Congressional committees are where much of the work gets done in Congress. And which ones a member of the Colorado delegations sits on will determine where much of their work will get done and where they’ll best be able to shape policy.
Committees provide oversight of the federal agencies, give lawmakers a chance to question administration officials and expert witnesses, and are the first chance to consider and debate bills.
As the 117th Congress settles down to its work, here’s where members of Colorado’s delegation have been assigned thus far.
Senators
Michael Bennet: With the change in power in the Senate, Bennet has moved up to chair the subcommittees where he was a ranking member last Congress. The new Democratic leadership has also revamped the mission of one of those subcommittees, by adding climate to its list of responsibilities. That will give him a way to discuss how climate change is affecting the agricultural economy in Colorado and nationally. He will also retain his position on the high-profile Intelligence committee, the national security panel that tends to work in a bipartisan manner to oversee the nation’s intelligence agencies.
- Agriculture Committee
- Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry & Natural Resources (Chair)
- Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics & Research
- Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy
- Finance Committee
- Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, & Infrastructure (Chair)
- Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions & Family Policy
- Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
John Hickenlooper: The freshman senator will be busy with four committee assignments and numerous seats on subcommittees, including two he will chair. He picked up two of the same committees his Republican predecessor Cory Gardner served on. His roster will also let him pull on his early work experience as a small business owner and geologist.
- Commerce, Science, & Transportation Committee
- Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation
- Subcommittee on Communication, Media, and Broadband
- Subcommittee on Space and Science (Chair)
- Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export
- Energy & Natural Resources Committee
- Subcommittee on Energy
- Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining
- Subcommittee on Water and Power
- Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee
- Subcommittee on Children and Families
- Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety (Chair)
- Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee
Representatives
Diana DeGette (CO-1): As dean of the delegation, the 13-term Democrat will continue to serve on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, where she remains the Oversight subcommittee chair. From this perch, she’s focused a lot on health issues, from COVID-19 vaccine development and rollout to e-cigarettes and the price of insulin. She also remains on the panel that has a great deal of significance for Colorado: Natural Resources.
- Energy and Commerce Committee
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation (Chair)
- Subcommittee on the Environment and Climate Change
- Subcommittee on Energy
- Natural Resources Committee
- Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands
- Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Joe Neguse (CO-2): The second-term Democrat, who got the CORE Act passed in the House multiple times, will be chairing a public lands subcommittee. Neguse will also continue to play a leadership role in the House Democratic caucus. He’s the co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications team, the number 8 position in House leadership.
- Judiciary Committee
- Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, & Administrative Law
- Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, & the Internet
- Subcommittee on Immigration & Citizenship (Vice Chair)
- Natural Resources Committee
- Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands (Chair)
- Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
Lauren Boebert (CO-3): The freshman Republican secured an assignment important to her district: Natural Resources. Her predecessor, Scott Tipton, also sat on that committee for a number of years. She’ll also have a venue to continue her criticism of the amount of recent federal spending, through a seat on the Budget Committee.
- Budget Committee, responsible for drafting Congress’s budget resolution
- Natural Resources Committee
- Subcommittee on Indigenous Peoples of the U.S.
- Subcommittee on Water, Oceans & Wildlife
Ken Buck (CO-4): The biggest change for Buck, a four-term Republican, is a shift in his authority on two Judiciary subcommittees — he is now ranking member of the Antitrust subcommittee, after holding the same position in the Immigration subcommittee last congress. He’s been very vocal about antitrust issues related to big tech in particular. It may be one of the few areas where the House may be able to find bipartisan common ground.
- Foreign Affairs Committee
- Subcommittee on Asia, The Pacific, Central Asia & Nonproliferation
- Judiciary Committee
- Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, & Administrative Law (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Immigration & Citizenship
Doug Lamborn (CO-5): The eight-term Colorado Springs Republican congressman will maintain his positions in two committees important to his district, which includes five military bases and large amounts of public lands.
- Armed Services Committee
- Subcommittee on Readiness (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
- Natural Resources Committee
- Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
- Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
Jason Crow (CO-6): The 2nd term Democrat picked up a new high-profile national security-related assignment this Congress with a seat on the Intelligence committee. On the House side, it gives Colorado a new voice on the body that oversees the nation’s intelligence-gathering apparatus.
- Armed Services Committee
- Subcommittee on Readiness
- Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technology & Information Systems
- Small Business Committee
- Subcommittee on Underserved, Agricultural & Rural Business Development
- Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, & Workforce Development (Chair)
- Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Ed Perlmutter (CO-7): The Democrat who has represented the western suburbs around Denver since 2007 will be gaining a chair position in the Financial Services Committee. It will be an important position as he continues to advocate for normalizing banking services for the legal marijuana industry.
- Financial Services Committee
- Subcommittee on Consumer Protection & Financial Institutions (Chair)
- Rules Committee
- Science, Space & Technology Committee
- Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight
- Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics
- Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress
