EID's Dan reports on Ohio Congressman Bill Johnson's appointment to the House Energy & Commerce Committee:

"If you missed the news last week, Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) announced five new members to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Among the appointees is Ohio’s own Bill Johnson (R-Marietta), who represents Ohio’s 6^th Congressional District.

Rep. Johnson joins Rep. Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) as Ohio’s members on the committee, providing valuable experience and an understanding of how shale development is not only changing the lives of Ohioans, but also how it is influencing the larger, national energy picture.

With the state emerging as a leader in domestic energy production, the appointment comes at a vital time in the early stages of development of our oil and natural gas resources. Congressman Johnson’s district includes Mahoning, Columbiana, Jefferson, Belmont, Monroe, Noble, Washington County, Athens, Meigs, Gallia, Lawrence and Scioto Counties – the heart of eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale formation.

Founded on December 14, 1795  (as the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures), the Energy and Commerce Committee is the oldest standing legislative committee in the House of Representatives. In addition to energy policy, the body is responsible for the nation’s telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health research, environmental quality and interstate and foreign commerce.

The committee is charged with the oversight of multiple cabinet-level Departments and independent agencies, including the Departments of Energy, Commerce, Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Following the appointment, Congressman Johnson released a statement highlighting both the honor of serving on the prestigious committee, and the importance of the body’s scope on eastern and southeastern Ohio:

I am humbled and honored to have been chosen by my colleagues to serve on the House Energy and Commerce Committee — the oldest, and one of the most influential, legislative committees in Congress. The Energy and Commerce Committee oversees America’s energy, healthcare, and telecommunications industries that are so vital to the economic growth of Eastern and Southeastern Ohio… Having a seat on Energy and Commerce is a great responsibility and will provide Eastern and Southeastern Ohio with a more prominent voice on important policy issues that affect our lives. – Congressman Bill Johnson (11/30/12)

Last year, in a guest column for Energy in Depth, Congressman Johnson discussed the great potential of eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale as a means to return to American Exceptionalism. This is a notion we see already coming into fruition as the region has seen an increase in revenue and investment, as well as a decline in unemployment rates thanks to the oil and natural gas industry – a fact not lost on the Congressman:"

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