Joe Barton

Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was hospitalized after a heart attack. Barton, 56, had three stents inserted, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) told colleagues on the House floor. Stents often are used to open blocked arteries. "He is alert, resting and in stable condition," said Barton spokeswoman Karen Modlin. "He is also unhappy to be absent, and we expect his return to work as quickly as his doctors complete their evaluation and release him."

Republicans eager to attack President Obama have waded into politically treacherous waters by assailing creation of a $20-billion gulf relief fund, risking the appearance that they side with BP over victims of the oil spill. "I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday," Rep. Joe L. Barton, a major recipient of donations from the oil and gas industry, told BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward near the start of a congressional hearing Thursday. The escrow fund, created at the insistence of the administration, was "a tragedy of the first proportion … a $20-billion shakedown," Barton said.

Broadcast indecency soared to the top of the congressional agenda after Janet Jackson's breast-baring performance at the Super Bowl. And as luck would have it, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the new chairman of the House committee that oversees the nation's airwaves, was at the game. But he never saw Janet Jackson. He was busy pleading with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) to get the Senate to pass the long-stalled energy bill, which Barton helped write.

Rep. Joe L. Barton of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee who apologized to BP for what he termed a White House "shakedown," has a long history of helping the oil and gas industry on Capitol Hill. Though energy interests have long played a big role in the lives of Texas congressional members and their constituents, Barton has strong financial ties that run through his personal and public life. The industry has been Barton's biggest patron since 1999, donating more than $1.4 million to his campaigns.

Rep. Joe L. Barton of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee who apologized to BP for what he termed a White House "shakedown," has a long history of helping the oil and gas industry on Capitol Hill. Though energy interests have long played a big role in the lives of Texas congressional members and their constituents, Barton has strong financial ties that run through his personal and public life. The industry has been Barton's biggest patron since 1999, donating more than $1.4 million to his campaigns.

Republicans eager to attack President Obama have waded into politically treacherous waters by assailing creation of a $20-billion gulf relief fund, risking the appearance that they side with BP over victims of the oil spill. "I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday," Rep. Joe L. Barton, a major recipient of donations from the oil and gas industry, told BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward near the start of a congressional hearing Thursday. The escrow fund, created at the insistence of the administration, was "a tragedy of the first proportion … a $20-billion shakedown," Barton said.

Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Tex.) on Thursday became the first candidate for the Texas Senate seat that Democrat Lloyd Bentsen is giving up to be Treasury secretary in the Bill Clinton Administration.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) said he would introduce legislation this month to impose a December 2006 deadline on U.S. broadcasters to convert to digital technology. Broadcasters such as General Electric Co.'s NBC and Viacom Inc.'s CBS have been lobbying against a firm deadline. They risk losing the 15% of all households that receive television by antenna only, rather than through cable or satellite services.

The average American family spends about 40% of its income on local, state and federal taxes, a fact that prompted two Republican congressmen to propose a constitutional amendment that would make it harder to raise federal taxes. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Rep. John B. Shadegg (R-Ariz.) back an amendment that would require a two-thirds vote of both the House and the Senate to enact any new taxes. Barton and Shadegg were responding to President Clinton's weekly radio address.

Texas Democrats have subpoenaed House Majority Leader Tom DeLay as a witness in a lawsuit to overturn a congressional district map DeLay helped push through the Texas Legislature. Democrats want to depose DeLay and Rep. Joe Barton, both Texas Republicans, but are expecting DeLay to fight the subpoena, said Tom Eisenhauer, an aide to Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas). DeLay spokesman Stuart Roy said a response would be filed Monday.

Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Texas), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was hospitalized after a heart attack. Barton, 56, had three stents inserted, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) told colleagues on the House floor. Stents often are used to open blocked arteries. "He is alert, resting and in stable condition," said Barton spokeswoman Karen Modlin. "He is also unhappy to be absent, and we expect his return to work as quickly as his doctors complete their evaluation and release him."

Broadcast indecency soared to the top of the congressional agenda after Janet Jackson's breast-baring performance at the Super Bowl. And as luck would have it, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the new chairman of the House committee that oversees the nation's airwaves, was at the game. But he never saw Janet Jackson. He was busy pleading with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) to get the Senate to pass the long-stalled energy bill, which Barton helped write.

Honky-tonk star Mickey Gilley will help a 6-year-old girl raise $200,000 to pay for a liver transplant by giving a benefit concert in Buffalo, Tex., later this month. Texas state Rep. Joe Barton contacted Gilley about Myranda Murchinson's liver illness and asked if Gilley could help. Gilley accepted, explaining: "When I found out the little girl needed help, I said to myself, 'How about if this was happening to one of my kids and I couldn't afford it.'

Cable company Charter Communications Inc. should delay plans to track customers' Internet use because of privacy concerns, two members of Congress said. Collecting data about Web surfing habits "raises substantial questions" about compliance with privacy law, Reps. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) said in a letter to Charter President and Chief Executive Neil Smit. Charter, which has 2.8 million Internet customers, plans to begin the service as a test project in June with "a couple of hundred" customers in four markets, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis-based company said.