Bliley, who rode red wave to Commerce chair, dies at 91 - Roll Call

Former Rep. Thomas J. Bliley Jr., who chaired what was then called the House Commerce Committee after the Republican wave of 1994, died Thursday at age 91.

The Republican represented a Richmond, Va., area district from 1981 until 2001.

The current chair of what is now the Energy and Commerce Committee, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., said Bliley “served our nation with distinction throughout his life — in the Navy and in local, state, and federal elected offices.”