United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce

The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more than 200 years. The two other House standing committees with such continuous operation are the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Rules Committee. The committee has served as the principal guide for the House in matters relating to the promotion of commerce and to the public's health and marketplace interests, with the relatively recent addition of energy considerations among them. Due to its broad jurisdiction, it is considered one of the most powerful committees in the House.

Role of the committee

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has developed what is arguably the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional committee. The committee maintains principal responsibility for legislative oversight relating to telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health, air quality and environmental health, the supply and delivery of energy, and interstate and foreign commerce. This jurisdiction extends over five Cabinet-level departments and seven independent agencies—from the Department of Energy, Health and Human Services, the Transportation Department to the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, and Federal Communications Commission—and sundry quasi-governmental organizations.

Jurisdiction

The Energy and Commerce Committee has the broadest jurisdiction of any authorizing committee in Congress. It legislates on a wide variety of issues, including:

health care, including mental health and substance abuse
health insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid
biomedical research and development
food, drug, device and cosmetic safety
environmental protection
clean air and climate change
safe drinking water
toxic chemicals and hazardous waste
national energy policy
renewable energy and conservation
nuclear facilities
electronic communications and the internet
broadcast and cable television
privacy, cybersecurity and data security
consumer protection and product safety
motor vehicle safety
travel, tourism and sports
interstate and foreign commerce

Members, 119th Congress

Resolutions electing members: , , , ,

Subcommittees

To manage the wide variety of issues it encounters, the committee relies on the front-line work of six subcommittees, one more than during the 111th Congress. During the 111th Congress, Henry Waxman combined the traditionally separate energy and environment subcommittees into a single subcommittee. Fred Upton restored them as separate subcommittees at the start of the 112th Congress, and they have been retained to this day.

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Communications and Technology	Richard Hudson	Doris Matsui
Energy	Bob Latta	Kathy Castor
Environment	Morgan Griffith	Paul Tonko
Health	Buddy Carter	Diana DeGette
Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade	Gus Bilirakis	Jan Schakowsky
Oversight and Investigations	Gary Palmer	Yvette Clarke

Historical membership rosters

118th Congress

Resolutions electing members: , , , ,
;Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Communications and Technology	Bob Latta	Doris Matsui
Energy, Climate and Grid Security	Jeff Duncan	Diana DeGette
Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Minerals\|Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Minerals]	Bill Johnson	Paul Tonko
Health	Brett Guthrie	Anna G. Eshoo
Innovation, Data and Commerce	Gus Bilirakis	Jan Schakowsky
Oversight and Investigations	Morgan Griffith	Kathy Castor

117th Congress

Resolutions electing members: , , ,
;Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Communications and Technology	Mike Doyle	Bob Latta
Consumer Protection and Commerce	Jan Schakowsky	Gus Bilirakis
Energy	Bobby Rush	Fred Upton
Environment and Climate Change	Paul Tonko	David McKinley
Health	Anna G. Eshoo	Brett Guthrie
Oversight and Investigations	Diana DeGette	Morgan Griffith

116th Congress

Sources: , , ,
;Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Member
Communications and Technology	Mike Doyle	Bob Latta
Consumer Protection and Commerce	Jan Schakowsky	Gus Bilirakis
Energy	Bobby Rush	Fred Upton
Environment and Climate Change	Paul Tonko	David McKinley
Health	Anna Eshoo	Brett Guthrie
Oversight and Investigations	Diana DeGette	Morgan Griffith

115th Congress

Sources: , , and .

History

The committee was originally formed as the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures on December 14, 1795. Prior to this, legislation was drafted in the Committee of the Whole or in special ad hoc committees, appointed for specific limited purposes. However the growing demands of the new nation required that Congress establish a permanent committee to manage its constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause to "regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States."
From this time forward, as the nation grew and Congress dealt with new public policy concerns and created new committees, the Energy and Commerce Committee has maintained its central position as Congress's monitor of commercial progress—a focus reflected in its changing jurisdiction, both in name and practice.
In 1819, the committee's name was changed to the Committee on Commerce, reflecting the creation of a separate Manufacturers Committee and also the increasing scope of and complexity of American commercial activity, which was expanding the committee's jurisdiction from navigational aids and the nascent general health service to foreign trade and tariffs. Thomas J. Bliley, who chaired the committee from 1995 to 2000, chose to use this traditional name, which underscores the committee's role for Congress on this front.
In 1891, in emphasis of the committee's evolving activities, the name was again changed to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce—a title it maintained until 1981, when, under incoming Chair John Dingell, the committee first assumed what is now its present name to emphasize its lead role in guiding the energy policy of the United States. Dingell regained leading of the committee in 2007 after having served as ranking member since 1995. In late 2008, Henry Waxman initiated a successful challenge to unseat Dingell as chair. His challenge was unusual as the party caucus traditionally elects chairs based on committee seniority. Waxman formally became chair at the start of the 111th Congress.

Leadership

A list of former chairs is below.

Committee on Commerce and Manufactures (1795–1819)

Name	Party	State	Start	End
	Federalist	Massachusetts	1795	1796
	Democratic-Republican	Pennsylvania	1796	1797
	Democratic-Republican	New York	1797	1798
	Democratic-Republican	Maryland	1798	1803
	Democratic-Republican	New York	1803	1805
	Democratic-Republican	Massachusetts	1805	1806
	Democratic-Republican	New York	1806	1807
	Democratic-Republican	Virginia	1807	1819

Committee on Commerce (1819–1891)

Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (1891–1981)

Name	Party	State	Start	End
	Democratic	Texas	1891	1892
	Democratic	Virginia	1892	1895
	Republican	Iowa	1895	1909
	Republican	Illinois	1909	1911
	Democratic	Georgia	1911	1917
	Democratic	Tennessee	1917	1919
	Republican	Wisconsin	1919	1921
	Republican	Massachusetts	1921	1925
	Republican	New York	1925	1931
	Democratic	Texas	1931	1937
	Democratic	California	1937	1947
	Republican	New Jersey	1947	1949
	Democratic	Ohio	1949	1953
	Republican	New Jersey	1953	1955
	Democratic	Tennessee	1955	1956
	Democratic	Arkansas	1957	1966
	Democratic	West Virginia	1966	1981

Name	Party	State	Start	End
	Democratic	California	1947	1949
	Republican	New Jersey	1949	1953
	Democratic	Ohio	1953	1955
	Republican	New Jersey	1955	1959
	Republican	Michigan	1959	1964
	Republican	Illinois	1964	1973
	Republican	Ohio	1973	1981

Committee on Energy and Commerce (1981–present)

Name	Party	State	Start	End
	Democratic	Michigan	1981	1995
	Republican	Virginia	1995	2001
	Republican	Louisiana	2001	2004
	Republican	Texas	2004	2007
	Democratic	Michigan	2007	2009
	Democratic	California	2009	2011
	Republican	Michigan	2011	2017
	Republican	Oregon	2017	2019
	Democratic	New Jersey	2019	2023
	Republican	Washington	2023	2025
	Republican	Kentucky	2025	present

Name	Party	State	Start	End
	Republican	California	1981	1986
	Republican	New York	1986	1993
	Republican	California	1993	1995
	Democratic	Michigan	1995	2007
	Republican	Texas	2007	2011
	Democratic	California	2011	2015
	Democratic	New Jersey	2015	2019
	Republican	Oregon	2019	2021
	Republican	Washington	2021	2023
	Democratic	New Jersey	2023	present