Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2004

Contact: Angie Joe
713.743.8153 (office)
713.617.7138 (pager)
ajoe@uh.edu

Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Joe Barton (R-Texas) will meet with industry leaders Oct. 26 for a roundtable discussion about current and future policy.

The University of Houston’s Global Energy Management Institute (UH-GEMI) will host the private lunch seminar at the St. Regis Hotel, 1919 Briar Oaks Lane at San Felipe. The institute hopes to facilitate dialogue between the private and governmental sectors during this forum.

A media availability immediately following the seminar will be held from 1:45 to 2:15 p.m. in the Delegate Room.

Barton was first elected to serve the Sixth District of Texas in 1984. In 2004, he became the Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce – the oldest standing legislative House committee. He follows former House Speaker Sam Rayburn as the second Texan elected to this position. In 2003, the National Journal listed him as one of the “Republicans to Watch.” He holds a bachelor’s of industrial engineering from Texas A & M University and a master’s of science from Purdue University.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce is responsible for legislative oversight relating to telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health, air quality and environmental health, the supply and delivery of energy, and interstate and foreign commerce. This jurisdiction extends to five Cabinet-level departments and seven independent agencies — from the Energy Department, Health and Human Services, the Transportation Department to the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, and Federal Communications Commission — and sundry quasi-governmental organizations.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.