Chairman Joe Barton

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The Committee on Energy and Commerce
Joe Barton, Chairman
U.S. House of Representatives

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Chairman Joe Barton

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"No one wants to believe that predators abuse and torture children and sell or swap the pictures of that abuse. We do not like to think that even though our children have been warned about strangers, children are still logging onto the Internet and meeting strangers, child predators and pedophiles. But according to one estimate, one in five children report that they have received a sexual solicitation over the Internet.

"It is because this problem is so horrific that we need to know more about it. Our nation's parents, children and educators need to know exactly what dangers are lurking on the Internet. They need to appreciate how serious this problem is so that they can prepare their children for what - or who - is waiting for them online."

                        -- Committee Chairman Joe Barton 

 

Image of April 6, 2006 hearing. Click the picture to hear testimony.See the ABC News report on Masha Allen, who told her story of abuse.

 

 

 

 

Image of April 6, 2006 hearing. Click the picture to hear testimony. Hear one agent tell Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield, of Kentucky, about a child predator who hit close to home. 

Child exploitation investigation fact sheet (10-18-06, PDF format)  

Reforming NIH

Pretexting: The Hewlett-Packard Case

What on earth is “pretexting?”

“…Its origin is in the Latin texere, ‘to weave, to fabricate’; from that came the metaphor ‘to weave a web of lies’ and ‘to fabricate a story.’ A pretext can be mild, a mere excuse or ‘white lie’; it can also be synonymous with pretense, rooted in the Latin tendere, ‘to stretch,’ in this sense meaning ‘to stretch the truth.’ No matter how you stretch it, the new participle pretexting has an aura of dishonesty about it.” 

  • William Safire, September 24, 2006, The New York Times Magazine

“It’s pretending to be somebody you’re not, to get something you probably shouldn’t have, to use in a way that’s probably wrong.”  

  • House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, September 28, 2006

Assessing Global Warming

What's up with gasoline prices?


Recent News


Committee Staff Report on the NIH Policies and Practices with Regard to Human Tissue Samples (6-13-06, PDF format)

Committee Print H.R. _____, a bill to amend the automobile fuel economy provisions of title 49, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Transportation to set fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles based on one or more vehicle attributes (5-9-06, PDF format)

H.R. 5252, the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006 (5-2-06, PDF format)

Language to HR___, a bill to authorize the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to set passenger car fuel economy standards (PDF format, 16 kb)

Committee Reflects on Record of Accomplishment (PDF format, 918 KB)

Medicaid Reform Information 


Recent Action

News Release
Committee Discovers More Documents; Seeks Answers from BP, Alaska Officials
October 6, 2006

Internet Data Brokers and Pretexting: Who Has Access to Your Private Records?
Hearing by the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
September 29, 2006

Hewlett-Packard’s Pretexting Scandal
Hearing by the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
September 28, 2006

Medicare Physician Payments: 2007 and Beyond
Hearing by the Subcommittee on Health
September 28, 2006

News Release
Hewlett-Packard’s Pretexting Scandal: Testimony of Patricia C. Dunn
September 28, 2006

News Release
Hewlett-Packard’s Pretexting Scandal: Testimony of Mark Hurd
September 28, 2006

News Release
Barton Condemns H-P for Leak Investigation
September 28, 2006

 

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