Rep. Ellen Tauscher Becomes Third Woman in History to Chair House Armed Services Subcommittee

Role is Key for National Labs, Travis Air Force Base and other Vital California defense installations

Washington, DC – Today, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) announced that Rep. Ellen Tauscher will Chair the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces in the 110^th Congress.  Rep. Tauscher becomes only the third woman in history to Chair an Armed Services Subcommittee.  Rep. Tauscher is also the first California Democrat to be elevated to a Subcommittee Chairmanship since current Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums left Congress in 1992. 

“I am honored to assume this new role on the Armed Services Committee and thank Chairman Skelton and Speaker Pelosi for their leadership and trust,” said Rep. Tauscher.  “This is a critical time for our military, and we have to be smart about how we navigate the new global environment.  Our new Democratic majority is committed to strengthening America’s Armed Services and improving the lives of the men and women who serve.  In this new role I remain committed not only to our defense as a whole, but specifically to the men and women of Travis Air Force Base and the national nuclear laboratories, Livermore and Sandia.” 

The Subcommittee on Strategic Forces has jurisdiction over ballistic missile defense including the National Missile Defense shield; the Department of Energy’s defense capabilities and all nuclear weapons; space programs; and intelligence policy and national programs including the Defense Intelligence Agency. 

Rep. Tauscher is the only member of Congress with two national nuclear laboratories in her district, and this appointment now gives her lead responsibility for the oversight of the Department of Energy complex nationwide.  “I have worked in concert with our national labs since I came to Congress, particularly to ensure we have a safe and reliable nuclear deterrent without live testing, and I look forward to continuing to focus on nonproliferation in my new role.  Some of America’s best and brightest work at these labs and they should have the opportunity and the funding to produce the best science coupled with the proper security.”

Rep. Tauscher was also appointed to the newly re-organized Oversight and Investigations – which will be the Committee’s main investigative arm for Iraq and other Bush administration policies – as well as the Air and Land Subcommittee.