Rep. Waxman Expected To Act on Health Care, Energy, Environment as New Chair of House Energy and Commerce Committee

The Democratic Caucus on Thursday voted 137-122 to name Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) as the new chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee "in a coup that is expected to accelerate passage of energy, climate and health legislation backed by President-elect Barack Obama, the New York Times reports. Waxman will replace current Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.), who has held the position for 28 years (Broder, New York Times, 11/21).

According to the Wall Street Journal's "Health Blog," Waxman's takeover is a "big deal for the health care world because the committee will be one of the key power centers for any big health care reform bills" (Goldstein, "Health Blog," Wall Street Journal, 11/20). The AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Waxman is an "avid environmentalist and booster of health care programs" (Taylor, AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/20). According to CongressDaily, he is "set to play a leading role in crafting health care legislation" and other measures "sought by the incoming Obama administration" (Friedman/Bourge, CongressDaily, 11/20). The panel also is "a central player in Congress' relations with the drug and [medical] device industries," according to the Journal's "Health Blog" ("Health Blog," Wall Street Journal, 11/20).

After the vote, Waxman said, "The argument we made was that we needed a change for the committee to have the leadership that will work with this administration and members in both the House and the Senate in order to get important issues passed in health care, environmental protection, in energy policy" (AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/20). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she expects Waxman to achieve "progress toward making America energy independent, making health care available to all Americans and addressing the greatest challenge of our time, global warming" (Ivanovich/Powell, Houston Chronicle, 11/20).

Editorial
Dingell's "fall from power ... is an important inflection point in the history of the modern Democratic party," and "it is symbolic of the party's change in culture and policy priorities in the Barack Obama era," a Journal editorial states. It continues, "It's obvious who now pulls the Democratic levers of power, and anyone in the energy or health care business had better erect the barricades" (Wall Street Journal, 11/21).

Broadcast Coverage
CNN's "Newsroom" on Thursday reported on Waxman's victory (Bash, "Newsroom," CNN, 11/20). A transcript is available online.

PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on Thursday also reported on the vote (Holman, "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," PBS, 11/20).