Bill Roper's Journal

Depends on the committee. I would certainly not be surprised if your observation is true for the "big ticket" committees (e.g. Judiciary, Appropriations) that cover the hottest issues and/or have the most investigative power.

But there are committees it's less true of. For example, I've been reading about John Mica who's likely to take over Transportation. Now, clearly he has a different approach than the outgoing Oberstar; Mica's a lot more in favor of getting private industry involved in funding projects. And I certainly don't necessarily agree with all of Mica's proposed approaches. But in the articles I've read, he's at least come off as reasonable in advocating for his points. Which I can't say about many of his likely fellow incoming chairmen.