114th Congress Gavels In; Committee Leaders Appointed

The 114^th Congress was officially sworn in on January 6. The new Congress includes a freshman class of 52 Representatives (36 Republicans and 16 Democrats) and 12 Senators (11 Republicans and 1 Democrat), as well as a new GOP majority in the Senate. The party split now stands at 246 Republicans to 188 Democrats (and 1 vacancy) in the House and 54 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and 2 Independents in the Senate.

Several committee chairs and ranking members have been announced in recent days, including for committees and subcommittees overseeing funding and policy issues important to social and behavioral science research. These appointments will weigh heavily on the priorities and activities of the committees over the next year. A few notable appointments known so far:

House Appropriations Committee

Chairman: Hal Rogers (R-KY), reappointed (majority press release)
Ranking Member: Nita Lowey (D-NY), reappointed

Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science

Chairman: John Culberson (R-TX)
Ranking Member: Chaka Fattah (D-PA), reappointed

Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education

Chairman: Tom Cole (R-OK)
Ranking Member: Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), reappointed

Senate Appropriations Committee

Chairman: Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Ranking Member: Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee

Chairman: John Thune (R-SD) (majority press release)
Ranking Member: Bill Nelson (D-FL)

Subcommittee on Science and Space

Chairman: Ted Cruz (R-TX)

House Science, Space and Technology Committee

Chairman: Lamar Smith (R-TX), reappointed (majority press release)
Ranking Member: Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), reappointed (minority press release)

House Energy and Commerce Committee

Chairman: Fred Upton (R-MI), reappointed
Ranking Member: Frank Pallone (D-NJ)

Subcommittee on Health

Chairman: Joe Pitts (R-PA), reappointed

Back to this issue’s table of contents.