House GOP Members Vying for Commerce Subcommittee Chairs
The gavel grab is on for House Commerce Committee Republicans seeking to elevate their position in various subcommittees, according to Capitol Hill aides. The chairman’s seat at one and possibly two other influential subcommittees could be vacant at the end of the 112th Congress, and competition among ambitious Republican members is heating up. The Republican Steering Committee (RSC) will begin meetings next week to determine who will take any vacant subcommittee leadership seats, said one outgoing Republican Congressman. The process will take weeks and subcommittee leadership positions probably won’t be finalized until mid-December, he said.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee was set to lose its chairman in August when Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., conceded to Republican Ted Yoho after a tightly fought primary race. Speculation has been brewing for months whether Vice Chairman Lee Terry, R-Neb., would be asked by full Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., to lead the subcommittee. Terry’s spokeswoman told us Thursday that the congressman is definitely interested in being a subcommittee chairman. “Congressman Terry is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a proven leader,” she said in an email. “He has worked closely with Chairman Upton on many key committee issues and would be honored to serve as a subcommittee chairman.”
Elevating Terry to Oversight Subcommittee chairman “makes the most sense,” said one veteran Republican communications lawyer. “He certainly has a lot of knowledge in the field and has certainly been an expert on universal service,” he said. Terry is also the vice chairman of the House Communications Subcommittee. He has been strong opponent of the FCC’s net neutrality rule, an advocate for FCC reform, and supporter of freeing up more spectrum for wireless use.
Another candidate who could replace Stearns at the Oversight Subcommittee is Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who was said to be actively seeking the position. “Marsha has enjoyed her service on [House Energy and Commerce] and spent much of the last election cycle ensuring that we'd maintain the majority,” her spokesman said via email on Thursday. “The committee will have an important oversight role in the upcoming Congress and if Chairman Upton and her colleagues choose her to lead a subcommittee, she will work diligently to meet and exceed their expectations.”
Blackburn is a five-term member of the Commerce Committee who generally supports limited federal regulation of the Internet and briefly supported and then opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act last winter. But Blackburn is outranked by Terry and Reps. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., and Michael Burgess, R-Texas, in the subcommittee’s hierarchy and Upton will likely follow a traditional line of succession, sources said. A spokesman for Burgess said the congressman “wants to be helpful to the Chairman and wishes to take whichever gavel is most helpful to the Committee.” Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla., also outranks Blackburn but he lost his renomination bid in June to Jim Bridenstine, a Republican. Upton’s spokeswoman would not comment, Murphy spokesman did not return our requests for comment.
A tight electoral race in California has the potential to shake up the House Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee if Chair Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., loses her bid for reelection. At our deadline Bono Mack had not yet conceded in the race though she was trailing by more than 4,000 votes to her Democratic challenger Paul Ruiz, a physician (http://xrl.us/bnyhyp). Her spokesman said California officials planned to release updated voting totals at 6:30 p.m. PST. If Bono Mack loses her election, Blackburn would be a likely choice to replace her on the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee, sources said. Blackburn currently is vice chair of the subcommittee, and is the most senior Republican woman in the Commerce Committee after Bono Mack.
Beltway insiders have speculated for months whether Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., will leave his post to focus on a larger role at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). This fall Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said he will not seek another term as NRCC chairman and backed Walden as his replacement (CD Oct 3 p13). The prospect of Walden’s future at the NRCC has fueled speculation about whether he would subsequently relinquish his leadership of the Communications Subcommittee.
A committee spokeswoman squashed in an email statement Thursday rumors Walden would vacate his leadership position on the House Communications Subcommittee. “Chairman Walden has been both a member of the GOP leadership team and the chair of an active subcommittee and whatever the leadership picture may be next year, we expect he will retain his position as chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology,” she said. Separately Walden’s spokesman said the Congressman is “asking his colleagues in the Republican Conference for their support to become Chairman of the NRCC. With nearly four years of experience as Deputy Chairman, he has a strong interest in continuing the significant and historic successes of Chairman Pete Sessions,” he said in an email.