Waxman gains edge from Steering Committee

Rep. Henry Waxman got the edge in the Steering and Policy Committee on Wednesday, but his name and that of Rep. John Dingell will both go to the House Democratic Caucus on Thursday to decide who will be chairman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee.

In a secret-ballot vote of the panel Wednesday, Waxman got 25 votes to Dingell’s 22. Technically, that makes Waxman (D-Calif.) the nominee of the Steering and Policy Committee. But since Dingell (D-Mich.) got more than 13 votes, he is also eligible for consideration by the caucus.

{mosads}Still, it is remarkable, though not without precedent, that a sitting chairman has not been recommended by the committee.

Each man appeared before the committee. According to a participant, Dingell emphasized that he has carried the torch for national healthcare, passed from his father, for his nearly 53 years in Congress. He has introduced a universal healthcare bill in each Congress he’s been here.

Waxman, who is considered the more liberal contender, told committee members that he is the better person to bring the agenda of President-elect Barack Obama to the House floor.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is a member of the committee. Co-chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) would not say if Pelosi spoke, but indicated that she did not change her neutral stance.

Still, there is a perception among many members that Waxman has Pelosi’s backing. Pelosi picks many members of the Steering and Policy Committee, making Waxman’s victory Wednesday less surprising.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.), a Dingell supporter, said the committee is stacked against Dingell “geographically and politically.” In a press call shortly after the vote with other members of Dingell’s whip team, she called the outcome an “exceptionally close vote” that bodes well for the chairman’s reelection Thursday.

Dingell’s pitch to the Steering and Policy Committee was “a much tougher sell for Mr. Dingell than it will be for the entire caucus,” Herseth Sandlin said.

Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) said he believes that the caucus will give greater consideration to the issue of fairness, as well as to their constituents’ desire to elect representatives who will “stop the partisan bickering and get things done.”

“And I don’t think the case has been made as to why [Dingell] shouldn’t be there,” Matheson said. “In terms of what’s fair and what’s equitable, he ought to be there.”