The 111th Congress was sworn in yesterday, including two new representatives from Michigan – Rep. Mark Schauer and Rep. Gary Peters. The Congress immediately got down to the important work of assigning committees. Two Michigan representatives will serve on two key transportation committees:
- Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Detroit) will rejoin the Transportation / Housing / Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees the Department of Transportation and appropriated $103.6 billion in fiscal year 2008. She is also now Michigan’s only representative on the Appropriations Committee, now that Rep. Knollenberg was ousted. She says,
- “As Congress works to reauthorize the massive, five-year transportation bill, I look forward to helping effect change for the 13th Congressional District and our state. I worked hard to get funds authorized for a Detroit to Ann Arbor commuter rail system. . . . My (past) service on this Subcommittee has resulted in more transit options for citizens, including the replacement and rehabilitation of buses, overhaul of the People Mover, and construction of the Rosa Parks Transit Center.”
- The Free Press reports that newly elected Representative Mark Schauer, the former minority leader in the state Senate, was selected to serve on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which will shepherd transportation projects considered a key part of the stimulus package. Schauer, who defeated freshman Republican Rep. Tim Walberg, represents a south-central
Michigan district that includes Battle Creek and Jackson.
- "I’m ready to get to work," said Schauer.