Saturday, December 31, 2016

Rep. Walden (W7EQI) Gains Powerful House Committee Chairmanship


Oregon Representative Greg Walden, W7EQI, is the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, one of the most powerful posts on Capitol Hill. 

As chairman of that committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology in the previous Congress, Walden was a strong supporter of HR 1301, the Amateur Radio Parity Act (see previous story) and helped guide it to unanimous passage in the House. 

According to the ARRL Letter, Walden's elevation to the full committee chairmanship may have been in recognition of his success in protecting the Republican Party's House majority in the last election as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. He defeated two more senior members in a closed-door vote by the House GOP Steering Committee.