Last week, I proudly released a report highlighting the legislative work of the House Energy and Commerce Committee thus far in 2012. The report details a record of accomplishment on issues where our committee has been able to make strides toward the overall goal of creating a more efficient, limited government that provides the necessary conditions for job creation and economic growth. In a year when many would suggest that Congress is hopelessly gridlocked, our committee has continued the long... Read more

Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today released a report on the committee’s activities from the 2nd quarter of the 2nd Session of the 112th Congress. The report, the sixth such quarterly report that has been issued by Upton, was delivered to members of the committee and offers highlights of their efforts to create jobs, spur economic growth, protect taxpayers by limiting the size and scope of government, and strengthen protections for in... Read more

By Yvonne Zipp Reaching customers 140 characters at a time may not come naturally for every business in Kalamazoo. Even companies with active Facebook pages can't rest on their number of likes, with sites like Pinterest growing faster than you can push a virtual pin into an online bulletin board. While social media marketing has been the buzzword since at least 2008, smaller businesses in Southwest Michigan may not always have the time or manpower to best leverage their online presence. The U.S.... Read more

Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) praised this evening’s House passage of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act (H.R. 3630). Among other things, this legislation extends payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits while preventing scheduled cuts to Medicare payments for physicians. H.R. 3630 also seeks to spur job creation by advancing wireless broadband service and investment, protecting employers from the costs of unattainable federal rules and regulations, and requiring approval... Read more

Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI) voted in support of the three Free Trade Agreements (FTA), South Korea (H.R. 3080), Panama (H.R. 3079) and Columbia (H.R. 3078). The South Korea FTA passed the House by a vote of 278 - 151. The Panama FTA passed the House by a vote of 300 - 129. The Columbia FTA passed the House by a vote of 262 - 167. All three bills passed with bipartisan support and now await Senate approval. “These groundbreaking agreements will bring significant benefits to Michigan by expandin... Read more

With June’s national unemployment rate above 9 percent, we must remain focused on policies that create jobs and help put our economy back on track. In the past six months as Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I have continued to advance an agenda that puts Michigan’s working families and job creators first. From promoting an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy that creates jobs, lowers energy prices, and fortifies our energy security, to putting a halt on overreaching, job-stifl... Read more

U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) yesterday released a progress report on the committee’s work in the first half of the year, revealing that the panel has produced legislation to save taxpayers close to $90 billion, protect nearly 4 million jobs from being destroyed by job-crushing regulations, and create another 150,000+ jobs via American Energy Initiative legislation to increase domestic production and energy security while bringing down prices at the pump. Th... Read more

By Rep. Fred Upton (MI-06) - With last month’s bleak jobs report, the economy and job creation remain Americans’ top concerns. Rather than another failed tax, spend and borrow stimulus project, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is exploring ways to empower job creators, maximize American resources, save money and spur the economy. House Republicans are calling our efforts “A Plan for America’s Job Creators.” Wireless broadband and U.S. spectrum policy will play a vital role in these effort... Read more

The Obama Administration continues to ignore court decisions on Internet regulation and use agencies like the Federal Communications Commission to circumvent Congress. We're happy to see House Republicans vote to overrule this behavior. Two days before Christmas, the FCC issued "net neutrality" rules on a partisan 3-2 vote that restrict how Internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon can manage their network traffic and serve customers. The regulation is a favorite of big Web content com... Read more

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a bipartisan Resolution of Disapproval coauthored by Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to reverse the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) “network neutrality” rules. The FCC approved its new Internet regulations this past December after a federal court ruled the agency lacked such regulatory authority. The House resolution (H.J.Res.37) comes under the Congressional Review Act, which allo... Read more