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January 6: Kaptur Starts New Congress As Longest Serving Democratic Woman In House History |
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Representative Marcy Kaptur, the senior woman in the House, served as one of four teller clerks in the vote for Speaker of the House as the 111th Congress was convened.
Kaptur began her 14th term as representative of Ohio’s Ninth Congressional District. The occasion marked her elevation to the role of dean of the Ohio delegation and a place in House history as the longest-serving Democratic woman in the history of the House of Representatives.
“I am thrilled to begin a new Congress with so many new faces from Ohio,” Kaptur said. “With a Democratic President and such a strong Democratic majority in Congress, we have an unprecedented opportunity to ensure peace and prosperity for Ohio and the entire country.”
Besides serving as teller clerk at the invitation of Speaker Pelosi, the Speaker also appointed Kaptur to serve as one of her appointees to the important House Steering and Policy Committee, the leadership body that assigns members to committees and spearheads internal policy discussions in the Democratic Caucus.
As a result of yesterday’s Steering and Policy decisions, Kaptur was able to insure that Ohio will be well-represented by Freshmen across the Committee spectrum. Representative Marcia Fudge (OH-11) was named to the Education and Labor Committee, Representatives Steve Driehaus (OH-01) and Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15) were both named to the Financial Services Committee, and John Boccieri (OH-16) was named to Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Last month, Steering and Policy chose Representatives Zack Space (OH18) and Betty Sutton (OH-13) for the prestigious Energy and Commerce Committee.
Kaptur, meanwhile, will remain as a senior member of the coveted House Appropriations Committee where subcommittee selection will take place later this week. She will also continue to serve on the Budget Committee.
The Ohio delegation now stands at ten Democrats to eight Republicans, the first time since 1934 the delegation has had a two seat Democratic margin.
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