Waxman Ready To Pick Telecom Panel Chairman
Democrats Plan To Meet Thursday; Also Wants To Rename Subcommittee
By Ted Hearn -- Multichannel News, 1/7/2009 5:18:00 AM MT
Washington -- Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are planning to meet Thursday to elect the chairmen of the panel's five subcommittees, chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) announced in a memo Tuesday.
Waxman's memo, obtained by Multichannel News, also disclosed that he intends to rename the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Federal Communications Commission, which directly regulates media and telecommunications companies.
Waxman wants to name the panel the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet from the current Telecommunications and the Internet. Waxman's proposed name change suggests he might want to broaden the subcommittee's jurisdiction to include the computer software and hardware industry.
Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), current chairman of the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee, is reportedly interested in becoming chairman of the Energy Subcommittee in light of the incoming Obama Administration's desire to pass climate change legislation. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) has reportedly expressed interest in being chairman of the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee if Markey steps down.
Markey headed the telecommunications panel when Congress passed the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, a measure that re-regulated cable rates and allowed commercial TV stations for the first time to demand cash for access to their signals by pay-TV distributors.
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