WASHINGTON -- Democrats have increased their share of seats on the House Agriculture Committee, and subcommittee chairmanships have shifted from the South to the Plains states in the new Congress.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., recently announced that the committee's ratio will shift from 25 Democrats and 21 Republicans to 28 Democrats and 18 Republicans. Of the 28 Democrats, 11 are freshmen. Two Democrats on the committee were defeated in the 2008 election while four besides Rep. Bob Ethe-ridge, D-N.C., left the committee, most notably John Salazar of Colorado, who won a seat on House Appropriations. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., resigned Jan. 26 when she was sworn in as a senator from New York, leaving one Democratic seat open on the committee.
Peterson also announced he had chosen Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, to chair the General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee. With its jurisdiction over commodity programs, crop insurance and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and commodity exchanges, the subcommittee generally is regarded as the most powerful on the committee. Boswell replaces Rep. Bob Etheridge, D-N.C., who won a seat on Ways and Means and has left the committee.
Boswell chaired the Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Subcommittee in the 110th Congress and will continue to serve on that subcommittee. Peterson announced Jan. 22 that Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., will chair that subcommittee. Other subcommittee chairmanships remain the same.
Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., continues to serve on both Agriculture and Ways and Means.
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Another man of the Plains, Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., is the committee's new ranking member. He replaces Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who has served as committee chairman and ranking member for a total of six years and ran up against the Republican House term limit for committee leadership positions. Lucas gave Goodlatte his old position as ranking member on the Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research Subcommittee.
Lucas also named the following as new subcommittee ranking members: Michael Conaway of Texas on the Specialty Crops, Rural Development and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee; Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska on the Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry Subcommittee; and Jean Schmidt of Ohio on the Horticulture and Organic Agriculture Subcommittee. Rep. Ronald Neugebauer, R-Texas, who was the ranking member on the Horticulture and Organic Agriculture Subcommittee in the last Congress, has shifted to be the ranking member on Livestock and Dairy Subcommittee. Rep. Jerry Moran of Kansas remains the ranking member on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee.
Of the 18 Republicans on the committee, four are freshmen and there is one vacancy. Five Republicans on the committee in the last Congress retired or were defeated while Rep. Charles Boustany of Louisiana left to take a seat on Ways and Means and Virginia Foxx of North Carolina left for a seat on House rules.
Lucas also announced that Nicole Scott, a key aide, in his personal office is the committee's new Republican staff director. Bill O'Conner, who was Goodlatte's chief of staff, will remain, but his title was shifted to policy director.
