Tech pros hit Issa for taking Park away from HealthCare.gov
Updated at 8:08 p.m. ET on 11/10/2013
Washington (CNN) - A group of technology experts has a message for Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican Oversight Committee chairman who last week disregarded the White House’s insistence that U.S. technology chief Todd Park is too busy to testify about his efforts to repair HealthCare.gov.
“Let Todd Work,” the group proclaims on a website launched after Issa issued a subpoena for Park to appear before his panel on Wednesday.
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“Now, instead of continuing to fix HealthCare.gov (a mess he did not make), Mr. Park has to spend his hours preparing for his testimony,” declares the website on its homepage, before listing some of Park’s accomplishments.
“Mr. Park is a fantastic civil servant, who cares about making government more effective and accountable, just like Mr. Issa,” the group writes. “We hope that they can work together on solving the policies that enabled HealthCare.gov to fail in the first place. No matter what side of the aisle you sit on, Todd is one of the good guys. Let him do his job.”
A little more than 200 people had signed up to support the website’s cause on Sunday afternoon. The site’s creators are three technology experts with ties to the White House: Clay Johnson and Adam Becker, two former Presidential Innovation fellows, and Michael Aleo, a former White House art director.
"I think Issa's subpoena was caused by a misunderstanding of who Todd Park is, and what his role was and is in this operation," Johnson told CNN.
"What on Earth did he have to do with it in the first place? He's trying to fix it, and to my knowledge trying to clean up somebody else's mess isn't worthy of a subpoena," Johnson continued.
After Issa’s initial request for Park’s testimony, the White House wrote back declaring the chief technology officer was too busy fixing the problem-addled health care portal.
“His testimony needs to be scheduled at a time that is less disruptive to that work,” Donna Pignatelli, the White House’s assistant director for legislative affairs, wrote last week, adding later that “pulling him away … even for a short time at this stage would be highly disruptive and would risk slowing the progress that has been made thus far to fix identified issues with the website.”
Issa, incensed, wrote back on Friday, using his power of subpoena to demand that Park show up before his committee this week.
“Your unwillingness to appear before the committee continues an unfortunate pattern of the current administration when it comes to matters of transparency and Congressional oversight,” Issa wrote in a letter to Park that was released to the media.
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Issa has voted against the ACA, then voted to defund it, he then wanted it delayed, and now he wants to know why the website had as many bugs as Bush's Medicare part D. Darrell should leave governing to adults.
Darrell Issa, public servant. What has he done to serve the public?
That GOP thug is wasting tax dollars. Pathetic Derrel Issa.
So here’s John McCain’s radical plan in a nutshell: he taxes health care benefits for the first time in history; millions lose the health care they have; millions pay more for the health care they get; drug and insurance companies continue to profit; and middle class families watch the system they rely on begin to unravel before their eyes. Well, I don’t think that’s right. I don’t think we should settle for health care that works better for drug and insurance companies than it does for hard working Americans. I don’t think that’s the change we need. We can do better than that.
Those were President Obama's words in response to McCain's plan. Kinda eeire, huh?
There's no doubt the GOP and ass have been trying to sabatuage the healthcare law for five years, it's time to kick assa the garbage of the GOP and an unsuccessful car thief out of office before the teaparty failure waste more of our tax money on ALL his failed expensive witch hunts.
Park should tell assa to SCREW, it's like going to clown court . Assa should be hung from a lamp post !!!!
Issas never had a real job: concept of working is akin to him
No no, let Issa go ahead and put on his dog-and-pony show. The more Issa pulls these little stunts, the more Americans will see that the whole thing is just politically motivated and will tune it out. Now, if the website isn't working 100% by the end of November, the President and his supporters can simply blame the Republicans. Perfect, as far as I'm concerned. Proceed, Congressman.
The appearance of subjectivity instead of objectivity = Obamacare wins.
Why wasn't the website ready on October 1st in the first place?
obama is a pathological liar.
i hope these people dont mess around and send another hoard of do nothing repubs to the congress like they did in 2010 and have another 3 years of sitting around and watch every other country modernize, while we go south. i am tired of these so called independents who sent these backward repubs to congress and are poised to do so again. dems weve got to stand up and fight like we never had fought before. these repubs has the propaganda machine which they've had for centuries against a bunch of single women and minorities that makes up the dem party. we need to fight the elephant in the room folks. we cannot allow the repubs to give all the money to the folks at the top in a global cheap market. we wont get none of the trickle on if this was to happen. they want to kill the only thing that have this country growing and bringing back jobs to our shores. fight for obamacare which will save 100 times more folks that it would inconvenient.
The only work the car thief has ever done is steal cars that is why he thinks everyone has the time to waste coming to his "throne" so he can sit in mock judgment.
Rep Issa is another Republican Tea Party politician who places politics and ideology before what is good for the country. Thank goodness his days in Congress are numbered because of changing demographics in California.
Darrell Issa .. all you're doing is obstructing the progress needed with the Health Care. You don't give a fig about seeing that things get straightened out, not with Benjazi .. not with anything. I don't like you one bit.
It is about time someone started telling Mr. Arson that he is not the center of the universe, and people are probably not going to continue fawning over him. He is a jerk, has shown himself to be a jerk, and will continue to be a jerk. Not deserving of one iota (ever wonder how much an iota really is) of respect.
What does Mr Issa do besides sit on his rear and put his face on tv? Has he done anything to help create jobs. Now he wants to stop people from doing their jobs. Grow up.
“Let Todd Work."
The time for Todd to work was months ago; it's too late now.
Letting Park do his work is contrary to Issa's agenda. Any way he can slow things down, mess things up, create chaos for President Obama is good with him.
The man is a well dressed Ted Cruz.
Issa does not understand what it means to work and problem-solve. He doesn't understand that outside of Congress people actually work. Mr. Park's is trying to fix the problem you are complaning about. He does not have time for a guest appearance on the Issa Game Show.
Issa is on his way out. Even his constituents see him as an obstructionist
I think that Issa is showing the flexing his power. Is it really wise? It certainly really don't look like he understands what is going on or doesn't really care.
Issa only wants to find a "smoking gun" on Obama but he has failed in every effort. Issa doesn't want the truth. Issa has his mind made up about what has happened with Fast and Furious, Behngazi, The IRS and Obamacare. He is only seeking evidence to support his beliefs instead of following all evidence to reach an unbiased conclusion.
The ObamaCare website is a bad joke. Quit putting people at risk. Shut the website down because it is not ready or secure.
The government cannot manage its way out of a box.
Here's an investigation lead by Issa that EVERYONE can get behind:
How many millions of dollars of taxpayer money have been wasted by this fool on his little witch hunts?
Everything still boils down to the question of what America wants, fix a problem that begs for immediate attention and answer questions later or otherwise. Anybody whose house is on fire does not leave to hunt for rats. Issa, like all other of his Repub colleagues are against American people not for them.