Mica to lead House T&I Committee

Mica to lead House T&I Committee    The Republican Conference in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday elected Rep. John Mica as chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Hal Rogers to head the Appropriations Committee for the upcoming 112th Congress.

Mica

   Mica is the ranking Republican on the T&I Committee in the current session of Congress that will shortly wrap up its work. He got the opportunity to take the committee reins when Republicans did well at the Nov. 3 polls and became the majority party in the House. One of the Democrat Party's casualties was Rep. James Oberstar, the T&I Committee's chairman who was an institution on the Capitol Hill after representing his Minnesota district for more than three decades.
   Mica said his approach will be to do more with less given the government's budget situation. The T&I Committee will play a large role next year in shaping a multiyear reauthorization for surface transportation programs and infrastructure investment. The legislation has been stalled for more than a year. Congress is expected to consider transportation proposals next year, but opinions are divided on whether it will actually pass any legislation.
   'With limited resources, cutting red tape to complete stalled projects and better utilization of the federal government's assets are top priorities. Improving our infrastructure will ensure a strong backbone for our economy.
   'The committee must pass stalled major surface transportation, aviation, and water resources bills, and I will do so as soon as possible in a manner that protects the taxpayers and creates jobs. It is critical that Congress jumpstarts transportation projects to rebuild our nation's crumbling infrastructure and get people working,' Mica said in a statement.
   Meanwhile, the Republican caucus elected Kentucky congressman Hal Rogers as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, which controls the government's purse strings.
   The choice calls into question how serious the Republicans are about sticking to their one-year pledge to ban the use of earmarks because Rogers, dubbed the 'Prince of Pork,' is notorious for his use of earmarks. In the past two years he has inserted 135 requests into legislation to get $246 million sent to his district. Millions of dollars have gone to his hometown of Somerset, Ky., which some refer to as 'Mr. Rogers' neighborhood.' ' Eric Kulisch