{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://roby.house.gov/roby-news/roby-gets-seat-influential-appropriations-committee", "Roby gets seat on influential Appropriations Committee", "2013-12-05", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Martha Roby", "R000591", "roby.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Republican Rep. Martha Roby was named to the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, continuing Alabama\u2019s long history of having multiple members on the influential panel that decides where federal taxpayer money is spent.\n\u201cMembers of the Appropriations Committee have tough jobs to do and have a great responsibility to properly fund the federal government and support the well-being of the nation,\u201d said Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., the committee\u2019s chairman.\nRoby and two other GOP lawmakers who received seats on the committee are replacing two members who resigned \u2014 including Rep. Jo Bonner of Mobile \u2014 and one who died. Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah are the other two new members.\nRep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, is the other Alabama lawmaker on the committee. He chairs the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.\nOn the Senate side, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, is vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Other recent appropriators from Alabama include former Rep. Bud Cramer of Huntsville, former Rep. Sonny Callahan of Mobile, former Rep. Jack Edwards of Mobile and former Rep. Tom Bevill of Jasper.\nAlabama\u2019s history on the House and Senate committees has given the state a prominent role in writing legislation that allocates taxpayer dollars across nearly every aspect of the federal government. For years, the job let appropriators send money for special projects, or earmarks, to their home states or districts. Earmarking was banned in 2010, but the House and Senate Appropriations panels still wield considerable influence over which federal agencies see spending cuts and which see increases.\nUnder House rules, Roby must give up her seats on the Armed Services Committee, the Education and the Workforce Committee and the Agriculture Committee in order to take the seat on the Appropriations Committee.\nRoby is in her third term representing Alabama\u2019s 2nd District, which covers the southeastern part of the state and includes Montgomery. The district\u2019s exact boundaries have changed over the decades, but the general area has not been represented by an appropriator in at least 75 years.\n\u201cCongress is working in a budget-constrained environment for the foreseeable future, and we must make sure every dollar spent is spent wisely,\u201d Roby said in a prepared statement. \u201cAfter numerous discussions with senior colleagues in Congress and stakeholders in my state, I\u2019m convinced having a seat on the Appropriations Committee will afford me more \u2014 not less \u2014 influence on issues that matter to the people of Alabama\u2019s Second District.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://roby.house.gov/roby-news/roby-gets-seat-influential-appropriations-committee"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0934032034128904, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}