Today, Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) released the following statement after members of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) voted to confirm him as Chairman, making him the first Democrat to serve in this role since Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) during the 112th Congress (2011-2013). Members also voted to confirm Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) as Vice Chairman and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) as Ranking Member.
On Friday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she was recommending Congressman Beyer to chair the JEC, which, at the time, made him Chairman-designate. That recommendation had to be confirmed by a majority vote of the full committee. Now that Congressman Beyer and the other JEC leaders are confirmed, the committee can begin official business for the 117th Congress.
“During this tough time for the U.S. economy, I am humbled and honored to have the confidence of Speaker Pelosi and my colleagues to lead the 75-year-old Joint Economic Committee, a committee that not only investigates important issues impacting our economy but also serves as an economic think tank for Congress.
“Over the past year we have seen in no uncertain terms that our economy is not working for all. As chairman, I am looking forward to getting to work on ways to change this so all Americans— people of color, women, low-wage workers, essential workers, young people looking for their first job, families looking to buy their first home and others—can have a fair shot at achieving the American dream.”
A full list of committee members is below.
House Members
Democrats
- Representative Don Beyer (D-VA-08) - Chairman
- Representative David Trone (D-MD-06)
- Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03)
- Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI-02)
- Representative Scott Peters (D-CA-52)
- Representative Sharice Davids (D-KS-03)
Republican
- Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ-06)
- Representative Darin LaHood (R-IL-18)
- Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA-03)
- Representative Ron Estes (R-KS-04)
Senate Members
Democrats
- Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) – Vice Chairman
- Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
- Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ)
- Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA)
Republicans
- Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) – Ranking Member
- Senator Rob Portman (R-OH)
- Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR)
- Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX)
