The new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is taking an aggressive stance on government waste.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) announced a broad list of priorities that include investigations into food and drug safety, WikiLeaks, the foreclosure crisis and corruption in Afghanistan.

Politico reports that laying down such a wide range of priorities may set the tone for the committee to be the “go-to place for investigations.”

On Sunday Issa called the Obama administration “one of the most corrupt administrations,” the Washington Post reports.

“When you hand out $1 trillion in TARP just before this president came in, most of it unspent, $1 trillion nearly in stimulus that this president asked for, plus this huge expansion in health care and government, it has a corrupting effect,” Issa said on CNN’s State of the Union. “When I look at waste, fraud and abuse in the bureaucracy and in the government, this is like steroids to pump up the muscles of waste.”

As chairman, Issa will have subpoena power. Seventy-four inspector generals appointed by Obama will work with Issa on investigations. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Issa said his first task is to figure out how much work the IGs will be able to take on.

“My number one priority is safety and security of the American people. My two priority is to reduce spending, and my number three, but not the last by any means, is to get this economy going away so there will be jobs. That’s what we have to do with the administration, whenever possible,” Issa told Bloomberg.

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