Etheridge Announces Subcommittee Assignments
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means has appointed U.S. Rep Bob Etheridge (D-Lillington) to serve on the Subcommittee on Trade and the Subcommittee on Oversight for the 111th Congress.
“These subcommittee assignments will give me a seat at the table as Congress works to restore our economy and create 21st-century jobs,” said Etheridge. “I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation that will benefit North Carolina workers and families.”
As a member of the Subcommittee on Trade, Etheridge will focus on enforcing existing trade agreements and ensuring that new trade agreements provide a level playing field for North Carolina workers and farmers in order to grow the economy and to create jobs in the 21st century global marketplace. Etheridge will also work to modernize Trade Adjustment Assistance to better serve North Carolina workers.
On the Subcommittee on Oversight, Etheridge will focus on legislation related to reviving the U.S. economy and ensuring that North Carolina tax dollars are effectively spent. The subcommittee conducts oversight of all issues under the full committee’s jurisdiction, including health care, Social Security , unemployment benefits, trade, and tax policy.
Etheridge (D-Lillington) is the only North Carolina member serving on the Ways and Means Committee in the 111th Congress. He is the first North Carolinian to serve on the committee since Rep. Jim Martin in 1984, and the first Democrat from the state since Rep. Robert Doughton in 1953, who chaired the committee from 1933 to 1947 and 1949 to 1953.
The committee oversees a wide array of issues, including health care, Social Security, Medicare, unemployment benefits, welfare, child support and foster care and adoption. The committee has sole jurisdiction over tariffs and revenue-raising methods. Because of its broad jurisdiction, the committee plays a role in most major pieces of legislation that move through Congress. The committee also played a key role in the passage of the 2008 Farm Bill.
Official Jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Trade
The jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Trade shall include bills and matters referred to the Committee on Ways and Means that relate to customs and customs administration including tariff and import fee structure, classification, valuation of and special rules applying to imports, and special tariff provisions and procedures which relate to customs operation affecting exports and imports; import trade matters, including import impact, industry relief from injurious imports, adjustment assistance and programs to encourage competitive responses to imports, unfair import practices including antidumping and countervailing duty provisions, and import policy which relates to dependence on foreign sources of supply; commodity agreements and reciprocal trade agreements including multilateral and bilateral trade negotiations and implementation of agreements involving tariff and nontariff trade barriers to and distortions of international trade; international rules, organizations and institutional aspects of international trade agreements; budget authorizations for the customs revenue functions of the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and the U.S. Trade Representative; and special trade-related problems involving market access, competitive conditions of specific industries, export policy and promotion, access to materials in short supply, bilateral trade relations including trade with developing countries, operations of multinational corporations, and trade with nonmarket economies.
Official Jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Oversight
The jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Oversight shall include all matters within the scope of the full Committee’s jurisdiction but shall be limited to existing law. Said oversight jurisdiction shall not be exclusive but shall be concurrent with that of the other Subcommittees. With respect to matters involving the Internal Revenue Code and other revenue issues, said concurrent jurisdiction shall be shared with the full Committee. Before undertaking any investigation or hearing, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight shall confer with the Chairman of the full Committee and the Chairman of any other Subcommittee having jurisdiction.
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