House Energy and Commerce Committee
Standing committee
Active

United States House of Representatives
118th Congress
U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce official Seal
History
FormedDecember 14, 1795
Leadership
ChairCathy McMorris Rodgers (R)
Since January 3, 2023
Ranking memberFrank Pallone (D)
Since January 3, 2023
Structure
Seats52
Political partiesMajority (29)
  •   Republican (29)
Minority (23)
Website
energycommerce.house.gov

    The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than 200 years. The two other House standing committees with such continuous operation are the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Rules Committee. The committee has served as the principal guide for the House in matters relating to the promotion of commerce and to the public's health and marketplace interests, with the relatively recent addition of energy considerations among them. Due to its broad jurisdiction, it is considered one of the most powerful committees in the House.[1]

    Role of the committee

    The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has developed what is arguably the broadest (non-tax-oriented) jurisdiction of any congressional committee. The committee maintains principal responsibility for legislative oversight relating to telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health, air quality and environmental health, the supply and delivery of energy, and interstate and foreign commerce.[2] This jurisdiction extends over five Cabinet-level departments and seven independent agencies—from the Department of Energy, Health and Human Services, the Transportation Department to the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, and Federal Communications Commission—and sundry quasi-governmental organizations.

    Jurisdiction

    The Energy and Commerce Committee has the broadest jurisdiction of any authorizing committee in Congress. It legislates on a wide variety of issues, including:[3]

    • health care, including mental health and substance abuse
    • health insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid
    • biomedical research and development
    • food, drug, device and cosmetic safety
    • environmental protection
    • clean air and climate change
    • safe drinking water
    • toxic chemicals and hazardous waste
    • national energy policy
    • renewable energy and conservation
    • nuclear facilities
    • electronic communications and the internet
    • broadcast and cable television
    • privacy, cybersecurity and data security
    • consumer protection and product safety
    • motor vehicle safety
    • travel, tourism and sports  
    • interstate and foreign commerce

    Members, 118th Congress

    Majority Minority

    Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 14 (Chair), H.Res. 15 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 56 (R), H.Res. 57 (D)

    Subcommittees

    To manage the wide variety of issues it encounters, the committee relies on the front-line work of six subcommittees, one more than during the 111th Congress. During the 111th Congress, Chairman Henry Waxman combined the traditionally separate energy and environment subcommittees into a single subcommittee.[4] New Chairman Fred Upton restored them as separate subcommittees at the start of the 112th Congress, and they have been retained to this day.

    Subcommittee Chair[5] Ranking Member[6]
    Communications and Technology Bob Latta (R-OH) Doris Matsui (D-CA)
    Energy, Climate and Grid Security Jeff Duncan (R-SC) Diana DeGette (D-CO)
    Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Minerals Bill Johnson (R-OH) Paul Tonko (D-NY)
    Health Brett Guthrie (R-KY) Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA)
    Innovation, Data and Commerce Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
    Oversight and Investigations Morgan Griffith (R-VA) Kathy Castor (D-FL)

    Historical membership rosters

    117th Congress

    Majority Minority

    Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 9 (Chair), H.Res. 10 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 62 (D), H.Res. 63 (R)

    Subcommittees
    Subcommittee[8][9] Chair Ranking Member
    Communications and Technology Mike Doyle (D-PA) Bob Latta (R-OH)
    Consumer Protection and Commerce Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)
    Energy Bobby Rush (D-IL) Fred Upton (R-MI)
    Environment and Climate Change Paul Tonko (D-NY) David McKinley (R-WV)
    Health Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
    Oversight and Investigations Diana DeGette (D-CO) Morgan Griffith (R-VA)

    116th Congress

    Majority Minority

    Sources: H.Res. 7 (Chair), H.Res. 8 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 42 (D), H.Res. 68 (R)

    Subcommittees
    Subcommittee[10][11] Chair Ranking Member
    Communications and Technology Mike Doyle (D-PA) Bob Latta (R-OH)
    Consumer Protection and Commerce Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)
    Energy Bobby Rush (D-IL) Fred Upton (R-MI)
    Environment and Climate Change Paul Tonko (D-NY) David McKinley (R-WV)
    Health Anna Eshoo (D-CA) Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
    Oversight and Investigations Diana DeGette (D-CO) Morgan Griffith (R-VA)

    115th Congress

    Majority Minority

    Sources: H.Res. 6 (Chair), H.Res. 7 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 29 (R) and H.Res. 45 (D).

    114th Congress

    Majority Minority

    History

    The committee was originally formed as the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures on December 14, 1795. Prior to this, legislation was drafted in the Committee of the Whole or in special ad hoc committees, appointed for specific limited purposes. However the growing demands of the new nation required that Congress establish a permanent committee to manage its constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause to "regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States."

    From this time forward, as the nation grew and Congress dealt with new public policy concerns and created new committees, the Energy and Commerce Committee has maintained its central position as Congress's monitor of commercial progress—a focus reflected in its changing jurisdiction, both in name and practice.

    In 1819, the committee's name was changed to the Committee on Commerce, reflecting the creation of a separate Manufacturers Committee and also the increasing scope of and complexity of American commercial activity, which was expanding the committee's jurisdiction from navigational aids and the nascent general health service to foreign trade and tariffs. Thomas J. Bliley, who chaired the committee from 1995 to 2000, chose to use this traditional name, which underscores the committee's role for Congress on this front.

