WASHINGTON-Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), until recently chairman of the House Commerce Committee, will undergo surgery after being diagnosed this week with a rare form of intestinal cancer.
In December, Tauzin was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer. It appears doctors caught the cancer in an early stage.
“The physician who will perform the surgery tells me that we discovered this cancer so early that it does not yet show up on the CAT scan,” said Tauzin in letter to constituents on his Web site.
Tauzin, a top mobile-phone industry backer in Congress, recently turned down an offer to head the Motion Picture Association of American and is believed to be in negotiations to become president of the nation’s leading pharmaceutical trade group. The lawmaker’s attempt to transition from public service to the private sector has created controversy, including conflict-of-interest allegations. Tauzin, through is spokesman, has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
With Tauzin’s recent decision to leave Congress at the end of the year, there are fresh indications that the congressman’s son, Billy Tauzin III, might run to succeed his father for the 3rd district seat.
