WASHINGTON, D.C.–U.S. Rep. Billy Long announced the Republican Steering Committee has named him to the House Energy and CommerceCommittee for the 113^thCongress that begins January 2013.

            “The Energy and Commerce Committee will be crucial as the 113^th Congress considers many key issues that will shape the future of our country for the next generation,” Long said.  “I look forward to drawing on skills from my private sector experience to help advance the committee’s work and help grow our nation’s economy by promoting free market principles.”

            “I welcome Billy Long to the Energy and Commerce Committee and look forward to working closely with him.  Billy’s private sector experience will be invaluable as the committee works to enact policies that will support private sector job growth and help grow our nation’s economy,” said U.S. Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. 

            The House Energy and CommerceCommittee has jurisdiction over our nation’s telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health research, environmental quality, energy policy, and interstate and foreign commerce.  The committee is responsible for reviewing the programs of the Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, Commerce, and Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency; the Federal Trade Commission; the Food and Drug Administration; and the Federal Communications Commission.

            For over thirty years, Long was a real estate broker and owner of Billy Long Auctions, LLC in Springfield, along with being a radio talk show host from 1999-2006 on KWTO AM560.  His experience running a small business and his time taking calls on the radio from concerned citizens gives him a unique understanding of the challenges facing families and small businesses in the Ozarks and across our country.  

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