D.C. lawmakers are steaming over news Monday that Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee plans to mark up a bill mandating new District of Columbia hiring practices. The move is related to Issa's report issued Monday on Sulaimon Brown's allegations regarding Mayor Vincent Gray's 2010 campaign.
Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh, called Issa's plan "insulting" and "redundant." Cheh chaired a special committee that launched its own investigation of former mayoral candidate Brown's allegations that the Gray campaign gave him money orders and cash to stay in the race and bash former Mayor Adrian Fenty.
"He’s borrowing from my own legislation," Cheh said of Issa's proposal. "What a mark of failure of Congress that they can’t get anything done, so they attempt to get into the business of the District of Columbia. ... We’re taking care of our own business."
Cheh's committee in August found that Gray's campaign was guilty of cronyism and nepotism and poor hiring practices, including giving Sulaimon Brown a $110,000-a-year administration job. The report also concluded it was likely that Brown was promised a job in exchange for his efforts. This fall nearly a dozen ethics bills have been introduced in council, including one from Cheh that addresses administration appointees, vetting and hiring practices.
Issa's office has not returned calls for comment.
The Office of D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton issued a statement condemning the move.
“The bill represents a significant escalation of Republicans’ relentless attacks this Congress on the District’s right to self-government,” Norton said.
Issa on Monday issued a report that largely discredits Sulaimon Brown's claims that he was offered cash and a job in exchange for attacking Fenty on the campaign trail last year. The report said Brown has a "history of erratic behavior " and "significant credibility issues."
Reached by phone on Monday, Brown called the report "nonsense."
"I haven’t lied about anything," he said. "They have lied in the report."
