01/20/2023

Republicans Announce New Members on Key Congressional Committees

VGM Government Relations News

 

The following article was published in VGM Government Relations list-serve on Jan. 13, 2023.  OAMES would like to thank the VGM Government Relations team for this important analysis and looks forward to working together in 2023:

On Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, the United States House Republican Select Committee met to announce the new Republican members appointed to various committees in the House. For the DME industry, there are three key committees of justification to work with. 

• Ways and Means (W&M) 
• Energy and Commerce (E&C) 
• Appropriations  

The following listed below are new members who have been appointed to the committees. It is going to be important for VGM members and industry stakeholders to build strong relationships at the grassroots level with each of these Congressional members as they assume their duties.   

To note, House Democrats are waiting on House leadership of both parties to agree on ratios of each committee to know how many members will drop from, or be added to, committees. We expect more information in the weeks ahead and will keep everyone updated as the Democrats announce their committee members. 

The Senate Finance Committee has yet to solidify its membership for this Congress, a process that could still take some time with the Senate out until Jan. 23. The GOP side of the panel is expected to add Senators after seeing a handful of retirements at the end of last year, and Democrats' ranks could grow as well now that the party has a true Senate majority. 

See below for an update on committees provided by CQ-Roll Call. 

WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE 

House Republicans tapped 10 members Wednesday to join the Ways and Means Committee this year, adding new representation on their side of the panel for states like New York, California, and Ohio. 

The 10 lawmakers gain seats that give them significant influence over the tax code, trade policy, Medicare, Social Security, and social services programs. 

The Republicans selected by the party’s steering committee and set to join Ways and Means are: 

• Mike Carey (R-OH), argued representation for his state of Ohio was critical, in particular with the retirement of Ohio’s Rob Portman from the Senate and its tax-writing committee. 
• Randy Feenstra (R-IA), brings new representation for Iowa to Ways and Means. He has experience as a tax writer in the Iowa Senate. 
• Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), adding a seat for Minnesota. 
• Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), who becomes the third Pennsylvania Republican on Ways and Means. He backed Kevin McCarthy’s speaker bid and was part of negotiations that helped him win the gavel last week. He is co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. 
• Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), one of two new additions for New York after wins in the state helped Republicans gain a House majority in November. The Staten Island representative is opposed to the $10,000 cap on deducting state and local taxes. 
• Blake D. Moore (R-UT), who adds Utah representation. 
• Michelle Steel (R-CA), who brings new representation of California, McCarthy’s home state, and has also been part of a group opposing the SALT cap. She previously served on California’s board administering tax and fee programs. 
• Greg Steube (R-FL), who becomes the second Florida Republican on the panel as the state’s representation in the House GOP and its steering panel has grown.  
• Claudia Tenney (R-NY), who marks another addition to New York and hails from upstate. She emphasized her background as a small-business owner in her bid for the seat. 
• Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), had the backing of Texas Republicans to join Ways and Means following the retirement of the panel’s top GOP member and Texan Kevin Brady. 

ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE 

House Republicans added nine new members to the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, including a handful of members with significant health policy experience. 

The committee, the oldest standing legislative committee in the House of Representatives, has broad jurisdiction over telecommunications, consumer protection, environmental quality, energy policy, and interstate and foreign commerce. 

It's also one of the main healthcare committees in the House, with jurisdiction over Medicaid, mental health, substance abuse, health insurance, medical research, the FDA, and pandemic preparedness issues. 

The Republicans selected by the party’s steering committee and set to join Energy and Commerce are: 

• Randy Weber (R-TX), a Freedom Caucus member has said his three legislative priorities are “energy, energy, energy.” He worked to repeal the 2010 healthcare law during the Trump administration. 
• Rick W. Allen (R-GA)
• Troy Balderson (R-OH), has focused on small business issues and transportation during his time in Congress. During the pandemic, he lobbied the Food and Drug Administration to issue an emergency authorization to allow Battelle, a nonprofit applied science and technology company in his district, to sterilize personal protective equipment. 
• Russ Fulcher (R-ID), who previously served as the top Republican on the Education and Labor Committee’s civil right panel.  
• August Pfluger (R-TX), has also focused heavily on energy issues. 
• Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), is one of the few pharmacists in the House in the 118th Congress. She hopes to focus on healthcare issues and supports Republican health policies, like allowing insurers to cross state lines. 
• Mariannette Miller-Meek (R-IA), has worked as a nurse, an ophthalmologist, and Iowa’s public health director. Though she supports conservative health policies, she’s reached across the aisle to introduce bipartisan legislation to fund children’s mental healthcare grant programs. 
• Kat Cammack (R-FL), a former congressional aide who entered the House as the youngest woman in the Republican Conference. She has focused heavily on energy policy but has spent less time on healthcare issues. 
• Jay Obernolte (R-CA)

APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE 

The House Appropriations Committee has added ten new Republican members, the committee announced. House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger, R-Texas, said subcommittee chairs would be decided “soon” but not on Wednesday. A handful of senior appropriators need waivers to continue to lead their preferred subcommittees.  

The other new GOP appropriators are:  

• Stephanie Bice (R-OK), a sophomore who served on the House Armed Services Committee during her freshman term.  
• Jerry Carl (R-AL), is a former entrepreneur who was also elected in 2020.  
• Juan Ciscomani (R-AR), a freshman who was a longtime aide for former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, focused on border and trade issues.  
• Jake Ellzey (R-TX), focuses on defense issues and is a vocal supporter of funding for Ukraine. 
• Scott Franklin (R-FL), is another Navy veteran who is conservative and skeptical of spending.  
• Michael Guest (R-MS), was first elected in 2018 and has served on the Homeland Security Committee with a focus on the border. 
• Jake LaTurner (R-KS), a sophomore who served on the Homeland Security Committee last Congress. 
• Ryan Zinke (R-MT), is returning to the House after a scandal-plagued stint as the Interior Secretary during the Trump administration. 

For the 118th Congress, the key industry house committees (W&M, E&C, and Appropriations) had a large turnover of the key industry house committees (W&M, E&C, and Appropriations). Once committee ratios are established, there could be a few more added from the Democrat party side. We have 29 new committee members to meet with and build grassroots relationships with.  

To accommodate this, the VGM Government Relations team will work with state associations over the next six months to set up meetings around scheduled state conferences. Some states such as Texas, Ohio, Florida, and Iowa have multiple new members added to the committees. Grassroots relationship building is a key step to being proactive in either stopping negative, or passing positive, legislation going forward.   

Please review the various committee lists and see if your member of Congress is listed. You may find that you do not reside in the legislator's district, but you may find that some of the patients you serve do. We want to work with the Grassroots Accountability Project (GAP), where we have at least one provider in contact with each Congressional district and member of Congress.