Obernolte, 8 Other Republicans Joining House Commerce
Several of the nine Republicans the House GOP Steering Committee added to the Commerce Committee roster Wednesday have been involved in communications, cybersecurity and privacy policymaking. House GOP leadership, meanwhile, formally named Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., as Commerce chair Tuesday, as expected (see 2211170089). Former panel Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., will stay on as ranking member during this Congress (see 2301030064).
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“Accountability in federal agencies is nonexistent, so the Biden administration is pushing radical policies to please its political allies,” Rodgers said Tuesday: She highlighted House Commerce as “at the center of solving the most important issues facing hardworking Americans,” including “promoting free speech, and preserving free markets.” Accountability “and oversight are also essential to getting answers from an administration gone woke and are foundational to our Constitutional responsibility,” she said. Other top committee Republicans have been eyeing more critical FCC oversight during this Congress (see 2210310073).
House Commerce confirmed on Wednesday that the nine Republicans joining the panel are: Rick Allen of Georgia, Troy Balderson of Ohio, Kat Cammack of Florida, Russ Fulcher of Idaho, Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, Jay Obernolte of California, August Pfluger of Texas and Randy Weber of Texas. All nine new Republicans "will add value to our team," said Rodgers: "I know each of these members will contribute to bringing back accountability and improving people’s lives." Committee Democrats haven’t announced who they’ll add to the panel.
Obernolte has the most past telecom policymaking experience of the nine Commerce GOP newcomers, lobbyists told us. He was vice chair of the California Assembly’s Communications Committee before being elected to Congress in 2020 (see 2008030063). He was also a member of that body’s Privacy Committee when the state enacted the 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act (see 1806280054). Obernolte as a Science Committee member during a 2021 hearing said he believes Congress should enact spectrum policy “that balances the federal government’s airwaves priorities, citing past FCC decisions made solely with an eye to freeing up more frequencies for commercial use (see 2107200060). He’s a member of the Congressional 5G Caucus.
Cammack, Harshbarger and Miller-Meeks are Rural Broadband Caucus members. Cammack was House Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee ranking member during the last Congress (see 2111020065) and as part of the Agriculture Committee was involved in advancing the Broadband Internet Connections for Rural America Act in a bid to allocate $43 billion to Rural Utilities Service programs for FY 2022-29. Miller-Meeks and Pfluger proposed an amendment to the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act to create a process for identifying and imposing sanctions against foreign governments and non-state actors responsible for state-sponsored cyberattacks against the U.S. (see 2207070064). Harshbarger in the last Congress was a House Homeland Security Cybersecurity Subcommittee member.
Balderson has been active on rural broadband issues and tried in the FY 2020 appropriations process to increase the USDA ReConnect program’s annual funding by $50 million (see 1906170056). He’s a member of the Congressional Telehealth Caucus. Allen during the FY 2023 appropriations process sought to reduce funding for the FCC, FTC and other entities covered by the House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee’s legislation by 5% (see 2207190065).