Etheridge appointed to powerful Ways and Means committee
Published: Thu, Dec. 11, 2008 10:44AM
Modified Thu, Dec. 11, 2008 11:59AM
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closeU.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge has been appointed to a powerful House committee.
The Lillington Democrat was appointed late Wednesday night to the Committee on Ways and Means, which plays a key role in federal legislation on taxes and health care.
He will be the first North Carolinian to serve on the committee since 1984, and the first Democrat since Rep. Robert Doughton's stint ended in 1953.
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"Serving on the Committee on Ways and Means will allow me to work closely on the issues that are directly affecting North Carolina families during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression," Etheridge said in a statement.
The committee oversees issues as diverse as Social Security, unemployment benefits and Medicare and has sole jurisdiction over tariffs and other methods of raising revenue. It played a key role in the 2008 Farm Bill.
Etheridge, a former state schools superintendent, says he will work on providing federal support for local school construction, keeping taxes low, expanding health care and ensuring trade agreements are fair.
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