Anybody Who Feuds With Mr. I-Hate-Science Barton Can't Be All Bad

More from EEI:
Rep. Waxman Likely to Become Chairman of House Government Reform Panel

Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., will become the chairman of the House Government Reform Committee under a Democratic-run U.S. House, Environment and Energy Daily reported, switching jobs with Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., who'll assume the job of ranking minority member. The newsletter said that Waxman could be expected to intensify his approach to examining the issues associated with climate change "dramatically," the newsletter reported.

Wrote the newsletter: "A member of the Democrats' 1974 post-Watergate freshman class, Waxman is known for an aggressive questioning style and prying letters. The 67-year-old congressman has been forced to yell from his ranking member perch throughout the Bush administration, taking aim at White House ties to Enron Corp., contract controversy in Iraq and regulatory revisions to air and water pollution laws. While many of Waxman's demands have gone unmet, much would change if he gained subpoena power and the ability to call witnesses."

Other Democrats who will assume more responsibility and control on the panel with their newly-won majority, the newsletter pointed out, include Reps. Tom Lantos (Calif.), Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.) and Dennis Kucinich (Ohio).
Environment and Energy Daily, Nov. 7.

Rep. Gordon Ready to Take Chairmanship of House Science Committee

Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., appears ready to replace Rep. Sherwood W. Boehlert, R-N.Y., as chairman of the House Science Committee as a result of the Democrats' take-over of the U.S. House. It's not clear who will be Gordon's opposite: The top candidates are Rep. Vern Ehlers, R-Mich., now chairman of the panel's subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards, and Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Ralph Hall, R-Texas. Ehlers and Boehlert share a view on climate change that leans toward a more aggressive involvement, while Rohrabacher and Hall are viewed as less aggressive in that area.

Wrote Environment and Energy Daily: "Considered a moderate Republican, Boehlert has presided over several hearings explicitly on climate change, but of the late the lawmaker's real impact on the climate front has been as an outspoken advocate for scientific freedom. Last year, Boehlert publicly feuded with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) over Barton's decision to seek decades of personal, scientific and financial records from three scientists who authored a controversial climate change study."
Environment and Energy Daily, Nov. 7.