House Energy and Commerce Chair
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Ranking Republican committee member Caries Moorhead (Calif.), will not contest Rep. Thomas Bliley's (R-Va.) bid to chair Energy and Commerce in the next Congress, according to Moorhead staffers. The Californian will instead become chairman of the Judiciary Committee's Intellectual Property and Judicial Administration Subcommittee. Bliley's ascent to the chairmanship of Energy and Commerce may clear the way for Rep. Michael Bilirakis (R-Fla.) to head the Health and Environment Subcommittee, where he currently holds the number two minority spot behind Bliley. Reps. Jack Fields (R-Tex.) and Michael Oxley (R-Ohio), who have more committee seniority than Bilirakis and could choose to head the Health Subcommittee, are both eyeing other chairmanships, according to Congressional staffers