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Congressman Zach Wamp, Third District of Tennessee
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photo, at work in the CommitteeAt the beginning of my second term, I was honored to be named to the House Appropriations Committee, which many folks regard as the most powerful in Congress because it has jurisdiction over the approximately one-third of the federal budget known as discretionary spending. It consists of thousands of programs controlled through annual appropriations acts. Examples include salaries and expenses for federal agencies, national security expenditures, public housing subsidies, the space program, upkeep of the national parks, and much more.

I am on the following subcommittees of the Appropriations Committee:

  • The Homeland Security Subcommittee, created during the 108th Congress, funds many federal agencies and programs crucial to national security. These agencies and programs are varied, ranging from the Secret Service to First Responder programs, but all address the difficult task of protecting our nation from the threat of terrorism, in addition to the security following natural disasters.
  • The influential Energy and Water Subcommittee, which is especially important in funding key federal activities in East Tennessee and elsewhere in the state. The Energy and Water Subcommittee is where the money will come to replace the deteriorating Chickamauga Lock in Chattanooga and to finish the $1.47 billion Spallation Neutron Source in Oak Ridge. The subcommittee also will provide funds to modernize the facilities at the Y-12 Plant and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, invest in new research initiatives and fund environmental cleanup throughout the East Tennessee Technology Corridor.
  • The Interior Subcommittee funds all of the natural resources and land management agencies, our national forests and parks, research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Native American educational and health programs and all cultural institutions such as the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Art as well as the National Endowment for Arts and Humanities.

Task Forces and Select Committees

  • Speaker's Task Force on Nuclear Cleanup - This Task Force was established by the Speaker to review Department of Energy cleanup programs and make recommendations for change. Since its beginning five years ago, we have held more than a dozen briefings and hearings. Site managers and contractors have met with us. We sent out surveys, and we reviewed General Accounting Office and media reports. Based on our discoveries, we made a series of recommendations called the "Top 20 Ways to Turbocharge Cleanup."
  • Bipartisan Working Group on Youth Violence (106th Congress - Vice Chairman) - The Working Group was established to identify causes of youth violence and through consensus solutions, recommend ways to fight the rise of youth violence in our nation today.
  • Speaker's Drug Task Force - Created in 1998, this Task Force continues the fight against illegal drug use in America and the international drug trade.

photo, conferring with son
Congressman Wamp confers with his "special assistant"
-- his son, Weston -- during a meeting of the
House Appropriations Committee.

Caucuses/Coalitions

Congressional Alzheimer’s Task Force
Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues
Congressional Coalition on Adoption
Congressional Fitness Caucus, Founder & Co-Chairman - 108th
House Bio Technology Caucus
Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus
DOE Facilities Caucus
House Pro-Life Caucus
House Republican High Tech Working Group
Liberty Caucus
Nuclear Cleanup Caucus
Panama Canal Caucus
House Trails Caucus
Small Business Survival Caucus

Congressional Autism Caucus
Congressional Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine
Congressional Diabetes Caucus
Congress Congressional Fire Services Caucus
Congressional Rural Caucus
Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus
Home Appliance Manufacturing Caucus, Co-Chairman - 106th Congress
House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, Co-Chairman - 108th Congress
Jobs and Fair Trade Caucus
Manufacturing Caucus
Nuclear Issues Working Group
Rural Health Care Coalition
TVA Caucus, Chairman - 105th Congress
 

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