Waxman wins bid to lead energy committee

By DAVID IVANOVICH and STEWART POWELL WASHINGTON BUREAU

Posted by: Zaki Bernoussi

In a contested vote, Waxman, 69, Thursday beat the 82-year-old dean of the House, John Dingell of Michigan, as chairman of the committee, which originates much of Congress’ energy and environmental legislation.Waxman’s new role adds worry for an oil and gas industry already confronting a severe recession, plunging crude prices and a Democratic administration committed to limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
“Houston has a problem,” said Kevin Book, an oil and energy policy analyst with FBR Capital Markets. “But it had a problem anyway.”

During his 34 years representing Los Angeles on Capitol Hill, Waxman created the Community Right to Know law, which allows local residents to learn what chemical plants are releasing into the air.He pushed for investigations of the oil companies. And with the start of the Iraq war, Waxman made Halliburton a household name with his relentless criticisms of the company’s multibillion-dollar contracts from the Pentagon.In a statement by e-mail Thursday evening, Halliburton spokeswoman Cathy Mann said the company believes “the time is right for a fresh start on energy, now that the U.S. campaigns are over.”

“We are at a unique moment in history,” said Waxman, who currently is the No. 2 Democrat on the panel. “We have an opportunity that comes only once in a generation.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., made clear what she expects Waxman to accomplish “progress toward making America energy independent, making health care available to all Americans and addressing the greatest challenge of our time, global warming.”

Presidentelect Barack Obama has called energy “the most important issue that our future economy is going to face,” and Dingell predicted that energy policy will be shaped largely from the White House.“I think probably what would have emerged either under Dingell or Waxman ... would have been quite similar, because the White House is going to play a major role in setting the energy policy of this country,” Dingell said.

posted at 5:45 pm