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Walden May Face Competition

Walden Contends for House Communications Subcommittee; Waxman May Be Committee Ranking Member

Familiar faces to the communications industry may have key posts on the House Communications Subcommittee and the full Commerce Committee next Congress, after Democrats decide on ranking members and Republicans pick a subcommittee chairman, said industry lobbyists watching the races. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., is seen by many lobbyists and a Capitol Hill aide as having the best chance to be named chairman of the subcommittee. Outgoing Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is said to be very likely to become the ranking member of the full committee. And possible competition is shaping up for the ranking member of the subcommittee.

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The subcommittee will be influential in determining what communications issues are dealt with by the full committee, analysts and lobbyists said. But they noted that Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., named Wednesday to lead the full committee (CD Dec 9 p1), likely will also play a major role in determining what telecom issues are dealt with because he used to lead the subcommittee.

Walden is likely to be picked to lead the subcommittee because of his strong relationship with incoming Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and other key GOP House members, said lobbyists, communications lawyers and a Hill aide. They cited the work Walden did to help with the midterm elections and planning afterward for a GOP-controlled House. He’s seen as loyal to the party and his work on the transition planning as significant, Hill and industry officials said. Upton has said he hasn’t picked a Communications Subcommittee head. His spokesman declined to comment and a Walden representative had no comment.

Walden faces some competition, though. Said to also want the top communications job are GOP Reps. Cliff Stearns of Florida and John Shimkus of Illinois. Shimkus has spoken with Upton about his interest in being a subcommittee chairman, a spokesman for Shimkus said. Stearns said he looks forward to working with Upton in the new Congress and thinks he'd “best serve the committee as chair” of the Communications Subcommittee. “I am committed to preventing regulation of the Internet and I believe that relying on the free market in broadband and other technologies will bring the new jobs and economic growth that our nation needs,” Stearns said.

On the Democratic side, Waxman seems all but certain to remain in his party’s leadership spot on the Commerce Committee, by switching from full committee chairman to ranking member, said many lobbyists. But there may be a race to be named ranking member of the Communications Subcommittee, they said. Contenders include Reps. Bobby Rush of Illinois and Anna Eshoo of California, many lobbyists said. Rush may have the inside track, some said. He continues to seek the ranking slot, a spokesman said. Eshoo may pursue the top subcommittee Democratic spot if she isn’t named ranking member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, some lobbyists said. A representative for Eshoo had no comment.

Stearns received more of his campaign donations from the telecom industry during the 2009-2010 election cycle than any other, according to the nonpartisan OpenSecrets.org. No other lawmakers said to be in the running for the top Communications Subcommittee job got the biggest bulk of their contributions from that industry, as opposed to other industries. The TV, film and music industry donated $68,400 total and $49,500 come from the phone sector. Overall, communications and electronics industries donated $197,000 to Stearns.

For Walden, the TV, film and music industries were the eighth biggest sectors for campaign contributions, giving him $64,500, according to OpenSecrets. The telecom services and equipment industry was 20th, at $28,250. Shimkus got $48,500 from the film, music and TV industries and $31,250 from the telecom services and equipment sector, putting them sixth and fifteenth among the industries that donated to him, according to OpenSecrets. Walden voted most often this Congress with Upton, according to OpenCongress.org, which is also nonpartisan.

The next Communications Subcommittee chairman will clearly have “some influence” over what telecom issues House Commerce deals with, said analyst David Kaut of Stifel Nicolaus. “But ultimately anything that gets through the full committee will be greatly helped and probably needs the backing of the full committee chairman,” though “he doesn’t have to be wildly enthusiastic about everything,” Kaut said. That Upton used to run the subcommittee “probably limits in some way the leeway of the subcommittee chairman,” Kaut said.

"That Upton has been very visible on telecom issues and his past background” heading the subcommittee means the new chairman will have to work closely with him in setting the agenda, said analyst Jeff Silva of Medley Global Advisors. “Even with the big issues that the full committee has” plans to tackle, such as healthcare and energy, Upton still will “have a big hand and a big say in what the subcommittee takes up,” he said. “For any given telecom issue, they're going to have to figure out before they get out front on it, how it plays for tea party members.”