New GOP faces on Senate tech committees

The Senate committees that deal most with technology policy issues are getting a few new Republican faces, as GOP senators take power in the upper chamber.

Veteran and freshmen Republicans will take seats on the Commerce, Judiciary and Intelligence committees next year, and they could help shape a handful of significant issues facing the panels.

{mosads}Republicans will gain three seats on the Judiciary Committee, two on the Commerce panel and one on Intelligence Committee, after the GOP wave in the midterm elections.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) and Sens.-elect David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) are joining the Judiciary Committee, which is expected to tackle patent reform early next year after an effort collapsed this summer amid opposition from Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-Nev.).

A vote on Michelle Lee, President Obama’s nominee to lead the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is also expected at some point next year. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the likely new chairman of the panel, signaled his support for Lee during a confirmation hearing last week, setting the stage for a relatively drama-free vote. 

Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Dan Coats (R-Ind.) are stepping down from the Commerce Committee to make way for Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Sens.-elect Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.). The panel oversees many tech issues and will soon start work on a massive rewrite of the nation’s telecommunication laws, among other issues critical for the sector.

The Intelligence Committee is also getting three new GOP faces next year: Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Sens.-elect James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), after the retirements of Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).

The new voices on the Intelligence and Judiciary committees could be instrumental as Congress examines reform of the National Security Agency early next year, ahead of the expiration of an agency provision.

The Intelligence Committee is also likely to focus on pushing a new cybersecurity bill, after the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act failed to move forward.