John Dingell
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A teasing hint
Toward the end of an article on John Dingell’s ongoing CAFE obstructionism and the prospects of a cap-and-trade system getting through his committee, The Hill drops this tantalizing tidbit: It is a complex enough issue that Dingell has sought and received from Pelosi an extension on the July deadline to produce legislation, one lobbyist said. […]
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Vote passes easily
Today the House of Representatives voted to create the much-discussed committee on global warming: The U.S. House of Representatives Thursday passed a rule to create a committee that will focus on climate change. On a vote of 228-195, the House approved creation of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. House Speaker Nancy […]
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Committee Clash of 2007 settled semi-amicably
Ending a struggle that easily could have gotten ugly, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell have settled their feud. Looks like Pelosi has agreed to make the special committee all bark, no bite: In a new letter [PDF] to Pelosi, Dingell wrote that the select committee has no legislative […]
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Gore to testify to Congress
Here’s a handy political rule of thumb: don’t front on John Dingell. In recent weeks, House Speaker Pelosi moved to create a special committee on global warming chaired by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). It won’t have subpoena powers, but it will call hearings. It was a shot across Dingell’s bow, letting him know he better […]
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Will Dingell obstruct on climate change?
Apparently, John Dingell is not sitting idly by as Nancy Pelosi sticks a thumb in his eye on global warming.
An editorial in the NYT mentions that he has sent out a "quiet little letter to the members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce ... he said he would put climate change at the top of the committee agenda this year and, for good measure, would invite Al Gore ... to testify first."
The editorial paints Dingell as less of an "obstruction" than others have:
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Pelosi snubs Dingell
I discussed the climate-change climate in the Senate — things are hopping. The House, of course, is a different and less friendly animal, where Dems are stepping more gingerly. One notable development is that Speaker Nancy Pelosi rather publicly stuck her thumb in the eye of Michigan Rep. John Dingell, announcing today the formation of […]
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Dingell and other Democrats plan oversight hearings on environmental issues
“There has been literally no oversight in the last six years,” Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), incoming chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told Muckraker yesterday. “It’s been nothing more than Kabuki theater.” That’s why Dingell says he’s gearing up to hold oversight hearings investigating the Bush administration’s energy and environmental policies, as are […]
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Yes? No? Maybe?
I've seen about 10 head-scratchers since the election about the prospects of climate-change legislation in the new Democratic Congress. They're all working with the same basic premises:
- Scientific consensus has rendered denialism untenable.
- International pressure is growing.
- Barbara Boxer, the new Senate EPW committee chair, gets it.
- John Dingell, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, doesn't get it.
- Dingell is in powerful thrall to American automakers, who still -- unbelievably -- don't get it.
- The oil barons have Democratic quislings in the House too, not just Republicans.
- Bush may veto a bill, or then again, may be forced to compromise.
Every piece more or less rearranges these facts. If I were smarter, better at self-promotion, and less lazy, I would have cranked out such a piece myself.
All of this is a roundabout way of saying that Brad Plumer at The New Republic has one of these pieces out. It's better than most, and has some background on Dingell's history on climate change. Worth a read.
