Representative Doug LaMalfa (R-Butte) announced this week that he was appointed Ranking Member on the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry. Although Congressman LaMalfa now sits in the minority, his position as Ranking Member grants rural California a loud voice on a Subcommittee with jurisdiction that could be used to reform forest management and other forestry policies. In a press release, Congressman LaMalfa said he will work across the aisle with Subcommittee Chairwoman Abigail Spanberger (D-Virginia) “to achieve meaningful forestry reforms that can help prevent future catastrophes, such as hazardous fuel reduction and streamlining forest management practices.”
At the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Chairman Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey) announced that four of the Committee’s six subcommittee vice chairs will be held by members of the California Delegation. The vice chairs are:
- Subcommittee on Communications and Technology – Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento)
- Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce – Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Sylmar)
- Subcommittee on Energy – Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton)
- Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change – Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Riverside)
- Subcommittee on Health – Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-North Carolina)
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations – Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-Massachusetts)
Each Vice Chair will oversee a subcommittee on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee. Specifically, Congresswoman Matsui will oversee the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology where she can influence telecommunications policies including rural broadband deployment.