VIRGINIANS AT THE CAPITOL

-- Boucher bumped: Rep. Rick Boucher, D-11th, will no longer chair the environmental subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the new Congress.

The committee announced Thursday that Boucher will head the Communications, Technology and Internet subcommittee, bumped from his environmental post by Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., who has more seniority than Boucher and had chaired the technology subcommittee.

Boucher had wanted to stay in charge of the environmental panel, which will play a leading role in the energy policy debate. But he said, as a senior committee member, he will still have a voice on energy matters.

The committee already shuffled its top slots, moving aside chairman John Dingell of Michigan in favor of California's Rep. Henry Waxman, considered to be a closer ally of environmental groups.

Boucher has a long history on telecommunications issues, having written the 1992 law that allowed commercial traffic on the Internet.

Peace envoy: Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-10th, called Monday for the incoming administration to appoint a special envoy to the Middle East by the end of January.

"It has become clear over the last 60 years that long-distance shuttle diplomacy simply will not work in this situation," Wolf wrote in a letter to President-elect Barack Obama. "There needs to be a person on the ground who can both respond to events as they are happening in the short term while working to foster relationships and build trust in the long term."

Wolf wants the envoy to be based in Jerusalem to monitor political developments as well as economic and social relationships between Israelis and Palestinians.

Balanced budget: Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte, R-6th, reintroduced a balanced budget constitutional amendment Tuesday, the first day of the 111th Congress.

The amendment would force Congress to spend no more money than the country receives in revenues. It would also require a three-fifths majority vote to increase the debt limit. Exceptions would be provided in times of national emergencies.

-- Neil H. Simon Media General News Service