NOELLE STRAUB Star-Tribune Washington bureau | Posted: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 12:00 am
WASHINGTON - Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., lost her seat on the House Natural Resources Committee, leaving her with one committee assignment in the Democratic-controlled Congress.
Cubin served as vice chair of the Resources panel last Congress.
She kept her seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which is considered an "A" or exclusive committee. Republicans decided that any member on an "A" panel this Congress could not serve on any other committee.
The other "A" committees are Appropriations and Ways and Means.
In the past, some Republicans had a waiver to sit on both the Energy and Resource panels. Nobody got a waiver to serve on both in this Congress, noted Cubin spokeswoman Alison McGuire.
So, Cubin chose the Energy panel over the Resources panel, McGuire said.
"She just felt like it would be a better way to serve Wyoming," McGuire said. "There's still a lot of energy jurisdiction It's the reality of being in the minority. There are fewer seats and fewer choices on it."
The Resources panel now has 27 Democrats and 22 Republicans. Those numbers were reversed in the last Congress.
Shortly after the November election, Cubin's name was mentioned as a possible contender for the top-ranking Republican member of the Resources committee, which eventually went to Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska.
The Resources committee has jurisdiction over public lands, fisheries, wildlife, forest reserves, national parks, irrigation and reclamation, mining, Native American issues, mineral land laws and mineral resources, among other issues.
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., kept his four committee assignments on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Budget, Small Business and Banking panels.
Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., kept four of his five assignments and added a new one. He now sits on the Environment and Public Works panel. He became vice chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee and also kept his spots on the Finance, Ethics and Energy and Natural Resources panels.