When the House and Senate reconvene in January for the start of the 114th Congress, some new faces will be joining the key committees that oversee education policy and funding. We previously reported on the announcement of some leadership positions on these committees. It was confirmed last week that Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) will be the new ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, succeeding retiring Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) as the senior Democrat on the committee. Sen. Murray was one of the bipartisan sponsors of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and has championed the restoration of the “ability-to-benefit” provision for the federal Pell grant program. Additionally, some rank-and-file committee assignments have been announced. The HELP committee will add Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen.-elect Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
The Senate Appropriations Committee, which oversees all federal funding, will add four freshman members, including Sens.-elect Cassidy, Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), James Lankford (R-OK) and Steve Daines (R-MT). New to the committee onn the minority side, Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), co-chair of the Senate CTE Caucus.
In the House, the Education and the Workforce Committee will add:
- Rep.-elect David Brat (R-VA)
- Rep.-elect Buddy Carter (R-GA)
- Rep.-elect Mike Bishop (R-MI)
- Rep.-elect Glenn Grothman (R-WI)
- Rep.-elect Steve Russell (R-OK)
- Rep.-elect Carlos Curbelo (R-FL)
- Rep.-elect Elise Stefanik (R-NY)
- Rep.-elect Rick Allen (R-GA)
New members of the House Appropriations Committee will include:
- Rep. David Jolly (R-FL)
- Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA)
- Rep.-elect Evan Jenkins (R-WV)
- Rep.-elect David Young (R-IA)
Check back to the CTE Policy Watch Blog for more updates on the new Congress.
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