The new tech government: New Congressional committee chairs voted in as Obama readies tech advisors

You could have easily missed this news. After all, it has nothing to do with bailing out irresponsible, jet-set auto-industry execs, nor is it about the financial or employment crisis. Quite the contrary, it could have good repercussions for the US, including job growth.

Last week in the US House, Democrats voted to replace 82-year-old Rep John Dingell (a longtime voice for Detroit automakers) with California’s Rep Henry Waxman (a forthright energy and environmental legislation supporter) as chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Over in the Senate, Democrats placed Sen Jay Rockefeller (a big pusher of health-care reform and rural broadband access) as chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Technology.

For those unfamiliar, the committees are where a good chuck of the US’ legislation on technology and energy comes from. There’s no doubt in my mind that Waxman and Rockefeller will push their own agenda’s as the committee chairs. And those agendas are focused around using technology to reform the health-care system’s and the country’s climate laws, rules, and regulations, as well as on broadband expansion, spectrum reform, and network neutrality.

Pushing "green" tech and broadband access and better leveraging tech in the always important (and increasingly burdened) medial sector could encourage tech jobs in what is expected to be a bleak economic environment for the next one to four years, depending on what economists you choose to follow. Such actions could also help better bring the value of tech into the public’s eyes.

Of course, the chairs could have a negative impact on tech, as well. Given Waxman’s aggressive stance on climate change, expect him to push more regulations on energy usage and e-waste recycling, which could push more expense onto OEMs and could limit design in the same way that EU materials regulation ROHS, recycling directive WEEE, and chemical regulation REACH do.

Meanwhile, president elect Obama has begun naming his tech advisers. No word yet on his "national CTO" position, but Obama has pulled in telecom and telephony expert Blair Levin, former chief of staff for Reid Hunt at the FCC; Internet expert Sonal Shah, who in addition to working at Google’s philanthropic group has also worked for the Treasury Department and the National Security Council; and Julius Genachowski, a former FCC lawyer.

Obama’s choices are indisputably communications-industry based. Pros to that: The average American knows what things like broadband are and why they are valuable; there is still a lot of work to be done in the telecomm and Internet space; and communication technology contributes greatly to the US’ tech leadership abilities. Cons: There’s not a scientist in the bunch; nor much expertise in IP or technology trade; also absent is a manufacturing expert who could have advised on outsourcing and keeping tech jobs on US soil.

What do you think? Has the tech industry been given its holiday gift early with the new chairs? How will Obama’s team influence tech’s role in the US? Share your thoughts on the new committee heads, Obama’s advisors, and where Congress could take tech in the near-term below.