Washington, D.C. – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today issued the following statement after the House Democratic Caucus unanimously elected him Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee for the 116th Congress:

“I thank my Democratic colleagues for their support in electing me Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. There is no better committee in Congress, and I am so fortunate to have the support of my colleagues in leading this committee in the 116th Congress.

“I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to build a stronger economy, create more good-paying jobs and protect consumers from skyrocketing costs. In the coming months, we will push an aggressive agenda to rebuild America, combat climate change, make health care and prescription drugs more affordable, and protect peoples’ privacy. We’ll also conduct robust oversight of the Trump Administration’s ongoing actions to sabotage our health care system, exacerbate climate change and weaken consumer protections.”       

The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest continuous standing committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. It was established in 1795 to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. Today, the Committee has the broadest jurisdiction of any authorizing committee in Congress.  It legislates on health care; health insurance; biomedical research and development; food safety; clean air and climate change; safe drinking water; national energy policy; nuclear facilities; electronic communications and the internet; privacy, cybersecurity and data security; consumer protection and product safety; travel, tourism and sports; interstate and foreign commerce; and other areas.