and does not include several letters sent to the committee.  At least two of the replies—those from the Industrial Minerals Association – North America and a coalition of housing and construction groups are not part of the PDF, but were obtained by CREW.  Also not included were letters from Duke Energy and the Edison Electric Institute.   Representatives from both companies confirmed to CREW they had sent letters to Chairman Issa, but refused to release them publicly.

In an effort to aid the chairman in reaching his stated transparency goals, CREW has scanned the document with character recognition software. As a result, it can now be searched for key words and phrases.  The searchable documents can be seen here, or on CREW’s website.

In response, CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan released the following statement:

“It is encouraging to see that Chairman Issa has heeded CREW’s calls to release at least some of the letters he received.  The chairman frequently has said he desires a more transparent government and posting some of these letters is an important step forward in that regard.  In the spirit of cooperation, CREW has placed a searchable version of this PDF on our website. I encourage all Americans to read the letters, and decide for themselves whether rolling back the regulations referred to is a good idea or not.   The Oversight Committee is more than welcome to link to this document as well.  Building a better Washington requires a more open and honest government, and while Chairman Issa and I might not always agree on every issue, I look forward to helping him in any way I can in pursuit of that goal.”