Braley to Energy and Commerce

Now Official: Braley to Energy and Commerce

We speculated before Thanksgiving, now it's official: Waterloo Rep. Bruce Braley has a coveted seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Braley played a big role in the most under-reported story of the post-election era, the coup that kicked John Dingell out of the Energy and Commerce chair and replaced him with Henry Waxman. The shift from auto industry apologist Dingell to environmentalist Waxman will make a bigger policy difference than most cabinet appointments. Braley allied early with Waxman and brought votes with him.

Combine this with Braley's organization of a "Populist caucus" and it looks like Bruce is getting a foot on the leadership ladder in his second term.

Cribbed from the press release:

“Our country is at an important crossroads,” said Congressman Braley. “That’s why I’ll be working on the Energy and Commerce Committee to create jobs in Iowa and to help make it the world’s renewable energy leader. I’ll also be working on this committee to make health care more affordable and accessible to Iowans in these uncertain economic times.

“I look forward to working with a new president and a new chairman on this committee to bring the change we need to our country’s energy and health care policy.”

The Energy and Commerce Committee is an exclusive committee, meaning members of the committee may only serve on other House committees with a waiver from the Speaker.

Braley is the first Iowa Democrat to serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee since the modern version of the committee was formed in 1946.

Braley to Energy and Commerce

Braley to Energy and Commerce Committee?

This week's palace coup in the halls of Congress may put Iowa's Bruce Braley on one of the House's most powerful committees.

Braley was a key backer of California Rep. Henry Waxman, who overthrew Michigan's John Dingell as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The vote was a big win for alternative energy, climate change control, and for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and a loss for the auto industry, the seniority system, and Iowa caucus enemy Dingell.

Braley's reward may be a seat on Energy and Commerce, a real plum for a second-term member. The Hill reports that the expanded Democratic majority will mean up to five additional Democratic seats on Energy and Commerce, and Braley is the only name specifically mentioned.

If the appointment happens, Braley will likely be a key ally to new chairman Waxman. Most current committee members, wanting to avoid alienating Dingell and hold on to their subcommittee chairs, voted for Dingell, but they were outnumbered by the rest of the House Democratic Caucus.

Another interesting shift: Dingell is likely to seek the chair of the panel’s Health subcommittee, in a move that will play to his strengths while avoiding his conflicts with the majority of House Democrats. As chair of the full committee, Dingell was out of line with most Democrats in blocking climate change and fuel economy legislation at the behest of his district's auto industry.

But Dingell has been a solid progressive on health care throughout his five decades--you read that right, five decades--in Congress, and will likely be a key House player on the issue as the Obama Administration pursues the issue. John Dingell has just suffered a major, humiliating defeat, but a health care win could close out his career with a victory that has eluded Democrats going back to Harry Truman.

Iowa's Clout May Increase Under Waxman

Iowa's Clout May Increase Under Waxman

Iowa may have been a big winner in today's epic vote that stripped a major committee chairmanship from the senior member of the House of Representatives.

Rep. Henry Waxman of California was elected chair of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, defeating incumbent John Dingell of Michigan. The vote was a 137-122 secret ballot in a closed door meeting, but Rep. Bruce Braley of Waterloo was one of three speakers on Waxman's behalf.

The Politico reports that Braley "lash(ed) out at Dingell for standing in the way of environmental reforms. He even complained that the speaker had to go around him to enact a renewable energy bill during the Democrats' first year in power."

The Waxman-Dingell rivalry that culminated in today's vote goes back decades. “It was like Zeus and Thor in there, hurling lightning bolts at each other. You just wanted to duck and get out of the way,” California Rep. George Miller, another leading Waxman supporter, told Congressional Quarterly. Despite mixing his Greek and Norse pantheons, Miller chairs the Education and Labor committee, and Iowa's Dave Loebsack is seen as a close Miller ally.

"Congressman Loebsack is looking forward to working with Chairman Waxman to repair our broken health care system and to reform our nation's energy policy," said a Loebsack spokesperson.

The switch is seen as a loss for the seniority system and a gain for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow Californian who has long been close to Waxman.

"If it moves, it goes through the Commerce Committee" is the old Capitol Hill saying about the committee's broad jurisdiction over legislation, and in Waxman, the Obama administration will have a more certain ally than Dingell on energy and climate change issues. The change benefits wind and ethanol producing Iowa. Waxman has long supported stronger clean air and fuel efficiency standards. Dingell, as befits his Detroit area district, is a staunch auto industry defender.

Another way the move helps Iowa: Dingell and his wife, Democratic National Committee member Debbie Dingell, are among the leading critics of Iowa's first in the nation caucuses, and played big roles in Michigan's move to leapfrog past the DNC-approved primary calendar. Less clout for the Dingells means more clout for Iowa at scheduling time. (Having a friend of the caucuses in the White House won't hurt, either.)

Dingell was first elected at age 29 in a 1955 special election to replace his late father, and is on track to set a record early next year as the longest serving member in the 220 year history of the House. But despite being the "new guy," Waxman has been in the House 34 years, joining Congress in the 1974 Watergate class that included Tom Harkin.