Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.), who has clashed with other powerful Democrats on data security and energy legislation, is engaged in yet another turf battle.
This time Dingell has run up against Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and their jurisdictional dispute has stalled tobacco legislation that Democratic leaders consider a high priority.
{mosads}The conflict flared at a recent meeting of Democratic committee chairmen when Rangel objected to Dingell’s handling of the bill. Dingell had claimed the legislation was ready for floor action but Rangel argued that his panel had been shut out of the process. Dingell was not present at the meeting.
As a result, a high-profile bill with 222 co-sponsors hit an obstacle at a time when Republicans are criticizing Democrats for getting little work done in an election year.
Dingell’s scrapes with other Democratic chairmen and his chilly relationship with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have set him apart. He has staunchly supported gun owners’ rights, resisted efforts to combat global warming, and is generally viewed as more conservative than other Democratic chairmen, many of whom are close to Pelosi. Dingell was also one of three House chairmen to oppose the House Democratic ethics bill, which was a top priority for the Speaker.
Dingell, however, worked with Democratic leaders last year on legislation requiring federal officials to track more closely persons disqualified from buying firearms.
Rangel has sent a letter to Pelosi making a formal claim over the bill passed by Dingell’s panel. Rep. Henry Waxman (Calif.), the second-ranking Democrat on Energy and Commerce, is the lead sponsor.
“It is a very serious issue that has not yet been discussed with me but I’ve raised concern,” Rangel told The Hill last week when asked about his objection.
The turf battle is the latest to ensnare Dingell, who forged a reputation for himself as one of Congress’s most powerful chairmen during the 1980s and early ’90s, when his oversight reach ranged far and wide.
Congressional Republicans pared down Energy and Commerce’s territory several years ago by giving some of it to the Financial Services Committee, a move that did not sit well with Dingell. After Democrats won the House in 2006, Dingell pressed leaders unsuccessfully to restore his panel’s jurisdiction over securities, insurance and accounting. Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) opposed the proposed realignment, and it failed to materialize.
Dingell clashed with Frank several weeks later when Frank proposed a multi-committee task force to draft a bill on data security. Dingell quashed the idea in a letter to Pelosi.
Dingell has also butted heads with Pelosi over global warming and energy legislation. Dingell disagreed with Pelosi’s decision to create a special committee on energy independence and global warming, which he viewed as an infringement on his authority.
Then at the end of last year, Dingell made it clear behind the scenes that he was unhappy Pelosi took control of energy legislation Congress passed before the end of the session, said Democratic aides. The legislation raised the fuel mileage standards for cars and trucks, something that Dingell had long opposed because of his allegiance with the Michigan-based U.S. auto industry.
Now Rangel has challenged Dingell for attempting to move tobacco legislation to the floor without consulting his panel.
Rangel argues the tobacco bill falls within his jurisdiction because it raises tax revenue for a broad government function: The sweeping legislation would safeguard public health by regulating tobacco products, marketing and research.
Dingell declined to answer The Hill’s questions about the dispute last week and his aides also did not comment for this article.
Congressional rules allow committees other than Ways and Means to authorize user fees to pay for narrow government services such as the issuing of operating licenses. But the tobacco bill would create a new center for tobacco products at the Food and Drug Administration to regulate many aspects of the tobacco industry.
Rangel suspects the bill would charge the tobacco industry more money than federal officials need to run the new center, making its fees resemble a new tax — something that falls squarely within his kingdom.
Bill Corr, the executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the bill has broad bipartisan support as well as backing from various factions within the Democratic Caucus.
“I believe the [Democratic] leadership recognizes this bill as one that has broad bipartisan support, that it’s the right thing to do for the public, and will move as rapidly as they can to get it up on the House floor,” he said.
Waxman said he hoped the dispute could be resolved before the legislation lost momentum.
“It’s an issue that needs to be worked out,” said Waxman. “It’s a complicated issue, so I think we’re going to have a meeting with the leadership.
“It’s a high priority for Democrats,” he added. “It would be a shame to have [the bill] sit out there for any length of time in a short session like this year’s.”
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters last week that he hoped the House would adjourn by the end of September, giving lawmakers time at home in the weeks before the election. Hoyer added that he did not think it would be productive for Congress to return in the weeks after the election to work on legislation.