Issa has been critical of the process by which the federal government tracks stimulus funds, claiming that the Obama administration lacks an adequate plan for following the money going to contractors and special-interest groups.He also drew attention to $87 billion sent to states in Medicaid matching funds that was diverted for other purposes.

Oversight

In early 2009, Issa accused the Obama administration of failure to oversee the bailout money given to insurance giant AIG and called for the resignation of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner in the midst of the popular furor over the awarding of $165 billion in bonuses to AIG executives.

In May 2009, Issa and his Oversight colleagues grilled AIG chief executive Edward Liddy and a trio of board members about the opacity in their use of bailout funds, calling the board tasked with overseeing taxpayer stakes in the company "an unconstitutional and unaccountable entity."

In December 2008, Issa was similarly critical of a group of former housing executives appearing before the Oversight Committee to explain their lending practices, saying, "You're not accepting any blame for this at all. You're either standing behind the mandate of the Congress or the mandate of your stockholders, [or] perhaps, the mandate of your bonus packages. And you're telling us that, in fact, everyone was doing it."

In a May 2009 interview with the conservative publication Newsmax, Issa described the role of the Oversight Committee and the perceived failings of the stimulus package and federal financial bailout program.

He said, "Primarily our job is once legislation is passed, making sure it lives up to its claim. Certainly [that's true] in the case of stimulus, which already has countless redirections of funds and failure to account for them, and the TARP, the bailout money as it's called, which we've already seen had hundreds of billions of dollars that either were overspent for assets or were spent on assets that left the United States."

Middle Eastern Issues

Though generally hawkish on foreign policy, and a strong supporter of the war in Iraq, Issa's Lebanese heritage has led him to adopt a more nuanced stance on some matters, particularly in regard to Lebanon.

In the midst of the 2006 fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Issa was the lone member of Congress to travel to Lebanon, returning to present a slideshow at the National Press Club depicting the damage wrought by the conflict.

He has been critical of both Israeli and Arab groups, earning him a fair amount of criticism from outlets like Al-Jazeera. Issa advocated increased aid to Lebanon and a redrawing of Israel's territorial lines by the United Nations if the regional actors couldn't agree to a compromise.

In 2007, Issa was reprimanded by the Bush White House for meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a day after a much-criticized tete-a-tete between Assad and Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Issa had met with Assad previously in 2003, drawing approval for his attempts to repair diplomatic damage done by the Iraq war.

Oil and Gas Royalties

While serving on the House Government Reform Committee in 2006, Issa demanded accountability from the Interior Department in the collection of oil and gas royalties from companies that drill on federal lands.

At the time, Issa said, "They don't know how much oil is coming out of the ground. If an oil company were to give them the right number, they would take it. If they were to give them the wrong number, they would take it."

Issa's calls for reform were in response to reports that the department's Mineral Management Service had lost of track of billions of dollars and that a general culture of cronyism and poor management had taken hold in the department.

Closing Guantanamo Bay

Issa has been vocal in his opposition to Obama's plan to close the prison for enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, calling Obama's executive order "a symbolic, hollow gesture aimed at somehow fostering international good will toward America."

He also opposed relocating the prisoners to the United States, especially to facilities in California.

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