House Energy & Commerce Committee chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has named the new Republican members of the Communications Subcommittee. The committee has jurisdiction over the FCC and communications issues, though it shares some oversight with Judiciary.
Walden said one of the first priorities of that and other subcommittees will be "rolling back unnecessary regulations and downsizing a bloated federal bureaucracy." Walden, a former broadcaster, is no fan of the FCC local's broadcast ownership rules, for starters.
As previously announced, Walden, the former chair of the subcommittee, is replaced by Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.). Vice chair of communications will be Leonard Lance (N.J.), joined by John Shimkus (Ill.); Steve Scalise (La.); Bob Latta (Ohio) (the former vice chair), Brett Guthrie (Ky.); Pete Olson (Texas); Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Gus Bilirakis (Fla.), Bill Johnson (Ohio), Billy Long (Mo.), Bill Flores (Texas), Susan Brooks (Ind.), Chris Collins (N.Y.), Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Mimi Walters (Calif.) and Ryan Costello (Pa.).
New to the subcommittee are Walters, Costello, Brooks and Flores. Gone are Rep. Mike Pompeo, who is President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the CIA, Renee Ellmers of North Carolina, who lost her re-election bid, and Joe Barton (Texas), who is now chairman of the full committee and already has a full subcommittee dance card, serving on four—Energy, Environment, Health and Oversight and Investigations.
