On the first day of Congress, our Chairman and former Congressman Henry Waxman ceremoniously passed the gavel to Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., the new Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Waxman and Pallone served on the Committee concurrently from 1992-2011. Waxman, who held the position of Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman for two years from 2009 to 2011, welcomed Pallone whose agenda for this next Congress is addressing some of the most critical issues facing the nation today.

“Frank has had a very distinguished record as a member of the Committee, as the ranking member of the Health Committee and also as the ranking member of the Full Committee. With those accomplishments, I can’t wait to see what will happen, now that he is Chairman,” former Rep. Henry Waxman commented at the passing of the gavel celebration on Capitol Hill. “There is no one I can think of better suited for this position.”

“I want to thank Henry for not only being here today, but for all the support that he’s given me over the years. This is the best committee in the House and does have the broadest jurisdiction, but largely the reason for that is because of Henry Waxman and John Dingell,” said Pallone. “They worked very hard over the years not only to make sure this was a great committee but that we retained and expanded our jurisdiction. The Energy and Commerce Committee would not be what it is today without Henry and John so, thank you also for that and for all that you’ve done.”

Watch the video of the passing of the gavel celebration and Chairman Pallone’s announcement of the committee’s first three hearings.