WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Birmingham, has seats on two of the House of Representatives’ most influential committees in the 119th Congress.
As a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Palmer will chair the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. He will also serve on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The Energy and Commerce Committee is one of the most powerful in Congress, having broad jurisdiction over telecommunications, energy policy and health care, among others. The subcommittee Palmer chairs conducts oversight and investigations on issues relating to the jurisdiction of the full committee. Palmer is also a member of the Subcommittees on Energy and Environment.
Palmer told Alabama Daily News the subcommittee will be aggressive in its work, which will include holding the Biden administration accountable for its past policies.
“I really think we’ve got an opportunity from a messaging perspective, to further pull back the covers and open the doors on what’s been going on for the last four years that have cost the American people so much of their hard earned money,” Palmer said.
Palmer said in a statement on his committee assignments that he looks forward to working with President Donald Trump to “to unleash our energy and secure critical minerals that will bring down the cost of living and are critical to our national security.”
As a member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Palmer will serve on the Subcommittees on Government Operations and Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs. The Oversight Committee is the main investigative committee that provides oversight of the federal government.
Palmer said Alabama’s delegation and their committee assignments make them well positioned to help Alabama. He said the focus right now is to work with the Trump administration to push his agenda.
“(Ronald) Reagan believed in trickle down economics,” Palmer told ADN. “We believe that applies here with the policies that we’re able to enact, working with the Trump administration, is going to benefit everybody.”
Palmer is the only Alabama member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee.