The 117th Congress and Committee Assignments

By AMRPA Headquarters posted 13 days ago

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By Remy Kerr, MPH, AMRPA Health Policy and Research Manager

On January 3, 2021, the 117th Congress convened, with a few seats still outstanding due to run-off elections. Following the Georgia Senate run-off on January 5, the Senate now has a 50-50 Democratic to Republican split, with two Independent Sen. s (Bernie Sanders (VT) and Angus King (ME) caucusing with Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote and giving Democrats effective control of the Senate. In the House of Representatives, Democrats retained control of the chamber with a party split of 221 Democrats and 211 Republicans.

Effective January 20, former Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was elected to Senate Majority Leader, while former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was elected to serve as Senate Minority Leader. Serving as President pro tempore is Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) is Senate Majority Whip. John Thune (R-SD) is the Senate Minority Whip. For those committees with jurisdiction over health care matters, Sen. Leahy will now serve as the Chair for the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) for the Finance Committee, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) for the HELP Committee, and Bob Casey (D-PA) for the Aging Special Committee. Ranking Members of those committees include: Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) for the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) for the Finance Committee following Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) who has reached a term limit, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) for the HELP Committee following Sen. Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) retirement, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) for the Aging Special Committee following Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) who has reached a term limit.

In the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) retains her position as Speaker of the House, as does Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05) as House Majority Leader. Kevin McCarthy ‎(R-CA-23), ‎will now serve as House Minority Leader, Jim Clyburn (D-SC-06) as House Majority Whip, and Steve Scalise (R-LA-01) as House Minority Whip. For House committees most relevant to AMRPA members, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) will serve as Chair for the Appropriations Committee following former Representative Nita Lowey’s (D-NY-17) retirement, Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ-06) as Chair for the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Representative Richard Neal (D-MA-01) as Chair of the Ways and Means Committee. Ranking Members for those committees include: Representative Kay Grainger (R-TX-12) for the Appropriations Committee, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-05) for the Energy and Commerce Committee following Representative Greg Walden’s (R-OR-02) retirement, and Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX-08) for the Ways and Means Committee.

Complete rosters of Senate and House committees most relevant to AMRPA are listed below. A single asterisk indicates a change in leadership roles, two asterisks indicates new committee members. Click on the name of a committee to view the roster.