Upton reshuffles Energy and Commerce Committee deck, names subcommittee leaders

The structure of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee under GOP rule has come into focus.

The plan includes cleaving the Energy and Environment Subcommittee into two separate panels, incoming full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) announced Thursday.

Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) will be chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee, with Rep. John Sullivan (R-Okla.) selected as vice chairman.

Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), meanwhile, will be chairman of the new Environment and Economy Subcommittee, with Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) in the vice chairman’s role.

Upton told reporters Thursday the Energy and Power Subcommittee will oversee the Clean Air Act, a key fact because Upton and other Republicans plan to attack EPA initiatives to regulate greenhouse gases under the statute. Other EPA matters will fall under the Environment and Economy panel, Upton said.

Elsewhere, as expected, Upton has named former committee chairman and ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas) as “chairman emeritus” — a position that includes two staff members and a seat on each of the six subcommittees, Upton said.

Upton defeated Barton in a bitter fight for the gavel of the panel that has jurisdiction over energy, health care, telecommunications and other matters.

Also, Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) will be vice chairwoman of the full committee. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) will serve as chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, which will likely play a key role in committee probes of the Obama administration’s environmental and energy policies.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) will lead the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade; Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) will helm the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology; and Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) will be chairman of the Subcommittee on Health.

“Our challenges are many, and it will be all hands on deck for the Energy and Commerce Committee as we repeal Obamacare, cut spending, roll back job-killing regulations, unleash technological innovation, and fortify our nation’s energy security. Every member and every subcommittee will be on the frontlines as we take on federal agencies — EPA, HHS, DOE, FCC, you name it — to identify wasteful programs and target areas to immediately cut spending,” Upton said in a statement Thursday.

—This post was updated at 3:33 p.m.