CQ Transcriptswire

SPEAKER: REP. HENRY A. WAXMAN, D-CALIF.

[*] WAXMAN: Thank you very much. I’m very gratified by the trust put into me as chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee by my colleagues in the Democratic Caucus.

It was a -- a contentious race. And it was a close one, as well. I want to point out to the press, as I did to the members in the caucus, that this is no way diminishes the enormous contribution to our country by Chairman John Dingell. We will always owe him a debt of gratitude for a lifetime of public service. He will continue to be in the record books of great legislators.

The prevailing view in the caucus and the argument we made was that we needed a change for the committee to have the leadership that will work with this administration and members in both the House and the Senate in order to get important issues passed in health care, environmental protection, in energy policy.

We are at a unique moment in history. We have an opportunity that maybe comes only once in a generation. And I think that the Democratic Caucus agreed with me that we must meet that challenge and move forward on those important policies.

We have a unique opportunity. And we may well turn out to be as historical as the Congress was in 1933.

What I don’t want to see happen is the Congress end up the way we were in 1994, without success. I feel confident we’re going to have the success we need.

The American people are hurting all around this country. They’re demanding change. They’re demanding action. And we must live up to their expectations.

Thank you.

QUESTION: Mr. Chairman, what was your criticism of Dingell? Why did he have to be replaced?

WAXMAN: My suggestion was that I would be a -- a better chairman. And every two years, the Democratic Caucus decides these matters. He has served for 28 years as a chairman and the ranking member with distinction, but I argued that we needed new change in the leadership so we could address those important bills that are before us.

QUESTION: Mr. Chairman, what will you tackle first?

WAXMAN: I don’t know what I’m going to tackle first. The first thing I tackled was this contest, and now we’ll have to figure out -- getting together with my colleagues -- how to bring us together and develop the team we need to work on these important legislation.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

WAXMAN: OK, I don’t know who...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

WAXMAN: I’m sorry. Say it again.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) WAXMAN: People can run against us back home if they think we can do a better job, and people should be allowed to run against us here in the Congress if they think they can do a better job and they can convince the constituents to -- to select them over us.

Seniority is important. But it should not be a grant of property rights to be chairman for three decades or more. It ought to be an important consideration, but not the sole consideration in taking leadership positions.

QUESTION: Mr. Chairman, what message would you like to send to the business community, particularly the automakers, now in your new chairmanship?

WAXMAN: We have to work together with business, industry, consumers, the administration, all the American people to bring together the kind of consensus that will allow us to pass very complicated legislation.

I was able to do that when I was chairman of the Health and Environment Subcommittee, and I feel that we’ll be able to work together here and accomplish those things, as well.

QUESTION: In the telecommunications area, media ownership, do you expect to be...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

WAXMAN: I don’t know what we’re going to be able to accomplish before we leave. The leadership is -- in the House is trying to help the automakers. The problem seems to be with the president and the Republicans in the Senate.

QUESTION: In the telecommunications field, what do you expect to be doing next year? And are you going to keep Congressman Markey as chairman of...

(CROSSTALK)

WAXMAN: I -- we’re going to have to discuss the subcommittees and who will chair the subcommittees. I’m going to rely very heavily on the subcommittee chairs and the members on those subcommittees to give us their best wisdom based on their expertise of having served in the capacity of understanding and working on those issues.

Thank you. Thank you all very much.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

WAXMAN: Well, we’ll have to talk about that.

END

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SPEAKER: REP. JOHN D. DINGELL, D-MICH.

[*] QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

DINGELL: The question was, what does this do for Michigan? I would have preferred, of course, that John Dingell be re-elected, but the caucus has made its decision, and we’ll work now with -- with Henry Waxman. And we’ll work well together with him. QUESTION: What was the vote count, sir?

DINGELL: One-thirty-seven to one-twenty-two.

QUESTION: One-thirty-seven to one-twenty...

DINGELL: One-twenty-two.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

DINGELL: Yes, 122.

QUESTION: What made the difference?

QUESTION: What did the caucus...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

QUESTION: Is Mr. Dingell staying on as chairman emeritus, was the question.

DINGELL: Yes, the speaker so moved that he be chairman emeritus. And that gives him a title of respect, but, of course, does not give him the authority of a chairman.

QUESTION: What -- what do you think this means for the direction of the Congress on energy policy, on global warming, on health care?

DINGELL: I think basically the energy policy is going to be greatly influenced more from the White House now. And I think probably what would have emerged either under Dingell or Waxman would be -- would have been quite similar, because the White House is going to play a major role in setting the energy policy of this country.

END

.ETX

Nov 20, 2008 11:45 ET .EOF

Source: CQ Transcriptions

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