The Issues
In the 110th Congress, Waxman voted with the Democrats 97.8 percent of the time.
And he served as Democrats prosector-in-chief of the Bush administration’s many alleged misdeeds. But now that there will be a Democrat in the White House, Waxman seems to have lost interest and instead will make his mark as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce
Committee
Waxman shocked Dingell when he called him just after the November 2008 elections and announced his intention to unseat him, sending Dingell scrambling to shore up support. The 57-member Energy and Commerce Committee handles one of the largest portfolios in the House, including climate change, oversight of energy, trade, telecommunications, Medicare and Medicaid and consumer protections.
Waxman, who was the second-ranking Democrat on the committee, released a statement on the day after the 2008 election implying that he would accomplish more with President-elect Barack Obama. His statement read: “Enacting comprehensive energy, climate, and health care reform will not be easy. But my record shows that I have the skill and ability to build consensus and deliver legislation that improves the lives of all Americans.”
A Dingell spokeswoman fired back: “This is unhealthy, and does not benefit the party in any way. Tearing a leadership apart is something the Republicans should be doing after their big loss; it shouldn’t be the first order of business for the Democrats after a historic election.”
After Dingell’s defeat, the two signaled that they would work together. Waxman gave Dingell the honorary title of “chairman emeritus” on the panel, and said he would be the chief dealmaker on health-care reform.
Corruption
As Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman, Waxman had the authority to subpoena administration officials, which was a bargaining chip he used with relish in taking on such issues as U.S. contractor abuses in Iraq and dangerous levels of formaldehyde found in federal trailers distributed after Gulf Coast hurricanes.
Waxman was indefatigable in that role, investigating everything from the use of steroids in professional sports, Republican ties to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the friendly fire death of former NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman in Afghanistan and subsequent Defense Department cover-up. He has also taken on the Bush administration on such issues as the dangerous levels of formaldehyde in the trailers the Federal Emergency Management Agency supplied to Gulf Coast hurricane survivors, a situation Waxman called “sickening.”
Though he voted for the Iraq war resolution in 2002, Waxman has been making amends by vigorously investigating its handling, including massive defense contracts issued to Halliburton—where Vice President Dick Cheney had been CEO—and the granting of immunity to Blackwater security contractors involved in shooting Iraqi civilians.
In addition to pushing for details on Halliburton’s dealings in Iraq, Waxman fought unsuccessfully for the release of the names of people who met with Cheney and his staff during the drafting of the administration’s energy policy in 2001. Documents released in 2007 show that major donors and interest groups, including Exxon Mobil, British Petroleum and Kenneth Lay, then the head of Enron, were granted some of the first meetings.
Waxman involved the Congress’s investigative arm, the General Accounting Office, which also failed to gain access to the executive documents. In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Cheney and the argument that executive privilege protected the documents from public access.
The Environment
Waxman has committed himself to strengthening air and water quality standards, pesticide regulations and notifying residents of the pollution levels in their areas.
In March 2009, Waxman joined Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) to kick off the legislative race to create a cap-and-trade system limiting harmful emissions. The Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act would reduce carbon emissions at a rate even more aggressive than called for in President Obama's proposals. If passede, the bill would reduce carbon emissions 20 percent by 2020, 42 percent by 2030 and 83 percent by 2050, based on 2005 levels. It would also require a quarter of the country's energy supply to come from renewable sources by 2025. The bill passed the House in June 2009.
In 2006, he introduced the Safe Climate Act, which would set emissions targets in hopes of tempering global warming. In 1990, he worked with Dingell to pass the Clean Air Act. He sponsored amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1986 and 1996.
Health-Care Reform
In summer 2009, President Obama made reforming the nation's health-care system his top legislative priority, and Waxman joined Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) in unveiling the House Democrat's health- reform bill.
The three Democrats are the respective chairmen of the House committees with jurisdiction over health care, Miller of Education and Labor, Waxman of Energy and Commerce and Rangel of Ways and Means. Rather than producing three bills, the men pledged to write a “tri-committee” bill.
The bill, estimated to cost more than $1 billion, includes progressive reforms such as a mandate that all Americans obtain health insurance with discounts for those who can't afford it, an expansion of the government-funded Medicaid program, and a controversial new public health-insurance option. The bill requires employers to provide health insurance to their employees or face a stiff fine equal to a percentage of payroll.
If passed, the bill would pay for reform by increasing income taxes on the rich on a sliding scale. Individuals earning more than $280,000 per year would face a one percent increase, and families earning more than $1 million annually would pay a 5.4 percent "surcharge."
The Congressional Budget Office's Doug Elmendorf estimated that the bill would extend coverage to 37 million Americans, leaving 17 million uninsured, half of whom would be illegal immigrants.
In November 2009, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)proposed a health-care reform bill that merged the bills drafted by the three committees. In order to get conservative Democrats on board, Pelosi's plan included a publicly-funded health insurance option, but one that paid doctors and hospitals at higher rates than Medicare. Just before the bill went to a vote, Pelosi had to make significant concessions to Republicans by promising that the public plan would not fund abortions. In the end, the bill squeaked through the House by a vote of 220 to 215.
Waxman is also a determined advocate for further regulation of the tobacco industry. The former smoker presided over the famous 1994 congressional hearings in which top executives from the major tobacco companies denied that nicotine is addictive.His hearings are credited with prompting the successful lawsuits against Big Tobacco that followed.
In March 2009, Waxman reintroduced his bill that giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco products. The bill was signed into law in June 2009.
The Economy
Waxman voted yea on the Bush administration’s $700 Wall Street bailout package, though he had expressed “serious reservations” about the original bill. “The Administration’s plan completely eviscerates the concept of moral hazard. It would enrich the Wall Street executives whose reckless investments caused the financial crisis. The taxpayer is being asked to risk billions to protect the bonuses of investment bankers,” the Congressman said in a statement issued before his vote.
