U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, said Wednesday that he will keep his chairmanship of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.
The Senate Republican Conference met to ratify committee chairmen for the new Congress and approved Shelby’s selection by members of the Senate Appropriations Committee to lead the committee for his first full two-year term as chairman.
“My committee assignments for the 116th Congress present an opportunity for me to continue serving the state of Alabama and the nation to the best of my ability,” Shelby said. “I am honored that my colleagues have continued to place their trust in me to lead the Senate Appropriations Committee. I look forward to working closely with Vice Chairman Leahy and all Appropriations Committee members to produce bills that fund our national and local priorities.
The Senate is expected to formally affirm Senate committee chairmen and rosters in an organizational resolution. In addition to serving as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Shelby will continue to serve on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; the Committee on Environment and Public Works; and the Committee on Rules and Administration.
“My colleagues and I on various authorizing committees – Banking, Environment and Public Works, Rules – will work this Congress to craft legislation that impacts the lives of all Americans, including my fellow Alabamians,” Shelby added.
Shelby served as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee during a portion of the 115th Congress, after Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi, resigned due to health issues in March 2018. He also served as vice chairman for the 113th Congress.
While Shelby chaired the Appropriations Committee the committee completed work on all 12 Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations bills before the July 4th recess, marking the most punctual timeframe in which the committee has completed its regular appropriations bills since 1988.
Additionally, five of those appropriations bills were signed into law before the end of the fiscal year and 75 percent (74.9) of the government was funded on schedule, which signals the most spending bills enacted on time since Fiscal Year 1997, more than two decades ago.
Shelby previously served as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Rules and Administration. Shelby joined the Environment and Public Works Committee during the 115th Congress.
Shelby was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986. He also served eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives and six years in the Alabama Senate. Shelby lives in Tuscaloosa.
