SMITH TO RUN FOR HOUSE JUDICIARY RANKING MEMBER

摘要

House committee assignments are still shaking out. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) plans to campaign for ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee -- a race to be run in Dec. or early Jan. at the latest. GOP leaders are weighing the interests of several members, including Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who is eyeing the Health Subcommittee, said committee sources. Upton, after 6 years on the telecom subcommittee, wants a change, Hill and lobbyist sources said. House Commerce Committee Chmn. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) is slated to be that committee抯 ranking member, with no opposition expected, committee sources said. On the Democratic side, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) is building staff, replacing senior counsel near retirement with staffers who once worked for him. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) remains a major question mark because he hasn抰 disclosed his plans. Several Democratic Hill sources predict he will choose the Resources Committee chairmanship. nnDemocratic leaders aren抰 giving waivers to members who want to hold 2 committee leader posts simultaneously, Hill sources said. Waivers would keep freshman Democrats out of committee and subcommittee posts, which would give them the fundraising leverage the party needs to stabilize its grip on Congress. The waiver bar complicates Markey抯 situation. Without one, he can抰 chair Resources and the House Commerce Telecom Subcommittee, as some had thought possible. The Judiciary Committee will be chaired by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), an outspoken critic of Republican-sponsored electronic surveillance bills. The issue is certain to come up before the committee. Conyers has called for the impeachment of President Bush over his Iraq war actions and attacked the President抯 Terrorist Surveillance Program. In recent months, he has promised close oversight of the program in the next Congress.