Ed Markey, the veteran Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts, is being awarded the helm of the House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, according to The Boston Globe. Markey has been one of active lawmakers involved in the DTV transition, and often criticized fellow Republicans for the strategy laid out under their watch. Markey favored a digital-to-analog subsidy program that covered everyone in the country, bar none. Rep. Joe Barton, (R-Texas), in charge of the subcommittee at the time, favored giving them to no one.
Markey frequently predicted DTV transition disaster thanks to the Republicans, but as Vice President Dick Cheney recently said of the economy, referring to Democrats, “it’s their problem now.”
Markey will likely be replaced on the Telecom Subcommittee by Virginia Congressman Rich Boucher, another DTV transition skeptic who often aligned with Markey. The leadership shift is expected to go down today.
