Towns touts CBC support for Oversight chairmanship

Rep. Edolphus Towns (N.Y.), currently the most senior
Democrat on the House Oversight panel, has won the endorsement of 36 of his
fellow Congressional Black Caucus members to lead the committee.

Towns released a letter of support on Wednesday signed by
36 of the 41 other members of the CBC.  The letter was signed by the
outgoing CBC chairwoman, Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), and the group’s
incoming chairwoman, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).

{mosads}Kilpatrick had held back on endorsing anyone while the
possibility remained that another CBC member, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), was
being considered by top Democrats as a leading candidate for the Oversight and
Government Reform Committee gavel.

Last week, Cummings told Democratic leaders that he would
not challenge anyone who had seniority over him on the committee, and he signed
the endorsement letter that Towns released on Wednesday.

“Ed Towns has used his 26 years of experience in the
Congress to build a record of achievement on issues important to all Americans,
and especially communities of color,” the letter read. “He is the most senior
eligible Democrat on the committee and his distinguished service as a
subcommittee chairman makes his elevation to the chairmanship of the full
committee imperative.”

Towns was also endorsed by the other three black
committee chairmen: Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), Judiciary
Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Homeland Security Chairman Bennie
Thompson (D-Miss.).

“I look forward to working with House leaders and meeting
with the Steering and Policy Committee,” Towns said. “There is a real need for
government oversight and reform, and the committee will hit the ground running
in the 111th Congress.”

How exactly it will do so, however, remains to be seen.

Democratic leadership aides expect the Financial Services
Committee to play an even more prominent role next year in overseeing the
federal government’s response to the financial crisis, including the $700
billion Wall Street bailout plan. The departure of Oversight panel Chairman
Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) to the Energy and Commerce Committee will also result
in Oversight subcommittee chairmen having more influence in the 111th Congress,
aides said.

Towns is expected to meet with Democratic leaders to
discuss an Oversight “agenda” in the coming days or weeks.

Current CBC members who did not sign the letter include
the No. 3 Democrat in the House, Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), whose position
precludes him from making an endorsement, as well as Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr.
(D-Ill.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) and Andre Carson
(D-Ind.).