Full Caucus Approval Seen as a
Formality
Representative Fred Upton (MI-6) of St. Joseph, was
approved yesterday by the Republican Steering Committee to take the
helm of the Energy & Commerce Committee when the 112th Congress
convenes on January 4, 2011.
The Energy & Commerce is considered one of the premier committees
in the House. Under previous Republican control, it was chaired
by Rep. Joe Barton (TX-6). However, due to Republican rules
stating that no Member is allowed to serve more than six years
consecutively as Chairman or Ranking Member, Mr. Barton required a
waiver from the Steering Committee to retain his rank, but the
Steering Committee was not willing to break its own rules this year.
The race for the Energy & Commerce Chairmanship has been one of
the most hotly contested leadership races during the House
reorganization from Democrat- to Republican-controlled. The
campaign can be said to have begun as early as this summer following
the British Petroleum oil leak when Ranking Member Barton apologized to BP CEO Tony
Hayward for what he viewed as a government
shakedown of BP to establish a $20 billion slush fund.
Representatives John Shimkus (IL-19) was also actively
campaigning for the chairmanship following the mid-term
elections. In the end, Mr. Upton's relationship with
Speaker-elect Jim Boehner (OH-8), who has four votes to each Steering
Committee Member's one vote, and Mr. Upton's aggressive campaign to
showcase his conservative bona fides kept him at the top of the
Committee's list.
Nevertheless, Mr. Upton cannot celebrate quite yet because the
Steering Committee is still considering incoming Natural Resources
Chairman Doc Hastings' (WA-4) request to move jurisdiction over
energy policy to his committee, which would significantly reduce Mr.
Upton's influence in the 112th Congress. The proposal would
align the House Natural Resource Committee's jurisdiction with the
Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee.
If you have
any questions concerning these issues, please contact Chris Wagner at
202.772.0924 or cwagner@clarkhill.com.
|
