Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen (D-Lakewood)
Democrat Brittany Pettersen, a freshman lawmaker from Lakewood now representing CO-07, picked up an important committee assignment this week.
As POLITICO explains:
Democrats also named their rosters for the most desired “A” committees — Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, Appropriations, and Ways and Means…
…Just two freshmen — Reps. Wiley Nickel (N.C.) and Brittany Pettersen (Colo.) — nabbed a spot on one of the panels. They both landed on Financial Services.
This is a pretty impressive accomplishment for Pettersen to be one of two freshmen — along with the fantastically-named Rep. Wiley Nickel — to earn an assignment on one of the four most influential House committees (Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, Appropriations, and Ways and Means).
Only one other Member of Congress from Colorado sits on one of these top four committees: Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver is a member of the House Energy & Commerce committee.
Congressman Joe Neguse of Boulder was also recently appointed to the House Rules Committee, which is sort of like a “B-Plus Committee” but with the caveat that he’s going to have to deal with a whole lot of crazy; Reps. Chip Roy, Thomas Massie, and Ralph Norman are among the Republican members of the House Rules Committee.
I must take issue with your characterization of the Rules Committee as a “B” committee. It is the gatekeeping committee on everything that gets to the floor. It is the “AAA” committee.
“Nobody gets in to see the wizard – or reaches the floor of the House. Not nobody.” ― paraphrasing Noel Langley, The Wizard of Oz
We didn't know what else to call it, frankly.
This session we have an open amendment process, though. Sure, you can't get your bill to the floor without Rules, but you can get your amendment heard so long as it's germane to a bill that did make it to the floor. Good times.