In the first sign of Democratic intraparty strife since the election, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) has told colleagues that he plans to challenge the House's most senior member, Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), for the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee.Waxman, who is chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is the No. 2 ranking member of Energy and Commerce and one of the most liberal members of the House. In three decades as a lawmaker, Waxman, 69, has been a leading supporter of universal health care, tobacco regulation and environmental protections.
I am generally reluctant to attack another Democrat, and the interests of organized labor are valid concerns, but environmentalists have been frustrated with Dingell's stonewalling on environmental issues. But the concerns about the environment, and in particular discussions about global climate change and peak oil mean to me that we need new thinking.
Waxman to Challenge Dingell for Energy Panel Chair
Environmentalists paint Dingell and Waxman in equally stark terms.
Waxman taking the helm at Energy and Commerce ``is like the difference between George Bush and Barack Obama,'' said Dan Becker, an environmental lawyer and director of the Washington- based Safe Climate Campaign. ``Bush and Dingell have been enemies of efforts to improve the environment, while Waxman and Obama have been heroes.''
Becker said Dingell opposed efforts to strengthen the Clean Air Act in the 1990s and worked to ease fuel-efficiency standards under the government's Corporate Average Fuel Economy program for automakers.
The Detroit automakers are in a particularly weak position right now, and there is talk that they may be asking for bailouts in the future. Any bailout (if given) needs to have some serious strings attached.