CAPITOLGains
LONE STAR NATION Texas dominance returns to Capitol Hill
BY THOMAS C. DOWNS AND DARIS D. MEEKS Guest Writers
For the new Congress which con-
vened in January 2015, Kentucky is the home state of the Senate Majority Leader, the Speaker of the House is from Ohio, and the Senate and House Minority Leaders hail from Nevada and California, respec- tively. Yet, a look at key positions of legisla- tive control on Capitol Hill shows tremen- dous power residing in the Texas delega- tion. In fact, no other state will enjoy nearly the level of control over Congressional committees as the Lone Star State. In the new Congress, the delegation’s
power and influence will be extensive due to the role of Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) as Senate Majority Whip (No. 2 majority party leader in the Senate), and Texans’ control of 10 key House panels.
House Agriculture Committee – Rep. Michael Conaway, representing the Midland area, will likely chair this committee for the next six years, allowing him to lead negotiations over the next Farm Bill to protect Texas agricultural interests such as beef cattle, chickens, dairy products, eggs and hogs. This leadership role is also important to ensure the sustainability of the land-grant university system, which includes Texas A&M and Prairie View A&M.
House Armed Services Committee – This committee writes the National Defense Authorization Bill. Rep. Mac Thornberry, who represents the Amarillo area, will
likely chair the committee for the next six years, during which time there is likely to be another round of Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) activities.
House Financial Services Committee – This committee has jurisdiction over the Dodd Frank and other financial services laws, and housing legislation. The second term as chairman allows Rep. Jeb Hensarling, whose district lies southeast of Dallas, oversight of fellow Texan and HUD Secretary Juliàn Castro, formerly mayor of San Antonio.
House Homeland Security Committee – This panel oversees programs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Boarder Protection intended to seal the Texas-Mexico border. Rep. Michael McCaul, whose district lies between Austin and Houston, chairs the committee and is joined by Reps. Lamar Smith, Sheila Jackson Lee, Beto O’Rourke and Filemon Vega.
House Rules Committee – Rep. Pete Sessions will chair the committee which has juris- diction over terms and conditions of debate on every bill that reaches the House floor. Sessions, who represents Dallas, will be joined on the committee by Rep. Michael Burgess.
House Science Committee – Chaired by Rep. Lamar Smith this committee is important for Houston in that it authorizes programs at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Joint Economic Committee –Rep. Kevin Brady, who represents Conroe and Huntsville, will continue to chair this joint House-Senate committee which reviews economic conditions and recommends improvements in economic policy.
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science –This subcommittee is important to Houston in that it funds NASA. Rep. John Culberson, from Houston, will be joined on the subcommittee by Rep. John Carter, who represents Round Rock and Temple.
Subcommittee on Homeland Security –In addition to programs to seal the Mexican border, this subcommittee chaired by Rep. John Carter funds State Homeland Security Grants ($21.4M for Texas in 2014) and the Urban Area Security Initiative ($41.5M for Houston, Dallas and San Antonio in 2014).
Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations – Rep. Kay Granger will chair the panel which funds the Department of State, which has jurisdiction over presidential permits for construction, operation and maintenance of U.S.-Mexico border crossing facilities and various independent agencies.
Thomas Downs and Daris Meeks are legislative and government affairs partners in the Washington office of Venable LLP, an American Lawyer Global 100 law firm. For more information, contact Downs at
tcdowns@venable.com or Meeks at
ddmeeks@venable.com.
Winter 2015 23
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