Congress: Fred Upton Will Take Over House Energy & Commerce Committee

Republican leaders in the House of Representatives last week selected Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) to head the Energy & Commerce Committee when the new Congress convenes next year. Upton, a 13-term member and past supporter of energy legislation and environmental issues, has increasingly taken conservative positions over the past month as a race for the committee’s leadership heated up.

Since the November elections, Upton, current committee ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas), and fellow committee members Reps. John M. Shimkus (R-Ill.) and Cliff B. Stearns (R-Fla.) had engaged in a bitter struggle to lead the committee.

In a series of statements, Upton announced opposition to renewable-energy subsidies and other renewable-energy incentives and urged that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be open to oil and gas drilling, a recommendation he made on the refuge’s 50th anniversary.

Along with energy concerns, Upton says his top priorities for the committee are “to repeal Obamacare, cut reckless spending, strip away the countless job-killing regulations, and spur job creation. We must work towards a new era of less government and more jobs—the Administration’s rampant spending and unfettered, two-year assault on the health, energy, and telecommunications sectors is now over.”

Among other decisions, House Republican leaders selected Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas) to chair the Committee on Science & Technology and eliminated the Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming.