House Subcommittee on Environment & the Economy Has EPA Jurisdiction
Just in case you were wondering, the Subcommittee on Environment & the Economy within the larger House Energy & Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over several EPA programs and statutory responsibilities including the Safe Drinking Water Act. More specifically, this Subcommittee has jurisdiction over… “All matters related to soil and water contamination, including Superfund and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; the regulation of solid, hazardous, and nuclear wastes, including mining, nuclear, oil, gas, and coal combustion waste; emergency environmental response; industrial plant security, including cybersecurity; the regulation of drinking water (Safe Drinking Water Act), including underground injection of fluids (e.g., deep well injection or hydrofracking); toxic substances (Toxic Substances Control Act); noise; and all aspects of the above-referenced jurisdiction related to the Department of Homeland Security.”
With the beginning of the 113th Congress in January, 2013, the following Republican Representatives have been named by Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton (MI) to serve as the Majority members on the Subcommittee on Environment & the Economy:
John Shimkus (IL), Chairman Phil Gingrey (GA), Vice Chairman
Ralph Hall (TX) Ed Whitfield (KY)
Joe Pitts (PA) Tim Murphy (PA)
Bob Latta (OH) Gregg Harper (MS)
Bill Cassidy (LA) David McKinley (WV)
Gus Bilirakis (FL) Bill Johnson (OH)
Joe Barton (TX) Fred Upton (MI)
Three of the members are new to the Committee. Gus Bilirakis (FL) appears to be following in his father’s footsteps (retired Congressman Michael Bilirakis was a long time member of the Committee) and combines them with his own Homeland Security interests. One of the most senior members of the House, Ralph Hall (TX) joins the Committee from his previous (term limited) position as Chair of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee. Bill Johnson (OH) brings his Natural Resources Committee experience to this new post. Although not new to the full Committee, Phil Gingrey (GA) will step up as Vice Chairman of this Subcommittee.
On the Minority side of the aisle, no official roster has yet been published. However, the expectation is that most of the current members will continue to sit on this Subcommittee. They include:
Gene Green (TX), Ranking Member G. K. Butterfield (NC)
John Barrow (GA) Doris O. Matsui (CA)
Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ) Diana DeGette (CO)
Lois Capps (CA) John D. Dingell (MI)
Henry A. Waxman (CA)
Democrat Tammy Baldwin (WI) will not return to the Subcommittee, however, since she has been elected to the Senate.
ASDWA will closely monitor both the Committee and Subcommittee as issues pertaining to the SDWA, fracking, CFATS, and cybersecurity come up for discussion.
