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January 10, 2005
Rep. Jerry Lewis to Chair House Appropriations Committee
On Wednesday, January 5, 2005, House Republican leaders tapped Rep. Jerry Lewis (Redlands) to become Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, one of the most coveted positions in Congress. As an Appropriations member and Chair of the Subcommittees on Defense and (previously) on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies, Lewis developed a reputation for being fair-minded, hard working, and politically savvy, as well as for brokering deals and finding compromise positions on complex and difficult topics.
In becoming Appropriations chair, Lewis waged an uphill battle against the numbers. Not only did he face stiff competition, but he had to overcome the argument that Californians already held too many House committee slots. In what may be a first for any state, and certainly is a first in recent memory, Californians will now lead six of the House's 21 committees, including the three that historically have been considered the most influential -- Ways & Means, Appropriations, and Rules.
In addition, his win demonstrates the acumen and influence of other GOP Californians -- including Committee Chairmen David Dreier (San Dimas), Bill Thomas (Bakersfield), Duncan Hunter (Alpine), Richard Pombo (Tracy), and Christopher Cox (Newport Beach), as well as Republican Steering Committee members John Doolittle (Roseville) and Ken Calvert (Corona). They had the delicate task of pressing House leaders to support Lewis while simultaneously reassuring their colleagues that a California with six chairmanships would not overuse its newfound power. Asked about the California numbers after the selection, Speaker Dennis Hastert commented, "That argument was made. Obviously, members of the Steering Committee didn't buy it." The Steering Committee's recommendation was verified by the full Republican Conference on Thursday.
With a new role that oversees all federal discretionary spending, about one third of the federal government's budget, Lewis has a good vantage point to monitor whether the federal budget treats California fairly in such areas as science and space research, water projects, agriculture programs, health facilities, procurement contracts, education grant spending, and reimbursement for state immigration costs, to name only a few. Not less important, competing legislators from other states may now be at least somewhat less likely to come after California resources with the state leading so many top House committees.
Rep. Calvert commented, "With his prior experience as head of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Jerry Lewis is the right man to help us control spending while at the same time ensuring our troops get everything they need to fight the Global War on Terror." Upon becoming Chairman, Lewis pledged to work hard to get all appropriations bills done on time and avoid rolling multiple bills into an omnibus spending package.
Courtesy of:
The California Institute For Federal Policy Research California Capitol Hill Bulletin
Volume 12, Bulletin 1 -- January 7, 2005
http://www.calinst.org/
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