Rep. Hastings: Time to Split Up Energy and Commerce Committee

Washington state Rep. Doc Hastings wants to take the “energy” out of Energy and Commerce. The top Republican on the Natural Resources Committee wants to commandeer energy issues from the Energy and Commerce panel. Mr. Hastings made his proposal in a letter to all the Republicans who will be returning to Washington next year. Mr. Hastings offered his proposal as four Republicans brawl for the Energy and Commerce chairmanship. Texas Rep. Joe Barton, the top Republican who’s running up against term limits for the job, sent his own missive today asking to add newly elected lawmakers to the panel. This nasty internecine fight makes the committee vulnerable to a jurisdictional challenge. The Natural Resources panel oversees drilling, mining and alternative energy development on federal land and offshore. Energy and Commerce oversees the Department of Energy and sets policy for much of the industry, including oil, natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy sources. In his letter, Mr. Hastings argued that consolidating that jurisdiction on a single committee would help Republicans push their “all-of-the-above” energy policy. The Washington Republican also hinted at his jurisdictional motives, calling Energy and Commerce “a Goliath” because its reach spans health care, telecommunications, the Food and Drug Administration and consumer protection. Under his plan, Republicans could split the jurisdiction for two major issues – health care and energy – between separate committees. “This is the committee that spawned both Obamacare and the Democrats’ cap-and-trade national energy tax,” Mr. Hastings wrote. “Energy deserves the concentrated attention of a committee with full jurisdiction over such a sweeping issue.”...more