Ten Dem lawmakers added to House Ways and Means Committee

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) announced late Wednesday the names of 10 Democratic lawmakers who have been appointed to the powerful panel, which has jurisdiction over tax, trade and health care issues.

The Democratic lawmakers are: Reps. Gwen Moore (Wis.), Dan Kildee (Mich.), Brendan Boyle (Pa.), Don Beyer (Va.), Dwight Evans (Pa.), Tom Suozzi (N.Y.), Jimmy Panetta (Calif.), Stephanie Murphy (Fla.), Brad Schneider (Ill.) and Steven Horsford (Nev.).

They will join the 14 returning House Democrats who have already been serving on the committee.

“Our new members hail from states across the country and bring a diverse array of backgrounds and experiences to our new majority,” Neal said in a news release. “Their input will strengthen our work in the coming years to improve Americans’ retirement security, lower health care costs, cut taxes for middle-class families, and modernize our nation’s infrastructure.”

Seats on the Ways and Means Committee are highly sought after by lawmakers, because of its jurisdiction on key economic policy issues. 

A group of progressive organizations had made a push for prominent progressive Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to get seats on the committee.

While none of them did, five of the new members belong to the Congressional Progressive Caucus: Moore, Beyer, Evans, Panetta and Horsford.

Murphy is a co-chair of the centrist Blue Dog Democrats, and Schneider is also a member of that group.

None of the new Democratic Ways and Means members are serving their first term in Congress. It is not common for freshmen to get a seat on the panel.