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from: Technology Daily

Rep. Dingell Is Back In Charge,But With Some Changed Views

By David Hatch

(Monday, January 22) Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is a readily recognizable face in Washington and on the panel.

A member of Congress since 1955 -- he is the longest serving member of the House -- he ran the Energy and Commerce panel from 1981 until the Democrats lost control of the House in early 1995.

For years, Dingell was viewed as closely aligned with the Bell telephone companies -- but as they consolidated and moved beyond their core local phone businesses, his opinions also evolved.

Last year, during the protracted battle over Republican-backed telecommunications legislation, Dingell came out swinging against AT&T, BellSouth (now part of AT&T) and Verizon Communications, as they sought to eliminate local franchise restrictions and prevent regulation of their growing high-speed Internet businesses.

"This bill threatens real harm to consumers, to our communities and to citizens of the Internet," Dingell declared during committee action on the measure. "Many people will be worse off after this bill than they are today. I urge a no vote."

Yet in 2001, Dingell had teamed with then-Energy and Commerce Chairman W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, R-La., on a bill to let the Bells offer nationwide Internet access. The FCC later granted much of the relief they sought.

A longtime telecom powerbroker, Dingell also was central to passage of the watershed 1996 Telecommunications Act.

Following the mid-term election, he outlined an ambitious agenda for 2007.

Among the priorities: fresh telecom legislation with a more deregulatory focus; further examination of television "indecency," a perennial concern; and renewed efforts to overhaul the multibillion-dollar universal service fund that subsidizes telecom services in rural and impoverished areas.

The second-highest ranking Democrat on the Energy and Commerce panel is Rep. Henry Waxman of California who is usually more focused on health and clean air than telecom, industry observers said.

Waxman -- who also chairs the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, which is expected to take aim at the Bush administration on numerous fronts -- supports retaining and strengthening the FCC's limits on media ownership, which are now under agency review, and voted against last year's telecom bill.

On the Republican side, a notable new face at the Energy and Commerce panel is former House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, who served on the panel before becoming speaker in late 1998.

Known for his strong Bell support, Hastert voted for last year's industry-endorsed legislation.

Other key players include Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., who will head the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee. He was in line to run the Telecommunications and the Internet panel had Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., selected another panel.

Boucher split with Dingell and Markey by voting for Barton's bill, though he aligned with them on the need for tougher Internet regulation.

Boucher and Rep. Lee Terry, a Republican panel member from Nebraska, collaborated on USF legislation last year and plan to renew that effort.

Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., who co-sponsored last year's telecom legislation with now-Energy and Commerce ranking member Joe Barton of Texas, will head the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., an advocate of increasing funding for emergency responders to improve communication across jurisdictions, rejoined the Energy and Commerce panel this year after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., rejected Harman's bid to head the Intelligence Committee.

Harman was on the Energy and Commerce Committee from 2001 to 2002.

The Democratic newcomers to the panel -- Reps. John Barrow of Georgia, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina, Baron Hill of Indiana, Darlene Hooley of Oregon, Charlie Melancon of Louisiana, Jim Matheson of Utah and Anthony Weiner of New York -- have limited tech backgrounds.

Matheson has sponsored bills designed to shelter children from Internet porn and mandate videogame ratings. In 2006, he backed Democratic efforts to enact Internet regulation.

Weiner previously introduced minor telecom bills addressing wireless and broadcast issues. He also sits on the House Judiciary Committee, which has some jurisdiction over telecom and copyright matters.

Hill returns to Congress after reclaiming the seat he lost in 2004. He has been a member of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of moderates who have promoted a high-tech economy and job growth.

Harman, Hooley and Melancon alaso are New Democrat Coalition members.

Barton now finds himself heading the panel's minority after -- while serving as chairman -- he shepherded his telecom bill to the floor, where it passed 321-101.

Other returning GOP members include Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan, who relinquishes the telecom subcommittee chairmanship, and Charles (Chip) Pickering of Mississippi. Both Pickering and Upton played key roles in negotiating last year's telecom lgislation.

Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.m.,who voted against passage of Barton's bill, remains on the panel after a razor-thin election victory.

Also back on the GOP side are: Reps. Barbara Cubin of Wyoming, a universal service supporter; Nathan Deal of Georgia, a proponent of per-channel pricing for cable; and Cliff Stearns of Florida, who is considered friendly to broadcasters.

Stearns previously offered legislation to relax the media ownership limits, though he recently supported raising the television indecency fines.