In 1992, Pombo won the Republican primary by defeating several candidates in a race for an open seat in a district newly created by redistricting.

[8][9][verification needed] The San Joaquin County Citizen's Land Alliance, founded in July 1997,[10] has been described as a group, co-founded by Pombo,[according to whom?]

[citation needed] As of March 2018 it was being led by Gary Barton as CEO Michael Petz as CFO, with Nanette Martin serving as corporation secretary, and as of that date it was listed as terminated (its registration having expired).

[11] In a 2006 debate, Pombo said that "intelligence agents should obtain surveillance warrants before monitoring phone calls", but "less than five months later, he voted to allow warrantless wiretapping."

He told the Tracy Press that his vote was consistent with his statement, and that although the bill allows a delay in obtaining a warrant, it requires that Congressional Intelligence Committees and the FISA Court be notified, this maintaining separation of powers among the branches of government.

[citation needed] Pombo proposed legislation to sell roughly a quarter of the land managed by the National Park Service.

This amendment was opposed by environmentalists, anti-growth advocates, and even some Republican Senators concerned about the measure's effects on hunting and fishing.

The legislation was later described by his chief of staff as a "bureaucratic exercise" designed to evaluate the costs of not drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

The proposed revision "was widely denounced by environmentalists as a disturbing retreat from habitat protection and a paperwork nightmare for agencies seeking to revive the 1,268 threatened and endangered plants and animals in the country, 186 of which are in California.

[18] By March 2006, Environmental Science & Technology reported that Pombo was coordinating efforts with Pac/West Communications to weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Pac/West created the Save Our Species Alliance, an anti-environmental front group that campaigned for Pombo's bill to change the ESA.

[20] LCV released an ad on October 31, 2006, citing Pombo's acceptance of $120,000 from oil companies and his ties to indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

[3] As the chairman of the House Resources Committee, Pombo blocked legislation that would have created the Wild Sky Wilderness area in Washington state, despite broad support for the bill.

[23] His political revival was characterized as giving environmentalists "fits" by the San Jose Mercury News in addition to describing his perception by that community as similar to that of Exxon-Valdez Captain Joseph Hazelwood or the hunter that shot Bambi's mother.

[3] In 2006, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan watchgroup founded in 2005 by liberal and Democratic Party activists[24] released a report naming Pombo as one of the 13 most corrupt members of Congress.

"[25] Pombo and his political action committee RICH PAC[26] was among a dozen leaders in the House of Representatives reportedly under investigation as part of the corruption and influence-peddling scandal centered around disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and his policy issues, including Indian gaming.

[27] On January 8, 2006, the Los Angeles Times alleged that Pombo helped one of Abramoff's clients, the Mashpee Indians in Massachusetts, gain federal recognition as a tribe.

Various issues and tribal disputes involving the Shinnecock were before the House Resources Committee chaired by Pombo just days after the fundraiser.

[27] On October 11, 2006, it was reported that Pombo "says he never worked with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in his fourteen years in Congress, but billing records suggest at least two interactions between the two in 1996".

Pombo led an effort to build a multilane freeway (State Route 130) through the mostly uninhabited Diablo Range to facilitate Bay Area-bound commuting from the greater Tracy area.

In 2004, Pombo's office sent a letter to then-Secretary of the Department of the Interior Gale Norton, urging the suspension of environmental guidelines opposed by the wind power industry.

When asked in February 2006 about the trip—rules forbid government-funded travel for personal vacations, but allow lawmakers to bring family members on official trips—Pombo said that he had looked into flying into the parks by commercial air or charters, but found the costs to be excessive.

[39] One January 8, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that Pombo and Representative John Doolittle had joined with then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas to oppose an investigation by federal banking regulators into the affairs of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz.

According to the Times, "Although Washington politicians frequently try to help important constituents and contributors, it is unusual for members of Congress to take direct steps to stymie an ongoing investigation by an agency such as the FDIC."

"[28][40] On September 23, 2006, the Central Valley Record reported that East Bay Representative George Miller and six other House Democrats had requested that Pombo hold "immediate" congressional hearings concerning oil lease payments to the Interior Department.

Pombo "had a provision written into the House's offshore drilling legislation, which passed earlier this year, that would instead levy a fee on those firms that refuse to renegotiate their contracts.

Washington, D.C.–based Defenders of Wildlife spent more than $1 million on the race and commissioned the first poll in 2005 that showed Pombo to be vulnerable in his re-election bid.

In a letter dated November 29, 2006, from PAC/West Communications, Pombo states, "I have accepted a position as Senior Partner at Pac/West, a full service political public relations firm with offices from California to Washington, D.C." On January 4, 2010, Pombo announced his candidacy for Congress in California's 19th congressional district after Congressman George Radanovich, a fellow Republican, announced he wouldn't run for reelection.

Pombo followed up his candidacy for Congress announcement by signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform on January 5, 2010.

[50] Primary opponent Jeff Denham stated that Pombo was a liability to the Republican Party who has "given them a lot of material over the years", a reference to his various scandals and notoriety among environmentalists.