Nevadans support House panel change

WASHINGTON -- Two Nevadans joined a Democratic coup Thursday that dethroned a longtime leader of the House's energy committee in favor of a new chairman who they said will be friendlier to the state on renewable energy and nuclear waste.

Rep. Henry Waxman of California could not be more different from Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, the lawmaker he will replace as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev.

Dingell was a leading supporter of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and prodded the Department of Energy to move faster to complete the project.

Waxman, said Berkley, "has been a steadfast supporter of Nevada's position on Yucca Mountain, and he will be a partner with Nevada in stopping this project."

Waxman, a Beverly Hills liberal, is more supportive of renewable energy, while Dingell had built a reputation as an ardent proponent of automakers who populate his Detroit-area district.

"I was an unapologetic supporter of Waxman," Berkley said after the 137-122 secret ballot vote by Democrats who will serve in the new Congress gathering in January.

Two of Nevada's three House representatives in the new Congress will be Democrats. Besides Berkley, Reppresentative-elect Dina Titus also voted for Waxman, who she said is a supporter of the casino industry.

Titus was unavailable on Thursday evening. She said in a statement that Waxman's election "is a win for Nevada and our nation as we move forward to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and explore renewable technologies to create new jobs and protect our environment."

The 57-member Energy and Commerce panel is one of the most important House committees, with jurisdiction over energy, the environment, consumer protection, telecommunications and health care programs such as Medicaid and the popular State Children's Health Insurance Program.

The switch from Dingell to Waxman could help President-elect Barack Obama on Capitol Hill with one of his favored issues: trying to curb global warming by limiting greenhouse gas emissions. But Waxman's combative stance on climate change and other issues could alienate Republicans and moderate Democrats, making the bipartisan support Obama will need harder to get.

Waxman, 69, is an environmentalist and booster of health care programs and a home state ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He was the candidate of change in a year dominated by that theme. He likened the first years of the Obama administration to a once-in-a-generation opportunity to get things done in Washington.

"The argument we made was that we needed a change for the committee to have the leadership that will work with this administration and members in both the House and the Senate in order to get important issues passed in health care, environmental protection, in energy policy," Waxman said after the vote.

Dingell, 82, has been the top Democrat on the panel for 28 years and is an old-school supporter of carmakers and other big industries such as electric utilities.

His battles with Waxman over clean air issues date to the Reagan administration and recently were revived as Waxman complained that the committee has been too slow to address global warming.

Dingell's defenders said he had done nothing to deserve being dumped, pointing to a long list of accomplishments and the panel's busy work load over the past two years, including successfully enacting an energy bill that would raise automobile fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.