    In 1891, in emphasis of the committee's evolving activities, the name was again changed to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce—a title it maintained until 1981, when, under incoming Chairman John Dingell, the committee first assumed what is now its present name to emphasize its lead role in guiding the energy policy of the United States. Dingell regained chairmanship of the committee in 2007 after having served as ranking member since 1995. In late 2008, Henry Waxman initiated a successful challenge to unseat Dingell as chairman. His challenge was unusual as the party caucus traditionally elects chairmen based on committee seniority. Waxman formally became chairman at the start of the 111th Congress.[12]

    Previous chairs

    Committee on Commerce and Manufactures

    ChairmanPartyStateYears
    Benjamin Goodhue Federalist Massachusetts 1795–1796
    John Swanwick Democratic-Republican Pennsylvania 1796–1797
    Edward Livingston Democratic-Republican New York 1797–1798
    Samuel Smith Democratic-Republican Maryland 1798–1803
    Samuel L. Mitchill Democratic-Republican New York 1803–1805
    Jacob Crowninshield Democratic-Republican Massachusetts 1805–1806
    Gurdon S. Mumford Democratic-Republican New York 1806–1807
    Thomas Newton Jr. Democratic-Republican Virginia 1807–1819

    Committee on Commerce

    ChairmanPartyStateYears
    Thomas Newton Jr. Democratic-Republican Virginia 1819–1827
    Churchill C. Cambreleng Democratic New York 1827–1833
    Joel B. Sutherland Democratic Pennsylvania 1833–1837
    Francis O. J. Smith Democratic Maine 1837–1838
    Samuel Cushman Democratic New Hampshire 1838–1839
    Edward Curtis Whig New York 1839–1841
    John P. Kennedy Whig Maryland 1841–1843
    Isaac E. Holmes Democratic South Carolina 1843–1845
    Robert McClelland Democratic Michigan 1845–1847
    Washington Hunt Whig New York 1847–1849
    Robert Milligan McLane Democratic Maryland 1849–1851
    David L. Seymour Democratic New York 1851–1853
    Thomas J. D. Fuller Democratic Maine 1853–1855
    Elihu B. Washburne Republican Illinois 1855–1857
    John Cochrane Democratic New York 1857–1859
    Elihu B. Washburne Republican Illinois 1859–1868
    Thomas D. Eliot Republican Massachusetts 1868–1869
    Nathan F. Dixon II Republican Rhode Island 1869–1871
    Samuel Shellabarger Republican Ohio 1871–1873
    William A. Wheeler Republican New York 1873–1875
    Frank Hereford Democratic West Virginia 1875–1877
    Elijah Ward Democratic New York 1877
    John H. Reagan Democratic Texas 1877–1881
    Horace F. Page Republican California 1881–1883
    John H. Reagan Democratic Texas 1883–1887
    Martin L. Clardy Democratic Missouri 1887–1889
    Charles S. Baker Republican New York 1889–1891

    Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce

    ChairmanPartyStateYears
    Roger Q. Mills Democratic Texas 1891–1892
    George D. Wise Democratic Virginia 1892–1895
    William Peters Hepburn Republican Iowa 1895–1909
    James Robert Mann Republican Illinois 1909–1911
    William C. Adamson Democratic Georgia 1911–1917
    Thetus W. Sims Democratic Tennessee 1917–1919
    John J. Esch Republican Wisconsin 1919–1921
    Samuel Winslow Republican Massachusetts 1921–1925
    James S. Parker Republican New York 1925–1931
    Sam Rayburn Democratic Texas 1931–1937
    Clarence F. Lea Democratic California 1937–1947
    Charles A. Wolverton Republican New Jersey 1947–1949
    Robert Crosser Democratic Ohio 1949–1953
    Charles A. Wolverton Republican New Jersey 1953–1955
    Percy Priest Democratic Tennessee 1955–1956
    Oren Harris Democratic Arkansas 1957–1966
    Harley Orrin Staggers Democratic West Virginia 1966–1981

    Committee on Energy and Commerce

    ChairmanPartyStateYears
    John Dingell Democratic Michigan 1981–1995
    Thomas Bliley Republican Virginia 1995–2001
    Billy Tauzin Republican Louisiana 2001–2004
    Joe Barton Republican Texas 2004–2007
    John Dingell Democratic Michigan 2007–2009
    Henry Waxman Democratic California 2009–2011
    Fred Upton Republican Michigan 2011–2017
    Greg Walden Republican Oregon 2017–2019
    Frank Pallone Democratic New Jersey 2019–2023
    Cathy McMorris Rodgers Republican Washington 2023–

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ "AOC, Rice face off for powerful committee post". Politico. 8 December 2020.
    2. ↑ "About E&C". Democrats, Energy and Commerce Committee. December 19, 2013.
    3. ↑ "Jurisdiction". Democrats, Energy and Commerce Committee. 2014-01-06. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
    4. ↑ "House Energy and Commerce Committee announces Subcommittee Chairs and Membership". Energy and Commerce Committee Press Release. January 8, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
    5. ↑ "Chair Rodgers Announces Energy and Commerce Committee Leadership, Subcommittee Membership for the 118th Congress". House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Retrieved 2023-01-27.
    6. ↑ "Pallone Announces Energy & Commerce Subcommittee Ranking Members and Democratic Roster". Democrats, Energy and Commerce Committee. 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
    7. ↑ "Pallone Announces Energy & Commerce Subcommittee Chairs and Democratic Roster". 15 January 2021.
    8. ↑ "Rodgers Announces Energy and Commerce Republican Subcommittee Leaders and Republican Roster". 21 January 2021.
    9. ↑ "Pallone Announces Energy & Commerce Subcommittee Chairs and Democratic Roster". 15 January 2021.
    10. ↑ "Rodgers Announces Energy and Commerce Republican Subcommittee Leaders and Republican Roster". 21 January 2021.
    11. ↑ "Pallone Announces Energy & Commerce Subcommittee Chairs and Democratic Roster". 15 January 2021.
    12. ↑ H.Res. 8
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