House Democrats are still fuming about when Rep. Darrell Issa cut off their questions during an oversight hearing earlier this month on a bungled gun-tracking operation, broadening the inquiry Thursday during their own hearing.
Issa, the Republican chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, had led a hearing where he grilled agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into how the mission, called Operation Fast and Furious, had gone awryWhen Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) asked whether existing criminal penalties were so weak that agents were discouraged from pursuing cases, Issa cut her off.
“Why were we having the hearing?” Maloney said Thursday at another oversight hearing. “It’s not only to look at the problem, but to look for solutions.”
“When there is a hearing in the Congress, members may inquire on any subject,” added Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents Washington, D.C.. “I’m a member of Congress. I get to ask about that.”
The lawmakers praised Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the Oversight committee, for broadening the inquiry into Fast and Furious to include a look at American gun laws. The Maryland Democrat released a report early Thursday titled “Outgunned,” that details how ATF agents say gun laws need to be tightened for them to fight organized crime along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“These reforms are essential to help law enforcement to stop guns from getting into the hands of the world’s most dangerous criminals,” Cummings said in his opening remarks. “Prosecutors and law enforcement agents should not have to bend over backward to imprison those who provide military-grade weapons to murderers.”
At a previous hearing, Cummings pushed for a look at how American gun laws could be fueling the violence. He hosted a forum Thursday morning with several law enforcement officials and gun control advocates, including the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
The slate of witnesses on Thursday was friendly to the Democrats’ cause, forcefully advocating for changes to the nation’s gun statutes.
“The most dangerous thing a political leader can do is to ignore an issue that is important to the American people or do nothing when change is necessary,” said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Maloney said she and Cummings will propose legislation reflecting the recommendations outlined in the “Outgunned” report, including an explicit ban on firearms trafficking and tougher penalties for straw purchases of guns.
“It’s time Congress gets serious” on the gun issue, Maloney said.
The report and event are in response to an inquiry into an ATF mission that lost track of weapons that were later found at the murder scene of a U.S. Border Patrol agent. The initiative, dubbed “Operation Fast and Furious,” may have allowed hundreds of firearms to wind up in the hands of drug cartels in Mexico.
Issa has released internal emails that showed top ATF officials knew of Fast and Furious, and he recently called on ATF acting chief Kenneth Melson to resign.
In a strange wrinkle, The Washington Post reported that Issa was briefed on the botched program a year ago and raised no concerns at the time.
Melson, who is still at the ATF’s helm, has agreed to talk with Senate investigators about the operation sometime in July, according to The Daily Beast.
Republicans dismissed Thursday’s forum and again accused Democrats of trying to obstruct the investigation.
“It will not affect the committee’s continued focus on a reckless operation that has been linked to deaths on both sides of the border,” said Issa spokeswoman Becca Glover Watkins.
Cummings says he isn’t opposed to a probe of how Fast and Furious went awry, but he takes issue with Issa’s methods, saying it could interfere with ongoing criminal investigations, such as one into the murder of the border agent, Brian Terry.
Public attention to Fast and Furious reemerged Wednesday at President Barack Obama’s news conference, when the president said he believed Attorney General Eric Holder’s claim that he wouldn’t have authorized gunrunning – the illegal smuggling of firearms across borders. Obama declined to comment further, citing a pending investigation.
Issa, the Republican chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, had led a hearing where he grilled agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into how the mission, called Operation Fast and Furious, had gone awryWhen Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) asked whether existing criminal penalties were so weak that agents were discouraged from pursuing cases, Issa cut her off.
“Why were we having the hearing?” Maloney said Thursday at another oversight hearing. “It’s not only to look at the problem, but to look for solutions.”
“When there is a hearing in the Congress, members may inquire on any subject,” added Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents Washington, D.C.. “I’m a member of Congress. I get to ask about that.”
The lawmakers praised Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the Oversight committee, for broadening the inquiry into Fast and Furious to include a look at American gun laws. The Maryland Democrat released a report early Thursday titled “Outgunned,” that details how ATF agents say gun laws need to be tightened for them to fight organized crime along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“These reforms are essential to help law enforcement to stop guns from getting into the hands of the world’s most dangerous criminals,” Cummings said in his opening remarks. “Prosecutors and law enforcement agents should not have to bend over backward to imprison those who provide military-grade weapons to murderers.”
At a previous hearing, Cummings pushed for a look at how American gun laws could be fueling the violence. He hosted a forum Thursday morning with several law enforcement officials and gun control advocates, including the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
The slate of witnesses on Thursday was friendly to the Democrats’ cause, forcefully advocating for changes to the nation’s gun statutes.
“The most dangerous thing a political leader can do is to ignore an issue that is important to the American people or do nothing when change is necessary,” said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Maloney said she and Cummings will propose legislation reflecting the recommendations outlined in the “Outgunned” report, including an explicit ban on firearms trafficking and tougher penalties for straw purchases of guns.
“It’s time Congress gets serious” on the gun issue, Maloney said.
The report and event are in response to an inquiry into an ATF mission that lost track of weapons that were later found at the murder scene of a U.S. Border Patrol agent. The initiative, dubbed “Operation Fast and Furious,” may have allowed hundreds of firearms to wind up in the hands of drug cartels in Mexico.
Issa has released internal emails that showed top ATF officials knew of Fast and Furious, and he recently called on ATF acting chief Kenneth Melson to resign.
In a strange wrinkle, The Washington Post reported that Issa was briefed on the botched program a year ago and raised no concerns at the time.
Melson, who is still at the ATF’s helm, has agreed to talk with Senate investigators about the operation sometime in July, according to The Daily Beast.
Republicans dismissed Thursday’s forum and again accused Democrats of trying to obstruct the investigation.
“It will not affect the committee’s continued focus on a reckless operation that has been linked to deaths on both sides of the border,” said Issa spokeswoman Becca Glover Watkins.
Cummings says he isn’t opposed to a probe of how Fast and Furious went awry, but he takes issue with Issa’s methods, saying it could interfere with ongoing criminal investigations, such as one into the murder of the border agent, Brian Terry.
Public attention to Fast and Furious reemerged Wednesday at President Barack Obama’s news conference, when the president said he believed Attorney General Eric Holder’s claim that he wouldn’t have authorized gunrunning – the illegal smuggling of firearms across borders. Obama declined to comment further, citing a pending investigation.
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