House Democrats Won’t Make Communications Subcommittee Picks Right Away
House Commerce Committee Democrats probably won’t decide right away whom to vote for to lead Democrats on the Communications Subcommittee, a race that’s being closely watched by the telecom industry, lobbyists from both parties said. They said that those U.S. representatives who are named to the full committee, which will have fewer Democrats come January because Republicans will have a larger proportion of members of the body, likely will meet in January to make their decisions. It’s unclear exactly when the vote will occur because some details of the committee makeup depend on decisions made by the GOP. That party will pick a chairman of the Communications Subcommittee as soon as this week.
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Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon is still (CD Dec 10 p1) the most likely to get the nod from Republicans to lead the subcommittee, said many lobbyists watching the committee, but not involved in the transition planning. Among Democrats, a race is shaping up between Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois -- who has said he wants the job -- and Rep. Anna Eshoo of California, who many think wants it, we're told. Rep. Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania has publicly said he'd be interested in the job, but more recently said he'd step aside if Eshoo decides to pursue it, his spokesman confirmed. A spokesman for Eshoo declined to comment.
House Democrats will pick by seniority who gets what subcommittee jobs, probably early in 2011, just as they've done in previous years, said lobbyists who include former Capitol Hill aides. Although the committee members will hold an up-down vote on each position, it’s likely that any competitive races would be resolved before voting day amongst the contenders, incoming committee Ranking Member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Democratic House leadership, they said. Waxman doesn’t know who the Democratic members on Commerce will be, and House Democrats will caucus Thursday to determine the ranking members on all the full committees that haven’t already been set, he said in an interview Wednesday.
There are some potential wildcards. Rep. Ed Towns of New York may seek to join the Commerce Committee, which, since he’s the third or fourth most senior member of the full committee, would allow him to pursue the ranking membership on the Communications Subcommittee, if he wanted to, lobbyists said. He'd be more senior than Rush, who himself has seniority over Eshoo, they said. Towns, the current chairman of the House Oversight Committee, won’t return to be its ranking member in the 112th Congress, his office said. His spokeswoman declined to say what, if anything, Rush might do about the Commerce Committee.
Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., doesn’t know who will be named chairman of the Communications Subcommittee, he told us. He said incoming full committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., hadn’t publicly disclosed the chairs of the various subcommittees, as of Wednesday afternoon. Shimkus said he’s willing to support a chairman emeritus position for Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the committee’s ranking Republican and its chairman the last time the GOP held the House in 2005-2006. Barton lost to Upton in the race to become chairman of the committee for the next Congress. Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., was named chairman emeritus of Commerce when he was replaced by Waxman, so there is precedent for such an appointment.
The priority of telecom issues in the committee next session will depend on who chairs the subcommittee, Shimkus said. Net neutrality is a big issue, and needs to have many questions about it addressed by policymakers, he said. Shimkus predicted a lot of oversight hearings on telecom issues. The FCC should leave Internet regulation to Congress, he added. The entire debate over Title I vs. Title II shows that the telecom law was written in a different era, and any rewrite of policy should be left to policymakers, not regulatory agencies, he said.
Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., said health issues will be the committee’s top priority, starting next year. “First there will be health issues, then energy, and then telecom will have its day,” he told us. Among communications issues, he said cybersecurity is becoming a major area of concern, in terms of protecting national security and in securing personal data. Universal Service Fund change is also important, Terry said. He’s ready to step in and “push the rock up the hill” himself on USF reform with the defeat of his colleague on the issue, outgoing Commerce Committee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., Terry said. He noted he had participated in writing the draft USF reform bill. Terry said he needs to find the right Democrat to work with on the issue and has spoken with a few, though he wouldn’t identify them.