Commerce Committee organization for 111th Congress

[TayTay]

From the http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=ce9d80b4-92c5-4020-9e69-b4a25dcfcd18&Month=2&Year=2009">website for the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee:

For Immediate Release
February 12th, 2009
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN ROCKEFELLER AND RANKING MEMBER HUTCHISON ANNOUNCE NEW SUBCOMMITTEES

WASHINGTON, D.C. – John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison announced today the new Commerce Subcommittees for the 111th Congress:

Communications and Technology
Chair: Senator John Kerry
Ranking: Senator John Ensign

Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
Chair: Senator Byron Dorgan
Ranking: Senator Jim DeMint

Science and Space
Chair: Senator Bill Nelson
Ranking: Senator David Vitter

Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
Chair: Senator Maria Cantwell
Ranking: Senator Olympia Snowe

Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
Chair: Senator Frank Lautenberg
Ranking: Senator John Thune

Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
Chair: Senator Mark Pryor
Ranking: Senator Roger Wicker

Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion
Chair: Senator Amy Klobuchar
Ranking: Senator Mel Martinez



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[karynnj]

1. Wow - they changed the groupings as well

Communications and technology sounds really nice for Kerry - though it seems weird to split science and technology in terms of commerce - as technology seems needed to actually use science to create things. (Ensign - ugh)

[TayTay]

3. I think the split is to focus more on the appropriate core areas

There was already a story on this in the http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/174073-Kerry_Named_To_Head_New_Communications_Tech_Subcommittee.php">trade papers:

Kerry would likely not be the media's top pick for oversight of their industry.

Kerry is on the record as critical of the demise of the FCC's fairness doctrine, calling that demise one of the "most profound changes in the balance of the media," in a 2007 radio interview, adding that conservatives have been able to "squeeze down and squeeze out opinion of opposing views. I think it has been a very important transition in the imbalance of our public dialog."

He also has been critical of media consolidation and pushed the FCC to allow unlicensed devices in TV white spaces, something broadcasters fought hard against.

Kerry teamed with then-Senator Barack Obama to try and block the FCC's relaxation of the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban.

Kerry is also a fan of codifying network neutrality principles, something cable and phone networks would prefer evolved along with their industry.

[Mass]

2. More on Kerry subcommittee here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8191583&mesg_id=8191583

(Apparently, media not happy, not surprisingly).

[karynnj]

4. Kerry's press release - which contains some kind words from Rockefeller

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, today announced the new subcommittees and subcommittee chairmen for the 111th Congress including Senator John Kerry as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology was reconstituted after its jurisdiction had been handled at the full committee level for the past four years. The subcommittee will have jurisdiction over the Federal Communications Commission, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

“I am grateful to my friend and Chairman, Jay Rockefeller, for his decision to reconstitute this subcommittee and hand me its gavel,” said Kerry. “There’s a huge agenda on our plates, from the digital television transition, expanding access to broadband, promoting greater diversity in media ownership, and following through on the 9/11 Commission recommendation to build a nationwide interoperable public safety network. I’m looking forward to diving into these issues and building consensus for good public policy.”

“John Kerry is the right person to lead the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology,” said Rockefeller. “He’s worked on these issues for years, he’s digging in to his committee work, and I know he fights for his priorities with a real passion. I look forward to working with him as we tackle the major economic challenges facing this country.”

http://kerry.senate.gov/cfm/record.cfm?id=308198

There are some big issues there.