Orientation continues this week for new members of the U-S House, and 8th District Congressman-elect Pete Stauber says he’ll try to get on two important committees — Natural Resources, because of timber, mining and Lake Superior — and the Transportation Committee. Stauber says,”That’s critically important because we have the airport, we have the rail, we have truck traffic, we have shipping traffic. We have everything that matters.”
Whether Republican Stauber gets those assignments remains to be seen, because Democrats will control the U-S House. But he argues there’s precedent: “All the way back to [John] Blatnik was part of the Transportation Infrastructure Committee, and [later] of course Congressman [James] Oberstar chaired it.” Blatnik and Oberstar were both Democrats, however.
Minnesota’s most powerful congressman will be 7th District Democrat Collin Peterson, who will likely chair the Agriculture Committee after Democrats won a majority in the U-S House.