Justice League of America Superhero Profile: Representative Henry Waxman

JLA Superhero: Representative Henry Waxman
Super Powers: The greatest power in Washington, subpoena power.
Vulnerability: Uneducated voters.
Headquarters: The US House of Representatives.
Turn Ons: Speaking truth to power, witnesses that are under oath.
Turn Offs: Dishonest politicians and corporate bigwigs.

Who is the most popular social butterfly of the season this year? Why, Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, California Representative Henry Waxman, of course!

Rep. Waxman has invited former CIA Director George Tenet for a little chat about Iraq War Intelligence, he has invited the White House and the Defense Secretary to have a talk about Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman's death. Waxman also wants to give the White House some free publicity about those political presentations to government agencies.

But whirlwind of party invitations doesn't stop there! He has issued three engraved invitations related to ongoing investigations, one for the Republican National Committee, and another for RNC Chairman Mike Duncan. (Regarding possible violations of the Presidential Records Act and the Hatch Act by White House officials.) The third invitation is for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, regarding the fabricated claim that Iraq sought uranium from Niger and other issues. (Via oversight.house.gov.) Many of those invited to Rep. Waxman's many soirees this party season have yet to RSVP.

Rep. Waxman is no stranger to successfully hosting a party! Following the lead of longtime chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, John Dingell, Rep. Waxman had a party where the chief executives of the seven major tobacco companies swore under oath that nicotine was not addictive... And this neat bit of parlor magic was accomplished before the hors' dourves were even served!

Later in the social season Rep. Waxman plans to investigate, among other Washington glitterati, Jack Abramoff and Halliburton. He has also introduced the The Safe Climate Act of 2007 (H.R. 1590), which will also take place later this season, weather permitting.

But who is this man of steel? Rep. Waxman has represented the Los Angeles area of California since 1974. Waxman was born in Los Angeles. He has a bachelor's degree in political science and a law degree from UCLA. He was elected to the California Assembly in 1969 and served six years, until his election to Congress.

He has served as chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health and the Environment, where he conducted investigations into a range of health and environmental issues, including universal health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid coverage, AIDS and air and water pollution.

Rep. Waxman is the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Time Magazine calls him the "The Scariest Guy in Washington":

Come January, however, the man that the liberal Nation magazine once called the "Eliot Ness of the Democrats" can do even more, thanks to the two words that strike fear in the heart of every government official: subpoena power. As the new chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, Waxman will have free rein to investigate, as he puts it, "everything that the government is involved with." [...] Since a Republican entered the White House, the G.O.P. Congress has been far less enthusiastic in its oversight. Waxman likes to point out that the House took 140 hours of sworn testimony to get to the bottom of whether Clinton had misused the White House Christmas-card list for political purposes, but only 12 hours on prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. Time

Rep. Waxman, 67, and his wife Janet, have a son, a daughter, and four grandchildren. "Waxman grew up over his family's grocery store near Watts, got his political start in the state assembly and came to Washington among the storied post-Watergate reformers known as the Class of 1974." Time

On my mind are the more than 2,000 men and women of the United States military who have died fighting this war in Iraq. And the more than 15,000 who have been wounded or disfigured, many with injuries that they will carry for life. Some of them are recuperating just up the road a few miles from the Capitol at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. They have sacrificed so much for this country and so much for this war.

They have done their duty, and now it is time for Congress to its constitutional duty to provide a check on the abuses of the Executive Branch. Rep. Henry Waxman