Medical device industry’s future will be guided by Tea Party

A key congressional subcommittee on health, which could greatly affect the medical device industry has been named on Capitol Hill.

The 27-member health sub-committee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee of the 112th Congress has broad oversight over several regulatory bodies, including the Food & Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The GOP-controlled committee is chaired by Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.), and Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) was named vice chair of the committee. The Texas republican is also a member of the Tea Party caucus in the House along with fellow Texan Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), who were also named to the committee.

During the recent midterm elections republicans took control of the House on the backs of momentum drummed up by members of the Tea Party who championed smaller government, opposition to the healthcare reform law and less regulation on American businesses.

The committee, which will debate a whole host of healthcare-related issues, could also be instrumental in the upcoming re-authorization of the FDA’s Medical Device User Fee Act, which is slated for 2012.

The full list of congressional leaders named to committee are:

Chairman Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.)
Vice Chairman Michael Burgess (R-Texas)
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.)
Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.)
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.)
Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.)
Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.)
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.)
Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.)
Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio)
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.)
Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.)
Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.)
Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.)
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas, ex officio)
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich., ex officio)
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J., ranking member)
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.)
Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)
Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas)
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.)
Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.)
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif., ex officio)