Miller-Meeks Statement on Appointment to House Committee on Energy and Commerce

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks today issued the following statement regarding her appointment to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce:

“I’m honored to have been chosen to serve on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce,” said Representative Miller-Meeks. “I’m proud of my background as a surgeon, and I’m confident that experience, paired with Iowa’s leadership in the clean energy space, leaves me uniquely qualified for this role. I look forward to working with Chair Rodgers, and I’m excited for the opportunity to represent Iowa on the committee.”

“I am excited and proud to welcome Rep. Miller-Meeks to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. We will be at the forefront of House Republicans’ efforts to restore public trust in representative government. Americans have elected us to hold the line against Biden’s agenda. They want a different path, one that promotes free markets, innovation, free speech, and individual freedom. We stand ready to plow the hard ground necessary to legislate, hold the Biden administration accountable, and restore American leadership,” said Chair Rodgers.

Background:

The Committee on Energy and Commerce is the oldest standing legislative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives and is vested with the broadest jurisdiction of any congressional authorizing committee.

The committee was originally established on December 14, 1795, as the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures when the growing demands of the young nation required that Congress establish a permanent panel to exercise its constitutional authority to "regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States."

In 1819, the committee was renamed the Committee on Commerce in recognition that the committee's jurisdiction had expanded beyond its original scope. The name changed again in 1891, becoming the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce.  The committee assumed its present name in 1981 to emphasize its lead role in the nation's energy policy.

Today, the committee has responsibility for matters including telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health and research, environmental quality, energy policy, and interstate and foreign commerce among others.

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