Wicker Named to Five Committees Including Environment and Public Works and Budget

Miss. Senator continues as senior member of Armed Services and Commerce committees

January 3, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), was named to five Senate committees on Thursday.  For the 113th Congress, he remains on the Armed Services Committee and the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.  In addition, he will serve on the Budget Committee; the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee; and the Joint Economic Committee (JEC).

“These committees will provide opportunities to continue representing the interests of people across Mississippi,” said Wicker, who also retained his position as Deputy Republican Whip.  “Stopping out of control federal spending is our number one priority.  The Senate has not passed a budget over 1,300 days, which is unacceptable.  I look forward to working with other members of the Budget Committee to change that.  We must have a spending outline to put us on a sustainable path.”

JEC is a bipartisan, bicameral panel composed of equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats, 10 from each House of Congress.  The JEC was established under 1946 Employment Act along with its White House counterpart, the President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).  The Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, among other officials, testify regularly before the Committee on the state of the U.S. economy.

The EPW Committee oversees important infrastructure projects, including flood control and transportation systems.  In the coming Congress, the committee is expected to draft a reauthorization for the Water Resources Development Act, which would prioritize flood control, wastewater, and port infrastructure projects critical to Mississippi.

On the Armed Services Committee, Wicker has worked to ensure America’s military remains strong and that Mississippi continues to produce supplies to meet the needs of our service members.  Wicker has been outspoken on the harmful impact of sequestration’s across-the-board cuts to defense.  Those spending reductions, which were set to take effect on Jan. 3, have been postponed until March.  Approximately 11,000 jobs in Mississippi could be lost if the cuts are implemented.

Wicker is the second-most senior Republican on the Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over a far-reaching range of issues, including telecommunications, transportation and infrastructure matters, aviation, space, the Coast Guard, oceans and fisheries, and consumer safety.