Simpson to Remain Chairman of House E&W Approps; Upton Back as House E&C Committee
Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
11/21/2014
There will be familiar faces in the next Congress atop the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee and House Energy and Commerce Committee, but a new leader for the House Armed Services Committee. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) this week was formally named chairman of the House Armed Services Committee for next year’s 114th Congress, ending months of speculation about the Texas lawmaker taking over for outgoing chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.). Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) will remain the chairman of the powerful House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, while Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) will return to head the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Senate Republicans have not announced their committee leadership decisions.
Thornberry, whose Texas panhandle district includes the Pantex Plant, has served as the vice chairman of the panel for the last four years and has extensive experience on national security issues. He was integral in writing the legislation that created the National Nuclear Security Administration in 2000 and has been keenly involved in the weapons complex since he was elected to Congress in 1995. “Our country faces a wide array of serious national security challenges from the renewed aggression of major powers to terrorism and attacks in cyberspace,” Thornberry said in a statement. “Congress has an indispensable role to play in meeting those challenges, and the Committee will work to see that our country remains strong.”
Subcommittee Chairs for House E&C to Remain in Place
Simpson, who has been a vocal supporter of the Department of Energy, took over the top spot on the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee two years ago. Upton has served as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which helps to oversee DOE, since 2011. Upton also announced this week his slate of subcommittee chairs for the new Congress, including Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) to again lead the Energy and Power Subcommittee; Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) to again lead the Environment and Economy Subcommittee; and Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) to again head the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Frank Pallone (N.J.) is set to serve as the Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee in the next Congress, according to media reports. Pallone replaces Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who did not run for re-election this month, as the top Democrat on the panel. Information on Democratic ranking members for the panel’s various subcommittees has not yet been announced.
