Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) praised this evening’s House vote to reject a so-called “clean” increase in the statutory debt limit, which would raise the debt limit without reductions in federal spending or budgetary reforms. The measure, H.R. 1954, would have provided for a $2.4 trillion increase to the nation’s already-historic $14.3 trillion debt limit – the amount necessary under the President’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2012. The increase was soundly rejected by a bipartisan v... Read more

Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, praised the Subcommittee on Energy and Power for its passage of bipartisan legislation to allow for expanded energy exploration in the Alaskan Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). More specifically, the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act would streamline the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) permitting process and eliminate needless regulatory delays that have prevented energy development in these waters. The... Read more

Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) today joined Congresswoman Candice S. Miller (R-Harrison Township, Mich.) in leading the bipartisan effort to ensure that federal revenues derived for harbor maintenance dredging through the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) are fully used for their intended purpose – maintaining our ports, harbors, and waterways. Upton has been a leading supporter of seasonal dredging projects in southwest Michigan to ensure area harbors remain open to commercial traffic, which ... Read more

Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today praised House passage of legislation, H.R. 1230, to increase America’s domestic energy production by proceeding with already-scheduled oil and natural gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Virginia. By focusing on the resources we have here at home, America can fortify its energy security while creating jobs for struggling Michigan families and protecting them from skyrocketing gas and ... Read more

By Rep. Fred Upton (MI-06) - Some in Washington insist that our nation’s environmental concerns are at odds with our economic ones. They say job protection must be sacrificed for clean air and water, or healthy economic growth cannot exist with healthy families and communities. In fact, if our goal is to do right by the planet, we ought to keep energy production and manufacturing here in America by striking an appropriate regulatory balance. If environmental rules end up chasing jobs overseas to... 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

Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) made the following statement in response to an agreement reached this evening by House Republicans and the White House to avoid a shutdown of the government while also enacting historic cuts in federal spending. Final details to cut federal spending some $78.5 billion below the President’s 2011 budget proposal will continue to be negotiated between the House and Senate through April 14th. Tonight, the Congress passed a short-term resolution that will keep th... 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

By Rep. Fred Upton (MI-06) - The Internet’s innovation and success is unmatched and since its inception, it has thrived without government interference. The Federal Communications Commission nonetheless ruled in December to impose Internet regulations, even though Congress has never authorized it to do so. There is also no crisis warranting such intervention. The Energy and Commerce Committee has repeatedly asked the FCC to provide an economic and market analysis to demonstrate its rules are war... Read more

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed bipartisan legislation coauthored by Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which would protect jobs and keep gas and energy prices low by preventing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating the emission of greenhouse gases to address climate change. H.R. 910, the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, passed the House this afternoon by a vote of 255 - 172. The bill now moves to the S... Read more