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8A FEDERAL UPDATE from page 7 ....................................... .Page 8 Congressman Miller hEls a good working relationship with the committee's current chair- man, Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (Calif..26), who is expected to remain the top-ranking Repub- lican on the panel. All current RepUblican sub- committee chairs are expected to become ranking members of their subcommittees next session. Energy and Commerce. Having chaired the committee from 1981 until RepUblicans took control in 1994, current ranking member John Dingell (Mich.-15) will return to his post next year with the aim of addressing a broad series of issues ranging from climate and national energy policy to health and telecommunications issues. Rep. Dingell has also indicated that he will consider health insurance initiatives for single parents and plans on working to lower insurance premiums for small businesses, as well as revive efforts to develop a patients' bill of rights and pursue legislation authorizing the Health and Human Services Department to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. Regarding the rewrite of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Rep. Dingell has pledged to fix flaws in the House- passed Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement (COPE) Act of 2006. While Rep. Dingell has not expanded on perceived flaws, he was supportive of establishing build.out provisions in a rewrite of Federal tele- communications law when the committee consid- ered the COPE Act earlier this year, though the House-passed bill did not ultimately contain such provisions. He may also seek to address issues such as the Universal Service Fund (USF) and net neutrality, which were not included in the COPE Act. The following committee Democrats are expected to assume the corresponding subcom- mittee chainnanships in the 110th Congress- Janice Schakowsky (11I.-9) to Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection; Rick Boucher (Va.-9) to Energy and Air Quality; Hilda Solis (Caflf..32) to Environment and Hazardous Materials; Henry Waxman (Callt.-30) to Health; Bart Stupak (MI-1) to Oversight and Investigations; and Edward Markey (Mass.-7) to Telecommunications and the Internet. All current Republican committee chairmen are expected to become ranking members of their respective subcommittees in the new session. Financial Services. Current Ranking Mem- ber Barney Frank (Mass.--4) is expected to take . over the chairmanship of the Financial Services Committee in the 110th Congress, where he will likely focus on expanding Federal housing pro- grams. Rep. Frank is also expected to move legislation to crackdown on predatory lending that the panel has been working on for more than a year. Republican Richard Baker (La.-5) is ex- pected to become the Committee's ranking member. Of all of the ranking Democrats on the finan- cial Services subcommittees who are in line to become subcommittee chairs. the most signifi- cant is that of Congresswoman Maxine Waters (Caflf..36), who will take over the Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee next session. Serving as committee chair, Congress- woman waters is expected to continue to advo- cate for expansion of safe, affordable housing for low income families and individuals. Government Reform. Current committee Ranking Member Henry Waxman (Calif..30) is expected to serve as the committee's chairman in the 110th Congress, where he will likely seek to launch further investigations Iraq contracting, the recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Vice President Chaney's energy task force, and any election irregularities at the poliS in the recent election. The committee's current chairman, Congressman Thomas Davis (Va.-11) is expected to hold onto the top Republican seat and serve as the committee's ranking member. Homeland Security. 'ncoming Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson Continued on Page 9 PAGE 8 - PRIORITY FOCUS December 1, 2006 -Issue #46 Visit the League's Official Website--www.cacities.org