Henry Waxman

N.C. Dems vocal about Dingell, or mum

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:02:14 -0500

During this two-week battle for power on the Energy and Commerce Committee, U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan has been more open than U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman of California.

Dingell has been more willing to give interviews on the matter. He publicly announced a long list of supporters and slammed Waxman as a "left-wing Democrat" who doesn't understand manufacturing, Barb Barrett reports.

Waxman has stayed fairly quiet. And while he is close to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, another California representative, she didn't disclose publicly whom she supported either.

It was generally expected that Dingell would receive support from moderate and conservative Democrats, along with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Waxman was expected to win the backing of more liberal members.

Tough to say whether the differences in the candidates' style on transparency translates to caucus members' transparency on the vote itself, but let's review:

Reps. Mel Watt and Mike McIntyre both publicly supported Dingell. U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler was on his whip team. Both McIntyre and Shuler are conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield serves on Energy and Commerce under Dingell and was reportedly lobbying for him as well. Watt and Butterfield serve in the Congressional Black Caucus.

Reps. Brad Miller and David Price, along with Rep.-elect Larry Kissell, all declined to say who they supported.

(Butterfield, it should be said, also declined today to reveal his vote.)

The National Journal ranked Price in March as being more liberal than 90 percent of the House; it ranked Miller as being more liberal than 78 percent of House.

Rep. Bob Etheridge, a conservative Democrat who isn't a Blue Dog, hasn't yet responded to requests for comment on his vote.

Miller mum on Waxman-Dingell

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:34:04 -0500

What do these internal fights for committee chairmanships do for the party?

Some think they cause unnecessary rancor, especially when the Democrats want to pull together behind their new president-elect, Barb Barrett reports.

Plus, no one wants to upset either U.S. Rep. John Dingell, the 82-year-old dean of the House, or U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, a senior member himself with close ties to the Speaker.

That, said U.S. Rep. Brad Miller of Raleigh, is why he won't reveal his vote.

"Congressman Miller voted secret ballot because he has a deep respect for both Waxman and Dingell," said Miller's spokeswoman, LuAnn Canipe.

"He has a good relationship with these two distinguished members of Congress," she said. "Revealing his vote does nothing to help the cohesiveness of the Caucus."

Previously: Watt, McIntyre, Shuler backed Dingell; Price, Kissell mum.

McIntyre, Shuler backed Dingell

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:03:42 -0500

The Blue Dogs, a crew of House Democrats who champion fiscal conservatism, were reported earlier this week as backing U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan in his battle to defend his chairmanship of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

That's true, at least, for North Carolina's members, Barb Barrett reports.

Blue Dog Mike McIntyre, a Lumberton Democrat, cast his ballot for Dingell.

"Congressman McIntyre supported Congressman Dingell because of his deep respect for the seniority system and his personal relationship with him," said McIntyre's spokesman, Dean Mitchell.

The state's other Blue Dog, U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler of Waynesville, served on Dingell's "whip team," meaning he was tapped to help round up caucus votes for the Michigan lawmaker.

Previously: Watt backed Dingell; Price, Kissell mum.

Kissell mum on Waxman-Dingell

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:23:36 -0500

Both U.S. Reps. John Dingell and Henry Waxman gave money to Democrats seeking their first terms in Congress, but Waxman generally gave higher amounts of money in what was seen as an effort to shore up support among the caucus' newest members.

Larry Kissell, for example, received $3,000 from Waxman's political action committee.

That helped Kissell knock off incumbent Republican Robin Hayes. Dingell's political action committee is not listed as giving anything, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

But Kissell, the state’s newest House member, was mum on whom he voted for.

"There are legitimate arguments both ways," he told the Charlotte Observer's Lisa Zagaroli before the vote. "I've done my homework."

He opted not to reveal his choice, saying, "I have not worked with either one of them. Let the public positioning come from those who know them better."

Previously: Rep. Mel Watt voted for Dingell; Price mum.

Price mum on Dingell-Waxman vote

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:17:21 -0500

U.S. Rep. David Price isn’t saying who he supported to lead the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Price, a Chapel Hill Democrat, has worked closely with Waxman on issues regarding private security contractors working in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Barb Barrett reports.

He also is a strong partisan who respects Democratic party rules. Those reward seniority.

Here’s what Price's spokesman, Paul Cox, had to say: "This internal party election was conducted through secret ballot."

Previously: Rep. Mel Watt backed John Dingell.

Watt voted for Dingell

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:57:33 -0500

U.S. Rep. Mel Watt voted for Dingell.

The issue, the Charlotte Democrat told Dome the issue, wasn't who would make the better chairman. Either man, he said, would make an excellent choice.

"I just thought it was a mistake, without having concrete and compelling reasons, to start disregarding the seniority system," Watt said. "We need a more concrete standard than popularity. … The best person is in the eye of the beholder, and the most senior person is not."

Watt, who has been in Congress since 1992, said shifting the standard opens the door to appointing top positions based on such issues as friendship, political donations and ideology.

"I think you open (the process) up to substantial problems going forward," Watt said. "I think it's inevitable."

Blackwater interrogator wins D.C. battle

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:28:16 -0500

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…

Waxman calls for Blackwater probe

bkrueger — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 13:49:16 -0400

A leading congressman today asked three federal agencies to investigate the conduct of Blackwater, the private military contractor based in North Carolina.

U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman said Blackwater may be violating tax, small businesss and labor laws, and he requested investigations from the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration and the Department of Labor, reports Joseph Neff.

Blackwater's director of public affairs, Anne E. Tyrrell, called Waxman's claims "completely without merit."

Waxman repeated the complaint he first aired in October, that Blackwater has evaded tens of millions of dollars in federal taxes by treating its security guards, pilots and support staff as independent contractors instead of employees.

Since then, Waxman said, his investigators have reviewed 20,000 documents and interviewed former Blackwater personnel and officials at the State Department, which hired Blackwater to protect its diplomats in Iraq and worldwide.

Companies must withhold Medicare and Social Security taxes for employees, but not independent contractors. Blackwater may have failed to pay or withhold up to $50 million dollars in taxes.

Drug policies or politics?

bkrueger — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:51:58 -0400

A visit from the White House drug czar to western North Carolina last year has raised questions in a congressional investigation into the politicization of the national drug policy office.

Drug czar John Walters met with GOP Reps. Patrick McHenry and Charles Taylor in their home districts in August, reports Barb Barrett.

The meetings, each with local sheriffs, were held behind closed doors but highlighted in local newspapers at the time. According to a memo and e-mails obtained by a House oversight committee, the visits appeared to be part of a larger program to have officials from the Office of National Drug Control Policy visit districts of vulnerable GOP members of Congress.

They included visits to 20 events across the nation to towns that an official described in an e-mail as “god awful places.”

On Aug. 1, Walters, director of the drug office, met with McHenry and six local sheriffs in Lenoir, in Caldwell County. There, they talked about sheriffs’ appreciation for specialized drug courts.

The same day, Walters held a press conference in Asheville with Taylor, who was in a tight race for re-election. Walters praised Taylor’s work combating methamphetamine.

Taylor lost his re-election bid in November to Democrat Heath Shuler.