It was a tough week for Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington.

Two years after he had to give up the powerful chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to the new Democratic majority, Barton, still the panel’s top Republican, watched grimly as the panel’s Democrats rolled over his GOP alternative energy plan.

They rejected 54 of 56 GOP amendments, and with just one Republican vote, they approved a landmark climate-change bill that would reverse the energy policy of the last 14 years.

Barton, who has spent 24 years in the House, is clearly discouraged.

But is he going to retire? He says probably not. He probably won’t run for the Senate, either, if Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison steps down to run for governor.

"The Senate is a possibility, not a probability," Barton said.

Barton’s focus will continue to be on the panel, where he now faces off against the new, liberal chairman, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. Earlier this year, Waxman, with the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., led a coup against the more conservative Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.

"He’s not as inclusive as Dingell was," Barton said. Waxman rallied committee Democrats, including energy-state members like Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, to support the energy bill.

Asked about Barton’s frustrations, Green, a close friend of his, said: "Welcome to being in the minority. We were there 12 years."

But Green said he had to win concessions from liberal Democrats on natural gas production and refinery emissions before agreeing to the bill.

Green said he was surprised to be asked about a possible Barton retirement. "Joe’s a great ranking member," he said. "It would be a loss for Texas. If I thought that he was thinking about that, I’d try and talk him out of it."

Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, also a member of the energy panel, said Barton worked to protect GOP interests.

"We were able to have our amendments heard and debated," he said. "The minority was going to be heard."

Burgess and Barton will play roles in the committee’s next major piece of legislation: healthcare. With the Obama administration determined to make major changes in the U.S. health system, the Texans are expecting another policy standoff with the Democrats.

In the meantime, Barton is looking ahead to his re-election campaign, with seven fundraisers already scheduled for this summer.

Barton comfortably won in November with 62 percent of the vote, and his campaign has $1.28 million in cash on hand.

Barton said a Senate run is unlikely because his wife, Terri, and 3 1/2 -year old son, Jack, already complain about how much he is away from home.

As for being in the minority, Barton said: "You have to accept democracy. They do have the right to set the agenda."


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