:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/adn/PWX3M57PMFBQ3KRBSUZIS2DW2E.jpg)
WASHINGTON — Following in her predecessor Republican Rep. Don Young’s footsteps, Alaska Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola snagged a seat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The committee leads transportation policy, including around pipelines, waterways, highways and aviation. Transportation and Infrastructure also oversees federal agencies like the Department of Transportation, U.S. Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Association.
Peltola said she is “thrilled” that Democratic leadership appointed her to the panel. The assignment means she will leave the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
“As Alaska depends on federal infrastructure dollars to support projects statewide, this position will enable my office to exercise more influence over funding that is crucial to growth in Alaska,” Peltola said in a statement.
Young chaired the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from 2001 to 2007.
“I look forward to bringing home real results, just like Don did,” Peltola said.
Seats on Transportation and Infrastructure were harder to come by this time. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R.-Calif., and House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., agreed to decrease each party’s Transportation and Infrastructure seats by two, making appointments competitive.
Last term, Peltola was appointed to the Natural Resources Committee, which Young chaired from 1995 to 2001. House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said no returning member of Congress would be dropped from a committee seat they want to keep, so Peltola also is likely to maintain her slot on Natural Resources.