Chatter on Capitol Hill today is all about the totally-inside-the-Beltway battle between U.S. Reps. Henry Waxman and John Dingell for control of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

There was a secret vote in the House Democratic caucus today on whether to oust Dingell — the body’s longest-serving member — from the post he has held for 27 years, Barb Barrett reports.

The vote pitted Dingell, the Michigan congressman who has used his post to champion the auto industry, against Waxman, the California congressman with strong environmental leanings.

N&O readers may know Waxman as the current chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where he hauled Blackwater USA chief Erik Prince in front of cameras for a packed hearing on private security contractors.

With Barack Obama coming in as president, the oversight chairmanship didn't look as juicy.

The Energy and Commerce committee, though, has jurisdiction over energy issues and global climate-change legislation, so the chairman would help shape whatever bill emerges from committee.

Democrats' tradition holds that seniority trumps all when it comes to chairmanships, so for Waxman to launch a coup against Dingell was big gossip around Washington.

Turns out, Waxman won. 137-122.

So how did North Carolina’s Democrats cast their ballots? More to come…

Several Democratic candidates are targeting Blackwater.

Congressional candidate Marshall Adame, U.S. Senate candidate Jim Neal and U.S. Rep. David Price have attacked the Moyock-based security contractor, the Virginian-Pilot reports.

Adame, a diplomat who spent in Iraq, called them "guns for hire."

Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, introduced legislation requiring more oversight of contractors after Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqi civilians in September.

And Neal, who is running against state Sen. Kay Hagan for the Democratic nomination, responded "Hell, no," when asked whether the U.S. military should "outsource warfare."

Company founder Erik Prince has donated at least $113,000 to Republican candidates since 1995, including $1,750 to Adame's opponent, incumbent Rep. Walter Jones.

He has not donated to any Democrats.

Update: Blackwater Current blogger Joe Neff says including Prince's family members, the total number of donations is over a quarter million, all to Republicans. One exception: A stealth donation to the Green Party.

Blackwater USA President Erik Prince backs U.S. Rep. David Price’s bill on private security contractors.

Prince told the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today that he would welcome greater accountability, according to the Associated Press. He also told the committee he supports Price’s bill, which is scheduled to be voted on this week by the full House.

The bill would bring private security contractors accused of crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan under U.S. federal law.

Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, has been critical of Blackwater, a Moyock-based company that has been in the news of late because of a September incident in which 11 Iraqi civilians were killed in Baghdad.

Price’s spokesman, Paul Cox, said Blackwater’s support should come as little surprise, since contractors generally have said they want more clarity of the rules under which they’re working.

"Price has been mainly – his efforts aren’t anti-contractor. They’re anti-impunity,” Cox said. “It’s the lack of accountability.”

U.S. Rep. David Price’s bill on prosecuting private security contractors is scheduled to hit the House floor this week, possibly as soon as Tuesday. That happens to be the same day Blackwater USA president Erik Prince has been asked to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Price’s staff is working long hours, putting together background papers and trying to anticipate potential arguments from opponents to his bill, reports Barb Barrett.

Amendments to the bill are supposed to be filed with the House by the end of today, then the Rules Committee will decide which will be allowed.

The bill would bring private security contractors operating in “contingency operations,” such as in Iraq and Afghanistan, under the federal criminal code. That means any contractors suspected of committing crimes could be investigated and prosecuted under U.S. law.

Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, has been working on the bill for months, but it gained new attention in the past two weeks when Iraq threatened to take the operating license of Blackwater, a Moyock-based company. Blackwater employees killed at least 11 Iraqis last month while protecting a convoy for the U.S. Department of State in Baghdad.