Hanna Appointed to Joint Economic Committee
February 21, 2013
House-Senate panel advises Congress on economic policy
WASHINGTON – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) appointed U.S. Rep. Richard Hanna to the exclusive Joint Economic Committee (JEC), which is an economic advisory body of Congress. JEC members are selected directly by the top party leaders of the House and Senate.
The JEC was created when Congress passed the Employment Act of 1946. Under this Act, Congress established two advisory panels: the President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) and the Joint Economic Committee. Their primary tasks are to review economic conditions and to recommend improvements in economic policy.
It is a bipartisan panel comprised of 10 Senators and 10 Representatives from both political parties. Chairmanship of the Committee alternates between the Senate and House every Congress.
JEC Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) said he was delighted to welcome Rep. Hanna to the Committee.
"Rep. Hanna has operated a business in upstate New York and appreciates the burdens high taxation, excessive regulation, and excessive spending put on hard working families and businesspeople," Chairman Brady said. "In the short time he has been in Congress, he has established himself as a leader on transportation and small business and has actively promoted a pro-growth and pro free trade agenda. I look forward to working with him on the JEC and to the valuable contributions he will render to it."
Rep. Hanna explained that the appointment is another facet of his primary focus in Congress - pursuing policies to grow the economy and reduce the national debt.
"I'm grateful to Speaker Boehner for appointing me to the Joint Economic Committee," Rep. Hanna said. "Our nation needs an American competitiveness agenda to ensure that we can create jobs here and thrive in the 21st century.
"I look forward to examining pro-growth issues like tax reform, high-tech education, greater trade opportunities, energy security and controlling the national debt to identify real solutions that we can pursue to make our present and future more prosperous. I am eager to work with Chairman Brady and all the Committee members to review the problems that ail our economy and propose solutions that make the United States more competitive and put New Yorkers back to work."
Rep. Hanna is the only majority party member from New York to serve on the Joint Economic Committee in the 113th Congress.
In addition to serving on the JEC, Rep. Hanna's focus on jobs and the economy extends to his leadership role as Chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce, and service as Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
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