Tauzin gives up House committee chair
Will not seek re-election to Congress in the fall
From Ted Barrett
CNN Washington Bureau
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Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-Louisiana
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. W. J. "Billy" Tauzin, R-Louisiana, announced Tuesday he will resign his chairmanship of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee and will not seek re-election to Congress, a move that comes as he considers a high-paying job lobbying for the pharmaceutical industry.
In a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, Tauzin said he is giving up the committee post because recent health problems convinced him not to seek re-election after 13 terms in Congress.
But congressional sources said Tauzin's decision was based largely on a strategy designed to calm Republican fury over his consideration to head PhRMA, the trade association for the large pharmaceutical companies, with whom Tauzin's committee just concluded negotiations over the prescription drug benefit for Medicare.
Many Republicans and Democrats have complained if Tauzin takes the job it will appear as payback for negotiating a bill widely considered favorable to the drug industry.
PhRMA would pay Tauzin, "substantially more" than $1 million a year, a congressional source said.
"I just think it might hurt some of the issues we've worked so hard on," Rep. Deborah Pryce of Ohio, the fourth ranking House Republican said last week, reflecting publicly what many Republicans complained about privately.
While no one has accused Tauzin of breaking any law by considering the PhRMA job, at least one government watchdog group, Public Citizen, has asked the House ethics committee to try to determine if PhRMA approached Tauzin about the job while Medicare was being negotiated, something Tauzin's staff denies.
Rep. Joe Barton, a Republican from Texas, is considered the likely successor to Tauzin who will turn over the gavel February 16. Barton has a conservative voting record and is known for his expertise on energy issues.
