Washington, D.C. —
Once again, Hal Rogers is in a powerful position in Washington.
Rogers was elect-ed yesterday to a second term as Chairman of the House Appro-priations Committee.
The House Republican Con-ference made the selection, making it two straight terms in which Rogers has held the position, following the Republicans taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2010 election.
“I am honored and grateful to have been selected by the Republican Conference to serve a second term as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee,” said Rogers, the 32-year Congressman from Somerset. “Over the past two years, I’ve been proud to oversee the Committee’s responsible shepherding of federal tax dollars under an open and transparent process — saving the American tax payer almost $100 billion.”
The Appropriations Committee sets specific expenditures of money by the federal government, making it — and its chairperson — a highly influential figure in Washington politics. They play a key role in deciding how money earmarked for government-approved projects is doled out.
Rogers was elected to a 17th term earlier this month, and said at the time that he expected to be chosen to be chosen for the position again.
Rogers took the position two years ago with a mandate to cut government spending, and he trumpeted what has been achieved in that area in that time.
“We’ve tried to cut back on wasteful spending and deal with this fiscal cliff we’re facing,” said Rogers on Election Night. “We’ve cut the spending Congress does for three years now, which has not happened since World War II. We’ve cut $100 million off the spending Congress appropriates (in discretionary spending.)”
Rogers expected to come close to the same kind of cutbacks previous years have seen in the coming fiscal year. However, he noted, much of the problems in Washington are out of his hands, since “two-thirds of spending is not controlled by Congress — it’s entitlements,” said Rogers, referring to Social Security and Medicare.
Rogers said Wednesday that he looks forward “to continuing this important work on behalf of the American people, making the necessary strides to get the nation’s finances on track, reducing unnecessary government spending, and investing in important programs that will benefit the nation both now and in the future.”
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