New House Energy & Commerce Committee chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) has scheduled a Jan. 24 "organizational" meeting to adopt the new rules of the road for the committee and subcommittees under Democratic control.
That will include formally adopting committee rules, subcommittee names, jurisdictions and makeup, chairs, ranking members and members, as well as the vice chair of the full committee.
Pallone has already said the chair of the Communications subcommittee will be former ranking member Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) and unveiled the Democratic members, but this will make it official.
Doyle was the lead legislator on the House attempt to reverse the FCC's deregulatory Restoring Internet Freedom order repealing regs against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization. He has also pushed the FCC to go through with a hearing over allegations Sinclair may not have been truthful with the FCC about its proposal to buy Tribune, a hearing currently in limbo after the Tribune deal cratered, and sought investigations into the impact of TV station sharing agreements on competition, local-ism and diversity.
On the Republican side, Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), former chair of the full committee, will be ranking member, and Bob Latta (R-Ohio), former Communications Subcommittee chairman, will be ranking member of that subcommittee.
