Many changes in key committees of 108th Congress
By Vasantha Arora

WASHINGTON: The new face of the 108th Congress, which began its session Jan. 7 with a Republican majority, saw some changes in key committees.

While Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) retained his role of Speaker of the House, the rest of the Republican leadership has changed. Rep. Richard Armey (R-TX) retired from the House, vacating the job of House Majority Leader. Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) moved up from the number three position of Majority Whip to replace Armey.

There is a possibility that the ratio of Republicans to Democrats might see a slight increase. In the last Congress, the Republicans held a narrow 26 to 23 advantage in the House International Relations Committee.

Stepping into the number three Republican slot as Majority Whip in the House is Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO). Assisting Blunt will be Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), whom Blunt selected to be Chief Deputy Majority Whip, the highest-appointed position in the House Republican leadership. Cantor is a second-term Congressman who serves on the House International Relations Committee.

The fourth-ranking Republican in the House, Republican Conference Chairman Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK) also retired and was replaced by Rep. Deborah Pryce (R- OH), the first woman to hold that position. Pryce was the fourth-ranking Republican on the House Rules Committee in the last Congress, and will retain the post in the 108th Congress.

While assignments to committees may take a few weeks to be finalized, there are changes in store for important House committees related to U.S. foreign policy. Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL) returns as chairman of the House International Relations Committee, and Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA) will continue as the ranking Democrat on that committee.

There is a possibility that the ratio of Republicans to Democrats might see a slightly increase.

In the last Congress, the Republicans held a narrow 26 to 23 advantage in the House International Relations Committee. However, some long-serving Republicans will be missing from the committee in the 108th Congress. Rep. Benjamin Gilman (R-N.Y.), the second-ranking Republican on the committee and chairman of the Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee, retired at the end of the 107th Congress.

Rep. John Cooksey (R-LA), who sought to move from the House to the Senate, was defeated. Democrats also will have a different lineup on the panel, as the 8th and 9th ranking Democrats on the House International Relations Committee were defeated in primary contests. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), the ranking member of the International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee, and Rep. Earl Hilliard (D-AL), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Europe, were both defeated in the Democratic primaries.

House Democrats also saw major changes

as Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-MO) stepped down from his position as House Minority Leader, the head of the Democratic Party in the House, and was replaced by Minority Whip Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who had earlier in the 107th Congress replaced then House Minority Whip David Bonior (D-MI), who unsuccessfully sought the governorship of his home state.

Replacing Pelosi as the number two Democrat in the House is Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), a champion of federal workers. Rep. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is the new chairman of the Democratic Caucus, replacing Rep. Martin Frost (D-TX).

Pelosi selected political ally Rep. Robert Matsui (D-CA) to head up the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.